A Foodie World

Cael and Val had been walking for a few more hours before finally stopping for lunch. By now, they were deep into the forest, where thick foliage cast heavy shadows, and the air was damp with the scent of earth and moss. The occasional rustling of leaves hinted at small creatures darting through the underbrush, and insects chirped in the distance, but otherwise, the woods still felt eerily still.

The two of them sat down on an old, moss-covered log that had probably fallen years ago, and Cael unpacked their food. The meal was fairly simple—some fries and mayo sandwiched between two pieces of bread—but it was better than nothing.

He inwardly sighed as he stared at it. It was rather pathetic since they didn't have much meat outside of the canned kind. There was still plenty of it, but he wanted to save it for the winter, and Val understandably didn't want to butcher any of her livestock—he didn't either to be honest, he'd grown rather attached to all of them aside from maybe the rooster.

So here they were, with a meal which, now that he thought about it, reminded him of something he had once seen in a British food video back in his old world.

Cael mused over that. He hadn't thought about his old world's culture in a while. Outside of the times Val asked him about it or when he was thinking about the past, it rarely crossed his mind.

Sure, modern technology and conveniences were nice, but there was something comforting about the simplicity of this world. Here, he didn’t have to worry about school, work, or the stress of daily life. And besides, this world had its own share of marvels, like magic—that alone made up for most of what he had lost.

He took a bite of the sandwich and began to chew.

Still, there were some times where he missed home—especially the food. Oyakodon, pizza, convenience store chicken…

He snapped out of his musings when he noticed Val looking at him funny; her lips were slightly pursed, and a faint pink hue dusted her cheeks.

"Are you going to eat?" he asked her.

Val's face turned a darker shade of red, and she nodded quickly, turning away from him. "O-of course," she said in a soft voice. "If anything, I was wondering if something was wrong. You looked rather distracted for a moment."

"Oh, no, no. Nothing is wrong," he said quickly, trying not to focus on how strangely cute she looked. "I was just reminiscing a bit."

Cael took another bite and tried savoring the taste of the still somewhat crunchy fried potato sticks and the soft bread. Honestly, they were pretty decent, though they weren't as good as when they were fresh.

"Reminiscing?" Val’s voice came out softer than usual, almost hesitant, as she fidgeted with her sleeve. "About what?"

"The food from my world," he explained. "There was a lot more variety, and I could just go out and buy things whenever I wanted. I guess I miss that convenience."

"That makes sense." She nodded thoughtfully with an odd expression. "But I’ve been enjoying the food you make! It’s really good. You already know how much I adore your fries."

Cael chuckled. "Thanks, but it’s not really ‘my’ cooking. I just know a few simple recipes from working at a restaurant and watching cooking videos."

At the mention of work, Val’s expression changed; her eyes widened slightly as she straightened her posture.

"Work? Oh! You had a job?! How exciting!" She leaned toward him slightly, her voice unusually eager. "I've never worked for anyone before… Could you tell me more about your experiences? How were your adventures? Did you cook for a guild?"

Oh, that's right. He'd never really discussed his work life with her. It had never really come up in conversation before. Then again, he'd at the very least tried to dissuade the strange notion she'd had that he had been some kind of adventurer.

"Like I said before, I wasn't an adventurer. I didn’t fight monsters or anything like that. My life wasn't that exciting."

Her lips pressed together in an exaggerated pout. "I still refuse to believe that. You're athletic and very brave! Do I have to remind you of how dashing you were when you fought against—"

She abruptly cut herself off, her face turning an even deeper shade of pink. "I-I mean… u-um…"

He coughed, feeling a little embarrassed himself. "Please, I only trained myself to keep in shape. And the karmaw thing was just adrenaline."

"Yes, 'adrenaline'! That is a skill; is it not?"

"N-no, I'm pretty sure everyone has it. It's just the feeling you get when you're really anxious or in danger. But anyways, we're getting distracted here."

She agreed and bowed her head, but not before he noticed her sneaking a quick glance at his arms. "Right, continue please. What adventures do you have to share?"

He sighed. "Like I said, I don't really have any… But I do have some stories about my coworkers and customers at least, if you want to hear them."

That seemed to satisfy her enough, and she eagerly nodded, listening intently with a wide grin on her face.

***

After finishing his story about the unruly businessman, Val stared at him, her mouth agape.

"I have no idea what 'assholes' mean, but I'm assuming by your tone that it's a rude term. And what of the waiter? You said he was 'fired'? What does that mean?"

He flinched slightly at the realization of his choice of words, but it had just come naturally to him. Well at least she seemed more interested in the latter term rather than the former.

"It means that he got kicked out of the restaurant and was no longer allowed to work there," Cael answered, taking a bite of the last of his food.

She frowned. "T-that's horrible! You mean ‘kicked out’ like how your uncle kicked you out?"

Cael swallowed, and his face scrunched up. "Uh, well, kinda. But the context's a bit different. He could still find work elsewhere. It’s just a hassle."

"That’s awful… Why would the owner choose those unruly customers over his own employee? Shouldn’t a workplace be like a family? The stories I've read of the guilds here always described them as such, so why would he abandon one of his own?"

He paused for a moment, unsure how best to answer her question.

"In an ideal world, perhaps that'd be the case. But at the end of the day, businesses care about money. Those guys were big spenders, and the waiter wasn’t exactly popular, so the owner decided it was better for business to get rid of him."

Val scowled, taking another bite of her sandwich. "The more I learn about your world, the more disappointed I am," she muttered. "I can’t believe people would treat each other so poorly."

"Well, don’t let my stories paint the whole picture. There are good people too."

"Paint… the whole picture?" She looked confused by the saying.

"Ah, what I meant to say was… remember these are just my personal experiences. I'm sure there's a ton of great people out there in my old world. I just… didn't have much luck meeting any of them."

She seemed to consider something before taking a slow breath, her fingers tightening around the edge of her skirt.

"You’re right. After all, you’re from that world, and… I a-adore you." The last part barely came out, and her entire face went red the second she said it. "B-but yes, I’m sure there are others out there who are almost as amazing as you."

Cael’s heart skipped a beat. He quickly looked away as heat creeped up his face. "A-Alright, I think that’s enough stories from me!" he stammered. "How about you? Got any interesting stories to share, Val?"

For some reason, she appeared to get even more flustered. Her hands were suddenly occupied with fixing the hem of her dress.

"R-right! Interesting stories? Hmm…" She put her finger on her chin and looked away.

"Oh! When just last year, I found a glowing mushroom in the forest shaped like a star while foraging within the western woods! It was between the roots of a wekpbiiv tree and emanated a rather pleasant aura."

Cael lifted an eyebrow. He didn't know what kind of tree that was, but the image forming in his mind looked rather fantastical.

A scene of Val trekking through dense, mist-filled woods, a warm glow shining through the thick foliage, and her eyes lighting up in wonder as she found a glowing, star-shaped mushroom between some ancient-looking roots materialized in his head.

"That’s… actually really cool. What did you do with it?"

"I ate it!" she said brightly.

"…You what?"

She giggled. "My parents always told me not to eat strange things I found, but I really wanted to taste it. And it was delicious! It had a very unusual texture and flavor, almost meat, but not quite." Her smile widened even further. "I brought a bunch of them home to cook and eat!"

Cael blinked in surprise. "Wait, so nothing bad happened to you?"

"Well… after I ate some, I felt really hot and the need to… umm… feel stuff?"

"Feel stuff?"

"Yes!" She carefully gestured over her body. "I-it was like that sensation you get when you're itchy, but all over the place and much more pleasant. It wasn't bad at all. My body was just very sensitive. It made things like my bedsheets feel so much softer!"

Cael’s face went red. "Oh."

She gently smiled at him. "I still pick them sometimes when I want a special treat. So, perhaps we can try it together? I think you’d like it."

"Uh…" Cael's brain short-circuited trying to think of an answer.

Did she even realize what she was saying? The devil inside him was practically screaming for him to say 'yes', but the sane, rational part of him was telling him to politely decline.

"I-I think that’s… an interesting idea," he finally managed to say.

"Really?" Her eyes lit up. "I’ll make it for us sometime then!"

"W-Wait! I didn’t mean—!" He flailed, trying to backpedal. "I just meant the concept is interesting, not that I actually want to try it soon!"

"Oh." Her face fell. "Do you not want to have mushrooms then?"

"It's not that! It's just that… umm, well, uh…" He struggled to explain himself without embarrassing himself further. "Have any of your romance books covered similar situations to eating those kinds of mushrooms? Like at all?"

"Mmm, yes, I have read many scenes where the main characters enjoy food together. I don't see why this would be any different. I know some mushrooms are usually reserved for more medical purposes, but these were just fine to eat—"

She stopped mid-sentence as understanding struck her. Her cheeks turned beet red.

"Noooooo…" Her voice trailed off into an embarrassed whimper as her face grew increasingly flushed. "It's just like in some of those books, isn't it?"

Cael's heart pounded in his chest as he tried to keep himself from melting into a puddle of mortified goo. He could see the gears turning in her head as everything suddenly got recontextualized for her, and the result was clearly an uncomfortable one.

"I am… so sorry." Val hid her face behind her hands and let out a loud, distressed whine.

"It's okay. It's fine." He tried to calm her down.

"No, it is not okay!" She shook her head vigorously, keeping her face hidden. "I… I have no idea how to properly process what I've just learned. I mean, now I want to do it even more—ACK! Wait, no! I'm not supposed to say that!"

Cael had to bite his tongue to keep himself from laughing at her adorable panic despite how embarrassed he was too. "Val, really, it's fine. Just take a deep breath. In and out. Come on, breathe."

He inhaled and exhaled slowly, and she copied him. After a moment of breathing exercises, she finally lowered her hands from her face, revealing a still-flustered expression.

"…As much as I'd like to talk some more, perhaps we should start moving again," Val said softly. "I'd rather not camp this far into the forest if we can, and if we keep up our pace, we may arrive before the end of the day."

Cael awkwardly coughed and cleared his throat. "That's probably for the best. We can, erm, finish talking about this later… if you want."

"S-sure," she mumbled, standing up and grabbing her bag.

He quickly followed her lead, picking up his own and starting to follow her deeper into the woods, the path getting narrower as they went.

Cael glanced at Val, whose face was still a bit pink, and he briefly wondered what she was thinking.

…Perhaps he was better off not knowing. He didn't need any more fuel for his imagination.