Get some food.

The royal family, especially the queen, sends you off with a kindhearted goodbye, though of course you'll be seeing them all again later. You'll only need to waste a few more hours, which gives you the perfect amount of time to grab something to eat. If you're going to need to speak to all of Avana, you best not do so on an empty stomach after all. So you take your two lovely ladies away from the queen's manor, and to find a place serving early dinner, or late lunch, depending on your perspective. If you care about the semantics of that, however, you're going to be in trouble delivering an earnest speech.

A small place with a cute exterior eating area called Lily's Pond is ahead. Each table has an umbrella to block the sun or the rain, and while there are also seats inside, the patio is pleasant, and the weather isn't so bad. Most of the clouds have cleared, and even though it's autumn, Avana tends to be rather warm most of the time.

Only a few others are present.

The three of you sit at one of the tables, and shortly after, a girl walks out. She has short blonde hair, and a frog hat. She also has a matching short frog dress with striped stockings beneath. She places a piece of paper down between the group and smiles bright. "Welcome to Lily's Pond! Can I ribbit your order?"

"Can you--?" Looking past her, you can see another inside with almost the exact same outfit. "Oh that's cute. All right. Let's see here. I don't think any of us have eaten here before, so we might need a second."

"Oh, what about the pastrami sandwich?" asks Xiaoqing.

Both you and Nyllia look to the normally quiet girl.

"If you want that, we should all get it," you say.

"True. I do trust Xiaoqing's taste," adds Nyllia.

Xiaoqing blushes. "Wh--Hey, are you making fun of me?"

"Not at all," you answer. "It was just a good idea."

The waitress giggles. "Three pastrami sandwiches then. Would you like anything to drink?"

"Mulberry tea, please," Nyllia requests.

"If you're getting that, we should all get it," Xiaoqing says. "I trust your taste."

The elf smiles wide. "Mmm. I best watch myself around you."

"If you tease me too much, I'll turn your tea cold."

"Do that and I may just have to give you a smack on the rear."

While the waitress is gone to retrieve your order, the three of you continue to idly converse, especially about the city and the people who pass by. Though at this time, hardly anyone is still in this part of the city. They're already gathering in the center where the queen is going to appear. Not every single person cares about her that much, so it isn't so much that the entire population will be in one location, though even for those who are apathetic about whoever rules the nation may still come for the communal festivities.

First, the girl places down three tea cups. Next come the sandwiches. Though lastly, a bowl is placed in the middle of the table by the pole holding up the parasol. It's full of different fruits cut neatly into cubes.

"Yum. Does that come with an order of sandwiches or something?" you ask.

"Oh no. But we were chatting inside, and uhm... You're totally Lady Tesgella, aren't you? Oh my gosh. Your dress is so pretty I could die."

Nyllia chuckles. "Yes I am. You know of me?"

"Of course we do! My sister is an adventurer, and she talks about you so much. Oh and inside, her boyfriend is an adventurer. I don't think she loves how much she talks you up though. We respect you so much though. Such a badass lady, fighting monsters, all in the name of Tivera! Take the fruits, and the whole lunch is on us too."

Ah. So it is a late lunch, not an early dinner.

"That is not necessary--"

"I know, I know. Please let us do this though. It's the least we can do. I remember after the big attack, you showed up and went right to helping people. My auntie said you helped lift a flaming beam of somebody right in front of her."

"Much of that particular example was Zazra, but I was certainly helping."

"Anyway, let me leave you to your food. Just let us know if you need anything else!"

You bow your head. "Thank you. We will."