On the table were various assortments of seafood. From fish to shellfish cooked in a wide variety of ways. The combined smell of all these foods together wetted one's appetite.
"Help yourself." Tadashi signalled with his arm.
Ari picked up her chopsticks and asked Earl, "What do you want to eat, my Earl?"
Earl looked around and pointed to a deep-fried fish dish. It was only a section of a fish, but it was big enough to fill a plate. From the way it was cut, the meat of the fish was white and glistened with juiciness. The outer skin was fried to a golden brown and there was a chilli sauce poured on top. Sitting from this distance, the smell of the fish, combined with the chilli demanded for his attention.
His mother nodded at his words and picked up a piece of the fish with her chopsticks. Putting her hand under it to prevent the sauce from dipping, she brought it to Earl's face.
"Say ahh~"
"Ah~."
Nom.
"Hehe." Ari laughed contently after seeing Earl swallow his food. "What do you want next?"
"Maybe the lobster..?"
There were two lobster dishes on the table. One that was completely deshelled and arranged beautifully, and another that was completely intact with the shell and bright red, appearing like it had just been taken out of the pot.
At this moment, three pair of eyes were on the plate with the intact lobster. The first pair was Sheryl's. With an enthusiastic expression, she reached out her hand and grabbed one of the lobsters, putting it on her plate. Holding its body with two fingers, she pinched slightly and the shell completely came apart from the sheer force of her fingers.
It was like watching a magician perform their magic as Earl watched a small fissure appear on the shell that spread through the entire lobster before shattering into hundreds of pieces. So this was the power of a Grand Adept...
Sheryl giggled cutely after she deshelled the lobster, taking it into her little mouth. A small voice of satisfaction leaked out of her lips as she closed her eyes, chewing on the bright red meat.
The second pair of eyes was Tadashi's. He grabbed one from the plate and shoved it into his mouth without any attempts at deshelling the thing at all.
Crunch. Crunch.
Earl: "???"
Ari: "..."
Turning her attention away, she directed her chopsticks to the already deshelled lobster. The reason why there were two dishes of the same food was like this. Beastkin generally enjoyed their food 'raw' while typical tourists like Ari and Earl just wanted ease in eating their food.
Dipping the lobster in some sauce, she brought it up to Earl's face.
"Say ahh~"
They enjoyed their dinner like this until they were both full.
Earl could feel Tadashi's curious gaze on him after he finished with his food. His lips lifted up into a smile as he told Tadashi,
"Mister. It is unbecoming of your stature to stare at a child like me for so long."
"Oh, haha..." Tadashi laughed awkwardly at Earl's words while Ari suppressed her laughter. "Your... son? Son. He speaks just like you."
"Enough with your clownish act, Tadashi." Ari dismissed Tadashi's words. "Let's get to the main order of business."
The atmosphere took a turn.
Tadashi nodded with a serious face. "Right. Before that, allow me to introduce you to Sheryl."
He gestured his hand. "Sheryl. This is one of Ablax's Court Mage, the Glacial Witch, Ari Roth."
"A Court Mage!?" Sheryl said in a loud, surprised voice.
Like Council members, Court Mages were the pillars of the Ablax Kingdom. In a way, they could be said to have even higher statuses than the Beast Kingdom's Council members.
The Beast Kingdom was ruled by 6 Council members, each representing one of the major clans. On the other hand, the Ablax Kingdom was ruled by the King and 4 Court Mages. The King was in charge of managing the Kingdom, while the Court Mages assisted with other trivial affairs to bring benefits to the Kingdom. Because of this, the King was not necessarily in a higher position than the Court Mages, especially when all Court Mages were of the Grand rank.
"Roth... I see that's why I thought you looked familiar!" Sheryl said after a moment of realization. Her pink ears moved from side to side to express her surprise.
"Yes," Ari smiled faintly at Sheryl's words. "The duel. I've come so I'm obviously interested. What's the deal?"
At Ari's words, Tadashi brought a hand up to scratch the back of his head. "Well, you already know what it is..."
"Say it clearly or I won't understand."
"Y-yes."
From the side, Earl could only sigh at this tigerkin. He was a Grand Adept, and yet how was he such an incapable man?
"W-would you spare me some of your time if I were to win?"
"Oh?" Ari laughed in a mocking tone. "10 years ago, I've already called you useless and now you really haven't given up? What sort of pathetic man are you?"
Tadashi's tiger ears increasingly dropped at Ari's words.
"Fortunately, you're in luck." Ari pointed to her Archmage halo. "This thing has been making my hands itch for a go. You don't know what it is, do you? It's alright. You'll find out during our duel. You best prepare something worth my time when I win."
"Eh?" Tadashi let out a stupid voice before breaking into a smile. "So you accepted my duel! You didn't have to say so much! Of course, I'll prepare something!"
"We'll be leaving now then."
Before they left, Earl ran over to Sheryl's side. "Come with us so we can play? I've missed you!"