Lunch

"Meat—meat—"

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

"My dear lord, a guest is awaiting your summons..." the servant who had entered through the main doors said respectfully.

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

Canfor's lord—Yetara—wore a pale pink bathrobe as he savored wine transported from the distant royal capital. The dim candlelight flickered gently, casting the mounted stag head on the wall in a particularly horrifying light. Gold and silver thread embroidered the tapestry before the fireplace, 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 characters disturb it..."

A transparent glass cup toppled over, crimson wine spilling across the dark gold carpet. Marble tiles were adorned with pinkish-purple velvet, while lions and hunting hounds were depicted upon the heavy curtains. Not a trace of light escaped from the unfathomable estate.

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

"Shut up—" Oyana said as she smoked her hookah. "This isn't the slums where you came from. If you speak carelessly here, you could get yourself butchered."

"Huh?!" Tiadam stretched his arms, their muscular length covered in totem tattoos. "Witch, get this straight. You were the one who invited me here. I've given you plenty of face today. If this buyer doesn't work out, return the Dragonblood Ring in your hands to me. I'll find another buyer myself."

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

"Are you trying to scare me, Witch?"

"Who's trying to deceive you... Didn't Yalila nearly get killed?"

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

"Roar~ Did you think I didn't know? You stole two Dragonblood Rings, then gave one to that little bitch Yalila..." Oyana's voice turned somewhat chilling. "Did you really think I didn't know 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, the gleam of his sword shining brightly across Oyana's face.

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

"Tch, smart choice... Witch."

Time passed second by second, and the midday sun became almost blindingly bright. After waiting for over 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 seemed reluctant. "Can the things produced in Canfor even be eaten?"

"Why not..." Oyana gathered her long skirt and followed the maid deeper into the estate. "Though Rosa Kevin's Curse has spread throughout all of Canfor... those of high society always have ways of dealing with it..."

"Tch—" Tiadam snorted. "If I get sick from eating this, I definitely won't let you off, Witch!"

"Wait until you've eaten it before saying that..."

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

"Landlady! You didn't put any salt in these potatoes!" a guest in the inn shouted. "Keep this up and I'll leave without paying!"

"How dare you!" the burly landlady howled. "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? Plenty of salt merchants come down from the northern Bikasoya Empire every year. Can't you just buy more salt?" another diner replied. "You tigress, you're just stingy!"

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

"Come to think of it, where did that woman who always came here to cause trouble go? Why hasn't anyone seen her today?" a woman sitting on the doorstep asked.

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

"Really? Then I can rest easy..." said another woman in the inn, cradling her young son. "That yokel cried all day, saying everyone in her village had died and that she had no money or place to live. 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 bumpkins who brought Rosa Kevin's Curse to our Canfor! If you ask me, she should've gotten lost long ago!"

"That's right—that's right—" A burst of fervent applause erupted throughout the inn.

"Eh~ Come to think of it, didn't some country old woman bring her country grandson here to stay this morning? Where are they?" another busybody asked.

"That madwoman?" The landlady thought for a moment, then laughed heartily. "They were 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 country old woman end up in the warehouse?"

"Ah~ Don't laugh when I tell you this~" the burly innkeeper said mysteriously. "Earlier, I said that country madwoman owed me lodging fees and was going to throw her out. Then that old woman's grandson took out a silver coin to pay the madwoman's room fee. I said her room fee didn't need 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 to eat unpurified potatoes—"

As she spoke, another burst of raucous laughter erupted in the inn's main hall.

"That old witch really is crazy. Eat too many potatoes not purified with holy water, and you'll die!"

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

"Those poor yokels dared to pay someone else's lodging fees. Serves them right if they had to sell their land and fields—"

As they spoke, the laughter in the inn grew even more intense.

"What happened afterward?" a curious diner asked. "What became of that old woman?"

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

"Ha ha—"

"Hahahaha—"

Laughter rose and fell throughout the inn.

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

"That I don't know..." The innkeeper 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 quite a few gentlemen in the city who like boys that age..."

The entire lunchtime at that inn outside the city passed amid laughter and cheerful conversation.

Take a piece of butter produced in the Timilora mountains and place it in a copper pot forged by blacksmiths of Alterri. Use dragonfire from the mouth of an Elemental Dragon for the flame beneath it. First add a little rose salt to the butter, then place the flesh of green-shell coconuts abundantly produced in Larideli into the copper pot, and cover it with the lid.

Wait ten minutes for the coconut flesh to blend perfectly into the butter. Then place two fresh slices of pork tenderloin into the pot. Once the tenderloin has fried to a golden color, place the pork chops into the copper pot. Fry them repeatedly until the chops turn light yellow, then remove them.

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

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

"As expected~ The taste of high society truly is extraordinary. Every ingredient has been selected to perfection..." Oyana cut open a pork chop with her knife and fork. Pale yellow juices flowed out, releasing waves of coconut fragrance. She took a small bite, tasting a blend of sweetness and salt that lingered endlessly on her tongue. "As expected, only green-shell coconuts from Larideli Island can make these pork chops so delicious."

"You flatter me~" Yetara continued to swirl the wineglass in his hand. "Only an elegant lady like Miss Oyana could detect such subtle differences in the ingredients..."

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