Aurora Over a Dead World

"...So... this is it?" Zenith asks as I bring her to a small, not very well-known snack cart, but one I’ve tried and liked before.

"Yeah, I brought you here to eat. I know you don’t like fancy restaurants, you don’t like crowded places, and you especially hate having something bothering you when you’re trying to relax, so I brought you here," I say to Zenith, knowing this might be the best spot.

"...Yeah, I hope the food is good." She just accepts it, which makes me smile. I walk up to the vehicle’s counter while Zenith sits down on a folding chair beside it.

"Whoa, boss, you around here?" The vendor says, recognizing me as I give him a nod.

"Old man, I see you’re still alive," I say to him with a grin, and he lets out a restrained laugh.

"Yeah, life hasn’t been easy, but I’ve been holding up alright. So... you on a date?" He gestures toward Zenith, who is waiting.

"Yeah, so make the food with some real care. I’ll leave it up to you." When I say that, he looks confident.

"Perfect, I have the perfect recipe for a date. Just wait a moment."

"..." I nod in confirmation and go over to Zenith, sitting down across from her. Zenith looks at the vehicle and then at me.

"Interesting choice. How did you find this place?"

"It was a while back, on that day you weren’t doing so well and I went out on a mission and later looked for a place to eat, and I ended up finding this spot. He usually moves around the streets, but he’s generally in these parts around dusk."

"Unfortunately, you never ended up meeting him because the times I came here, you were never with me." It was just Zenith’s bad luck.

"Whatever. Honestly, you have strange taste sometimes. I really hope the food is good. Food is something that has to be good!!" She says it in a way that sounds kind of cute to me.

"You’ll like it, just be patient." While we wait, I ask about her routine, and she talks about her students. Honestly, I don’t know much about her routine or her students.

I barely know her students. Astrid only gave me the absolute bare minimum of information, but from what Zenith is saying, they seem dangerous.

’...That liar, Astrid...’ I get irritated with what I’m hearing. Astrid said she would "protect" Zenith, and even so, Zenith turns out to be with dangerous and unstable people.

"...You seem tense. Something wrong?" she asks, and I shake my head.

"Nothing’s wrong... you just have complicated students." I just say that as the food finally arrives.

"Here’s your order." He looks at me and gives a nod, serving two dishes. Zenith watches the food, and I’m also curious about his choice of food.

’Hmmm...’ It’s a dish with a kind of hot dog, but covered in a chili-like sauce and sprinkled with ground beef on top. The bread also looks homemade, so it’s much bigger than a normal bun.

"The smell is great and the generosity with the food is a good thing," Zenith says, picking up the bread with a napkin.

"Yeah, the old man really is generous with the food." I pick up mine with a napkin and try it. The taste is a little spicy, but overall very good. The meat is well-cooked, and I’m not sure what was used for the meat inside the bread that’s different from the meat on top, but it’s tasty too.

"Hmm..." I look at Zenith eating. She seems content, so I consider that bringing her to this place was a success. I was a little tense that she wouldn’t like it.

"I see you still eat like a teenager," I tease, seeing the sauce on her cheek.

"...You’re annoying, you know that? Can’t you just let me eat in peace?"

"If I don’t say anything and try to wipe it with a cloth, you’ll crush my hand. It’s scary trying to be a gentleman with you," I say playfully as I grab a cloth and approach carefully. She lets me clean it and goes back to eating, uninterested in me.

"At least tell me if you liked the food."

"It’s great, it’s great, okay? Although I don’t prefer spicy things, it’s a good dish. But what the hell is this supposed to be? Some kind of mutant hot dog?" She speaks, moving the food in an exaggerated way as sauce almost drips out of the bread.

"It looks like he mixed chili with a hot dog and a meat bun! And it worked, I’m not complaining, it’s just food with a weird shape, I’d say unusual!" She takes another large bite as if to prove her point about the food.

"The old man is good at making unique foods, that’s why I brought you here. Nothing on his menu is common, which is one of the reasons he doesn’t have many customers, but he has loyal ones."

"Why do you call him ’old man’? Normally you’re all polite and formal with people. Are you in some kind of rebellious phase? Age has finally hit you, huh? You’re not getting any younger, you know? You’re close to 40. It’s even a little unfair you’re so handsome near 40. Age forgot to make you look older!" she says, almost indignant.

"I need to maintain my good looks for you. Besides, the ’old man’ introduced himself as ’old man’ to me. I don’t even know his name, even though I’ve come here a few times. Plus, he calls practically every guy that shows up ’boss’ or something similar."

"So I was just playing along with the game... do you want anything else?" I see she’s finished her food and ask. She seems thoughtful for a moment.

"Something sweet to drink, maybe something blended. By the way, are you going to eat that? You don’t seem to want it. You’ve barely taken a few bites." I get up, handing mine to her since, despite being good, I really wasn’t hungry, and I walk closer to the food vehicle, waving to the old man.

"Something more, boss?"

"She wants something sweet, a drink, preferably blended. Can you make something to impress her?"

"..." He uses his forearm to push his blond hair up, a rare chance to fully see his eyes, which are a very dark black due to the nighttime lighting.

"She’s a really pretty lady. Are you taking her to bed tonight? Are you gonna put her on the ’grill,’ my young friend?" His question is relatively polite despite the vocabulary.

"Hahaha, you know how it is, right? I’ve known her for quite a while and tonight we’ll have something ’special,’ so I want to make her happy. She’s a difficult woman! A lioness, but she’s very gentle on the inside."

"Hmmm, she seems like a complicated woman to deal with. I think I have just the right thing. It’s a very pleasant blended fruit cocktail, sweet and with a great effect for women."

"Effect?"

"Oh yes, young man, fruits have incredible power, and the right mix can stir up a man’s or a woman’s night. Just wait a moment. I have to check the recipe. It’s been a while since I’ve made this one for a couple." He mistakes us for a couple, though I don’t correct that assumption.

’Fruits...’ I get curious about something, and while he gets the blender to mix the fruits, I decide to ask.

"You sell things as a hobby, right?" I try not to be intrusive, but some points catch my attention. The food is relatively cheap, generous in portions, he has few customers, and he has a relatively expensive vehicle. Meaning, he doesn’t earn enough from sales for the life he seems to have. After all, fruits are expensive, unlike heavily processed items.

And he just took out several fresh fruits. I deduce he sells things more as a hobby than out of necessity.

"Ah yes, it’s a rather expensive hobby, but I enjoy it. Modern kitchens don’t make food with enough love, lacking passion in the spatulas and strength in the spoon. Today’s cooks bind themselves too much to limits. Food shouldn’t be limited by incapable hands." He throws some fruits I know and others I don’t quite recognize into the blender and blends them all, then makes a mixture of water, ice, and lemon in a large glass.

"You cook really well. Are you the owner of some expensive, famous restaurant?"

"I wish. I’m not anyone that important, but it would be great to spread my cooking that way. However, the fact that I have few customers also has its charm, don’t you think? A special little corner in the city that only a limited number of people know about." He speaks, pouring the blended fruit mixture into the water with ice. He caps the large glass with a proper lid and shakes it, mixing the liquids.

"Here you go. Your girl will no doubt like this. Don’t forget to stop by again, and I’ll let the drink be on the house this time. It’s love, right? You should hook this woman. I can see you like her."

"Thanks, old man... here’s the payment for the meal... ah, before I give this to her... you didn’t put anything suspicious in here, did you?"

"Of course not. It’s just a good combination of fruits. After all, you always start by winning a lady over through her stomach, my young friend. I understand what you meant, but nothing aphrodisiac, just fruit! Trust me, women love this stuff!" I hand him the money and go over to Zenith, trusting his word because of the sincerity they convey.

"Don’t forget to use protection!"

"Hahaha, you got it." It won’t be necessary, but I give him a cheerful answer since he’s a pleasant guy.

"Zenith, I brought your order." Zenith, twirling a spoon between her fingers, stares at me.

"So, I’m going to be put on the ’grill’ tonight, huh? Like a piece of meat."

"...I... didn’t say that, and we’re not using those words..." She, who undoubtedly heard everything, has a look I can’t decipher.

"Whatever. This drink had better be good. Since you’re bribing me with food, I expect the best." She takes the glass from my hand and starts to drink.

"..." I wait anxiously for the response. If she gets irritated, the night will undoubtedly be hard for me.

"Oh... this... is really good? Like, it’s a sweet, slightly strange taste, a bit syrupy, but the flavor is a 10. It’s almost a natural juice, but I notice a slight natural alcoholic touch, probably from some fruit. I don’t know what fruits he used, but the flavor doesn’t remind me of anything specific. So I give this ’old man’ a good evaluation. He has excellent hands for the kitchen." When she praises it, I sigh in relief.

"Yes, yes, he’s great at that. As soon as you’re done, we can go somewhere more private or to your apartment."

"...I’d prefer a motel. My apartment has Nexus and I don’t want him snooping. I prefer the privacy of a room that won’t record us." She says it as if it’s common, accepting it much more peacefully than usual, which makes me look at the old man and give him a thumbs up.

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