After signing the pledge to "never use violence or harm others in any form in the hotel," Ed finally came to the door of the room.
He pushed open the door to the room. Then, time seemed to stand still.
I saw Chunky Dumpy scooping up a full spoonful of caviar on a soda cracker with a patterned silver spoon and putting it into his mouth, while Squealer was enjoying the caramel crème brûlée on the tea table. If he read correctly, the fruit basket also contained melons, cherries, grapes, bananas and pineapples.
It can be seen that this tortuous experience has transformed the two people from beginning to end - the thin one has become fatter, and the fatter one has become fatter.
"You two..."
Ed didn't care whether the two of them were out of shape. The crux of the matter was that they seemed to be spending his money.
The sharp voice and the pudgy hands were raised in the air, motionless, and the two pairs of round eyes stared at Ed.
"It's no use pretending that time has stopped, you two, my pocket watch is running fine."
After confirming that he had not suddenly awakened a new ability to stop time, Ed spoke.
"Oh, my God -" the sharp voice reacted faster and put down the spoon in his hand, "Edgar Waikolo, our great savior, the most heroic warrior of this century, the eldest brother of the future Queen, the Old World Guardian of order, we are so excited about your visit! Old friend!"
"What's so exciting about this? Didn't the front desk already deliver a letter to you when I was still downstairs just now?" Ed was indifferent to this poor compliment and asked angrily and amusedly.
"He just informed us that someone wanted to meet us, but he didn't say who it was." Chunky Dump interjected while chewing a biscuit.
When Ed recalled it, it seemed that the front desk clerk did not ask his name during the whole process, but just asked him to sign a guarantee agreement.
"Okay...but I still have to remind you, two gentlemen. I asked you to come here just to avoid the limelight temporarily, and I didn't ask you to eat and drink here all the time." He said in a bad tone, "After all, this pair It’s not a small amount of money for me.”
Although accommodation here is completely free for members of the One-Eyed Club, food and other services still need to be paid out of pocket. God knows how much these two drunkards have spent these days.
"Ah, is the food here actually chargeable?" The remaining half of a soda cracker fell from Chubby's mouth in surprise.
"What?!" The sharp voice turned around and looked at Chubby Dump with a fearful expression. "Didn't you say you don't have to pay for food?"
"Yeah, I asked them for bread and water that day, but they didn't mention charging for it, so I asked for sausages again, but they still didn't mention it. So I guessed that there should be no charge for eating here."
"..."
The sharp voice was speechless for a while, turned his head to Ed and knelt down with a plop:
"Please, benefactor, please don't call the police. We will find a way to make money and pay it back to you no matter what."
"Yes, yes, if we are really captured, won't you never get your money back? How can we let you suffer losses in vain?" Upon seeing this, Chubby Dun tactfully knelt down and begged together. .
"..." Ed was speechless for a moment. He has seen many ruthless characters who kill without batting an eye, but this is the first time for him to be so cowardly.
After all, these two are now half-friends. And to be honest, the usefulness they put in was worth the cost of these meals. If they were really caught and executed, Ed would feel somewhat regretful.
"Come on, you better get up first." He raised his hand to adjust the brim of his hat and sighed helplessly.
"Yes, yes..." The duo stood up and bowed to apologize honestly, "My benefactor's kindness will never be forgotten. We will definitely find a way to repay you."
"Oh, who made me do this evil in the first place..." Ed turned his head away and changed the topic, "Is that a pineapple?"
Yes, that's fresh pineapple. He was sure. Exuding the rich aroma of wine, rose water and molasses, unique to the rich New World, a delicious delicacy from heaven - so people once called it.
Almost two centuries ago, pineapples were once a symbol of nobility and wealth. It is the centerpiece of the dinner table on the pedestal, and the hostess's hat is more valuable than jewelry.
There were no suitable planting areas in the entire continent of Elysion. At that time, pineapples had to be transported across the ocean to reach the continent of Elysion, and the long journey would inevitably cause the pineapples to rot on the way.
Therefore, if you want to transport pineapples to the Old World, the cargo ship must cut down the harvested whole pineapples and load them into the ship, and then rush all the way back to the Old World without stopping. Any unexpected situation during the journey may cause delays in the trip and eventually cause the pineapple to rot completely.
Such high transportation costs have destined the price of pineapples to remain high. If calculated based on the purchasing power of gold of equal weight, the price of a pineapple is about 300-600 pounds.
Because the prices were so exaggerated, some savvy businessmen at that time even developed a pineapple leasing business to solve the urgent needs of the small and medium-sized nobles who were short of cash but needed to temporarily decorate their appearance. The "pineapple for rent" changed hands among multiple nobles in turn before it was finally cut and put on the dinner plate of a certain big noble.
But the pineapple in front of me is obviously not rented.
"What are you looking at? Oh, pineapple, we used to eat this all the time. It's been a long time since we've eaten fruits from our hometown. When Fabian and I were kids, we used to eat four or five in one go, until our tongues were numb. " said Chubby.
"Will eating pineapple make your tongue numb?" Ed has never eaten pineapple, at least not since he lost his memory.
Nowadays, with the invention and popularization of cargo airships and glass greenhouses, pineapples are no longer a luxury item that needs to be rented. You can buy a whole fresh pineapple for 5 to 10 shillings, but this is not something ordinary citizens can buy. Affordable price.
Even if a white-collar family lives a decent life and can afford a nanny, the most they can do is share a can of pineapple with the whole family on their child's birthday.
As for Ed, his salary can afford such a price, but he will definitely not be taken advantage of simply out of curiosity——
Five shillings was about the price of a luxurious meal, and ten shillings was enough to feed the entire East End team. You know, in the right season, a ten kilogram basket of apples can cost up to 6p.
"Of course it goes without saying that if you eat too much, you will be numb." The sharp voice said with a smile, "Do you want to try it? I am a good hand at peeling pineapples."
