Following Elara, we took a available table, and then an elf, seemingly the waiter, presented us with the menu. The variety of listed dishes was quite exotic, to say the least. Some names were completely unfamiliar to me, leaving me with no idea what they meant.
Next to the names, there were also some illustrative images showing what the foods looked like. As I browsed through the list, my thoughts focused on the uniqueness of these dishes, as they included some salads I had never seen before.
"Elara!"
While I was engrossed in the menu, a voice caught my attention. As I directed my gaze toward the voice, I noticed a little girl running toward us, displaying a radiant smile on her face.
"Hi, Tara, how have you been?"
In response to Elara's question, Tara, with a beaming smile denoting her growing joy, leaned toward Elara as if wanting to share a secret only with her. Unfortunately, even unintentionally, I ended up overhearing it too.
"My dad finally agreed to let me explore the world, as long as I help in the restaurant for the next twenty years"
Honestly, the fact that elves considered twenty years as a near date no longer surprised me. Besides, I myself should start getting used to this perspective, as apparently, my longevity would continue to increase in the future. While reflecting on this, the restaurant door opened, revealing two elves with fair skin, clearly belonging to the lineage of sun elves.
"There's no one here to greet us, even after we kindly came to this dive?"
The elf's words resonated harshly, and the place fell into complete silence. Moreover, the waiter who should have received them was busy balancing orders in both hands.
"I believe that's what one can expect from moon elves, incapable of maintaining the slightest respect for those who help them so much"
My initial impression of both these elves was that, at first glance, they were certainly arrogant. While pondering on this, Tara hurried and ran towards them.
"Please, follow me. I'll take you to your seats"
As she spoke those words, Tara began to lead the men to their seats. The area she took them to was in a higher part of the restaurant. When the men sat down, they looked around, but their faces still clearly showed displeasure with the place.
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"Not what I expected, but I guess we can't expect much from this dive. Anyway, call your father; we have business to discuss with him"
Even in the face of these harsh words, Lara responded with a smile on her face.
"Yes, I'll be back in a moment"
Saying that, Tara quickly headed to the back of the restaurant, where her father probably was. Watching this scene was honestly uncomfortable; even Elara, who usually remained indifferent, seemed clearly bothered by the situation.
"Acquaintances of yours?"
When I asked that, Elara gave me a brief look before turning her attention to the men.
"I wouldn't say we're exactly acquainted. Most light elves help us by bringing processed goods and other things we couldn't obtain on our own... But, as you saw, we're not treated with respect. In fact, they humiliate us even more by using that fact"
Upon hearing this, a doubt arose in my mind. The sun elves clearly weren't acting of their own free will; it seemed more like they were being coerced, but since they were involved, they would take advantage of the situation, something like that.
"I don't believe they're acting of their own free will"
Upon hearing my words, Elara just sighed, maintaining her stoic expression.
"They're not, to be more precise. This is an order from the queen, but most elves are against it. I'd say half are for it, and half are against. The people, in general, love the queen and consider her very wise, but the elder elves always try to thwart her. They're all completely against the idea of uniting our two peoples again"
I wasn't sure what to say in a situation like this. I never handled this kind of thing well. After all, if I had, I wouldn't have been bullied in the first place. As I reflected on that, Tara returned with another man, presumably her father.
As he approached the men, he bowed his head repeatedly, apologizing for taking so long, even though from the moment Tara went out to call him, no more than twenty seconds had passed, at most.
"Alright, alright, stop apologizing. We don't want to waste any more time in this dump. Anyway, here are the promised provisions"
Saying that, a clipboard was handed to Tara's father. Although it was quite subtle, I could perceive a mocking smile on the faces of both sun elves. While I wondered what might be happening, Tara's father spoke again.
"Hmm... I apologize if I'm mistaken, but according to what's written, the price is twice as high as last time"
Upon hearing this, the elf smiled and exchanged a glance with his partner before turning his attention back to Tara's father.
"That's correct. Any problem with that?"
Upon hearing this, Tara's father looked confused at the clipboard and then at the men.
"B-But sirs... I already paid triple last month. If you continue to follow this price, I won't be able to keep my restaurant"
Upon hearing this, both men seemed to get angry. One of them slammed the table hard, attracting everyone's attention in the place, although they had already drawn looks before anyway.
"So what? Since when is that our problem? You should thank us for selling to you. Don't forget that you moon elves are only alive thanks to the benevolence of our queen"
In the end, Tara's father ended up accepting, even though it was unfair. I could understand that this restaurant was the only memory of Tara's mother, and her father didn't want to part with this place. Besides, this isn't the only place where this happens; it seems that this kind of scene is more frequent than one might imagine.