Fortunately, Rina was easily fooled by the chef’s words.

*yum yum yum*

“You seem to be enjoying this meal after all, Rina-chan.”

“Of course Sophie. These Burgundy snails are divine, I’ve never eaten duck with such taste and texture.”

“Duck?”

Everyone around the table stops moving and looks at Rina and Sophie again.

“What, you didn’t listen to Remy-san about the description of his dish?”

“Um…sorry Chef Remy, I hadn’t been paying attention to what you were saying, I was far too obsessed with the aesthetics of the dish.”

Pierre Rémy, looks insistently at Sophie who has not yet grasped the chef’s concealment technique. He winks at her knowingly.

“Haha… So you’ve never heard of the BURGUNDY SNAILS in France? Maybe your parents have already told you about them? Didn’t they, Paul?”

“Hmm! Yes, remember Sophie! Those DUCKS were very special…”

A little confused, Sophie doesn’t really try to understand what her father and the chief are telling her.

“Um….”

The pressure is off.

*yum yum yum*

“I think about it Rina-chan, didn’t you have a phobia of snails in the first place?”

Everyone stops again, almost choking for Aya.

“Don’t tell me about those evil creatures… I get chills down my spine just talking about them…”

“It’s cute and harmless though snails. It’s amazing that you’re afraid of them when you’re actually-“

In a flash, Aya comes and covers Sophie’s mouth with her napkin to shut her up.

“AH! Look at that Sophie, you’ve got sauce on the corner of your mouth, you better watch out.”

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*Wink Wink*

“Hmmhumhumhum.”

She said, muffled by Aya’s napkin.

*Wink Wink*

“Anyway, as Rina said, this DUCK is really good isn’t it? Nothing to do with REAL snails eh?”

*eureka*

“Ah… Um… Oh… Yes, I see… Duck, obviously.”

*Wink*

Thanks, you got it Sophie.

I got the message Aya-chan, I almost made a mistake.

Rina nods her head without really understanding what these two friends are saying.

“In any case, I’m enjoying it.”

The pressure is off again.

Rémy takes advantage of the fact that everyone has cleaned his plate to ask the waiters to move on quickly to change the subject.

“Hmm! So let’s get on with this meal if you don’t mind, haha.”

The last courses follow one another, delighting the taste buds of the guests until the conclusion of the service.

…

“I’m not offering it to the ladies here, but I can offer you a little digestif to end this meal.”

“Oh, what do you have for us, chef?”

“Well, how about this little homemade lemon liqueur from a small town in southwest France. I’m particularly fond of it.”

“Hey Remy-san, that’s not fair, we want some too!”

“It’s a pretty strong alcohol, even in small amounts, I’m not sure you’ll like it. In exchange, I can offer you a non-alcoholic exotic fruit cocktail that works wonderfully as a digestif.”

“Um, so you’ve got it covered, go for the juice.”

…

Once everyone is full, Naoki invites his guests to return to the living room for a while.

“Why don’t you stay chef Remy, you’ve already spent half your evening with us, now is not the time to leave us.”

“Thank you for the offer, I’m just going to go to the kitchen to debrief the service with the team, and then I’ll be back.”

“See you in a bit then.”

Remy leaves the pavilion to go to the kitchen.

…

Later, Chef Remy returns.

Elsa gets up in turn to make an announcement.

“To end this evening on a high note, we suggest that you all enjoy the onsen at the ryokan. I’m sure Ashley and Paul-san won’t want to miss the opportunity to relax before they leave.”

“Ma~ How nice of you Elsa, of course we accept, don’t we Darling.”

“It’s been a long time since I’ve had the opportunity to go.”

Vanessa and Takao look each other in the eyes.

“Are we going too Papa-san?”

“Of course ka-san we’re going.”

Takao throws a provocative glance toward Naoki.

“I hope your baths haven’t lost their restorative effect because I’m exhausted.”

“Don’t underestimate the Shimizu family business, our baths are the nicest and most efficient in the whole country. And they will continue to be so as long as I am here to see to it.”

“I don’t often agree with my husband, but for this one, I can only nod. I guess you girls don’t mind coming too.”

Rina looks at Aya and Sophie.

*nodding*

“I think you know the answer Mummy.”

“Very well, then I propose that the ladies use the private bath in the pavilion while these gentlemen can go to the men’s bath in the ryokan.”

Naoki turns around abruptly.

“WHAT!”

“Ara, do you have anything to say?”

“It is…”

“It is?”

“You’re lucky you’re outnumbered or we would have been fighting over the use of the private bath during a game of table tennis… So be it.”

“Because you think you would have won regardless?”

“I… never said that, but at least I would have tried…”

“Well, then let’s go.”