"Hold your horses, Little Prince. We've got our Mission to go through first before hers, so don't be too quick to jump on the wagon. I want to discuss with you how we're going to take down the undead lighting brat before helping others," said Tomoe, placing a hand on Raiyen's shoulder.
"I'm not going to help Mavislin with the Mission physically... I'm giving her tips on how to go about it without getting seen. So what's the situation?" asked Raiyen, looking at the Black Knight's profile.
The Time Mage's heart sank when he realized that Mavislin's Mission would be the most tedious since they've got six targets to take down. All of the targets' stats were through the roof, making the final enemy of the Umbra Mission look like a training dummy.
"I think we better have this discussion after dinner... I'm starving," whined Raiyen as he walked out of the room.
"I think we've been hearing that complain so much to the point that I thought Duncan was around here," said Ashley as everyone got up to head for dinner.
Clement was done with cooking for the children in the Orphanage and was in the kitchen preparing dinner. Tonight's meal was simple and short so that the kids could get an early sleep for tomorrow's schedule and the adults to have more meetings at night.
The smell of the pork bone soup he had been working on was fragrant enough for the kids to rush to the dinner table before Clement could come out with the actual dish. And as Ashley entered the room with Bryan, Tomoe, and Mavislin, the trio from earlier looked at him with a suspicious smile.
"And what can I do for the big Three of the Arks?" asked Ashley, taking his place at the table.
"Let's wait for the food to be served to answer your question," said Z, standing up to help Clement.
The children slid down from the second floor thanks to the Old Chapel, creating a slide instead of the stairs. They were all quick and orderly as they took their places at the table.
"So I've got pork rib soup with carrots and potatoes as a main dish and rice to accompany it. I've also fried up some eggs since I did too much for the kids back at the Orphanage. Finally, I've got some fried broccoli with melted cheese and garlic for Rina. Enjoy the meal," introduced Clement.
"How about Kai? Can he drink the soup?" asked Rina, taking some rice and broccoli.
"The soup is good for babies; just let it cool before feeding Kai. The vegetables are soft enough for Kai to gum it down," said Clement, as everyone else grabbed their food.
The children didn't take much since their bodies aren't too well adapted to have full meals. But the faces of happiness as they continued eating warmed Clement's heart, knowing that he did an excellent job cooking their meals.
As for the adults, only Ysabeau didn't fancy the pork soup since it was too oily for her liking. But everyone in the room loved the fried broccoli, and for the first time, Mavislin was eating something green at the dinner table.
"Either the world will end tomorrow, or I've done something to upset you so much that you are eating green vegetables when you've got pork ribs in front of you. Since when did you eat these types of food?!" asked Tomoe, eyes big as dinner plates while looking at Mavislin.
Tomoe's words caught the Valkyrie off guard as she had broccoli halfway in her mouth. Mavislin continued to chew while pointing at the Kitsune with her fork.
"You haven't done anything to upset me, and the world will be fine tomorrow if Baldwin doesn't choose to destroy it. I just like broccoli if it's been cooked well. And this is fantastic!" reclaimed Mavislin, stuffing more into her mouth.
Everyone nodded in unison before Ashley continued his question on why Z, Ysabeau, and Gillian were all looking at him with those smiles.
"Well... We've got an issue at the Teuton Domain regarding the case of the Hound of Madness... Unfortunately, that madman is no longer in the Mafia, so we can't rely on his track record to find him anymore."
"But, even with the two targetted provinces, there are places that the Hound might take cover in. And the only force in the area that rules above our leadership would be the Mafia," started Z, swallowing some lemonade.
"There's no way in any shape or form that I am ever fighting that Hound. However, I know his antics and how he ran the entire Teuton Domain. And because of my previous affiliation within the Mafia of the Five Domains, I am never fighting that crazed man again..." Ashley declared.