Book 3: Chapter 5: Having a meal
âSo you two are headed to Aeria City?â Saintess Thea gave a gentle smile towards me and Sae. Once again, sunlight beamed right at us, appearing as though it was sucked through the carriage windows, causing the interior of this grand and luxurious carriage to light up significantly.
âErmâ¦yes.â I gave a casual and nonchalant reply, as I didnât want to converse much with this Saintess Thea. After all, I was the main culprit behind the auction house incident. At this moment, I was unsure whether the Theocracy had started any investigation into me. Furthermore, despite being the Saintess, the people that made up her guards were old, weak, sickly, handicapped, and were forced into despair by that perverted man that only relied on his muscles. Therefore, the underlying matter behind her and her guards definitely wasnât simple. For the sake of safety, it was best to remain vigilant during the ride and separate from her as soon as possible after arriving at Aeria City.
âLooks like you two are tired. I wonât disturb your rest,â Saintess Thea gave a faint smile, before closing her eyes to take a rest.
Despite having just closed her eyes to rest, Saintess Thea looked just as graceful as before, her hands resting on her legs and her back ramrod straight. The sunlight streaming in from extraordinary angles illuminated her fair skin, giving it a sense of transparency, appearing just like a statue of a goddess carved out from jade by a master artisan. Furthermore, it provided me with an incomparably fresh view as opposed to the drooling Sae who was about to crawl onto my lap.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
âWhoosh!â
All of a sudden, the carriageâs window was pulled open, revealing High Priest Alucard, and his wrinkled face that was so creased it could suffocate a mosquito.
âI donât care about any ulterior motives you two have. However, you two better not hurt our beloved Saintess! If you doâ¦â Alucardâs eyes turned ferocious as he pulled out a dagger from his sleeve. Wrapped around the daggerâs blade was a murky black aura that absolutely wasnât something a Theocracy priest should possess.
âUnderstand? You two better be smart.â Before I could give a reply, Alucard gave me yet another vicious glare, before closing the window.
Right as the window was pulled open, I had sensed at least 20 different killing intents radiating from outside. That differed from the number of people that were present in the earlier conflict, which only numbered to around 20.
Hmph. Nevertheless, this was a really common occurrence. If 2 extremely strong and strange people wearing masks were to sit with their cute and adorable Saintess, anyone would definitely wish to chop those two fellows up. However, Iâm not a person that will become angry towards such trifling matters, so I would naturally not treat Alucardâs words with much weight.
âHuh? Your expression doesnât seem too good. Could it be that youâre hungry?â Unknowingly, Thea had woken up, while showing a faint smile so alluring that it could even attract light, and said: âWhy donât we stop the carriage to take a break? Itâs not good for you to be too exhausted.â
Ahâ¦this child truly is an angel. Not only does she wear a smile that would heal peopleâs hearts from time to time, but she would also put other peopleâs conditions into consideration, showing her extraordinary beautiful temperament and character. She still treats us completely without any biases despite the strange masks we wear. No wonder she can become a Saintess that is loved by the masses. In fact, I believed if I were a god, I would definitely want her in my hands.
âAlthough we didnât bring along much food for our journey, you two can share a meal with us if you donât mind.â
âAhâ¦thereâs no need for that. Weâve brought our own food. Furthermore, our eating together would definitely affect your appetite.â
âAhhâ¦.so your dry rations are those along the lines of salted fish and dried meat jerky? Thereâs no problem with that. We can share our food with you.â
âErmâ¦itâs not thatâ¦â
âItâs alright if you donât like our rations. However, I must insist that you two have a meal with us. I wonât be at ease if I leave my benefactors alone to eat.â
âHmmâ¦okay then.â
What a good childâ¦
â¦â¦â¦
â¦â¦â¦
Eating has always been one of the most important things that all those living under the heavens care about. The law of food being a primary need was similarly applicable to this world. Within this deserted wilderness, in the middle of nowhere, a plate of delicious food would always be sufficient to boost peopleâs morale, as well as dispersing the terror brought forth from long-distance travel.
âTodayâs meal will be as delicious as usual, right, Sae?â
âThatâs right, Lady Lilith.â
âItâs only that itâs quite troublesome to eat with a mask. With the amount of food I usually consume, Iâm afraid that itâll become a very long meal.â
âI believe that will be extremely easy for Lady Lilith to deal with. However, the gazes coming from those people in the surroundings are exceedingly infuriating. Is it possible for me to kill them, oh great Lilith?â
âHaha, You have to change your habit of fighting and killing on a whim, Sae. In any case, they are good-hearted people that have given us a lift, so how can you just kill them off like that? Come, letâs have a toast. Let this nice wine extinguish the flames of anger in your heart.â
âLookâs like this lowly oneâs strength isnât sufficient enough to have let this fleshly body affect my own thoughts. Iâm truly ashamed of this, so please let me punish myself with a cup.â
Cling. The clear sound of wine glasses making contact rang out across the deserted wilderness, giving people a fluttery and illusionary feeling, alongside a distinctive smell.
âWaitâ¦wait a minute!â
Just as we were able to empty our glasses in one go, we were interrupted by the sudden appearance of Saintess Theaâs voice. Turning my head to look at the emotionally looking Thea, I asked in confusion, âIs there something you need, esteemed Saintess?â
âWhatâ¦what are you two doing?â
âWhat are we doing?â I swirled the wine glass in my hand. At this moment, there was only a scant amount of the bright red liquid left within, âOf course weâre having our meal? Didnât you invite us to have it together with you, esteemed Saintess?â
âI know about that, butâ¦but Iâm asking youâ¦what are those?â
Huh? Strange. âDonât you know about cutlery and dining tables, esteemed Saintess?â
âOf course I know about them. However, Iâm asking about what you are thinking to bring out such extravagant things in a place like this.â
The dining table was made out of the special product of the northern Macedonia Empire, Luolersi stone, the chairs were made out of the special product of the southern Elven Forest, the Solas Tree, and the plates were carved out of obsidian. Every part of those dining ware was made with top-notch workmanship, with every flower pattern being hand-carved. In fact, even the candles on the table were made from the fat of Primal Beasts.
âIs that so?â Only at this moment did I realize the severity of her question, âSo all of these are too extravagant? Looks like I have to lower my standards once again, so as to prevent attracting too much attention.â
âAfter all, I personally prefer to keep a lower profile.â
Finishing the wine in my glass, the rich and delicious grape juice instantly took over my mouth, while unavoidably increasing my appetite.
âThis wineâs⦠not too bad.â