With a small mousy voice, Diane announced that his meal was ready and Rowan told her that he would be eating with them in the kitchen.
The vehicle was semi–autonomous and could be given a limited range of freedom on a relatively straight route, and they were currently on a similar stretch of roads like that.
Rowan would love to see and hear from the people that would be beside him for the better part of a month. What better way to break the ice than over a sumptuous meal.
Rowan entered the kitchen to the smell of great food, and his mouth began to water. Curious.
Trevor had a flustered look on his face, but Rowan senses could detect him secretly gulping, and he could not blame him. The kitchen smelled divine.
Olga and Diane had overdone themselves, Rowan did not know how all the exotic ingredients like, mushrooms, artichokes, onions, those sorts of things, with other vegetables and fruits he had never seen came together to form such a magnificent spread before them, but he would take it as a sign of artistic excellence.
"Please, join me on the table." he suppressed any disagreement from Trevor and his wife with a strong look. Diane just appeared excited.
They all sat at the table and Rowan pulled out a mellow fruit wine which literally had pieces of fruit at the bottom of the large cold flask.
The table was startled when he pulled out the wine from seemingly empty air, but quickly settled since they were not stranger to the tools of Nobility. Rowan shook the wine bottle, making sure the fruits were properly mixed with the drink before he poured a generous portion for himself and dug into the food before him.
Rowan noticed there was slight hesitation in their faces due to their reluctance to sit at the same table with a powerful Noble, and he thoroughly understood the sentiment.
Rowan did not try to overly persuade them, or he would appear to be too eager, which would surely serve to create more barriers between them.
They were not making much movement, but there was something about seeing someone eat with so much gusto that would serve to shake any hesitation holding the viewers back from partaking.
Trevor was the first to break the ice and collected a healthy serving of meat and vegetables. He was going back for more meat before Olga slapped his hands and served him more vegetables.
Diane, seeing her parents had begun eating, took it as an indication that she could. And to his amazement, the young lady could really throw down with the best of foodies that her skinny frame did not suggest.
He waited for a short while for everyone else to be drawn into Food Nirvana, and their safeguards slowly dropped by the marvelous food and wine, before he started talking, he began with a compliment towards Olga.
"When I asked to be surprised, I did not know what I would be served with, but I’m glad I asked. Thank you, Olga and Diane for this wonderful meal. This is the best meal that I’ve eaten in a long while."
Olga beamed, "It was no problem my lord, the meat you provided did most of the work. I have never seen anything so rich in flavor and texture. It was my honor to work with such a marvelous piece of meat, and also to eat at your table, my lord."
"Can you please pass me the sauce." Diane said around a mouthful of salad to Rowan.
"Of course." Rowan nudged it towards her, she nodded her thanks and continued eating. A few seconds later, she paused, and threw a furtive look at Rowan, but after noticing he was speaking with her parents without looking at her, she settled and continued eating.
Rowan brought another similar bottle of fruit wine and opened it, the feeling of chewing the fruit that had been marinated by the wine changing its texture and taste was heavenly,
He began making small talk, "So, how did you and your family acquire this job? It must really be for specific qualities, seeing that only few could be selected for such a position."
"Well it’s not as distinguished as you might think. I was an easy pick for the role." Trevor scratched his head, as he chose to be the one to reply Rowan "I have experience of driving, navigating and operating heavy machinery for the past twenty-five years, and I have driven twice through two great storms, admittedly it was in a less stressful period. The real pickle was getting my family to be together with me."
"Is that so?"
"Yeah, but Olga is a very competent cook." Trevor held the hand of his wife, and she smiled at him, "she made the decision straightforward for the managers."
"I would assume the reason you wanted your family with you, should be related to the warm welcome you gave me?"
Trevor blushed, and Olga spoke up, "My lord, we apologize for that breach of conduct, and Trevor is willing to deeply apologize for his uncouth words. Aren’t you Trevor?" The look she gave her husband was scathing and he stammered.
"I’m sorry for what I said, my lord."
Rowan laughed, "Do not ever be sorry for the actions you take to protect your family, Trevor."
He noticed they all paused at his laughter for the briefest of moments, and he saw the hidden tension inside their bodies beginning to ease. Rowan valued this small victory over decimating a thousand-strong army of Dominators.
Rowan soon shifted the attention of their conversations to other pleasant matters, and although he was severely out of practice with making small conversations. He thought he did a fair job breaking the walls between them, but the chief reason for the growing familiarity between them would fall to an unlikely person—Diane.
Soon there was laughter on the table as Diane turned out to be pretty funny and talkative. She was studying to become an actress in the big city, a profession that was being sponsored with the hard work of her parents and beneath the fluff, Rowan found real strength of character within her.
The laughter and the food brought a pleasant atmosphere to the room, and one could almost forget the chaos happening outside. For the first time since he woke up in this new world, Rowan felt a sense of peace.
"So, I told Mr. Clive, you cannot say such words in the theater, and he said it was always permitted. Can you believe that?" Diane finished her story, her bodily expressions were as prominent as her voice, and Rowan allocated those traits to her training as an actress.
"Wait, but that was not what you told me last time." Olga said, "you were insistent on…"
Rowan made a small cough, and they all turned towards him, "I thank you for the meal, Trevor, Olga, Diane. It was a pleasant experience and I hope we do this every once in a while." He stood up and waved away their attempt to also stand, "No, please continue with your meal. I have other things to attend to."
Rowan left the table but not before dropping a dozen choice cuts of meat for Olga and a few bottles of wine for Trevor, seeing that Diane favored the fruity wine, he gave her one as well.
He returned to the opened hatch and stepped outside. He had spent thirty minutes on that meal and did not regret any single moment of it. For he did not know how much longer he had before he could no longer enjoy such pleasures.
He sighed and called up the Primordial Record and pushed the remaining 810 points inside and reviewed his current Attributes, which were higher than he thought it would be.
His body was actively fighting against the curse, and he would soon be rid of it. He had access to nearly half of his maximum abilities, coupled with his command over Aether he was no longer in imminent danger.
