Elion silently waited for his order while listening to the 14-year-old girl give her lecture. His order was slightly delayed.
As it turned out, the delay was because one person couldn't control herself and ordered a lot of food. Everything would have been fine, but she asked the woman at the register to bring their food together rather than separately, which made the situation worse for Elion.
After more than twenty minutes, their order was finally brought to them.
Elion received three plates and a jug with a glass, while Noel received three times as many plates.
He said nothing, thanked his lucky stars that the twenty-minute lecture was finally over, and dug into his late lunch.
"Wow!" Meanwhile, the girl's eyes sparkled at the huge variety of food. After what seemed like an eternity, her lectures fell silent and were replaced by the sweet sounds of enjoying the food.
After a long time, their "conversations" finally fell silent, and everyone focused on their food.
While eating, Elion realized with surprise that, after years of eating food that was good only for his health and not for pleasure, he had grown to love vegetables and other greens. This was surely unheard of for an ordinary child, but the boy enjoyed his vegetable salad.
After a while, when the young people's plates were half empty, two young men approached their table and addressed Noel.
"Good afternoon, young lady. I'm Mark, and my friend Leslie noticed your beauty and refined nature. He would like to invite you to join us and treat you to something delicious. What do you say?" said a handsome blond man in his twenties.
Noel's eyes, which had been focused solely on her food, widened. Tapping the table, she looked up at Elion and shouted with her mouth full,
"Forget it! I was talking!" She had attracted the attention of the guy fussing with his spaghetti.
"Hey! I'm talking to you!" she shouted, getting the attention of the guy digging into his spaghetti.
Elion glanced at her briefly, then looked back at the spaghetti tangled in melted cheese.
He had more serious problems to deal with.
"Gah," the girl sighed dejectedly, her mouth still full.
After taking the time to chew her food, she looked over at the guys, whose faces showed slight irritation.
"Hehe, I'm having lunch with my fiancé, so no. Don't lose hope; you'll meet someone!" she said cheerfully.
As for her fiancé, he didn't pay any attention to the situation. He was busy catching huge pieces of spaghetti mixed with melted cheese with his mouth. He thought:
"Next time, I should start with these."
The two guys had left long ago, and Elion finished his piece of meat and washed it down with the remaining water.
Meanwhile, Noel shared her impressions of the food with him and sometimes took the jug from him to wash down the spiciness.
His plan to finish his meal early and escape his cheeky companion failed because he spent time fiddling with the pasta and adjusting his hair so it wouldn't get in the way of eating. His hair tie had broken during sparring. Not only did his plan fail, but he also had to listen to incredible stories about how sweet complements spicy, creating an unforgettable new experience.
After finally finishing his meal and taking a last sip of water, Elion, thoroughly tired of the noise around him, silently got up and headed for the exit without waiting for his companion.
Opening the double doors, the young man was greeted by the dazzling sun and clear blue sky. His face immediately relaxed, and the noise from the restaurant finally subsided.
"Haah..." He sighed with relief.
"Haah..." came an identical sigh from nearby.
... Relaxed, Elion didn't notice the annoying sounds around him. He silently walked toward the dormitory, lifting his face to the sun like a sunflower.
Ah, there's nothing better than a relaxing walk after a hearty lunch.
— ... He didn't answer.
"Hey!" The girl poked him in the side with her finger.
Changing from kindness to anger, Elion turned his head toward the girl.
"Hehe... Here," Noel said, handing him a waffle cone filled with condensed milk.
... The guy was a little surprised but didn't accept the gift; he just turned away silently.
The girl moved closer and whispered threateningly in her usual style, "Believe me, you'd better take it and eat it, or else..."
"Believe me, you'd better take it and eat it, or else..."
Elion blinked a little harder. After a moment of internal struggle, he silently reached out his hand.
"Well done!" The girl placed the dessert in his hand, looking satisfied.
The guy silently suppressed a sigh.
"Come on, eat!" she said, as if urging on a small animal.
"Haah..." Elion sighed and finally brought the straw to his mouth.
Crunch.
The soft wafer crumbled pleasantly in his mouth, and the long-forgotten taste and delicate texture spread throughout.
"It seemed like nothing had happened, but for Elion, it wasn't quite so simple."
The familiar taste brought back many faded memories for the boy. With these taste sensations on his tongue, his mind filled with dozens of similar images from his childhood.
— ... Elion stopped and closed his eyes.
He didn't say anything or even sigh. It was unclear what he was thinking. Noel fell silent and looked at him without saying a word.
Elion stood there for a couple of minutes, and then...
For the first time in four years of suffocating loneliness and inner suffering, a single tear quietly rolled down the young man's cheek and fell softly to the ground.
After a while, he opened his eyes, looked at the bright sky, and quietly said,
"The weather really isn't bad today."
The girl just looked at him quietly.
For the first time in a long time, she couldn't think of anything to say.