Finding a quiet spot, Lumine and Paimon discussed the matter.
Paimon thought for a moment. "Déjà vu... I think I have heard of that term. It is the illusion that something happening right now has happened before."
"Come to think of it, I did vaguely feel something like that today. But it was probably just an illusion. So why did you suddenly drag us here?"
Lumine said, "I want to do something I would not normally do, to see if I can break out of this déjà vu."
[Paimon: As expected of Lumine. She came up with an idea so quickly.]
[Lumine: I think you are the one experiencing déjà vu. You could have thought of it just as fast.]
[Furina: Without déjà vu, a day feels quite fresh. But if you have déjà vu and cannot escape, it becomes very frightening.]
[Yae Miko: At a time like this, perhaps you could go grab a few Akademiya people and ask them. For example, that Grand Sage.]
[Xiangling: If this is a dream, then you could develop a lot of new dishes in a short time.]
[Paimon: What a good use of the situation.]
[Nahida: The flow of time in dreams often differs from reality. It could be faster, or it could be slower.]
[Ningguang: Here, time must be accelerated. Otherwise, people outside the dream might starve to death.]
Paimon had a realization. "I see. So you mean to deliberately act out of the ordinary, to see if you still get that feeling of having done it before?"
Inside the restaurant, the owner came over. "Welcome, you two. Are you here for a meal? What would you like to eat today?"
Lumine said, "One Charcoal Cake, please. Thank you."
The owner nodded. "Alright. Though you look like out-of-towners, you seem to have good taste. I will inform the chef."
Paimon was very unhappy with the food choice. "Charcoal Cake? Is that not that black thing that looks like it would not taste very good?"
"I... I think I understand what you are trying to do. Normally, you would never order this dish."
Staring at the black, thick cake on the plate, Paimon hesitated. "Are you really going to eat this?"
[Xiangling: Sumeru's traditional dishes really do look hard to swallow.]
[Zhongli: When it comes to food, it should be appealing in color, aroma, and taste. The presentation and appearance of a dish are also part of the experience.]
[Paimon: Zhongli really knows how to eat.]
[Zhongli: Food should be like that.]
"Is this sacrifice not a bit too great?"
Lumine took a big bite.
Paimon asked, "How is it? Judging by your expression, it really does seem to taste bad."
Lumine shook her head. "No, actually, the flavor is very good."
"And I have definitely tasted this flavor before."
[Dehya: Though it looks ugly, it actually tastes pretty good.]
[Furina: Fontaine also has black cake, and it can be made to look very beautiful.]
[Paimon: Some of Sumeru's foods are really unfriendly to tourists.]
[Arataki Itto: They even invented Onikabuto candy. What kind of dark cuisine is this?]
[Thoma: Surely it cannot be worse than cake in hot pot, right?]
[Kamisato Ayaka: Thoma...]
Paimon spread her hands. "Theoretically, that should be impossible. We clearly despised this dish before."
"It seems this is another flavor-based déjà vu?"
Lumine's eyes grew serious. "It seems I still cannot break free. I must have tried this before as well."
Paimon said, "I also feel like we have come to this tavern many, many times. And we are clearly not regulars."
"Maybe we should go outside and take another look?"