Kyoko led the three of them to what Aleister thought was a very industrial warehouse called—the Wild. However, as he entered, he learned that he could not have been more wrong.

Decorative gold and silver carvings lined the interior walls as strewn out, plush red carpet lined the floor. A large glass chandelier hung from the ceiling as they illuminated the sectioned off separate areas. The over barring lighting along with the lack of natural light gave the place a slightly unsettling look. The gaudiness of it was the complete opposite of the rather plain exterior. However, he would have much preferred a boring inside too instead of this absolute abominable assault on his eyes.

"Princess Kyoko," the host noticed their arrival and looked up from his lectern. He approached her and took a knee. "How may we serve you tonight?"

"Four orders of menu one," she said, it was clear that this not her first time here.

The host noted down the information and ushered them past the translucent wooden door behind him. The hallway they entered was narrow. On the left and right sides were multiple sets of door all the way until the end, which is where they ended up. Kyoko took out a key and unlocked the door labeled—three.

The wall inside the room weren't walls, but that was because it wasn't a room in the first place. Inside, the scenery of the location he walked into was a wavy beachside. He could hear the waves crash, the seagulls hoot, and smell the salt in the air. He couldn't help but be taken aback.

With widened eyes and an open mouth, Aleister turned to Kyoko.

Kyoko's grin widened and said nothing. Instead, she just sat down on one of the beach chairs in the middle. The host suddenly appeared with a tray of glasses. Each one filled with a clear yellow and pink liquid as a slice of green lime wedged onto the brim.

Luo Yun scratched his face. "I had heard of the rumours, but this, this completely blows them out of the water."

Myra looked at Aleister, also not sure what she witness.

Aleister shook his head and walked all the way to edge of the water. Or, well, he tried. Instead, his head slammed against an invisible wall.

"Please, watch your step," the host said before he left the room.

"The owner of this place has enchanted all the walls with multiple illusion spells," Kyoko said, not holding back her laughter at his injury.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

Aleister rubbed the back of his neck. Upon impact, he noticed that was the case. However, as he stepped back, even though he knew everything was an illusion, it still remained incredibly real to him. "Now I understand how this place got its name," he said, sitting next to Myra.

"The rooms are only but a small factor," Kyoko said. "Each of the increasing rooms has been built with more layers and are increasingly complex. Being in room three, even this place pales compared to the second and first room."

"I'm assuming that only people like your mother, the empress, and someone like the grand priest are able to access those rooms?" Luo Yun asked.

She nodded. "Even my mother only has access to room two. The first room is always being worked on and is only accessible if Lady Quarra invites you herself."

"You said menu one, is that the best and most expensive one?" Aleister asked, understanding more of this place.

"Most expensive, yes, the best, that will depend on your own personal preference's and taste," Kyoko explained. "Each of the menus change once a week as well."

"How expensive are they?" Aleister inquired.

"The first menus is priced at an almost criminally high amount. The rest of the menus are much more reasonable though."

Aleister let out a sigh of relief. "If even you think the first menu is too expensive, I'm not even going to bother asking anymore." He held the frosted glass in his hand and took a sip. The drink was sour and sweet, yet there was a hidden heat to it along with the burn of alcohol.

Myra puckered her lips and let out a few coughs. "What is this?"

"Bloodied hard lemonade," Kyoko said. "The bloody concentrate was brewed from the blood from specific monsters and accented by roasted berries, cherry spice, and sweet barks of oak. Then, it was mixed with a hard alcohol and lemonade."

"Monster blood?" Myra eyed her drink with a look of disgust.

Luo Yun smacked his lips as he had already chugged his entire glass down. "Taste's good to me."

Aleister continued to drink his beverage in silence. The usage of monster blood struck out to him. While monsters were fairly common out in the wild, many of them carried strange anatomical difference that made them not fit for consumption. And creating such a light drink with monster blood was also quite the strange and unusual concept. "Perhaps," Aleister said after some amount of time, breaking apart their casual conversation, "Would the name come from the fact that monsters are used and created for all the dishes?"

"Way to ruin the surprise," Kyoko said with a sigh. She rested her chin on her palm. "I wanted to see your reactions when he brought in the dishes."

"E—eating monsters?" Myra's pale face was now devoid of color.

"Too bad," Luo Yun said. "I already knew."

"I'm even more intrigued that before," Aleister said.

Kyoko sighed. "At least one of you reacted like I wanted."

"Like," Myra spoke up, voice crackling, "Wouldn't I be a cannibal if I eat demonic beasts?"

"That's a fantastic question, but since Kyoko is okay with it, I'm going to say that technically you aren't," Aleister said, helping her cope with an ill thought.

"No one said they were demonic beasts in the first place," Kyoko said, correcting Aleister.

"What?" Aleister looked at her in confusion. "Then, what exactly are we eating?"

"You'll just have to wait and see!"