The two of them changed their route and headed to the kitchen, at the sight of the food on the table Rada's eyes lit up "Meat!".
It seemed like it had been an eternity since he had last eaten decently and the sight of those legs made him a real savage, he ate everything he saw without making any compliments.
"Big brother here..." meanwhile, Cody handed him a glass and set about pouring him something from a bottle that looked rather old and worn.
To his amazement, Rada saw that the glass was angular, it didn't have the roundness of the classic glasses he was used to drinking from. But he didn't give it much thought after remembering that in some Eastern cultures it was customary to drink from square glasses.
"What is it?" asked Rada at the sight of the strange reddish liquid poured on his glass.
"Wine" answered Cody smiling.
Rada immediately declined the offer, "Ah, no thanks I can't hold my liquor, water will do more than fine."
In truth, he hated any kind of liquor, he hated the strong taste, the smell, but most of all the feeling of sickness after drinking even one drop too much.
Cody looked at his ugly expression of amused rejection, he didn't have a big brother and was comfortable talking and watching his funny faces.
"Big brother this wine is not as strong as you think, trust me it will help you heal too."
Cody finished pouring the wine into the glass.
"Alright..."
Sighing in defeat, Rada could only accept the little boy's courtesy, he could not offend the hospitality he received, and besides, it was just a glass, nothing serious he thought.
Whichever way you looked at it it looked like wine to all intents and purposes, but since it was too late to back out now, he made the little boy happy and drank it all in one go.
"Hmm!"
The taste wasn't bad, there was no trace of alcohol at all in fact.
A few seconds after drinking, he felt his body invigorate, he was quickly regaining his strength. Pleasant warmth flowed through her body, removing any sense of numbness from her body.
Rada opened her eyes wide and stretched the glass towards Cody saying: "More!" and with an innocent smile she continued pouring wine to her big brother in front of him.
A good half hour passed before Rada could completely satisfy his hunger.
"Big brother you ate so much in such a short time!" Cody exclaimed with wide eyes.
Rada had brushed everything in front of him, he had no idea what he was eating, but he wasn't picky, food wasn't wasted! Another lesson from her sainted mom.
"Eheh, sorry but I was really hungry" Rada smiled embarrassed, then continued, "In my house if you don't eat fast you stay fast, ahah".
Cody looked at him dumbfounded but burst out laughing right after with him.
The laughter of the two young men could be heard in the house, but two other people watched silently.
Suddenly, one of the two men interrupted Rada and Cody's show.
"I'd like to know where this house of yours is boy?" the man asked with a serious look.
"Dad!" Cody gasped at the sudden appearance of his father.
"Oh, you're Rei and Cody's father, nice to meet you, I'm Rada." Surprised for a moment, Rada slowly stood up and bowed his head slightly in greeting.
The man was slightly surprised by his reaction, he didn't seem to show any fear or arrogance towards him.
"Logar Tal Bran" the man replied.
"Uh oh, what an interesting young man" behind him the other person stepped forward .
"You must be the Elder that Cody told me about, thank you again for saving my life" Rada immediately realized that the person next to Rei's father must be the famous "Elder".
"Uh oh, I didn't do anything much son, it's safe to say you healed yourself" the old man replied cordially.
There was some tension in the air, Logar continued to stare at Rada with an inquisitive look.
Cody remained close to Rada in silence not knowing what to say.
"Let's not stand here staring at each other like fools, let's sit down and chat over a cup of tea, Cody will you take care of this son?" the elderly gentleman interrupted the tension created with ease, immediately giving a good impression of himself to Rada.
"I'll be right there!"
Cody ran out of the room like a flash.
So only Rada, the Elder and Logar remained in the room. Logar immediately opened the dances by asking: "Rada, am I right? Where did you come from? How did you end up in the river badly injured?".
Rei had previously told of her encounter with the boy, the man was immediately suspicious of him. He felt that the young man in front of him was somehow abnormal and was hiding something.
"You certainly don't waste your time with questions sir, now I see where Rei gets it from," Rada replied jokingly.
Logar wrinkled his eyebrows, looking annoyed, probably at the boy's confidence with his daughter. The Elder meanwhile, watched the two in silence, enjoying the show.
Noticing the man's serious look, Rada sighed for a moment before formulating his answer;
"Before I answer your questions sir, I would like you to be merciful to Rei..."
But before he could continue Logar quickly interrupted him, "Rei's business is none of your business."
Rada watched the man carefully, he seemed to want to intimidate him, but he could understand the reasons for doing so.
"If it weren't for her, I wouldn't be here talking to you now, although I think I have largely repaid my debt to her, I would rather see her here with her family than locked up somewhere," Rada said in a gentle tone.
His manner was neither aggressive nor disrespectful leaving a good impression of himself, especially to the Elder.
"Precisely for this we are grateful to you son" the latter replied.
"Don't worry about little Rei, she was only put in isolation for 24 hours to reflect on her actions, she is already back in her room."
The man's kind eyes inspired peace, Rada couldn't help but stare at them for a moment.
At that point, crossing gazes, the Elder's eyes lit up.
(Oh? What an interesting guy, I just wanted to test him, but he managed to break out of the hypnosis of my aura almost instantly.... A kind heart, a steadfast mind, and an indomitable spirit, not to mention his body.... There seems to be no doubt now of his worth) he said to himself.
(He doesn't seem to realize it, though; I'm thinking something unexpected must have happened.)
Without knowing it, Rada had just been tested by the old man, fortunately he had passed the test with flying colors.
Knowing the man's temperament, Logar quietly let it happen.
Logar was a clan leader, but the Elder had been in their village since even before he was born.
Because of this, the village had respect for him, although he hardly ever put his nose into village affairs, his advice was always welcome.
"I see, knowing that everything has been resolved for the better makes me happy, after all Elder, making mistakes like that is a privilege of us young people, do you agree?" with his usual manner, Rada continued to converse normally with the two men.
"Ohohoho, what you say is true son, you seem to be a judicious young man, don't you Logar?" the old Elder was getting more and more happy to chat.
He could see there was no falsehood in him, but he left the rest of the chat for later, so he passed the baton to Logar, eager to question the boy.
"Tsk, that's still to be decided, not to mention that he hasn't answered any of my questions yet" Logar continued to keep an eye on him with no change in expression.
Rada on the other hand, saw the man not letting go of his hold on him and could only huff to himself.
"Alright ladies I will answer your questions, but if it's alright with you, I have questions too," he said.
He finally had a chance to get some answers as to where he was or what had happened to him.
Although Logar seemed like a tough cookie, he saw that the Elder would be more than happy to give him some.