I watched a moving movie with Nina.
For the time being, we took our seats and ordered a three-person serving of all-you-can-eat. There’s a time limit, but during that time, we can order meat and vegetables as much as we want. And the pot that was brought was shallow. Sharin peered into the pot with a look of understanding.
“So that’s what it is. Hmm, so this is where we cook the meat.”
As for the meat itself, it was paper-thin. Could this be shabu-shabu?
“Oh, the meat is very thin. That’s why it’s all-you-can-eat.”
“Hmph, what a stingy restaurant.”
As for the vegetables, there were plenty of things like garland chrysanthemum.
“This is how this dish is made. I had it in my world too. You just dip the meat in hot water like this, and you can eat it right away.”
“I see, this way we can eat a lot.”
Eating the vegetables wrapped around it was refreshing and delicious. It’s no wonder this is the country of Flower Harpies. They eat meat, but they primarily like vegetables. This way, the oil drips off, making it easier to eat.
“I-it is indeed tasty, but it’s hot!”
Sharin seemed to have a sensitive tongue and had trouble eating. Meanwhile, Philiana scooped all the meat on her plate into the pot. Then she ate it all at once.
“Mmm, this is the best. Please bring more.”
The other customers stopped eating and stared in amazement. Now I understood why Centaurs were forbidden. If they were allowed all-you-can-eat, they would eat endlessly. Sharin was dumbfounded watching Philiana gobble down meat in front of her.
“…I think I’ll have dessert.”
“Me too.”
In the end, she had countless refills.
“Whew, I ate a lot. It was delicious.”
“Y-yes, it was. You can really eat a lot.”
“Of course, we have two stomachs.”
Come to think of it, Centaurs are a combination of human and horse, but what’s inside? I had asked Philiana about it before, but it remained a mystery.
“Two stomachs, how does that work?”
“First, there’s the human stomach, right? Then it goes to the intestines, where there’s a second stomach, and then more intestines. That’s why we can eat both meat and vegetables. We also have two hearts to pump blood throughout our entire bodies.”
With their large bodies, they probably consume a lot of energy. If they didn’t have two hearts, oxygen wouldn’t be able to reach their whole bodies.
“You know a lot about yourself, so it’s natural.”
“No, I read it in a book. Apparently, the human part doesn’t have a large intestine and connects directly. They also have large lungs. Well, that’s natural given their size.”
According to her, they have livers in both parts. However, since there are only two kidneys in the horse part, it’s dangerous if they get sick.
“But if you have two hearts, you should be fine even if one fails.”
“No, it doesn’t work that way. If you only had one, it would work overtime and lead to a condition called cardiac hypertrophy.”
Well, it’s not that simple. At least she seemed satisfied, so that was good.
On the way back to the lodging, we bought the necessary supplies for our journey. With this, we should be able to depart tomorrow. It’s a nice place, but it’s not good to overstay. We should move before rumors spread.
Now, how should we travel to our next destination? I’ve had enough of trains. Walking would be good, but if the roads are paved, a carriage would also be nice. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to rent a small one and take turns riding it.
And so, the next morning, we decided to rent a carriage to travel to the next village. Unfortunately, the larger members had to walk, but this made carrying our luggage much easier. As we moved away from the country, the buildings became farther apart, and fields began to appear in the distance.
The next village will likely be a farming one too. They probably sell the crops they grow in the fields to the city.
“Um, what kind of place is that next village?”
I asked the coachman who was driving the carriage.
“Huh? There’s nothin’ there. Veggies, chickens, and cows, maybe. Oh, but I heard they grow flowers that are shipped to the royal family. I’m not that interested, so I don’t know.”
That’s probably about right. It’s good that it seems like a peaceful village.
“There are a few small settlements scattered around here. I’m a delivery man, by the way.”
I see. In that case, let’s head out, moving from settlement to settlement until sunset. On the peaceful country roads, houses occasionally appeared scattered here and there. However, rather than settlements, it felt more like houses gathered at regular intervals. Sometimes we passed carts loaded with vegetables.
That was pretty much all we encountered. On the hills, herds of cows were grazing. This scenery continued on and on until finally, night fell. By the way, we had the coachman finish his work when we got close to a village.
“Let’s call it a day here.”
“Yes, we’re tired from walking all day.”
Philiana set down the luggage she was carrying. We lit a bonfire and prepared dinner. We can rest assured knowing Veronica will be on guard tonight.
Just then, a man walked toward us on the dark road.
