Dungeon of Niflheim-Chapter 861: Private meal (2)

"Certainly Sir, I’ll return shortly with your drinks as well as the itemised menu for tonight’s meal." The waitress smiled politely before walking to the kitchen to fetch some Andurial red.

"So....the Captain can’t come?" Frost asked, his brow arched in a knowing manner.

"I guess not." Khione smirked in reply, avoiding eye contact with her date.

It was obvious that this whole thing was planned but Frost chose not to burst the bubble, feigning a degree of innocence and belief in the unlikely circumstances that would see the Captain of the SS. Gwienfieldal or even his representative fail to attend a dinner with a member of the realm’s royal family.

Honestly he was looking forward to picking at the Captain’s wealth of knowledge but getting to enjoy a truly private dinner with the woman he was courting was more than enough to make up for such a minor disappointment.

The trade in wordy inquiries ended there, Frost then took the chance to observe their surroundings.

The two of them were alone atop a private mezzanine that overlooked the rest of the atrium and provided a clear view of the surrounding ocean.

The main dining atrium sat across three decks and the highest point where they were currently sitting was similar in height to their private gazebo. The only difference being that they were now indoors, protected from the ocean’s chilling winds and strong salty air.

The décor was in one word lavish to the extreme, shining crystal, platinum and gold, colours and materials that only the most affluent would surround themselves with.

For Frost everywhere he went in this realm made him feel like a miserable pauper but for Khione this was par for the course perhaps even a little lacklustre.

"Ugh the style’s a bit too much in the face for my liking." She let slip a critical comment when her gaze touched on the golden rails and the oversized chandeliers that hung from the ceiling. She preferred high quality, durable and pure materials rather than bursts of bright and somewhat gaudy colours but that was just her preference. Many other guests especially those with gold and silver tickets felt pampered and indulged when they saw the explosion of excess.

"Though I have little experience when it comes to luxury I have to agree with you there, you’re father’s throne room is a perfect example of what I’d see as truly lavish." Shivali’s throne room was built with perfect purity jade and age old ice, neutral materials with a passive shimmer but their beauty never failed to make one feel awed.

"You get it, true affluence is passive. If you have to make a point of showing it off then is it truly something special." Khione was happy to hear Frost agree with her point of view, a trait that could prove important in the future.

The two of them chatted warmly about the décor surrounding them and the view of the other passengers sitting over 10 metres below them, clearly demarking their higher status as platinum level guests.

Their assigned waitress arrived a minute or so later with two bottles of Andurial red on a silver platter alongside two large, bowled glasses that sparkled when the light danced across their surface.

She placed the glasses before Frost and Khione before first pouring the bottle that was already opened earlier for Khione, filling them 2 cm from the brim, a large quantity ideal for a private dinner before highlighting the second unopened bottle.

"Please help yourselves to this second bottle when you run dry." She then popped the cork and allowed the concoction to breath. She even subtly inhaled some of the released scent as she could never afford a sip of the stuff on her salary let alone a glass.

’God dammit how does this stuff smell so heavenly.’ Her mask threatened to crack as her primal desires and instincts broiled.

"Here’s the outlined menu for tonight, if there’s anything that doesn’t meet your preference we also have a couple substitutions available." Even if the food was of the highest quality and cooked to absolute perfection everyone had their own preferences when it came to flavours and even personal diets. Given that they were gliding atop the ocean the prime ingredients were mostly fish based but for those who wanted something different they offered dragon steaks, or Rhino cockatrice and edomine spinach pasta. The alternatives chosen were also roughly of the same rank so the guests wouldn’t feel as though they were being cheated.

"Hoh it’s certainly a marine theme you’ve got going on here." Frost’s eyes perked up as he read the menu, a 6 course meal that included.

Caviar on blinis, the roe being from an A-rank razor spined sturgeon, a monster that boasted a length of at least 50 metres and several sets of fins that allow it to reach extreme swim speeds.

Deep ocean crystal blue lobster bisque, served in a small portion that highlighted the menu’s main theme.

A palette cleanser that consisted of seaweed salad that was foraged from the Modanya current and spiced with ginger, soy sauce and a selection of mild seeds.

The main course, which was a large fish steak, thick cuts from a titan blade swordfish pan seared with lemon, dill and a small amount of black garlic.

The second palate cleanser before the desert was a thin broth using beluga kombu and side of small violet tailed shrimp.

And finally for the final course was the only thing not related to fish, a dark chocolate cylinder with smoked hazelnut praline and salted minotaur milk ice cream.

A dish that according to the words written on the menu had won several culinary awards and was the head chef’s best dish.

Just from reading even one of these options Frost felt his stomach rumble and his mouth water with expectation. He didn’t have an issue with anything being offered, willing to try pretty much anything that was thrown his way. How else would he learn what he liked and what he didn’t.

"Is there anything you’d like to swap out; I have the list of alternatives here on this menu." Though it wasn’t common sometimes they did have to alter the menu of the platinum guests given that they likely had far more refined palettes than their usual clientele.

"Not for me, everything here looks positively delightful, Khione?" Frost handed the conversation to his date who unlike him had likely eaten all this stuff before.

"Can you swap out the bisque for a red meat soup and also remove the violet tailed shrimp from the second palette cleanser; I’m not a big fan of crustaceans." Khione glanced at the menu, her eyes sparkling slightly when it came to the swordfish steak and the dessert but darkening when she saw any mention of a crustacean.

"Certainly Princess, would prefer meat kebabs as an alternative." Crustaceans were actually the most requested ingredient to swap out, not everyone enjoyed the taste but in addition to that quite a few people were actually allergic. Just a small bite of lobster or shrimp and their tongues would swell up, blocking their airways.

The restaurant staff actually had dozens of first aid packs dotted throughout the atrium just in case anyone had an adverse reaction.

"Sounds good but don’t use the same type of meat for my bisque alternative." Khione knew exactly what she wanted and what she deserved from this platinum level package.

"Understood I relay your requests to the chefs, is there anything else I can get you while you wait for your first course, a non-alcoholic drink perhaps or something to snack on, breadsticks? Whitebait? Calamari?"

"A bowl of calamari and whitebait will do nicely; Frost you want another drink?" She enjoyed Andurial red and only andurial red, but Frost was still experimenting.

"Waitress’ discretion, pick something you’d think is nice and I’ll give it a go." Frost smiled and winked at their waitress but this time he wasn’t flirting, just being friendly.

"Then I’ll bring you a glass of adamantine rose syrup, a sweet drink with a thick viscosity and a deep depth of flavour."

"Sounds delicious."

The waitress left them alone again as she headed into the kitchen which because of Khione’s presence was on tenterhooks. The junior chefs were pacing back and forth, their nerves pulled so tight that even a small, unexpected sound made them jump. The reason, the head chef the one in charge of everything in this dining atrium was sitting on a stool with a murderous look on his face. He was so intimidating that his subordinates felt that even a single slip up would result in them being devoured.

"Head chef the Princess and Sir Frost have relayed their requests." Unperturbed by his murderous air the waitress loudly bellowed before walking right up to him. She wasn’t scared because the head chef wasn’t her direct boss, plus she had gotten somewhat used to his personality over the many years they had been working together.

"Requests?" The head chef replied with a scowl as though infuriated by the very notion of someone daring to change up his prided menu but in truth he just had one of those faces and set expressions. When you got to know him he was a real nice guy, a little rough around the edges and sometimes too blunt for his own good but still a good man.

"Yes, Sir Frost has no substitutions and looks forward to tasting each and every one of your prepared dishes while Princess Khione has requested that her bisque be swapped to a red meat broth and that the violet tailed shrimp be replaced with kebabs made from a meat different from the broth as she’s not very fond of crustaceans."

The head chef wrote down what the waitress said on a notepad next to him before standing up to a height of almost 5 metres, very intimidating when compared to the waitress who wasn’t even 2 metres.

"You heard what Solana said move your asses and get started on those orders!" The head chef loudly roared shaking practically every piece of utensil in the kitchen.

""Yes Chef!!""