Chapter 48: Dinner

Chapter 48: Chapter 48: Dinner

It was a little after five-twenty in the evening.

Daniel and T’Challa had already cleaned up and left their dorm.

The weather was perfect. A gentle breeze drifted through the campus, carrying away the heat of the day and putting everyone in a good mood.

They didn’t have to wait long downstairs outside Susan’s dormitory.

A few minutes before five-thirty, Susan came down as well.

"Alright, where are we going?" she asked the moment she walked over.

The question immediately caught Daniel off guard.

Both in his previous life and this one, he had never been the type of person who made plans.

He preferred going with the flow.

He was easygoing, lazy by nature, and usually acted on whatever idea came to mind at the moment. The problem was that he rarely stuck with anything for very long.

That was one of the reasons his previous life hadn’t turned out particularly successful.

In fact, if he hadn’t gained Superman-like abilities after coming into this world, he probably would’ve remained an ordinary person.

Average and unremarkable.

Even if he had been reborn into a world other than Marvel, he doubted he would’ve become the billionaire genius he’d imagined himself becoming.

At most, he would’ve used his knowledge of the future to live a comfortable and wealthy life.

Success didn’t have shortcuts.

Unless you were born into the right family and had everything prepared for you from the start.

Or unless you were like Daniel and possessed a completely broken, cheat-level ability.

Otherwise?

The only real path forward was hard work.

Of course, he couldn’t exactly tell Susan that he hadn’t decided where they were eating yet.

That would be embarrassing. So, while maintaining a calm expression, he casually activated his super vision and scanned the nearby area.

A restaurant a short distance from campus caught his eye.

An Italian restaurant called Carmelina.

It looked fairly busy.

Without hesitation, Daniel nodded confidently.

"We’re going to Carmelina. It’s not far from campus."

"Sounds good."

Susan smiled.

"You lead the way."

The restaurant wasn’t far from MIT at all.

Less than a mile outside the campus gates.

The three chatted and laughed along the way, arriving in a little over ten minutes.

As soon as they stepped inside, they found the place already packed with customers.

Most of them looked young.

Judging from their age, many were probably MIT students as well.

...

Susan was already familiar with Italian food.

She’d eaten it before in New York.

T’Challa, however, was experiencing it for the first time.

Ever since leaving Wakanda, he’d mostly been hanging around town with Daniel.

He stared curiously at the menu.

There were so many unfamiliar dishes that he had no idea where to start.

Daniel was excited too.

With the owner’s recommendations, they ordered.

Chicken Cacciatore.

Cacio e Pepe.

Arancini.

...

"So, you’re actually a prince?"

While waiting for the food to arrive, Susan looked at T’Challa curiously.

On the way here, Daniel had explained a little about T’Challa’s background, which was why she asked.

"Yeah."

T’Challa nodded.

"Just a prince from a small African country made up of a few tribes."

Since they weren’t close enough yet, he naturally left out the truth about Wakanda and repeated the image the outside world had of his homeland.

"That’s still really cool."

Susan looked genuinely impressed.

T’Challa smiled modestly.

But his mind wasn’t really on the conversation.

In fact, he was thinking about only one thing.

The girl he’d seen earlier that afternoon.

The one Daniel had dragged him away from.

Her image kept appearing in his mind.

The more he thought about her, the more restless he became.

He couldn’t stop thinking about her.

He couldn’t stop imagining her.

He couldn’t stop remembering her.

T’Challa was convinced.

He was in love.

Tomorrow, he would find her.

He had already memorized her scent.

With senses enhanced by the Heart-Shaped Herb, his sense of smell was extraordinary.

As long as she was still somewhere on campus, he was confident he could track her down.

"Don’t mind him."

Daniel rolled his eyes and spoke to Susan.

"His heart has already been stolen by a woman."

Earlier in the dorm, T’Challa had spent hours talking about that girl.

Hours...

Daniel was already sick of hearing about it.

The prince had even complained that Daniel shouldn’t have dragged him away.

T’Challa realized how rude he was being and offered Susan an apologetic smile before drifting back into his own thoughts.

Susan simply laughed and continued chatting with Daniel.

A short while later, the food arrived.

Daniel had to call T’Challa’s name twice before finally snapping him out of his daydream.

Then the three of them began eating.

The moment Daniel took his first bite, he was disappointed, it felt as if true flavors were missing.

Susan and T’Challa, on the other hand, loved everything, the flavors suited them perfectly.

Both of them ate enthusiastically.

T’Challa even forgot about the girl for a while as he ate the food.

When it came time to pay, the bill was split evenly between the three of them.

Originally, T’Challa had wanted to pay for everyone.

He was already used to treating people.

But Susan refused.

She insisted on splitting the cost.

Seeing Susan contribute her share, Daniel felt too embarrassed to let T’Challa cover everything and paid his portion as well.

After leaving the restaurant, both Susan and T’Challa expressed how much they’d enjoyed the meal.

Susan even praised Daniel for finding such a great place.

Daniel smiled.

"This is nothing."

Then his eyes became sharp.

"The real experience is eating a juicy shrimp with an ice-cold beer on a cool night."

T’Challa blinked.

"What’s shrimp?"

"Is it really so good that you’re ready to do underage drinking...?" Susan asked.

Daniel nodded immediately.

"It’s amazing."

"The meat is tender and flavorful. Spicy, fragrant, and ridiculously addictive."

The more he talked about it, the more he wanted some.

His mouth was practically watering. It had been a long time since he’d last eaten shrimp.

Now that the memory had surfaced, he couldn’t stop thinking about it.

The more Daniel thought about it, the worse it became.

Soon he found himself craving it so intensely that he could barely sit still.

’I need shrimp.’

’Immediately.’

Daniel’s eyes suddenly lit up.

’Wait.’

’I can make it myself!’

The idea instantly excited him.

Cooking shrimp wasn’t particularly difficult.

He’d cooked it himself plenty of times in his previous life. So, he made a quick decision.

Daniel slapped the table.

"Tomorrow night, I’m treating you guys to a shrimp feast!"

Both Susan and T’Challa had become curious after hearing him praise it so passionately.

"Sounds good."

Susan smiled.

"So where are we going?"

Daniel grinned mysteriously.

"You’ll find out tomorrow."

Then he pointed at both of them.

"Just make sure you don’t eat too much beforehand."

"We meet at eight."

Neither of them got any more information.

Daniel refused to explain further.

After all, shrimp was best enjoyed at night.

A cool breeze.

A few bottles of beer.

Good company.

Anyone who had experienced it understood the feeling.

Afterward, they walked Susan back to her dormitory.

Then Daniel and T’Challa returned to their own.

Lying on his bed, Daniel began mentally listing ingredients.

...

As he continued planning tomorrow’s feast, his thoughts gradually became hazy.

Eventually, he drifted off to sleep.

That night, Daniel had a dream.

In the dream, he sat in front of a mountain of shrimp, eating happily and without restraint.

Across from him sat T’Challa.

The Wakandan prince stared longingly at the pile.

Drool pooled on the floor beneath him.

He desperately wanted some.

But Daniel looked at the shrinking mountain of shrimp and decided he didn’t have enough for himself.

So, he refused to share.

T’Challa’s expression became one of utter despair.

And Daniel laughed triumphantly as he continued eating.