"Humph! What happened to that cheesy line which you said not too long back?"
Not saying anything, Felix planned on doing something which would make Sheila yelp when he sensed that someone was approaching them.
If it was Anna, or her nieces, Felix wouldn't have stopped and continued.
Unfortunately, it was Sarah who was coming towards them due to which he immediately parted from Sheila and jumped outside the window.
Not too long after he did that, Felix heard Sarah asking Sheila if she needed any help.
Hearing this, Felix hoped for Sheila to refuse Sarah and send her away so that he could go back in, but his dreams were once again shattered when the fox accepted Sarah's help as if she knew what Felix was thinking about.
Due to this, Felix who after leaving Sheila went back to feeling cold and hungry grudgingly made his way back inside his room.
...
"I feel really embarrassed that you're cooking such costly meat for us, Sheila."
"Huh? I didn't buy this, it was Felix who bought it."
Looking towards Sarah in surprise, Sheila felt that this family was weirder than she initially thought.
Though she could feel that the four females who were related to each other and the girl that stayed with them had a harmonious relationship, things felt awkward when matters relating to Felix were brought up.
It was almost as if he was a taboo topic despite all of them living in the same house.
"Oh, really? I… I didn't know."
Chuckling to hide her true feelings, Sarah felt that Felix who was always a mystery had just turned even more mysterious.
This was because she was now sure without any doubt that he was the one who massacred the Asta Family members.
After all, even though she had a few doubts, which were more like thoughts of denial, learning that Felix was the one who bought the meat made her realise that she would be stupid to continue refusing to accept the truth.
This was because unlike ordinary meat, meat from Astral Beasts was worth their weight in Astral Stones.
That is, even the meat of Tier 1 Astral Beasts was sold at a price of 1 low-grade Astral Stone for 10kgs.
As for this slab of meat which remained after Sheila had almost finished with cooking, Sarah despite not knowing its exact quality was sure that it cost at least a few hundred low-grade Astral Stones.
And for Felix to spend so much could only mean that he was using the fortune he made by exterminating the Asta Family.
Learning of this filled Sarah with inexplicable feelings due to which she left after telling Sheila that she just remembered there was something she needed to do.
'Something's definitely weird. Could it be that…?!'
Shaking her head and refusing to believe that the reason behind this palpable tension in the air was because Felix and Sarah were once involved with each other romantically, Sheila went back to focus on cooking since she was almost done.
...
Unlike the meat which was obtained from killing ordinary beasts, the meat of Astral Beasts was something which had the same value as gold did in the ancient eras.
After all, eating the meat of Astral Beasts gave countless benefits to not just cultivators but even those living beings who didn't cultivate.
Starting from the most basic benefit which was enriching the body with countless nutrients and protein which helped in making them healthier, the meat of Astral Beasts could also help in increasing one's cultivation.
Only when cooked by professionals who possessed the right Astral Runes. Not just anyone could make the meat of Astral Beasts retain the Astral Force inside them and make it mild enough to consume it through the mouth. This is something which is known as Astral Cooking and one of the few very profitable occupations for one to pick up.
Luckily, no Astral Runes were needed for someone who just wanted to cook and eat the meat which would taste like a heavenly dish even when made by people who were not experts in cooking.
Also, there was one thing which made the meat of Astral Beasts even more popular. That too especially among women.
This was the beautifying effect the meat of Astral Beasts had. Of course women were not truly turned even more beautiful than they already were. It was only their skin which would turn more white and jade-like until a certain level.
Still, this was more than enough for women to turn crazy over this.
Especially for those women who cared more about their appearance than the fate of the world.
…
"Dinners ready!"
Saying those words which she always wanted to, even though those whom she was calling weren't her kids and her husband like she fantasised about, Sheila who could almost see that fantasy coming true in the near future didn't feel as if she was taking a loss from saying those words right now.
Once she said those words, all the women who were anxiously waiting inside the living room which was right next to the dining room shouted "Coming!" and quickly filled the five of the eight chairs around the table.
"Dinner is ready, Felix!
Repeating herself since Felix hadn't yet come, Sheila was about to say those words for a third time when she noticed the weird expressions on the faces of everyone there with her.
"What is it?"
"Felix… He doesn't eat with us. He…"
Not waiting for Anna to finish her explanation, Sheila stormed off and soon made all of them shudder from the sound of a door being slammed open.
"I didn't cook so hard just for you to stay inside your room and wait for it to cool down! Now come with me and eat it when it's hot!"
"Sheila, I'll eat it later. All of you should eat first, I'm…"
Rolling her eyes, Sheila grabbed onto Felix's hand and began dragging him outside the room when he forcibly pulled his hand away and spoke with a voice that was close to being considered as shouting.
"SHEILA! When I say I'll eat it later, I'll eat it lat…"
Not finishing those words, Felix sighed from feeling guilty and stopped himself.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to shout at you, it's just…."
"You don't have to explain yourself. Instead, come and eat dinner with me. Food tastes better when it is eaten together."
"Sheila, you don't understa…."
Unable to finish his words since Sheila once again began pulling him by his hand, Felix this time didn't refuse her or try to stop her since he felt even more guilty due to Sheila not reacting in any negative way towards his previous outburst.
"Why are you all just looking towards us for? Let's eat!"
Making everyone focus on the food in front of them with the words, Sheila took the responsibility of serving them one by one while not showing any signs of being bothered by the obviously awkward atmosphere.
It was almost as if this was the first time all of them were eating together despite being a family.