Chapter 37: Dinner With The Ethereals
"This room was used for storage but since it was empty, you can use it."
Larsanel gave Eliana some house rules in the Ethereal building. It was interesting how everything works in the building. The room was already neat and her things were placed on the bed. The room was bigger than she had back in the girl's dormitory.
She made sure to bathe herself clean after two days of being unwashed. She felt a lot better after grooming herself. By the time she was done it was already night time, Larsanel told her to go down in time in the dining hall for dinner.
Her room was located on the second floor which was also the first rankers bedroom floor. Her shoulders were still hurting despite the new bandages. It took awhile for her to go down since moving around as usual was hard for her at the moment.
Once she arrived at the hall, she saw the others already seated patiently. She realized they were all waiting for her.
"I'm sorry it took a while."
The table stretched along the middle of the room, it wasn't that long, only enough to host ten people. The seating arrangement on the left side was where Kylon and Bastion were. On the right side is where Larsanel, Jettam and Emery were. On the two ends was where Anzai and Zathur were seated.
"It is okay, we know you're not yet fully healed." Jettam said softly.
Zathur pointed at the empty chair in between Kylon and Bastion. "Take a seat."
Eliana eyed the food on the table feeling her mouth drool. The food looks delicious and inviting, of course after losing consciousness for two days.
After she sat she peaked at the others waiting for them to start eating, on her peripheral view Jettam was already eyeing a particular dish.
'What are we waiting for?'
"We can eat now that we're complete." Anzai said.
After a few seconds, everyone dug in. Eliana sat speechless when Jettam and Kylon reached aggressively for the same dish. They bicker over who gets the bigger piece, the dish looks similar to a meat, chicken perhaps. Eliana looked over the others who minded their own business, they didn't seem to be bothered by the two.
She shrugged and reached for the dishes she believed would taste delicious just from a single look. And she was indeed not wrong, they taste absolutely marvelous.
"This is so good." She hummed when the flavour spread in her mouth.
Bastion cleared his throat. "Well, I very much do accept compliments."
Eliana's eyes shot wide open at Bastion. "You cook?"
Bastion smiled slyly nodding to her question. "It is a hobby I put in to use for essential purposes." He resumed eating.
Eliana took a second glance over the other dishes and was even more impressed by the plating and the mouthwatering finish look Bastion pulled off on them.
"I can cook too, but not at this level." She said.
Emery rolled her eyes unusually, not commenting. Larsanel smiled to Eliana while the Kylon and Jettam was bickering over another dish. The rest remained unbothered.
"You can cook?" Larsanel asked.
Eliana nodded and ate a spoonful of her meal before answering. "I do know some recipes here and there, but I'm no pro."
Larsanel nodded. "Mmmm, you should cook for us some time."
Eliana paused for a while. She saw the expecting look on Larsanel's face Jettem as well followed by Kylon's who seemed to have caught their attention.
"Sure?" She mustered a grin half confused.
"That's great! Cook something delicious for us Eliana." Jettam beamed.
Kylon chuckled. "Oh, don't forget to calculate the ratios. We usually have big servings." He added.
Eliana blinked at them. "Oh, I'll keep that in mind."
"That's good." Bastion agreed. "We can do some rotations for cooking. None of these rankers cook if I don't." The bitterness rolled off his tongue.
Eliana chuckled when she noticed the others frowned. It must've been true since no one sweated to retaliate.
"I'll try my best Bastion." Bastion smiled in return and they resumed eating.
After a short while, everyone was almost done with their food. It was then that Anzai decided to finally speak.
"Eliana."
"Mmm?" Her mouth was full and her cheeks were bloated. Eliana immediately caught herself when the first ranker gave her a look. She gulped down the whole thing from embarrassment only to choke from the action.
She stood up coughing violently from the bulge stuck on her throat. Kylon handed her a glass full of water. She drank it and felt the pain as the food finally drained down to her esophagus.
The others cringed at her clumsy actions.
"Pardon me." She coughed. "What is it?" She eventually sat back normally with a shameless smile.
Anzai remained unfazed from the fiasco. "Lord Rimbrad told me to inform you about the investigation. The day after tomorrow, Lord Wistal will be visiting you once again for the matter. Discussion will take place in his office. As for us, we already gave a statement."
Eliana paused for a second letting the information digest in her brain, she was still embarrassed from earlier. "Alright alright, I'll be sure to talk to them. Thanks." She gave him a thumbs up.
The others who were listening to them gave her a confused look, particularly directed on her erected thumb.
She noticed this and immediately waved her hands. "Ah, forget it. I'll be there." She dismissed.
'How can they not know what a thumbs up is?'