Nolan’s eyes lit up a little. "Ohh, at, huh? That’s good," he said with a small smile.
"Yes, Master," Linda replied proudly.
Lyra wasted no ti—she grabbed her fork and knife and imdiately started devouring her portion. "Finally! I was starving!" she said between bites, her usual grace forgotten as she tore into her food.
Damian, however, just stared at his plate. His brow furrowed as he leaned down, inspecting the steak as if it were so strange artifact. "What... is this?" he muttered. "This tiny... juicy-looking thing?" He tilted his head. "I usually eat a whole beast... maybe ten, if I’m in the mood. But this? This is so small."
He glanced around the table. Nolan had already started cutting his steak neatly, spearing a piece with his fork and lifting it to his mouth. Celia and Linda, of course, were watching Nolan dreamily as if even the way he ate was divine.
Damian hesitated, then tried to copy Nolan’s motions. He awkwardly picked up the knife, sawed at the steak with far too much force, nearly scraping the plate. Finally, he managed to cut a piece, speared it with the fork, and slowly raised it to his mouth.
The mont the at touched his tongue, Damian froze. His eyes widened, his whole body went stiff. He didn’t chew, didn’t breathe—just sat there with the fork still in his mouth, staring at nothing.
"...Damian?" Nolan asked, raising an eyebrow.
Celia smirked, leaning on the table with her chin resting in her palm. "What’s wrong, Dragon King? Is our cooking too much for you to handle?"
Linda giggled softly. "Or maybe... it’s your first ti tasting sothing this good?"
Damian slowly pulled the fork out of his mouth, his face unreadable. Then, in a low, trembling voice, he whispered, "...This... this is divine."
Lyra paused mid-bite and nearly choked laughing. "Wait—are you telling you’ve lived for millions of years and never had steak?!"
"I-I... I ate dragons, titans, gods’ offerings!" Damian stamred, clutching his chest dramatically. "But never... never this!"
Celia leaned toward Nolan and whispered just loud enough for Damian to hear, "He might actually cry."
"It’s actually tasty, right?" Damian said, surprised, glancing at Lyra. "The sa thing happened with her... the first ti she touched a human male."
Then he froze, realizing what he’d just said. "Forgive , Master, for displaying such a humiliating act," he added quickly, wiping the tears streaming down his face.
He raised his fork again, cut another piece of steak, and placed it into his mouth. The mont the flavor hit his tongue, he started crying again—loud, shaless sobs that echoed through the dining hall.
Nolan chuckled under his breath, while Celia and Linda couldn’t stop laughing. Lyra, however, didn’t care at all. She kept eating silently, her focus entirely on the al before her.
When everyone finished eating, Damian stood and bowed his head deeply. "Thank you for this opportunity, Master," he said sincerely.
"You’re welco," Nolan replied with a small nod. "Co with —I’ll show you to your room."
They walked upstairs to the very end of the hall. Nolan opened a door and stepped inside first, followed closely by Damian.
"This will be your room," Nolan said. "There’s also a smaller chamber attached to it. Feel free to use it however you wish."
"Thank you, Master," Damian said as he looked around, wide-eyed. His gaze fell on the large bed. "So this is what humans sleep on... a bed." He pressed his hand against the mattress and frowned in wonder. "I’ve read about them, but to actually touch one—interesting."
He slowly climbed onto the bed, sinking into the softness. "It’s actually pretty soft. I didn’t expect that. Much better than sleeping on rocks."
Nolan smiled faintly, watching him for a mont. "Get so rest," he said before turning and walking out of the room, quietly closing the door behind him.
As Nolan shut the door, he leaned his back against it, exhaling quietly.
"It’s actually pretty rude," he muttered under his breath, "talking so casually with soone who just tried to kill ..." He stared at the floor, his voice dropping even lower. "If I rewind ti even thirty seconds, I could end him right now. I have the strength. But he wouldn’t dare harm —the contract wouldn’t allow it. Still..." He pressed a hand against the doorfra, his eyes narrowing. "I have to keep an eye on him. I don’t know if I can trust him yet."
With that thought lingering in his mind, Nolan pushed away from the door and stepped into his room—only to stop when he saw Celia, Linda, and Lyra sitting inside, waiting.
"Hey... what are you three doing here?" Nolan asked, slightly surprised. "Shouldn’t you be in your own rooms, getting so rest?"
"No, Master," Linda said softly, shaking her head. "We haven’t seen you properly since you ca back. We were worried about you today... we just wanted to have a conversation with you."
"Yes, we did," Celia added, her voice equally soft.
Nolan sighed and crossed his arms, leaning slightly against the wall. "Alright... what is it you want to talk about?"
"Master... which day will we be going back to the Empire?" Linda asked, her eyes hopeful.
"In three days," Nolan replied without hesitation. "We’ll be heading back to the Empire then... to continue the tournant."
"I actually want to get stronger, Master," Linda said, her expression serious. "Like you said before—really strong. But with the way things are now, in just three days, we won’t have enough ti to train properly... and there’s no way we can defeat Cora like this."
Nolan leaned back slightly, folding his arms. "Oh, you’re worried about that." He gave a small smile. "I’ll tell you this—Cora’s technique is powerful, yes, but it consus her life force every ti she uses it. We don’t know how long she can maintain it. If the fight drags on long enough for fatigue to catch up with both of you, then maybe you’d lose. But when it cos to pure combat skills..." He looked directly at Linda. "You won’t lose to any of them. I’m certain of it."
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