As Bee and I sat together in this rather busy restaurant, I quickly noticed that some hellhounds would occasionally stare and gawk at us. I didn't really mind the staring since I'm quite used to it already.
But what concerned me was if Bee was fine. Looking toward her, I saw her waving and smiling at the hellhounds looking at us. This made them wave back at her before going back to their meal.
"Sorry about that, these guys are just really curious," she said, picking up a glass of orange juice before drinking.
"Oh shit! I almost forgot. What do you want to get? They have all kinds of meals here." She grabbed a menu on the table and handed it to me.
Picking it up and opening it, there were some rather unusual food items with... strange names: Satan's Toe Nail, Mammon's Bust, Lilith's Desire, Asmodeus Surprise, and Leviathan Deluxe.
Looking at the menu more, it didn't really have a description of what any of the items were made of, and I didn't know how they prepared it. And as I looked up, a bit confused, Bee was just staring at me, waiting for me to order.
So I just decided to choose the most normal-sounding dish.
"I think I'll have... Leviathan Deluxe with a side of mashed potato and pineapple juice," I tell Bee.
"Nice! I'm not really a fan of fish, but hey, you do you! Waiter!" She calls over a hellhound to finally get our orders.
"We'd like one Leviathan Deluxe with a side of mashed potato and pineapple juice, please, and one order of Satan's Toe Nail with chocolate milk, please," she told the hellhound.
The hellhound quickly wrote down our orders before giving a small bow and leaving us.
Once Bee and I were finally alone, I decided it would be good to know how she was doing.
"So, Bee, how are you?"
"I'm good! Just got some new drugs Bell's been working on. Wanna see?" she says excitedly, pulling out a paper bag with Belphegor's sigil.
"It's really good when I need to calm down! I haven't been stressed all week!" she says excitedly.
The drugs she had must have been made from the Pale Bloom I gave Bell's scientists a while back.
"That's great... but maybe don't bring a bag of drugs into a restaurant full of food," I tell Bee.
"Nah! Don't worry about it! I basically own this place!" Bee says, looking proud.
"I see... so tell me, why are the names of the meals so... unique?" I ask, hoping to know the story.
"Ha! Well, it's kind of a funny story! So one day I thought about making my own restaurant, right? And I got the bright idea to make it! But I needed something to really get people's attention. That's when I got the brilliant plan to ask the others if they were to name their meals, what would they call it."
"So... they gave you names for food and you just made it? Huh... never would have guessed. Though I'm still rather confused why even have a menu at all. I mean, you have a buffet with tons of food already," I ask Bee.
"Well, the buffet's actually for everyone here! Anyone can get free food and eat as much as their stomachs can handle," she told me in glee.
And as she talked more about her restaurant and explained how hard it was to get the permits needed to build the place, our food finally arrived.
"Lord Beelzebub, Lord Stygian, your meals." The hellhound quickly placed our food down and left.
As I looked down at our meals, I was served something similar to Fish Florentine with a few minor changes made to it. On the side was a bowl of mashed potatoes mixed with cheddar cheese and a cool glass of pineapple juice.
Bee's dish consisted of multiple large chilies; their insides were removed and replaced with cheese, different meats, and hot sauce. On the side was a tall glass of cool chocolate milk with little marshmallows floating above.
"It's here! Well, let's dig in!" she says before grabbing her utensils and digging in.
"Yes, let's." I then grabbed my utensils and began eating myself.
As I picked up a piece of the fish and ate it, the different flavors began to spread around my mouth. It had a rather earthy taste to it, but alongside it was a rather creamy flavor thanks to the sauce.
I then scooped up some mashed potato with my spoon before consuming it alongside the fish. This completed the dish rather well, adding a small cheesy taste to it.
As I continued to eat, I looked up from my meal and saw Bee was crying. I didn't know why, but as I looked closer, she was still trying to eat the chili in front of her.
"Are you alright?" I ask her before taking another bite of my meal.
"Yeah! No sweat!" Bee responded as a drop of sweat fell from her forehead.
I didn't really stop her and simply went back to my meal.
After we both had finished eating our meals, Bee immediately chugged the chocolate milk, and with a satisfied burp, she slumped in her chair.
And as I looked at her slumping, I simply took a drink of my own before bringing out my gift.
"Hey Bee, I've got something for you." I revealed the box of chocolates and flowers for her.
She quickly looked up from her slumped position before her eyes sparkled in excitement.
"Oh! Is this for me? I love it!" she says, picking up the gifts and opening the box of chocolate.
And as she opened the box, she immediately saw the different assorted chocolates I had picked out for her, and looking at the flowers, she took a big whiff before melting into her chair.
"Oh, Stygian, I love it," she says, holding the flowers near her.
"I'm glad you liked them. I didn't really know what else to get you, so this may have seemed a bit cliché."
"What? Come on, who cares if it's cliché! You got me this, and that's all that matters!" She then opened a small portal and placed the gift I gave her inside it before getting up.
"Come on, we still got a whole day ahead of us!" she says, grabbing my hand and leading me out of the restaurant.
Once we left, we started going to the different sites that the Gluttony Ring had to offer. We went to a fancy play, a musical that reenacted Alexander Hamilton's life, and went inside an amusement park for most of the day.
But the best part wasn't going to these expensive plays or these amusement parks. No, the best part was getting to know Bee more as a person—her laugh, her kindness toward other people, and best of all, how she didn't care how people saw her. She didn't hide who she was or change how she acted in front of others. She was just... herself.
And as we sat beside each other eating cotton candy, I felt something within me beat. My heart, for the first time, was racing.
"Hey, I really had fun today, and if you'd like, maybe... we could do this again sometime," Bee said, looking slightly away and eating her cotton candy.
"Ah... oh, of course. Maybe same time next week?" I said, rubbing my head and looking away as well.
Bee looked at me with joy and hugged me tightly. I then felt my heart beating even faster than before. I felt like passing out, but before I did, Bee gave me a quick kiss on the cheek before quickly running away from embarrassment.
And as I sat down alone, I held my face and felt it heating up. That girl's going to be the death of me.