The special menu was rather intriguing. They had all sorts of exotic dishes.

“Served in a mithril pot due to high acidity.” I read the description of one dish. “That sounds interesting. Does that mean it would dissolve normal tableware?”

“That is slightly concerning. Are we more durable than steel?” Lucy wondered.

“It is possible that it would only destroy ceramic and steel would be seen as not luxurious enough.” Lily suggested.

“Maybe I will stick to poisonous things instead.” Lucy said.

“I don’t know. Those fruits we had on the way here were also acidic and rather delicious.” I mused.

“Hm. True.” Lucy agreed.

“I think I will have a scorching salamander curry.” Lily said. “Fire attuned creatures have a nice taste.”

“Oh, I think I will have some deep fried thunderbird.” Lucy said.

I looked at the dish on the menu. It said the breading was made from some blood drinking wheat.

“There is blood drinking wheat? We should not tell Shani about this. She would totally start growing it in our county.” I said.

“Who knows what grows there? It’s a dangerous area on the edge of the Black Forest. Maybe we need exotic crops. And let’s be honest, if it tastes good you would help her collect the blood.” Lucy teased.

“You may have a point…” I conceded. “I think I will have the thunderbird as well. And let’s have a barrel of knockout ale.”

When Hannah returned we ordered our food and signed the waiver. “I have to warn you, the food you have chosen can be lethal. A lot of people underestimate the danger.”

“Oh, I think we are fine.” I said with a smile.

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Having a barrel brought to your table was interesting and very convenient. The ale was even strong enough to affect me a little, which was nice. The food looked rather delicious when it arrived. I noticed that Hanna was wearing gloves and her amulet was magical. Possible some form of protection.

“Oh, they have magical tableware.” I saw runes on the forks, knives and plates.

“Not a bad idea, if you can afford it. Maybe it even self cleans?” Lucy speculated.

“That would be convenient for a restaurant.” I agreed.

“Some nobles have experimented with mugs that purge poisons. But they soon found out that it ruins their wine. So it fell out of fashion quickly.” Lily said.

I tried the deep-fried thunderbird. It felt a bit like pop rocks in my mouth. Was there still some electricity coursing through the meat? The taste was spectacular though.

“We need to hire a chef.” I said. “Or maybe multiple. Maybe one from each nation so we get all sorts of different dishes!”

“I think one would be enough for now.” Lucy said.

“I shall look into it, my ladies.” Lily promised.

After the main course we had regular chocolate cake for dessert. Of course with some coffee. We left the restaurant in a good mood.

“We need to find Tyrell and we need to buy some materials for our maids armour. What shall we do first?” I asked my companions.

“If he works for us and takes the job it might change what we need. He could have different methods or ideas.” Lucy pointed out.

“That is true.” I agreed.

“The metal would remain the same so we could purchase that.” Lily said.

“Can you easily buy large quantities of good metal? I think we should use mithril. It’s lighter than adamantium and should still be durable enough.”

“Enchanted steel armour would already be a luxury my lady, you are too kind.” Lily said.

“If they work for us we are responsible for them. Being a maid knight can be dangerous. We expect them to fight for us. We have to make sure they are adequately protected.” I had a lot of money. I would certainly make sure our servants were properly equipped.

“I think we should go to the dwarven mining guild. If you want to buy in bulk they might sell us directly.” Lily suggested.

We followed her plan and visited the headquarters of the mining guild. It was a rather nice building, clearly business was going well. I was not entirely sure what the guild actually did. Did they own all the mines? They did have a reception so I approached it.

“Greetings. I would like to purchase a large amount of mithril.” I told the dwarf behind the counter.

“Greetings! For the purchase of rare metals I will need to direct you to my supervisor. What trading company do you represent?” He asked.

“None. I am just buying for myself." I responded.

The dwarf frowned. “I see. Wait a moment please, I will contact my supervisor.” The dwarf left and hurried up the stairs.

“What was that about?” I wondered.

“It is possible that one needs a licence to trade in large quantities.” Lily explained. “Especially when it comes to metals used in armour and weapons.”

“Oh. Yeah, that makes sense. They would not want someone to supply the Empire with mithril.”

When the clerk returned he was accompanied by an older dwarf. He was bald, his long beard was grey and he had several wrinkles on his face. His green eyes were sharp.

“Greetings, I am Gronir.”

“Greetings. I am Countess Amaya Delphinium, this is Countess Lucy Delphinium and our maid knight Lily.” I introduced ourselves. “We would like to purchase mithril.”

“Countess you say?” He stroked his beard. “From the Dominion?”

“Yes.” I confirmed.

“We might be able to do business then. Follow me please.”