Lunch

"Meat—meat—"

Fresh ingredients sizzled in the boiling oil, and the aroma of meat filled the cramped space. Golden olive oil gleamed alluringly beneath the dim candlelight.

"My dear lord, a guest awaits your summons..." the servant said respectfully as he approached from the entrance.

"Mmm~ Such a sweet fragrance, such fine wine~"

Canfor's lord—Yetara—wore a pale pink bathrobe as he savored wine shipped from the distant royal capital. Dim candlelight flickered gently, making the mounted deer head on the wall look especially sinister. The tapestry before the fireplace was embroidered with gold and silver threads, while dying embers slowly rose within the hearth.

"My lord... you..." Before the servant could finish, Yetara raised a hand before his lips.

"Shh—on such a perfect morning, please do not let insignificant people disturb it..."

A translucent crystal wineglass tipped over, spilling crimson wine across the dark gold carpet. Pink-purple velvet adorned the marble tiles, lions and hunting hounds were depicted on the heavy curtains, and not a trace of light seeped out from the unfathomable estate.

"Ah~" Tiadam yawned as he lounged in a garden chair. "Hey, hey, hey—Oyana, is this lord you mentioned ever going to see us or not..."

"Shut up—" Oyana said, drawing on her hookah. "This isn't the slums where you came from. If you speak carelessly here, someone might slaughter you."

"Huh?!" Tiadam stretched his arms, their thick muscles covered in totem tattoos. "Witch, get this straight. You invited me here, and I've already shown you plenty of respect today. If this buyer doesn't work out, give me back the Dragonblood Ring you have, and I'll find another buyer myself."

"You foolish bandit~" Oyana said, pressing a hand to her forehead. "A Dragonblood Ring of such purity isn't something just any rich man can afford. If you sell it to someone whose background you don't know, it could bring about a deadly disaster..."

"Witch, are you trying to scare me?"

"Who's scaring you... Didn't Yalila nearly get killed?"

"You... what did you say..."

"Oh~ You thought I didn't know? You stole two Dragonblood Rings, then gave one to that little bitch Yalila..." Oyana's voice turned somewhat cold. "Did you really think I knew nothing about you and that little whore? If you weren't my partner, I would have already..."

"What are you trying to do—" Tiadam placed his right hand behind his back, and the gleam of his sword flashed across Oyana's face.

"I'm not trying to do anything—" Oyana took another drag from her hookah.

"Tch, smart choice... witch."

Time passed second by second, and the noon sun grew almost blinding. After they had waited for more than two hours, a maid came running from deep within the manor.

"Two honored guests..." The maid bowed to Oyana and Tiadam. "My master invites you to join him for lunch."

"Lunch..." Tiadam looked reluctant. "Is anything produced in Canfoer City even edible?"

"Why wouldn't it be..." Oyana lifted the hem of her dress and followed the maid deeper into the estate. "Although Rosa Kevin's Curse has spread throughout Canfor... the upper class always has ways to deal with it..."

"Tch—" Tiadam snorted. "If this gives me a stomachache, I definitely won't let you off, witch!"

"Wait until you've eaten it first..."

Noon was the time of day when humans felt the hungriest. The morning's physical exertion, combined with the heavy work awaiting them in the afternoon, greatly increased people's desire to eat at midday. At such times, laborers most needed heavily salted, oily dishes to replenish their strength and salt intake.

"Landlady! There's no salt in your potatoes!" a guest in the inn shouted. "Keep this up, and I'll leave without paying!"

"How dare you!" the burly landlady roared. "I just put two spoonfuls of salt in your dish, and you still say it's bland! Do you think my salt is free—"

"Why are you yelling? There are plenty of salt merchants coming down from the northern Bikasoya Empire every year. Why not just buy more salt?" another diner replied. "You tigress, you're just stingy!"

"Pah—say that again! Say it again, and next time I won't put any salt in your potatoes or bread!"

"By the way, where did that woman who used to come here and cause trouble go? Why hasn't anyone seen her today?" a woman sitting on the doorstep asked.

"That country con artist?" The landlady thought for a moment. "She probably ran away."

"Really? Then I can finally relax..." Another woman inside the inn cradled her young son. "That bumpkin cried all day, saying everyone in her village had died and that she had neither money nor a place to stay. If she had no money, why stay here? This isn't a church. If she had nowhere to live, why not go back to her village? It was people like those country folk who brought Rosa Kevin's Curse to Canfor! If you ask me, she should have gotten lost long ago!"

"That's right—exactly right—" A burst of enthusiastic applause erupted inside the inn.

"Eh~ By the way, didn't some country old woman bring her country grandson here to stay this morning? Where are they?" another busybody asked.

"That crazy old woman?" The landlady thought for a moment, then laughed loudly. "She was probably poisoned to death by the miasma and curse in the warehouse..."

"What happened? What happened?" the gossip-loving townsfolk said in unison. "How did that old country woman end up in the warehouse?"

"Ah~ Don't laugh when I tell you~" the inn's burly landlady said mysteriously. "Earlier, I said that crazy countrywoman owed me room fees and that I was going to throw her out. Then that old woman's grandson took out a silver coin to pay for the crazy woman's room. I told them her room didn't cost a whole silver coin, so I exchanged the remaining money for potatoes and corn for them to eat. But potatoes purified with holy water cost one copper coin each, while unpurified ones cost five for one copper coin. Can you guess what that old woman said?"

"What did she say?" The diners listened with great interest.

"That old witch said she wanted unpurified potatoes—"

Another burst of raucous laughter erupted through the inn's main hall.

"That old witch really is crazy. Eat too many potatoes that haven't been purified with holy water, and people can die!"

"Are country people really that poor? They can't even afford potatoes purified with holy water?"

"Those dirt-poor bumpkins dared to step forward and pay someone else's room fees. They deserve to sell off their land and fields—"

The laughter inside the inn grew even louder.

"What happened afterward?" a curious diner asked. "What happened to that old woman after that?"

"Afterward~" the inn's landlady said, "I locked her in the warehouse where the potatoes were stored. By now, she was probably poisoned to death by the miasma in there—"

Laughter rose and fell throughout the inn.

"Then... what about that witch's grandson? What happened to him?"

"That, I don't know..." The inn's landlady sat smugly in the center of the hall, the arched church emblem on her hand exposed. "When I came out, that little country brat had probably already been taken away. There should be plenty of gentlemen in the city who like boys that age..."

The inn outside the city spent the entire lunchtime amid laughter and cheerful chatter.

Take a piece of butter produced on Timirora Peak and place it in a copper pot forged by Alterri's blacksmiths. The flame beneath it came from the dragonfire of an Elemental Dragon. First, add a little rose salt to the butter, then place the flesh of green-shelled coconuts abundant in Larideli into the copper pot and cover it with the lid.

Wait ten minutes for the coconut flesh to melt perfectly into the butter. Then place two fresh slices of pork tenderloin into the pot. Once the tenderloin had been fried golden, put the pork chops into the copper pot and fry them repeatedly until they turned pale yellow, then remove them.

It was worth mentioning that the pork chops had to be marinated for half a day with spices such as Sichuan pepper, black pepper, star anise, and garlic. Afterward, sea salt from Delashi and coconut sugar had to be spread evenly over them, ensuring that the pork chops shipped from the royal capital retained their distinctive flavor.

"By the way, a serving of pork chops like this costs around one Kralimaya Gold Coin on the market~" Yetara's servant patiently explained his cooking insights to Oyana and Tiadam.

"Just as expected~ The taste of the upper class is truly extraordinary. Every ingredient was selected to perfection..." Oyana cut into a pork chop with her knife and fork. Pale yellow juices flowed out, carrying a rich coconut fragrance. After taking a small bite, she found the sweet and salty flavors intertwined with an endless aftertaste. "As expected, only the green-shelled coconuts of Larideli Island can make pork chops this delicious."

"You flatter me~" Yetara continued swirling the red wine in his glass. "Only an elegant lady such as Madam Oyana could notice such subtle differences in the ingredients..."

"Burp~" Tiadam's belch ruined the atmosphere of the upper-class luncheon. "Can you two be practical? I came here to discuss business, not listen to you flatter each other... My lord, how much are you willing to pay for that Dragonblood Ring?"