Thirty minutes later,
"I cannot believe you can make something unbelievable like all of this, and it comes from plain bread!" Vanda exclaimed in surprise after seeing the dishes that Argo cooks earlier with Lami and Vera. Gavin just nodded in agreement as he also has this awe expression on his face.
In front of them, there are a lot of dishes that look very appetizing even for a high-class elf like Vanda. She could smell a meat in one of them, an egg in another, and even something very sharp that she couldn't recognize on the other dishes. It was a bit too much for them as in this world, bread is usually used for a sweet dish, not something so savory like this.
Argo just has a smug face when he watched his companions and the boys drooling at the food. Even though it was just sandwich dishes, to this world that has never experienced breads other than for a desert, of course, this would be an amazing experience.
"Well, I am not doing that alone. Vera and Lami also helped a lot. Right, girls?"
"Ehehe.."
Both girls rubbed their heads sheepishly, but still have proud expressions on their faces. Argo could understand why they are so proud of a simple thing like this, considering the girls would usually be protected by their brothers and couldn't do anything about it. This was probably their first time feeling useful for their siblings.
"Well, what are you waiting for? Eat it!"
Everyone in the room picked up a plate in front of them, observing their food carefully. After they are done with their slight hesitation, they took a tiny bite carefully, just to have their eyes widened in surprise.
"Wow! This is very tasty!" Vanda exclaimed, couldn't hide her surprised expression. Gavin nodded in agreement as he said,
"I have to admit, My Lord. This is the best I have ever eaten. Not that I eat a lot of breads, of course, considering I cannot eat anything too sweet. If I might ask though, what did you add to make the cheese have a very sharp taste?"
Argo didn't answer immediately. Instead, he opened the access toward his space storage and took something from it before throwing that at his companion.
"What is this?" Gavin asked with a curious face, observing the strange ingredient in front of him.
"That's garlic." Argo finally answered. "It is a kind of plant that could be used to heighten the flavor of your food. I bought this from 'that' place, so I don't know where you can find it here. But in that place, this ingredient is common, and you can find it almost everywhere."
Now, it picked Vanda's interest too. She couldn't fathom how far behind the cuisine of this world is compared to Earth.
"What about this, big brother? It is so white and sticky, but the taste is yummy!" This time, it is Alex who asked a question. The girls let out a small giggle at the mess on the corner of his mouth.
"I know what is that, big brother!" Lami said with eagerness on her face. "It was something that big brother Argo called Mayo, which was created with a lot of egg yolks in it!"
"Wow, you are so smart, Lami!" Alex and Deron praised Lami which triggered a silly grin on their little sister's face.
"Ehehe.."
"What is an egg yolk, by the way?"
Ara who hasn't said anything suddenly asked, a curiosity could be seen on his face. Vera and Lami looked at each other, trying so hard to remember what it is. But after a few seconds, they give up and turned around to Argo with puppy dog eyes plastered on their faces.
Argo just chuckled before he answered the question shortly, "It is the yellow part of the eggs." Which triggered more questions popped up onto Ara's head,
"Why only use the yellow part specifically? Is there something special in it?"
Having been living in Meteor City since he was born, he has never seen how a portion of good food was processed, so to learn something like this is a new experience for him.
Argo is about to answer his question. However, he was stopped when he felt the wards on his house were breached.
"Gavin." He called out his companion. "There are uninvited guests outside. Check it first." The shadow demon didn't need to be ordered twice as he nodded.
"Yes, My Lord."
And right after that, he vanished into the shadow, leaving the room in a tense atmosphere. The kids looked at each other, a bit worried about their safety. However, Vanda only has curiosity on her face.
"How could they breach your wards, big brother? Did you change it into the weaker one?"
"Yeah, I change it." Argo nodded. "While the last ward is very powerful, to erect it just for a single building is not that efficient. It took a lot of mana to maintain it, and I am the only anchor of this ward. While I don't have any problem providing that much mana for the last fifty years, I designed something simpler for a commercial purpose. This is the first time I test it, and I can see it is not that effective to hold intruders."
Vanda nodded, understanding where he comes from. The kids just looked at them with confused faces, couldn't understand why they are so calm about it. However, before they could ask anything, they were interrupted by the sudden appearance of Gavin who popped up from nowhere and kneeled in front of Argo.
"My Lord!" The shadow demon spoke. "There are five people outside the building. Three of them are captain-level knights, and the other two have apprentice-level mana. The mages are still having a hard time breaching the last layer of your wards. As for their motives, they wanted to have revenge for their brothers. They are from someone called… Lord Caleb?" He tilted his head in confusion.
However, Argo just nodded in understanding.
"Aah.. I got it.. I killed five of them when earlier. I just didn't expect they would come this fast."
"Wait!" Ara's voice suddenly interrupted their conversation. "You killed Lord Caleb's men? Oh God! This would be a disaster! We need to run!" The other boys also have worried faces, even though it was covered by their guilty expressions. Argo killed Lord Caleb's men for them, after all.
However, Argo and Vanda just looked at them with amused faces, not showing any hint of concern. Well, they are the people who reach the pinnacle of the world, so there is no way they would be concerned with crooks like them.
"Don't worry, kids," Argo spoke. "Everything will be finished in less than five minutes."
It doesn't make Ara who still doesn't know his true strength better. In fact, he is worried that things would go worse if things would go worse for them. Argo could hear the boy whisper to his little sister.
"Vera, if things go worse, let's leave this place. Lord Caleb would not take any mercy even if we are just kids."
Argo let out a small snort, feeling insulted by the boy's statement. However, he decided to ignore the kids and turned around to his companion.
"So, who wants to come with me?"
"I will pass." Vanda shook her head. "I will be here and protect the children. You men just go deal with them as you fit." Argo nodded, clearly understanding that her priority was to protect Vera. He turned his head to his demon companion and asked,
"So, what do you want? The knights or the mages?"
"The knights," Gavin answered without any hint of hesitation. "It has been a long time for me to have a physical fight. Let me deal with them."
"Suit yourself." Argo nodded at the Demon.
However, before they could leave, Argo feels a small tug on his clothes. When he turned around, he could see Lami has a worried expression while there is a tear threatening to fall on the corner of her eyes.
"Be safe, big brother."
Argo's face softened as he kneeled down to meet her face. He rubbed her head fondly and gives her a small smile, trying to reassure her.
"Don't worry, Lami. Just like I said, we would end this in less than five minutes. Just watch it from the window and stay behind your siblings, okay?"
Seeing Lami nod and let him go, he turned around to see Vanda and give her a nod. After that, he let out a feral grin as he leaves the room together with Gavin.
"Ready for a party, Gavin?"
His grin is mirrored by the demon who knuckled his fists.
"As always, My Lord."
"Let's finish it quick!" Argo tore the last layer of the wards that protected this building, surprising the mages who had tried so hard for the last five minutes. However, before they could say anything, both the mages were suddenly hit by Argo's magic.
[Elemental Magic: Bullet]
And within a second,
"AAAARGH!!!"
He took down the two mages with just one spell straight to their heads, shocking the knights to the core.
"Careful! Our opponent is a very strong mage! He could-"
"AAARGH!!"
The knight couldn't finish what he said as he was gutted right in his throat by Gavin, killing him instantly. The shadow demon pulled out his sword from the knight's body quickly before he moved toward his next target.
"Damn! I don't want to die here!"
One of the knights rushed forward in desperation, trying to attack Gavin with a very big sword. However, because the speed is too slow, Gavin just parried the attack easily, and he summoned a new sword from a shadow with his other hand, shocking both the knights.
"DAMN! HE IS A DEMON!"
The ability to create a solid object from their magic is only possessed by the demon race and probably some earth mages. The knights couldn't help but curse their luck as one time they were tasked to kill someone, they offended a demon that was far stronger than any normal human.
However, before they can think of a way to escape from this situation, Gavin has already taken an action. He uses his shadow sword to stab the knight in front of him straight into his heart, and when he feels the pressure from the attack vanish as the knight fell down to the ground, he throws his sword at the last knight, separating the head from the body.
"Nice one, Gavin." Argo nodded in approval at Gavin's action. "Only fifty seconds before they lost their lives. No antagonizing your opponent, just kill them before they could do anything. You become more ruthless in fifty years."
"They are too weak for you to praise me, My Lord." Gavin shook his head with a humble expression. "And I also see fascinating magic you threw before, My Lord. What is that?"
Argo pondered for a moment before he answered,
"It was my newest creation before I left the earth. I took inspiration based on their modern military weapons. First, I made small projectiles and a long barrel out of my earth magic and coated it with water magic to reduce the recoil. After that, I pumped fire and lightning magic into the barrel to make an explosion that resulted in the bullets to shoot forward. And for the final touch, I use my wind magic to control the route of the bullets so they would hit my targets straight to their heads. Nothing too complicated."
Gavin just chuckled at his explanation while shaking his head.
"Combining all five elemental magics to create a ruthless attack like that and saying it was not complicated casually like that? Only you, my lord."
Argo shared the same chuckle before his expression changed into a serious one.
"Anyway, Gavin, I need you to do something for me." The demon straightened his back, ready to receive the order. "Investigate this so-called Lord Caleb and what power he held in this city. To have two mages as his subordinates, he must have something special on him. Do whatever you want, but don't kill him yet. Also, if you can find any information on the people who hold the power in this city, it would be useful for the future. Do you understand?"
"Yes, My Lord!"
And right after that, he vanished into the shadow, leaving Argo alone with three corpses. He took care of the bodies first by burning them with his fire magic, and after that, he cleaned the surrounding with his water magic from the blood to remove the trace of the battle. And with that, he entered his home again, just to be greeted by the bright shiny eyes of two little girls who saw his action.
"Big brother Argo, you are really amazing!"