Chapter 236:
Donuts and Meat Skewers
“I think this is the place.”
I was a little surprised when we arrived at the donut shop. I imagined it would have some cute, frilly decorations since it was a bakery, but it was quite plainly designed instead. However, the sweet aroma of donuts that filled the air punched my appetite up to the max.
“It smells so good.”
But it hurt a little to smell something so good when I was starving. Especially when there was such a long line, even though it was barely lunchtime. I had heard this was a popular place, but my goodness!
“I’m excited to try them.”
“Me, too. I’m super excited!”
We got in line. My heart bubbled with excitement while we waited our turn. After standing there for hardly a minute, I noticed someone else getting in line behind me. There really was an endless string of customers.
After waiting in line for a while outside, we finally made it inside…where the line continued to snake on. The shop wasn’t just plain-looking on the outside; there weren’t many decorations in here, either. I looked around for the donuts, and I finally saw a neat row of them in front of the person at the head of the line. As I watched them buy their food, I noticed that in this shop, you told the staff which donuts you wanted and they grabbed them for you.
“They use seven different flavors of donut dough,” Druid said, pointing to the menu on the wall.
“Seven flavors?” I read the description on the menu and saw that not only were the doughs different, but the cream on top came in different flavors, too.
“Welcome. What’ll it be?” When we finally got to the front of the line, a pretty young lady asked us for our order. “Have you decided yet?”
“Can we take one of each kind, please?” Druid asked.
The lady’s eyes widened in confusion. “Er, you mean all of them?”
“Yes.”
“All right, just a moment, please.” The lady scurried awkwardly into the back, and we stared after her in confusion. Then she returned with a man.
“I’m sorry, but three of our flavors have already sold out for today.”
Wow, they sold out before lunchtime? This place really is popular.
“Okay…” Druid sighed. “Then can we please have one of everything that’s left?”
“Sure thing. Sorry about that.”
“Oh, it’s okay. That’s the price of being popular.”
Little by little, the lady piled the donuts into a cloth-topped basket that she handed to us afterward. Druid took it and paid her.
Oh no! I was so distracted by all the donuts that I forgot to check their price. I looked at the menu posted on the wall. Eighty dal each… Yikes, that’s expensive. Um, so, since we bought twenty-two donuts, that makes one thousand seven hundred and sixty dal. My little treat wound up being much more expensive than I thought.
“Let’s go.”
“Okay. Thanks for the treat.”
“No, thank you.”
Druid had probably caught on to why I’d asked him for a special treat. That was why he was thanking me, for being considerate of his feelings.
“There’s a park a short walk from here. It’s not so cold today, so why don’t we eat there?”
“Okay.”
The sun was showing its face after a long absence, which was making our recent spell of cold weather ease up a little. The sun sure is powerful. But that thought lasted only a moment; it was still quite cold, so we bought some hot drinks. The sun’s light was warm and all, but the wind was still icy cold. The cloaks Salifa had loaned us when she saw what we were about to wear outside were nice and warm, but that didn’t protect my cheeks from the chill of the wind.
We sat on some chairs in the sunshine. Druid set the basket between us and removed the cloth.
“With so many choices, it’s hard to decide where to start.”
The basket was lined with neat little rows of the colorful donuts. It was impossible to tell what they tasted like just by looking at them, but each one looked more delicious than the last.
“I think this is the one Dola recommended,” Druid said, pointing to one in the basket. I remembered that it was called “cocola.” I took a closer look. It was covered with a dark brown cream frosting, and there were chopped nuts on top of it.
“Are you sure I can have it?”
“Of course. Here you go.” Druid wet a towel in water and handed it to me. Being able to use magic really did come in handy at a time like this. “Squeeze it out first before you use it.”
The towel did feel a bit too wet, so I squeezed it out and wiped my hands with it. Then I handed it to Druid so he could do the same.
“Thanks.”
“Don’t mention it. Okay, I’ll eat this cocola donut. What about you, Mr. Druid?”
“Hmmm…”
Druid didn’t have much of a sweet tooth, after all. “Maybe you’d like a donut with fruit on it?” I suggested. “It would be tangy and not too sweet.” I thought the sourness of the fruit should balance out the sweetness nicely. While Druid mused over the donuts, I took a bite out of my cocola donut. A bittersweet flavor filled my mouth, and the nuts paired beautifully with it.
“It’s so good. Mr. Druid, this one’s really delicious. It’s bittersweet.”
“Bittersweet, you say?”
“Yeah. This cream isn’t very sweet, so it goes down easily.”
“Do you think the other flavors are like that?”
“I’m not sure. But I think you’d like eating a donut with this frosting.”
Druid stared critically at the donut in my hand before choosing one from the basket. Then he took a bite. I was a little worried at first. I stared at him as he chewed, hoping it wasn’t too sweet, but the look that appeared on his face afterward made me relax in relief.
“Is it good?”
“Yeah. This frosting is a lot tastier than I thought it would be. The saucy stuff on top is a little too sweet, but it’s okay.”
That’s good to hear. We started eating the rest of the donuts one by one. Dola really knew his stuff—they were all so good. But twenty-two was far too many.
“Let’s not stuff ourselves. We can save the rest of them for a snack later.”
“Good idea. Did you have enough, Mr. Druid?”
“Hm? Yeah, I’m fine.”
Is he telling the truth? He didn’t eat as many as I did. Maybe he couldn’t eat as many since they’re so sweet, but he definitely didn’t get enough food in his belly.
“Oh, look, Mr. Druid! Not that soup vendor, but the one selling that meaty thing next to it. Want to go there?”
Soup always hit the spot in cold weather, but I wanted to avoid eating any more of the strange kind from this village. Oh, maybe I should ask Dola to tell me where the good soup vendors are. I trust him not to give me a bad tip.
“Meat, eh? Yeah, I am craving something that’s not sweet.”
As I’d guessed, Druid couldn’t make a meal on sweets alone. I’d have to remember that for next time. Come to think of it, we were so distracted by all the colorful soups that we never bothered to check out the other food stalls. Now I’m excited to see what kind of meat they sell here.
“Let’s go.”
We left the park and headed for the meat vendor. The sign said they sold two types of meat skewers: hols and tein.
“I’ve never heard of those meats before.”
“I think hols and tein are different kinds of moo raised in pastures,” Druid explained. “And this village does have a lot of grazing land.”
That made sense. But still…hols and tein? I got the feeling I’d heard those words somewhere before…
“Do you want some, too, Ivy?”
“I am a little curious about the flavor, but I’m all fulfilled up.”
I should have left some room. The savory aroma of the meat skewer cart was giving my appetite quite the wake-up call, but sadly my stomach was at full capacity. Arrrgh, but it smells so good.
“Too bad. Think you could have just one bite?”
Was I really gazing so longingly at the meat? And the phrase “just one bite” really was tantalizing.
“Are you sure you don’t mind sharing?”
“Of course I don’t mind. Food tastes better when we eat it together, remember?”
Oh, right! Hee hee. “Okay.”
Druid bought three skewers of each type of meat. I was surprised by how big the skewers were. I guess donuts really weren’t enough of a meal for Druid.
“Mr. Druid, please make sure you tell me when you haven’t had enough to eat, okay?”
“Well, I really did think I was full, but the smell of this meat made me hungry again.”
I wonder if that’s a thing? Feeling full from sweets… Well, with a savory smell like that, I was starting to feel lightheaded even after eating so much. We took the skewers back to the chairs where we’d been sitting before.
“Which one do you want to try?”
“Hm?”
“The hols or the tein. The tein is apparently the tender one.”
“Okay, then I’ll take some tein.” I took a skewer and bit into a piece of it. The savory flavor of the meat and the sweetness of the sauce filled my mouth with salty-sweet deliciousness.
“Mr. Druid, this is so good.”
“Glad you like it. Have you had enough?”
“Yes. I really did want just one bite.”
“Okay.”
Druid took the skewer back from me and ate with a big smile on his face. I really do wish I’d left some room for more.
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