Law of Space and Time

Chapter 18-2: Acquaintance (2)

Erwin was still feeling very sluggish as he was dragged out of the tent by Kaiba and Chase. They arrived at the entrance of a certain restaurant, and there were several burly guards standing outside. Generally speaking, only the most popular restaurants in the area would hire guards in case someone started trouble after having too much to drink. However, it was very rare to see a restaurant hire so many guards, and all of them looked to be very capable fighters. 

As such, Erwin was rather bemused at the sight of the guards at the entrance, who were barring his trio from entry into the restaurant.

"Show them your sword badge," Chase said as he turned to Erwin. "I'm talking about that iris sword badge that you wear into the tournament venue."

Erwin was rather perplexed by this request, but he still did as he was told, pulling his iris sword badge out of his pocket. At this point, the number that was surrounded by petals of the iris flower on the badge had already been reduced to 16.

The guards took a glance at Erwin's sword badge, and looks of admiration immediately appeared on their faces as they granted entry to Erwin and his friends.

"What kind of place is this? Erwin asked with a puzzled expression. "Why do they only allow people with iris sword badges to enter?"

"Probably just to create a sense of mystery and exclusivity," Kaiba explained. "Apparently, only participants of the Pillow Sword Tournament and the friends that they bring along with them can enter this place."

"I thought that was a bluff, I didn't think that they would actually have guards checking for iris sword badges. It's a good thing we brought you with us," Chase said with a smile.

With that piece of context provided, Erwin became rather intrigued by this restaurant. As soon as they entered the restaurant, Erwin's trio couldn't help but draw a collective sharp breath. From the outside, the restaurant appeared to be nothing more than a normal tent, but its interior was an entirely different story. The entire ground had been hollowed out, and only after entering the tent did one realize that this was actually a luxury three-story restaurant with two underground levels.

Erwin inspected his surroundings to find that the walls were constructed from sliced cylindrical logs, over which was intricately draped a layer of dark vines. There were also orange magic gemstone lamps hanging on the walls, as well as elegant oil paintings positioned at set intervals, giving the restaurant a refined and sophisticated atmosphere.

The restaurant's lighting was also very praiseworthy, with giant lamps hanging from the top of the tent directly down to the three underground floors, and floor lamps were also embedded into the wooden floorboards on each level. In addition to that, lights were also placed along the railings of the stairs, ensuring that all three levels were brightly lit, but not excessively radiant and disorienting. It was clear that much thought had gone into the restaurant's construction.

Even Chase and Kaiba were astonished by the extravagant design of the restaurant.

"Man, I bet the prices they charge at this restaurant must be extremely high," Erwin remarked. "Looks like Larwood's going all-out on this date."

 "Indeed," Kaiba replied with a nod. "We need to hurry up and find out where he's sitting."

Thus, the three of them began to scour through the three levels to search for Larwood. However, before they managed to spot Larwood, many of the customers in the restaurant had already recognized Erwin. In fact, Erwin had been spotted as soon as the trio had entered the restaurant, and there were already many pairs of eyes being directed toward them.

Even Erwin himself was oblivious to the fact that aside from Princess Onean, Lana, and Jeff, he was the hot favorite to win the entire tournament!

What was even more surprising to Erwin was that Lana and Jeff just so happened to also be having lunch at this restaurant. In addition to that, Princess Onean was also there, and all three of them were seated on the bottom floor of the restaurant.

What are the chances that I meet all three of them at the same place? Erwin thought to himself with an awkward expression, and he suddenly had the urge to give Chase and Kaiba a vicious beating!

Given that many of the restaurant's customers were already looking at Erwin, Lana also quickly spotted him, as did Princess Onean. However, Lana only took a cold glance at him before averting her gaze as if Erwin were a complete stranger to her.

In contrast, Princess Onean was much more hospitable, and she waved a hand in Erwin's direction, inviting him to take a seat with her.

If I go and sit with her, other people will think that I agreed to meet up with her here in advance. To make matters even worse, Lana is also here. I bet she's going to get the wrong idea again, Erwin thought to himself with a resigned expression.

"Hey, I think Her Highness is waving at you," Chase said in a quiet voice. He was speaking to Erwin, but his gaze was directed toward Kaiba, and both of them were very eager to see what happened next.

"Hurry up and get over there, Erwin! You can't leave Her Highness hanging!" Kaiba urged as he fought back a sly smile.

"I should've just stayed in the tent and kept on sleeping! You two have completely screwed me over here!" Erwin said in a quiet voice, barely moving his lips in the process. Despite what he was saying, the smile on his face remained completely unchanged.

"Well, it's too late now. Hurry up and go speak to Her Highness. Oh, I can see Larwood!" Chase quickly dragged Kaiba away as he spoke.

Erwin turned toward the direction that they were facing, and he spotted Larwood and Gwen on the second floor. To his surprise, the two of them were also looking at him. They were here to catch Larwood on his secret date with Gwen, yet he was the one who had been caught red-handed instead.

With that in mind, Erwin couldn't help but heave a resigned internal sigh. What was most exasperating to him was that there was nothing going on between him and Princess Onean, but the circumstances made it appear as if there were something between them.

In order to not offend the princess, Erwin could only accept her invitation and make his way toward her table.

Only after reaching the bottom floor did Erwin discover that there were two other people seated at Lana's table in addition to her and Jeff. They just so happened to be sitting in a corner that was a blind spot for those on the top floor. One of the two people was Byron, and the person seated beside Byron was someone that Erwin didn't recognize. His first impression of the man was that his face was as long as a baguette, and that his beady little eyes were like a pair of raisins that had been unintentionally dropped onto the baguette. His skin was also quite terrible, so he applied a lot of oil onto his own face to conceal his shortcomings, but that only made him look more like a baguette. Looking at him from afar, Erwin was given quite a fright as he thought he was looking at a baguette dipped in oil having a meal.

As Erwin was passing by Lana's table, Lana continued to ignore him. In contrast, Jeff was looking at Erwin with a hint of hostility in his eyes, while Byron was watching him with an expression of gloating smugness. The "baguette" also raised his head to take a glance at Erwin, and Erwin felt as if he were being inspected by a piece of bread. This was the straw that broke the camel's back for him, and he was unable to hold back his mirth any longer as he burst into laughter at the sight of the man's pair of raisin-like eyes, then began coughing to disguise his laughter.

Lana's head was still lowered, but she snuck a glance at Erwin out of the corners of her eyes upon hearing Erwin's fake coughing. She then took a glance at the person seated beside Byron, and the corners of her lips turned upward slightly in amusement. It was clear that she had also caught on to what Erwin was laughing at.

The "baguette" was a very sensitive person, and a resentful look appeared on his face as he glowered at Erwin. Of course, the faint smile that had appeared on Lana's face didn't escape his notice, either.

Erwin knew that he was being rather rude, so he quickly passed by Lana's table before taking a seat across from Onean.

As a result, the circulating rumors regarding the love triangle between Lana, Erwin, and Onean began to lean more toward Erwin and Onean being a couple, while Lana was more like the victim of an unrequited love toward Erwin.

"What were you laughing at just now?" Onean asked with a curious expression.

"Look at that man over there. Doesn't he look like a baguette?" Erwin gestured toward the direction of Byron's table with his eyes.

Onean took a glance in that direction, and she was also unable to suppress her amusement as she clasped a hand over her own mouth to silence her own laughter.

"Take a look at his eyes as well. Don't they look like the baker accidentally dropped a pair of raisins onto the baguette before baking it?" Erwin continued in a low voice, and he was also fighting to suppress his own laughter as he intentionally squinted to get his point across.

Onean took another look at the man upon hearing Erwin's description, and she was unable to maintain her composure any longer as she buried her face into the crook of her own elbow and laughed silently into the table. Her shoulders were shaking with the force of her laughter, but she didn't dare to laugh out loud, and her ears were turning red from her effort to suppress her own voice.

"Alright, let's not make jokes about other people's appearances. That's very bad taste and should be looked down on," Erwin said in a serious voice as he put on a stern expression.

Onean raised her head, and only then did she notice that there were tears swimming in her own eyes from laughing. She took a moment to arrange her slightly disheveled hair, then gave Erwin a displeased pout before she was finally able to regain her composure.

There was still a hint of moisture in her gorgeous eyes, and the delicate flush on her face still hadn't faded yet. Once again, Erwin found himself completely captivated by her beauty, unable to speak or look away.

Initially, Onean didn't realize what Erwin was doing, and she looked back at Erwin with a quizzical expression, wondering why he wasn't saying anything. However, Erwin only continued to stare at her with a blank expression, and she finally cleared her throat to snap him out of his reverie.

Erwin immediately returned to his senses with a shake of his head, and he knew that he had just been very rude to an important member of the royal family. This wasn't the first time he had been mesmerized by Onean's beauty, and he made a mental note to avoid looking too closely at her in the future.

"Do you normally stare at Miss Lana like that as well?" Onean asked with a disgruntled expression. "No wonder she tried to kill you the first time you met."

"N, no, I don't," Erwin hurriedly said with an awkward expression, then called over the waiter to make an order so that he could alleviate the awkward atmosphere.

At this point, Lana and the others had already finished their meals and were preparing to leave. Even as she stood up to depart, Lana still didn't spare Erwin a single glance, and he was truly perplexed, wondering what he had done wrong to deserve this.

As the "baguette" was getting up to leave, he gave Erwin a parting glare, and Erwin wasn't impressed by the man's pettiness. It seemed that not only was his appearance quite lackluster, his ability to take a joke was also very subpar.

Onean was a regular customer at this restaurant, and she recommended a few dishes for Erwin. After tasting each of the dishes, Erwin was quite impressed by Onean's taste in food.

The two of them dined together until it was after 1 PM before they left to go to the tournament venue. During this time, Larwood and Gwen had already finished their meal, and as he was leaving, Larwood gave Erwin a subtle look of encouragement, to which Erwin responded with a look of his own, which said "you're not doing too badly yourself, brother". Larwood and Gwen were immediately followed by Kaiba and Chase, who whistled in a suggestive manner as they passed by Erwin's table, and Erwin was very thankful that the princess wasn't one to be bothered by such trivial things.