After a short journey to the dining hall, Rogdana and his companions were greeted by the voice of one of their new acquaintances.
— What a slop, — the plate on the table in front of Cleona contained a portion of buckwheat porridge and a couple of slightly burnt cutlets. The girl was listlessly poking at the plate with a fork, but she still couldn't bring herself to put its contents in her mouth.
— Come on, don't be like that. Food is food, no matter what it is, someone grew it, harvested it, and cooked it, we should be grateful for such gifts of nature. — Yuisis cut off a piece of cutlet with a knife, put it on a fork, and offered it to Cleona's mouth. — Now, say "a-a-a"...
The girl's face was filled with disgust, but fortunately for her, this scene was interrupted by the appearance of Rogdana.
— Oh, Mr. Kraffmeyer, Zerek, Ilensiya, Darbon! Have you decided to have lunch too?
Ilensiya looked at the portion with slight distrust, but in the end, fatigue stimulated her appetite. Zerek followed their example with Rogdana without much enthusiasm. Darbon's mood improved significantly at the sight of the appetizing cutlets with a browned crust and soft, fragrant buckwheat porridge, and only politeness and modesty prevented him from immediately pouncing on the divine food.