The table was lined with dishes full of treasures from both the sea and land of Italy.
「Alright, first, let’s have a toast. I’m having wine, but you two get this instead!」
With that, Leonardo pulled out a wine bottle.
「Wait, wait, that’s still wine!」
「Non non, this is non-alcoholic wine. It’s kind of trending in Italy right now.」
「Huh, really?」
「But it does look delicious.」
「Right? A traditional winery made it with a new method. It’s good even without alcohol.」
The deep red liquid filled the glasses with a pleasant fizz as he poured it in.
「They’ve got white too, but let’s start with red.」
「Alright then.」
「I’ll take you up on that.」
Hikari and I picked up our glasses.
「Our first meeting wasn’t great, but I’m grateful to God for letting me meet you two like this. Salute.」
「「Salute」」
The moment the wine touched my lips, the aroma of grapes burst in my mouth.
「This is… amazing.」
「Delicious…」
「Told you. Wine’s not just about the alcohol.」
「Anyway, eat whatever you want! My recommendation is the bistecca alla fiorentina, a bone-in steak!」
With a loud thud, a steak easily big enough for five people was placed on the table. Leonardo sliced it up roughly with a knife and served it to us.
「Next is pasta. There’s carbonara, amatriciana, vongole, pescatore if you want tomato-based, and if you like it spicy, arrabbiata’s a good pick. There’s also porcini mushroom pasta, and ones with anchovies, but I think the ones I mentioned first are more familiar to Japanese tastes.」
「Yeah, I think I’ll go with vongole bianco.」
「Since we’re here, I think I’ll try pescatore.」
「OK, I’ll let the waiter know!」
Leonardo called over the waiter and placed the additional order. Is that really how you’re supposed to order here?
By the way, I had a spell running in the background the whole time. It’s a detection spell that lets me visually identify any drugs or poisons.
「By the way, Leonardo, where are you from?」
「Me? Honestly… I don’t remember where I was born.」
「「Huh? 」」
「I was an orphan. By the time I was old enough to understand anything, I was surviving in the slums.」
「I see… sorry to hear that.」
「Don’t apologize! You Japanese really like to say sorry, huh? Anyway, I was picked up by ‘Father.’」
「Father?」
「Yeah… mafia? In Japan I guess they’re like yakuza? I was raised by those guys and they taught me all sorts of things. Stuff like scams in different languages, political assassinations, manipulating corrupt officials, you name it.」
Leonardo showed the tattoo he’d revealed earlier.
「This was the mark of our family… I worked like crazy, especially after the girl I grew up with in the slums was diagnosed with leukemia.」
As he spoke, Leonardo showed us a photo of her on his phone. The girl in the picture was likely in the final stages of the illness, hooked up to numerous tubes. Yet her eyes, looking at the camera beside Leonardo, were full of strength. Her smile was beautiful.
「I see… But then, why are you here now?」
「Well, it’s kind of pathetic, but while I was in prison for messing up a job, the organization disbanded. With nowhere to go, I ended up working around here since I can speak a few languages.」
「Sounds like you’ve been through a lot…」
「Well, now I make some decent money acting as a guide for explorers who come to this island’s dungeon!」
「Still, I think you’re cool, Leonardo. You’ve been through a lot, lived for someone you love, and now you’re doing what you can. That’s amazing.」
「Yuuki… you’re a good guy!」
Leonardo burst into manly tears. He’d already gone through eight bottles of wine. That’s way too much.
「Right, now tell me about you two! When did you meet… wait, were you always like that? How did you become fiancés?」
「Ehehe! That would be…」
Beaming, Hikari started to talk. Hold on, when did she start drinking the alcoholic one?
Ugh… this is a mess.
◇◆◇◆
After that, with both Hikari and Leonardo getting drunk and emptying several more bottles of wine, we called it a night.
「Thanks, Mary.」
「No problem, this is part of the job.」
「Now then, I’ll take this guy to the front desk.」
Leonardo was dragged off by Mary.
「Alright, Hikari, let’s go back.」
「M’kay.」
Back in our room, I gently laid her down on the bed.
「Yuukii~」
「Whoa」
Hikari suddenly pulled me down with her, and I fell onto the bed.
「I looove youuu~」
Still holding me, she fell asleep just like that.
「What am I supposed to do now…」
「Something wrong, Yuuki-san?」
「Mary!? I thought I locked the door!」
「Something like that is easy for me to open.」
「Figures… Well, help me out here.」
「Personally, I think it’s sweet and you should just leave things as they are.」
「Come on.」
「Alright, alright. If you insist.」
With a sigh, Mary gently pried Hikari’s arms off me.
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