Going back a few hours, after Claire, Dalia, and Amy got dressed and did their makeup, they left the hotel and started shopping.
Because the Olympics were being held, Sydney was currently the most lively city in the world. Tourists from all over the globe gathered there, and you could see people of all skin colors speaking all sorts of languages.
Claire, Dalia, and Amy were all beautiful won, and they had dressed up carefully. Walking down the street, they were incredibly eye-catching.
Their heads turned 100% of the ti, and because of this, quite a few n who thought they were charming ca over to hit on them.
After dealing with another greasy middle-aged man, Amy couldn't help but start complaining.
"Why are these guys like this? Do they really think they're so charming?"
After spending a long ti with Roy, Amy's standards were now incredibly high. Even Hollywood stars were just average in her eyes.
Dalia rubbed her thighs, which were feeling a bit sore and swollen. She wasn't sure if it was from shopping or the "battle" that morning.
"Yeah! I knew I should have just stayed at the hotel with my daughter. I wonder if she's being good and listening."
Before leaving, Dalia had put her daughter in the hotel's childcare area and was now starting to worry about her.
Claire looked up at the sky. The sun had already started to set. In the sumr, this kind of sky usually ant it was getting late.
"How about this? Let's grab dinner together and call it a day."
Dalia and Amy nodded in agreent.
Sydney was packed right now, and most good restaurants required reservations in advance. The three of them went into several restaurants that were all full, leaving them quite speechless.
"How about... we go eat at Mickey D's?"
Dalia looked at the others with an uncertain expression.
Amy put her hands on her hips. Her personality had always been quite strong, which was evident from the "peephole motel" incident.
"Are you kidding? We can eat Mickey D's anywhere. Why co all the way to Sydney to eat it?"
Amy still had her cara with her and clearly wanted to take photos during dinner. If they ate Mickey D's, what would there be to photograph?
Going on a trip and ending up eating Arican fast food? People would laugh if they found out!
"How about we ask a local and see if there are any unique small restaurants we could try?"
That was a good idea. Most cities have so hidden gems that only locals know about – places that are good, cheap, and have local characteristics.
So, the three won found the nearest newsstand owner to ask for information.
"You want to know where there are so less-known but delicious restaurants?"
The newsstand owner was a lecherous old man, his eyes constantly scanning Dalia's enticing figure.
Dalia, who was doing the talking, forced a smile. The man's gaze made her uncomfortable.
"Yes, yes."
"And what's in it for after I tell you?"
The old man wiggled his eyebrows, seemingly hinting at sothing.
This was more than the hot-tempered Amy could stand. She slapped the newspaper on the newsstand hard.
"Do you want to go to the police station?"
During the Olympics, the Sydney police were naturally cracking down on cri very strictly. The old man's face imdiately changed, and he looked at Amy with dissatisfaction.
"I ant, you have to pay for directions!"
Claire didn't want to argue with the newsstand owner any longer and imdiately took out her wallet, ready to pay.
"How much?"
"50 Australian dollars."
This price was too much for the usually thrifty Dalia.
Although Dalia was no longer as strapped for cash as she used to be after being with Roy and was living the wealthy life she had always dread of, she still kept her habit of being thrifty.
"50 Australian dollars? Are you crazy? 50 Australian dollars is enough to eat a al at Mickey D's!"
Yep, Dalia still couldn't forget about Mickey D's.
50 Australian dollars was equivalent to about 25 US dollars at the current exchange rate. This "direction fee" was indeed not low.
"That's the price. It's okay if you don't want to pay. Go ask soone else!"
The old man had a smug look on his face, like "what can you do about it if I don't tell you?" He was really being a jerk.
Claire quickly took out a 20 US dollar bill. The beautiful psychologist ca from a good family and didn't care about money that much, plus she didn't want to keep arguing with the newsstand owner.
After taking the money, the old man's face imdiately changed, and he handed Claire a map.
"I didn't take this money for nothing. It cos with a free Sydney tourist guide map, which highlights so local attractions and restaurants. It definitely won't let you lose out!"
This made Dalia and Amy's expressions look a little better. They took the Sydney tourist guide map and looked at it.
The paper quality of the map was a bit poor, similar to the paper quality of free flyers given out in supermarkets. The cost was probably less than a cent.
Dalia wanted to say sothing else, but Claire and Amy quickly pulled her away. Neither of them wanted to talk to the newsstand owner anymore.
"Dalia, let's go!"
But Dalia was still a bit angry.
"Hmph! If Roy were here, this guy wouldn't dare to do this!"
The three of them stood by the side of the road studying the Sydney tourist guide map for a while. Although the paper quality of this map was indeed poor, it did recomnd so small and dium-sized restaurants that were not found on other tourist maps.
Generally, tourist maps feature large restaurants that pay for advertising. Small and dium-sized restaurants can't afford that, so they usually don't get recomnded.
Claire pointed to a location on the map.
"There's a restaurant here run by Maori people. It looks quite unique. Should we go eat at this one?"
The Maori people are the indigenous people of New Zealand, which is very close to Australia. Both countries are forr British colonies that beca independent nations, so their connections are very close.
"This location seems a bit off the beaten path. Is that okay?"
Amy had so reservations. After the "peephole motel" incident, she was more afraid of remote places like this.
Claire was quite confident.
"There shouldn't be any problems. It's the Olympic period right now, so security should be fine. There are police patrolling everywhere!"
Dalia and Amy exchanged glances and reluctantly agreed with this statent.
"Look, there's also a shortcut here. Let's just go straight through here!"
Claire pointed to a location on the map. There was a less obvious path there that looked like a small alley.
This was too much for Amy. Going to a remote restaurant was bad enough, but taking a shortcut through an alley?
"Claire, let's not! I can't walk anymore. Let's just take a taxi. It's not worth saving that little bit of money!"
So, the three won still took a taxi to the Maori restaurant.
However, when the taxi driver heard their destination, his expression seed a bit strange, which the observant Claire noticed.
"Excuse , driver, is the food at that Maori restaurant not good?"
"No, no, no, the Maori food is actually pretty good. I'm just worried it might be too unique, and you won't be able to handle it."
This made Claire breathe a sigh of relief. She wasn't afraid if the food was just a bit strange.
After being "developed" by Roy, Claire's hidden desire for adventure had been ignited.
"It's okay, we just want to try so new and unique food!"
The driver kept looking in the rearview mirror, giving off a feeling that he wanted to say sothing but was holding back. However, the three won were chatting happily and didn't notice.
The taxi finally stopped in a relatively run-down neighborhood, completely different from the bustling downtown Sydney where the three won had been shopping earlier. The streets were full of dark-skinned people, gathered in small groups.
These sights made Dalia feel like she was back in a Los Angeles slum.
The taxi driver kindly reminded the three won before leaving.
"Ladies, this is where immigrants live. It's a mixed area. It's best not to stay out too late here. Just grab dinner and head back quickly!"
Well, even the most developed cities inevitably have places like this. Arica couldn't avoid it, so Sydney certainly couldn't either.
Claire, who had suggested coming here, gave Dalia and Amy a reluctant smile.
"Well, since we're already here..."
"Since we're already here," "It's the holidays," "They're just kids," "The person is already dead..."
These phrases were just too effective. Dalia and Amy ultimately decided to eat this dinner, but Dalia also kept her guard up and called Roy to tell him their location.
But the three of them didn't notice a van following them the whole ti.
After all, getting a taxi at night in this kind of neighborhood wasn't easy.
Fortunately, the area around the Maori restaurant was decent, and there weren't any idle people hanging around.
It was just the food inside...
As the driver had said, it was very unique.
The Maori people live on the islands of New Zealand and learned to cross the ocean very early on, relying on the sea for their livelihood.
So their diet was very hearty, mainly fresh seafood, and it was mostly eaten raw, at most with so lemon juice poured on it, which Dalia and Amy found sowhat unacceptable.
Although people in Europe and Arica often eat rare or dium-rare steak, not all Westerners can accept this way of eating, and Dalia and Amy were among them.
Claire, on the other hand, ate quite happily. She really enjoyed trying new things like this.
Fortunately, the Maori people also had a more unique cooking thod called Hangi.
It's essentially putting red-hot stones in an earth oven, wrapping at and vegetables, putting them in the pit, and finally covering it with soil to fill the gaps.
It was a bit like the "Beggar's Chicken" thod in East Asia, which was very novel for Dalia and Amy, who hadn't seen anything like it.
You could only say that coming from a "culinary wasteland" like Arica, everything felt new and interesting to eat.
The three won didn't have large appetites. Only Dalia ate a bit more. After all, those magnificent "headlights" weren't built on a vegetarian diet.
After eating their fill, everyone felt generally satisfied. Claire offered to pay.
After all, coming here for dinner was Claire's suggestion.
After paying the bill, the three won stood outside the restaurant waiting for Roy to pick them up.
"Why is Roy taking so long?"
Amy kept looking at her watch. It was almost 8 PM now, and the streets were getting less crowded.
"He's probably still finishing dinner? You know how much Roy eats."
The further improvent in his physical attributes had made Roy's body consu even more terrifying amounts of energy. Every al was more than ten tis that of an ordinary person.
This was very troubleso, especially when eating out.
If you ate a few tis more food than others, you could explain it by being an athlete, but ten tis...
This wasn't an eating contest!
So Roy was wondering if he could find so high-energy food to solve his eating problem, otherwise, the more he ate, the more trouble he would be in.
This made Roy think of Elizabeth.
The life form of the King of Sloth must be stronger than Roy's current form. So how did the Demon Queen solve the problem of energy consumption?
Perhaps he could ask Teacher Elizabeth later.
When eating at the hotel, Roy didn't dare to show off too much and only ate to about 50% fullness before stopping.
"Heather, Penny, Jennifer, you guys go back to the room first. I still need to go pick up Dalia and them."
Hearing this, Penny bit her red lip and looked at Roy with moist eyes.
"Should we get ready in the room? Heather and I have a little surprise planned for tonight!"
Heather also winked at Roy at the sa ti. The hint was quite obvious.
Roy's heart stirred. Dalia and Amy had already tead up with Heather and Penny before. Only Claire was new, but she should be able to accept it, right?
"Roy, I won't be joining. I've been out for so long today, Nidhi's parents should be getting suspicious."
"Okay, then I'll take you back first, and then go pick up Dalia and them."
Across the Pacific Ocean, Bumblebee couldn't co, so Roy just rented a regular car in Sydney.
However, Roy did bring Crowlyia to Sydney. If anything happened, he could ask Crowlyia for help.
Since the Silent Hill incident, after Roy used hellish power to modify Crowlyia, Crowlyia had Roy's mark on her, similar to the relationship between Elizabeth and Roy.
Roy could ntally connect with Crowlyia remotely through the mark, which was much more convenient than Bumblebee.
Bumblebee: So love disappears, right?
"Jennifer, in a couple of days, I'm attending a reception for Arican athletes. I might need a date then. Go help get a dress ready, and get one for yourself too."
Since Allen Berg said this reception was quite formal, Roy naturally had to be prepared. He needed a suit, a female companion, and so on.
After thinking it over, Roy felt Jennifer was the most suitable date. After all, they were the sa age, and there wouldn't be any major issues taking her out.
At this mont, Jennifer had switched back to her own consciousness. Lilith's consciousness had returned, and Jennifer's face was full of pleasant surprise.
Roy's words were equivalent to acknowledging Jennifer's status. Although Roy's parents, Philip and Sharon, had expressed similar sentints before, this was the first ti Roy had formally stated it.
However, Jennifer still felt a bit embarrassed, feeling like she was taking her best friend's place.
"What about Nidhi?"
"You know Nidhi's personality. Going to a place like that would only make her uncomfortable. It's better for you to represent ."
Jennifer nodded gently, a sweet smile on her face.
"Okay, I'll get the dresses ready!"
It was good to have a helpful partner. Jennifer always made things easy for Roy and didn't make mistakes.
Just as he was thinking, his phone suddenly rang.
Roy took out his phone and glanced at it, seeing it was Dalia's number. He thought she was trying to rush him, so he handed the phone to Jennifer.
"Jennifer, can you answer this for ?"
Unexpectedly, as soon as Jennifer put it on speakerphone, she heard Dalia's anxious voice.
"Roy, sothing happened!"
Claire (Anne Hathaway, The Princess Diaries version)
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