"Which one of you ordered the 'Great Spicy Mapo Tofu?'"
"That'd be me."
Laharl proudly raised his arm, his face with a suave smile.
"And who ordered the Tower of Pan and Cakes?"
"Oh, that's mine."
Etna happily replied, an open palm raised, from across Laharl's seat. Her elbows were on the table with both knuckles by her cheeks.
"And your drinks..."
"The Lemonhell soda," replied both of them at the same time.
"Of course, sir and madame." The waitress bowed as she signaled her coworkers to bring her their food in two carts. "We apologize for the delays. We didn't expect two simultaneous orders of Galaxy-sized portions."
"Yeah, yeah, just beat it already," Laharl shooed them away.
"By your leave, Great Overlord Laharl." The woman bowed once again before leaving. Her shaking legs were apparent for everyone to see. "Enjoy your dinner."
Hurriedly, the food crew left for the kitchen.
"What's up with them?" Laharl raised a brow.
"They probably didn't expect Sicily's brother to come into the fray." Etna chuckled as she picked her tableware. "Must be a rude awakening for them."
"That's fine and all, but..." Laharl's voice trailed as he looked at the ginormous size of the dish in-front of him and the food inside it. "How do I even eat this with how big it is?"
"What's that, Laharl?" Etna peeked from behind a three kilometers tall tower of cakes and pancakes, except it had lost a sixteenth of its mass with a gaping hole to its side. "Just eat it like you would eat your food, stupid."
"How did you..." Laharl's eyes widened from the hole that was left in Etna's tower. "You know what, I'll shut up and eat."
"Mmm mmm! Delicious!" Etna squealed, her prince ignored.
Only one way to continue, it seemed.
Taking a large spoonful of his mapo tofu, Laharl immediately broke a sweat. He wasn't sure how spicy the food would be, but he had to take the chance. He was a thrill seeker, and he wasn't letting the cutout of the chef calling him a wuss defeat him.
He inserted the spoonful inside his mouth... and it was delicious.
The spice was just the right amount. The spiciness of its soup meld well with the crisp yet soft tofu inside the soup. The aroma of hell inside the minced meats were deceptive in masking the refined taste the dish had. Though his the combination of all of them stung the inside of his mouth, he felt energy welling within him, as if urging him not to stop eating. Just one spoonful and anyone would get hooked!
In ten minutes time, Laharl had finished his dish and let out a loud burp.
"My compliments to the chef." Laharl tossed his toothpick to the bottomless mapo dish. "Sicily was right on the money. This is good."
"And all expenses paid for too!" Etna carefully ate the strawberry shortcake before her. "Though I'm sure she paid this out of her pocket."
"Obviously," he stated. "That meddling sister of mine needs to chill out."
"That's rich coming from you," she pointed out as she finished the opera cake beside the empty pan of fruit tart. "You're not exactly the most demure person."
"Yeah, yeah," he resigned.
Laharl watched as Etna licked the strawberry cream stuck close to her lips, before downing two different-creamed eclairs. Gazing silently at her, Laharl drank his soda. Taking in the moment as it slowly passed him by.
Until Etna noticed his gaze.
Etna looked upward, her meek face a slight hue of red.
"...What?" Etna called out. "Do you have a problem with how much I'm eating."
"I like to see you when you eat, Etna." Laharl bluntly stated, a cocky grin on his face. "Everything you ate looked absolutely delicious from here."
"Wha..." Etna's eyes widened as her lips lost its composure. "S-Stupid! If you're eyeing for my cake you don't need to spout something so cheesy!"
Etna turned to her side, ears hidden by her covering hand.
Still, the tip of her ear was red.
Laharl chuckled, unable to contain his teasing side.
Etna, who quietly resumed eating, was staring daggers at Laharl.
"Idiot Prince."
Ten minutes later, Etna had finished her food. The peaceful atmosphere still lingered around them. In the end, Etna wouldn't mind returning to this restaurant again.
When the bill was brought out, three waitresses were prostrating themselves. They were asking if Laharl and Etna was unsatisfied, demanding that they bring out the bill to him. A red flag in their eyes for sure.
Instead of a lecture and a half, Laharl brought out a bag of money from his dimensional pocket.
"Here's the tip. Should also cover the money Sicily would imburse you guys," Laharl explained. "Tell that meddling sister of mine to knock it off."
They picked up the bag full of HLs as of they had received something from a king.
Laharl could only laugh dryly from how hard they tried to please his ego.
Even when he told them to stop, they watched the two travelling demons with deep bows from the entire waiter and maid teams.
The of them were now walking aimlessly, somehow ending in the Academy's Main Street. The maze-like architectures finally showing its purpose.
It wasn't crowded, probably because the main street were rarely used compared to the plethora of small alleyways riddling its surroundings.
Taking in the sight, Laharl quickly realized how different this Netherworld was to his own. Compared to his rustic, quiet kingdom, the one which the Overlord managed here felt all over the place. Only an insane deviant would design their Netherworld like a circus parade.
His eyes looked all over, but nothing else fancied him.
"So, what now, oh Great Overlord?" Etna teased, a big grin on her face. "Are we going to hit the next stand and bankrupt our Netherworld?"
Laharl scoffed to her hedonistic idea. "Please, that was basically chump change."
"My foot!" Etna retorted. "Those money was straight out of your pocket. Is this one of your pride, Prince?"
"...I can't have Sicily pay for that meal." Laharl turned around, a confident smile on his face. "Your happiness should come out of my own pocket. That's what I believe."
Suddenly, an explosion appeared in the sky, creating a lightshow for the evening time.
"Oh, a firework show," Laharl turned back to see the blinding lights. "Must be one of my sister's scheme again."
With the light behind him, Etna thought that, for just one moment, Laharl looked really cool.
She felt her heart thumping faster, now sure of the feeling in her mind.
Etna had known since long time ago, but it seemed she couldn't repress it anymore.
Hiding her emotion, she sat on her feet and curled into a ball where she stood. Her arms hid the grinning face she was holding back for so long. Her heart was in shambles, her heartbeat drowning the thoughts in her head.
She let out a heavy sigh, trying to stabilize herself, but it was no use.
"I can't believe I'm... in love with Laharl."
She buried her face deeper inside her crossed arms, blocking her eyes from her gallant overlord.