Rainy day out

5. Rainy Day In

"Nahida, does ordering pizza sound good to you?"

"Pizza?" Nahida asks, the words roll off her tongue as foreign gibberish.

"You mean you've never heard of pizza before?" Paimon gasps, speaking for Lumine who couldn't help but feel the same. The emergency sirens within them exploded at once.

Lumine buries her face into her hands. Her hands scrunched into claw-like formation from sheer distraught and anger. Poor Nahida wasn't even allowed an ounce of exposure to the real world. None, nada. Who wouldn't know pizza? It's infamous and for all the right reasons. Those sage bastards—should've Cyno at 'em when she had the chance. There's a special place in hell for people like them.

"Oh sorry, I haven't gotten the chance to explore outside Sumeru yet. Disregarding culture and customs wasn't my intention," Nahida apologizes shyly, "Please excuse my lack of familiarity. I may be the Wisdom Archon, but it's only a title."

There was no quick workaround to lacking real-world experience. She knew many cultures existed around the other nations, waiting like sunken treasures to be discovered. Some humans were so prideful of it that they risked their lives. It was no trifle matters and she'd hate to come off as disrespectful of ignorance. After all, she was famed as the Archon who wielded knowledge as her choice of weapon.

"I was ticked off by the sages, not you," Lumine reassures, "Pizza is a finger dish with a cheese, dough, and tomato base. I think you'll like it. It's best eaten with friends."

"It's an interesting combination but dipping my toes into new things is what I like to do. Now that I'm free, might as well make the most of it."

There are four people, all working up a good appetite so Lumine ordered more than needed. It's better to order more than run out. She could always save the leftovers for her travels. Two large should be enough. As for the toppings, a little bit of everything sounded good since it was for friends she doesn't often see. It's Nahida's first time trying pizza so might as well make it a good one. It'll be pricier but they sure the hell deserved it.

It was pointless to ask for topping suggestions since it'd be little help. She knew Paimon far too well—her favorites and what combo she liked. She was a very good eater to the point where picking the wrong option was the real challenge. On the other hand, Nahida can't give input for a dish she's never eaten and Lumine doubts Wanderer would be cooperative given his foul mood. To be fair, bad pizzas were hard to make. Even the most basic cheese pizzas have their own charm.

"Firehouse Pizza, can I take your order?" A drowsy voice picks up—must've been sleeping on the job. But then again, there probably wasn't much of a business going on anyway so can you blame the guy? Most stores were already shut down for the day. Lumine was lucky to find an open one on the first try.

Pizza wasn't the healthiest of foods. No, not by far but that didn't stop Lumine from at least trying to balance it out. Maybe Nahida liked vegetables. She's the dendro archon so it wouldn't be surprising if she did. Most vegetables don't have overwhelming flavors so they should be little harm. Plenty of toppings were requested from the common pepperoni and mushroom to the more unusual zucchini and broccoli. Extra cheese was requested to top off the grand finale.

The employee confirms the order before informing her of a long delivery time, delayed by the storm. Around high thirty-ish or low forty-ish minutes is what he stated but the way he said it made it sound like he, himself, was unsure. It was longer than she'd like to wait with a ravenous stomach but it'd have to do. Now that food was brought into the picture so did hunger and fatigue. Working several hours was bearable because she had momentum, but getting her focus back after it was lost didn't come easy.