Their eyes met.
Sandrone’s footsteps did not falter in the slightest, and her face maintained its usual indifference.
“Miss Sandrone?” Ellen’s voice came from behind, not loud, but clear.
Sandrone sighed inwardly, stopped walking, turned around, and promptly revealed an appropriately puzzled expression on her face: “Detective Lady?
Good morning.
Is there something you need?”
Ellen walked over in a few steps.
She wasn’t wearing her formal police uniform today, opting for more casual attire, but her efficient and sharp aura hadn’t diminished in the slightest.
Her face wore an expression somewhere between official business and casual conversation: “Nothing in particular, I just saw you passing by.
Out so early?”
“Mhm, no classes today, just out for a walk, and seeing if there’s any temporary work,” Sandrone replied flawlessly.
“Have you eaten breakfast?” Ellen suddenly asked.
Sandrone was taken aback for a moment, then shook her head: “Not yet.”
“Perfect, I haven’t eaten either.
There’s a cafe nearby that seems to have good breakfast.
Shall we go together?
My treat.”
Ellen’s tone was as natural as if inviting a colleague, but those red eyes were quietly watching Sandrone.
“No need, Detective Lady, I…” Sandrone instinctively tried to refuse.
“Don’t be polite, consider it thanks for your cooperation last time.”
Ellen smiled, decisively turning sideways and gesturing with a ‘please,’ “Besides, I have some information about work-study channels that might be useful to you.”
Sandrone’s stomach chose that moment to emit a soft but audible enough ‘gurgle.’
Last night’s tasteless dinner hadn’t provided much energy at all, and the morning’s chill and tension had further drained her stamina.
Ellen’s smile deepened a little.
She didn’t speak again, just looked at her.
“…Then I’ll trouble you.”
In the end, Sandrone surrendered to hunger, and the pragmatic consideration that ‘a free meal from a Detective saves money.’
Deep within the satchel, on the other end of the silver mirror.
On the moon, Columbina was watching this street encounter with great interest.
“Huh?
This person…
looks a bit like Ellen Joe from Zenless Zone Zero?
The vibe and that cool, capable air are quite similar.
She’s actually a Detective?”
Seeing Sandrone being invited to the cafe, Columbina perked up: “Great!
Finally getting a decent breakfast!”
She had tasted Sandrone’s cooking and had a sober understanding of the dietary standards of this world’s lower classes.
The cafe was located beside a relatively clean main street.
The storefront wasn’t large, the sign reading ‘Morning Dew Cafe.’
The interior decor was typical Victorian style: dark wooden tables and chairs covered with checkered tablecloths, walls papered with dark red patterned wallpaper, and a few copperplate prints hanging.
The air was filled with the aroma of freshly brewed coffee, toast, and butter.
It was still early, so there weren’t many customers, only two or three tables occupied.
Ellen chose a quiet window seat and sat opposite Sandrone.
A waitress wearing a white apron soon approached.
“Two black coffees, one Full Breakfast Set A, and one…
hmm, sausage and fried eggs with grilled tomatoes and Mushrooms.
Whole wheat for the toast.”
Ellen ordered skillfully, then looked at Sandrone, “Is this alright?”
Sandrone nodded.
She didn’t have many requirements for food; being full was enough, especially when someone else was paying.
After the waitress left, Ellen picked up the water glass on the table, took a sip, then formally reintroduced herself: “Last time at the school, the questioning was a bit rushed.
Let’s properly introduce ourselves.
Ellen Joe, Senior Detective at the Nuremberg City Police Headquarters, currently…
responsible for assisting with some special cases.”
She omitted some details.
“Sandrone, student at the Nuremberg University School of Mechanical Engineering,” Sandrone also replied simply.
“Mechanical engineering…
an impressive major, especially for a girl.”
Ellen said conversationally, “How are your studies going lately?
Did you encounter anything…
unusual yesterday?”
Her question seemed casual, but her red eyes observed every nuance of Sandrone’s reaction.
Sandrone’s heart tightened slightly, but her face remained calm, even appropriately showing a trace of a recollecting expression: “Yesterday?
I was at the library all afternoon, then went to the riverbank, and afterwards went straight back to my place.
Why do you ask, Detective Lady?
Did something happen?”
“Nothing, just that there have been quite a few public security incidents in this area recently, reminding you to be careful.”
Ellen didn’t press further, as the coffee arrived just then.
The dark brown liquid sat in white porcelain cups, steaming.
Ellen picked up her cup, habitually first smelling the aroma of the coffee, then blowing on it and taking a small sip. This story is hosted at g.com.
At the moment her lips touched the rim, Columbina in the mirror extended a translucent finger, took that cup of coffee right through the mirror’s surface.
Ellen’s brow furrowed slightly.
She put down the cup, looked at the rippling brown liquid inside, a flash of confusion in her eyes.
She took another small sip, tasting carefully…
No, this taste was absurdly bland, almost only the temperature of hot water, hardly any coffee flavor at all.
She wondered if her sense of taste was off, or if this shop used extremely low-quality beans?
She looked up at Sandrone opposite her.
The Damselette was carefully holding her coffee cup, taking small sips, her face showing no particular expression, as if she found this coffee perfectly normal.
Ellen didn’t say anything, just silently marked this ‘Morning Dew Cafe’ with a big question mark in her mind.
Soon, breakfast arrived.
Before Ellen was a plate of the substantial ‘Full Breakfast Set A’: two fragrantly fried sausages, two thick slices of bacon, a sunny-side-up egg, grilled tomato, baked beans, and two slices of white toast already buttered.
Sandrone’s was the relatively simpler sausage and fried eggs with grilled tomatoes, Mushrooms, and whole wheat toast.
The aroma of the food wafted over.
Sandrone was indeed hungry.
She nodded politely to Ellen and began her meal.
The fried egg was cooked perfectly, the sausage juicy, the Mushrooms savory, the grilled tomato appropriately sweet and sour, the whole wheat toast carrying the aroma of grains…
While not top-tier delicious, it was the best meal she’d had recently.
She ate earnestly and quietly, her manners refined but her pace not slow.
Ellen also picked up her knife and fork.
She first cut a small piece of sausage and put it in her mouth.
Chewing.
Pause.
Her brow furrowed again, more noticeably than when she drank the coffee.
The sausage skin was crispy, the meat texture was still there, but…
the flavor?
The expected savory saltiness, fattiness, smoky flavor, spice notes…
all were as faint as if boiled in plain water, leaving only a bit of meaty texture.
She tasted the fried egg, the bacon…
without exception, all the food seemed to have had the vast majority of its flavor extracted, leaving only the basic textures.
She even deliberately dipped more into the gravy on her plate, but it still tasted bland upon entering her mouth.
This was too strange.
The coffee tasting off could be blamed on the beans or the brewing.
But even different fried, grilled, and baked foods uniformly losing their flavor?
That was absolutely impossible.
Her gaze once again fell upon Sandrone.
The Damselette was using her bread to sop up the remaining sauce on her plate, eating with what seemed like considerable satisfaction.