The set meal had been quite delicious, Jin reflected.
Reiko offered her own analysis. "The balance of seasoning was handled skillfully."
"...Still, I wonder who decided to name that dish the Magi Craft Meister set meal." It certainly had matched his personal tastes, though.
"I'm sorry. Did you want some?"
"No, if I ever crave it, I'll just have you make it on Hourai Island, Elsa."
"...Mm."
With that exchange finished, Jin and his party set out from Torinte Town, heading for Loloon Town.
The roads had grown fairly crowded, reducing even their Golem automobile to the pace of an ordinary carriage. As a result, it was already evening by the time they arrived.
"Road maintenance still has a long way to go around here."
"Mm."
Carrying Jin and the others, the Golem automobile rolled slowly into Loloon Town. A few similar Golem automobiles could be spotted here and there.
"Well then, shall we stay at that inn?"
"...Hotel Lenore?"
"Yeah, that's the one."
It was an establishment recommended by an informant named Fernan when they had visited four hundred years ago, and both Jin and Elsa remembered it fondly. Furthermore, Jin had stayed there with Lordtoss just last year when he was still unfamiliar with this world.
They followed Central Thoroughfare straight ahead and took a right at an intersection. There, in a corner on the northern side of town, was a park. Standing adjacent to the park was the large establishment known as Hotel Lenore.
"Is it the same as back then?...No, it looks like it's been touched up a bit."
Elsa compared the sight with her memories of that era and arrived at the correct conclusion. During his stay with Lordtoss, Jin had left the payment entirely to his companion and hadn't paid any mind to the room rates, but...
"...It looks expensive."
Still, it wasn't as if they couldn't afford it. Since the opportunity had presented itself, Jin and Elsa decided to lodge there.
"Welcome. Please pull your vehicle around this way."
As they drove onto the premises, an attendant directed them to the parking area. The staff seemed prepared to store and manage the vehicle properly, so Jin brought Hope along as all four of them went in to check in.
Their room was 216, situated deep down the second-floor hall.
"Twenty thousand Toll a night for the four of us, huh..."
Four hundred years ago, the price had been ten thousand Toll, meaning the cost had doubled. Incidentally, Hope, despite being a golem, was billed at the standard human rate. Reiko was also treated as a human guest.
"I am terribly sorry, Master."
Hope bowed in contrition, but Jin told him not to worry about it. Spending money was, after all, one of the objectives of this trip.
"Hmm. The building is decent enough, I suppose."
Both the construction and the materials were utterly unremarkable—neither particularly good nor noticeably flawed. As a four-person suite, the space felt slightly cramped, but between the golem Hope and the automata Reiko, only Jin and Elsa would actually be using the amenities. For two people, the size was more than adequate.
"Still, I feel like the overall quality has dropped compared to four hundred years ago."
Jin nodded in agreement with Elsa's assessment.
"Yeah....Maybe management changed hands."
A lot can change over four centuries. That was simply inevitable, Jin noted.
"They mentioned we can have our meals served in the room or down in the dining hall. What would you like to do?"
"Mm. I'd like breakfast in the room, but dinner in the dining hall."
"Sounds good."
Four hundred years ago, they had booked a room, only to cross paths with Catherine de Lafayette—the former duchess—shortly after. One thing led to another, and they had ended up invited to her estate instead. As a result, they had never actually slept or dined here. It made sense, then, that Elsa wanted to experience both room service and the dining hall. Since requesting room service required informing the staff at the dining hall anyway, they needed to make the trip down at least once.
"Let's take a bath first, though."
"Mm."
After soaking in the modular bath adjoining their room, Jin and Elsa headed down to the dining hall at six thirty in the evening, accompanied by Reiko and Hope.
"Oh, it's quite lively in here."
Though the dining hall was fairly spacious, roughly eighty percent of the tables were occupied. Spotting an empty table tucked in a corner, they took their seats. A waiter approached almost immediately. Upon seeing the key stamped with their room number, he prepared to take their order.
"If you order Course A, there will be a wait of about twenty minutes at present. Course B can be served immediately."
A quick glance at the menu revealed that Course A was essentially a full Western-style dinner, while Course B resembled a traditional Japanese-style set meal.
"Course B for all of us, then."
"Right away, sir."
The waiter bowed and excused himself. Barely two minutes later, a waitress arrived bearing meals for three. Jin was quietly impressed by the speed.
"Please enjoy your meal."
The food looked quite appetizing. The spread consisted of rice porridge, miso soup with Devil's Potato and marunegi, a plain omelet, pigu pork sauteed with janzy, oshinko, small fish tsukudani, and a fresh vegetable salad.
"As for the porridge... well, it feels like they only made porridge because they didn't know how to steam plain rice properly."
"The miso soup lacks any real dashi flavor."
"The omelet appears to be cooked thoroughly."
Murmuring critiques to one another like seasoned food reviewers, Jin and the others cleaned their plates.
"I'd give it about seventy points."
"...Sixty-five."
Elsa proved to be the harsher critic.
Once they finished eating, Kaina tea was brought out, much to their surprise. What was more, it tasted reasonably good.
"This flavor really settles the nerves."
"Mm. Ninety points."
While Jin and Elsa relaxed over their tea, a pair of patrons approached their table. One was a woman in her mid-twenties, accompanied by a man around thirty. Jin watched them out of the corner of his eye, wondering if they were husband and wife. The woman stepped closer, her eyes lingering on Hope before turning to Jin.
"Excuse me, does that golem behind you belong to you?"
"Eh? Ah, yes, he does, but..."
"...Are you 'participating' as well?"
"Huh? 'Participating'? What do you mean?"
Baffled by her phrasing, Jin eyed her with a puzzled frown.
"...My apologies. It seems I was mistaken."
Offering a brief apology, the woman and her companion turned and walked away.
"...What was that all about?"
"Incomprehensible."
Jin and Elsa exchanged glances and tilted their heads in confusion.