15 Chapter 015: A New Friend

"Can we go eat now… PLEASE!?" Maou looked up at me, bouncing on his tip-toes, anxiously awaiting my answer.

"Yeah. Let's get something to eat." I clutched the clothes under my arm.

Maou began running circles around me excitedly chanting. "Food! Food! Food!"

"Umm… Excuse me…" Amari mumbled to me.

"Yes, Amari. Do you need anything from me?"

"Umm… if it isn't a bother… can I have your name, please?" Amari fiddled with her fingers, slightly blushing and avoiding eye contact with me.

"My name is Shelly Baker, but please just call me Shelly."

"Lady… Shelly… if you're looking for a place to eat at, I know a good place."

"Really! You do! That would help me out so much. Could you please tell me where?"

"There's a small noodle shop close by. Just walk straight across from here, take the first right, then second left and you should see a sign that says 'Mr. Noodles.' It's right there."

"Grrr! Gurl! Growl!" Maou's stomach screeched loudly.

"Shelly… I'm gonna die. Please… I need… food!" Maou bent over while standing up, arms clutching his belly and a pained expression on his face.

"We're leaving now, just hold it for a bit more."

"Wait! Lady Shelly! Can I ask you one last question before you go?"

Maou pulled at Shelly's leg, pointing at the clouds, calling them fried chicken.

"Sure, but make it quick please, he's starting to see the clouds as chicken."

"Ahh… Umm… will we ever meet again?" Amari looked at Shelly with an eager look in her eyes.

"If the strings of fate would have us meet again, then we definitely will." I gave Amari a heart-warming smile to reassure her.

"Kiyah! Hehe… hehe… he." Amari turned away covering her face, blushing, giggling and wiggling to herself merrily.

I really hoped that this would be our last interaction between us. Amari was a sweetheart maiden but I didn't actually want anything to do with her. Looking back, I feel bad for leading her on but I'm not interested in the same gender and just wanted cheap stuff. I now know to never do that again.

"Okay, bye now Amari. Hope to see you again"

Amari was so preoccupied with blushing and giggling to herself she didn't hear me, which was probably for the better.

We left the store and followed the instructions and soon enough we saw the sign that wrote 'Mr. Noodles.' The sign was worn out, dirty and hung by some dirty rope. The front of the restaurant was nowhere near enticing to dine at.

"If we eat here we're going to die from food poisoning." Maou's face looked disgusted.

It was to be expected as Maou didn't know the secret unwritten rule. Every dirty looking restaurant cooked the best food.

"Just give it a try, trust me." I walked into the restaurant, pulling Maou along with me.

The inside of the restaurant had a few people chugging beer and stuffing themselves full with noodles. The scent of beer and noodles echoed and the atmosphere was lively with groups of people laughing and talking.

I sat down at one of the empty stools by the counter and helped Maou up to the seat next to me.

A large braided bearded man walked through some curtains behind the counter.

"Oh! We have some new faces here today. What can I get you two?" He pointed to the menu on a board next to him.

Written on the board was: Small noodles 30 copper coins, Medium noodles 60 copper coins, Large noodles 1 silver coin.

What came next on the list was what amazed me the most. Super-Duper Huge Mega Tasty Noodles Deluxe Special for 5 silver coins. The name of that dish sounded like it was named by a child and as I predicted Maou's eyes looked at me longingly for that dish.

"Go ahead… Order what you want."

At the same time, another person entered the restaurant and sat next to Maou.

"I'll have the Super-Duper Huge Mega Tasty Noodles Deluxe Special." Both Maou and the stranger next to him ordered at the same time.

"I'll have a Large Noodles please." I requested while paying 6 silver coins for the meals, leaving me with 1 silver coin.

"One moment." The bearded man walked behind the curtains.

The stranger next to Maou turned and introduced himself.

"I'm Arthur." He put his hand out for a handshake.

"I'm Maou." Maou shook his hand.

"May lady luck be on your side." Arthur smiled still shaking Maou's hand.

"You're going to need that luck more than me." Maou smiled back still shaking Arthur's hands.

"I doubt you'll even come close." Arthur smiled still shaking Maou's hand intensely.

"Well, you're in for a surprise my friend." Maou smiled shaking Arthur's hand more intensely.

There was an awkward smiling and handshaking between the two.

Soon after, the bearded man walked from behind the counter holding a huge bowl in both his hands and even seemed to struggle to carry it. He placed one bowl on the table and left for the other huge bowl. Lastly, he brought my pathetic bowl in comparison to Arthur's and Maou's comically huge bowl.

The bowl was so big that Maou had to stand on the stool to look into the bowl, it was enough to feed a family of four.

In the bowl, there were white flour noodles, three big slices of ham, celery, pak choi, three boiled eggs and broth soup.

Just as Maou was about to eat, Arthur stopped him and pointed to the bearded man. The bearded man had a bell and started shaking it vigorously.

"COME ONE, COME ALL! The three times Super-Duper Huge Mega Tasty Noodles Deluxe Special winner is being challenged by a newcomer! Place your bets now!"

As the bearded man shouted those words, a crowd of more than ten people began filling the restaurant. Bets were being placed and people were excited to see Arthur, some jeered and cackled at Maou, his challenger.

"Arthur's gonna destroy this kid easily." One guy in the crowd teased loudly, making the entire crowd laugh.

This annoyed me but Maou seemed to not care. His attention was on the bowl.

"Don't let his size fool you. Maou's going to win against Arthur with zero effort."

"Then put your money where your mouth is missy."

The bearded man held out his hand and I bet my last silver coin.

"That's quite the amount to bet on a child but I hope you aren't just talking big."

On another board, he wrote down each bet and as expected most of the bets were in Arthur's favour. If Maou won, I would be rolling in money.

"Now that all bets have been cast. It's time to start the match. Contestants get ready."

The place became quiet and faces were filled with smirks.

"3… 2… 1… Go!"

"Nom! Nom! Nom! Gulp!"

Arthur began shoving down the noodles with his chopsticks and the crowd's roars howled. Maou stood on the stool just looking at the noodles not eating yet.

"Why aren't you eating Maou?" I was worried about my money.

Maou simply smiled at me.

"Arthur! You have potential but you're a thousand years too early to challenge me to an eating contest."

By this time Arthur was almost halfway through his food and looked at Maou confused as he chewed. At the same time, Maou raised his bare hands in the air and sunk them into the steaming bowl, shovelling the food into his mouth at three times the speed of Arthur.

"Nom! Nom! Nom! Nom! Gulp!!" Maou filled his mouth, chewing and swallowing almost at the same time. Everyone's jaw dropped surprised at how someone of Maou's child-like build could eat that much and fast.

"Impossible! He isn't even using any chopsticks... Isn't he burning himself?" Random voices in the crowd spoke, stunned at what they saw.

Arthur was astonished. To see he was even given a headstart and now Maou was almost halfway done.

Determined to win he began eating even faster. The entire crowd now watched closely and eagerly as the winner wasn't so obvious anymore.

At the same time, they tilted the huge bowls to their head, gulping down the soup like a thirsty man in a hot desert. This was the final stretch, whoever placed down the bowl first would win.

"Arthur! Arthur! Arthur! Arthur!" The crowd began chanting.

"Maou! Maou! Maou! Maou!" My chants were drowned out by the crowd but regardless I continued chanting loudly to encourage Maou.

"Gulp! Gulp! Gulp! Gulp! Blam!" Maou slammed his bowl down on the counter before Arthur, proving his victory and Arthur followed after.

"Nooo! Impossible! Not my money! Unbelievable, he beat Arthur!" Shouts of disbelief and hurt were leaving the crowd.

"And the winner is Maou!" The bearded man shouted, lifting Maou into the air. The crowd dispersed disappointed but amazed at what they witnessed.

"Aren't you a lucky lady?" The bearded man handed me my winnings. "3 silver coins and 38 bronze coins for you."

I grinned from ear to ear at the money I won.

"Shelly, are you going to eat the rest of that?" Maou stared at my bowl of noodles.

"Have it all, my sweetheart Maou." I slid the bowl to Maou in a happy mood and pat him on the head.

"Yes! More food for me!" Maou with a jovial expression stuffed his mouth and a few noodles hung out.

"Please, let me call you Maou-sensei." Arthur grovelled on the ground.

"What? Why do that?." Maou tilted the bowl to his head.

"I have a strong feeling there's a lot I need to learn from you." Arthur's eyes beamed with genuine passion. "Actually, I want to know how to eat as fast as you."

"Umm… excuse me Mr bearded man and Arthur." I raised my hand to get their attention.

"Just call me Mr Noodles." The bearded man puffed his chest.

"Mr… Noodles and Arthur." I lowered my hand. "By any chance, do you know anyone named Kelly in this town?"

"Kelly… Kelly… Kelly… Kelly" Mr Noodles thought for a bit, stroking his braided beard. "I know everyone in this town but I've never met anyone named Kelly before."

"I'm sorry but I don't know anyone named Kelly either." Arthur stood up from grovelling and raised his index finger in the air. "But maybe you will have better luck searching the capital, Vanchordé."

"Burp! What's Vanchordé?" Maou rubbed his tummy.

"It's the capital of this country, Valdorn. Aren't you from this country?" Arthur questioned Maou.

"I don't know where I'm from." Maou picked his nose. "To be honest, I can't remember much of anything before two days ago."

"TWO DAYS AGO?!" Arthur and Mr Noodles were shocked by this.

Maou looked to be a little over six, meaning he had to have forgotten the past six years of his life. Memory loss of this extent was unheard of anywhere. Memory loss of a day or two, maybe a week or so, was understandable but six years worth of memory loss was unheard. Even an entire month was a very rare occurrence.

"Do you at least remember the names of your family members?" Arthur sat back down on his stool.

"How about the name of your hometown maybe?" Mr Noodles questioned, folding his large, hairy arms.

"Maybe a close friend's name?"

"How old are you? 6 or 7?

Arthur and Mr Noodles inched closer to Maou, eagerly awaiting a response.

To them, this felt like solving one of the great mysteries of the world but Maou was under pressure thinking harder then he had ever before. With his eyes tightly closed, and index fingers pressed against the sides of his forehead, struggling to dig deep in his mind for answers. Maou's facial expression was like that of someone on the toilet constipated but dangerously pushing with all there might.

"Argh! It's all empty!" Maou, looking up at the ceiling, squeezed his head in frustration. "I can't remember anything else other than my name Maou."

Arthur and Mr Andrew pulled themselves back, disappointed with the lack of good results.

"Not even your beast folk relatives?" Arthur questioned further.

"Beast… folk?" Maou raised an eyebrow in confusion. "What's a… beast folk?"

"You don't know who beast folks are? My bad sensei, I just assumed you were a beast folk by the horns." Arthur scratched his head, riddled with confusion at Maou's unique predicament.

"Umm… sorry to interrupt but… what's the capital like?" I interrupted.

"Oh, the capital? It's the largest city in all of the country with some many different races like humans, elves, beastfolks dwarves." Arthur counted each race on his fingers. "It's probably the best place in the country."

"You both should travel with me the day after tomorrow. Plus, the capital would be one of the best places to search for Kelly, since it's filled with so many people."

"Hmm… I'll think about it." I spoke in a contemplative tone but I had no real intention of accepting Arthur's invitation.

Personally, Arthur didn't seem to be sceptical or ill-intended but it's common sense to not trust anyone you've just met. So obviously, I was at least a little wary of his invitation. It seemed too good to be true.

"Maou-sensei, there's plenty of food there too," Arthur spoke excitedly to Maou.

"FOOD!" Maou turned to me immediately. His eyes brimming with excitement for the guarantee of tasty food.

Even though I had a feeling this could go wrong in so many unpredictable ways, I chose otherwise. Leaving things to fate, the very fate that almost killed me three times. Except for this time, I sincerely hoped that it wouldn't actually end up killing me.

"Haaa!" I sighed. "Fine… We'll go with Arthur to the capital so you can eat lots of tasty food."

"Hurray! Food!" Maou and Arthur high-fived each other, excitedly celebrating over the idea of food. It's like they were mirror images of one another.