When Arella came out of the restroom, a sweet and spicy smell assaulted her senses. A table full of exotic delicacies was waiting for her.
Lobster, crabs, shellfish, clams, shrimp, prawns, and fish filled the plates to the brim. To people living on this planet, this meal was just like a sweet illusion. Though they had rivers and water bodies, such water-dependent beasts had already gone extinct!
Even one piece of such beast was worth millions, and she had an entire table full of it! She had not imagined such a scene even in her wildest fantasies! These sea creatures must have been imported from the nearby planets!
Beasts were fond of eating meat. But they could only hunt down the wild animals found in the forests. Such wild animals had red eyes. Red eyes indicated that there was no beast spirit in these animals. Hunting was like drinking water to them. To change the taste of their palette, they would sometimes eat the leaves.
Thanks to the development of the culinary department, they could now enjoy food with a variety of spices. The meat was just food to them. Though everybody wanted to have a taste of the exotic sea creatures, they could not afford it.
Only the royalty had access to these sea creatures. Even to the wealthy people, it was unaffordable. That is why Arella had never seen, smelt, or eaten any of the sea creatures to date. Looking at the lavish feast, she had mixed feelings.
She felt warm to receive such a grand treatment, but the lost money was pinching her heart slowly. This meal was just too expensive!
Looking at her astonished face, Adrian felt satisfied. His core, which was hanging by a nervous thread, finally found some stability. A wave of exhilaration made its way to his core.
"Come, let's eat first. You must be hungry by now. It will take an hour to reach the headquarters. We can eat in peace till then." Adrian hid his jubilant expression and calmly shared his intentions with the dazed Arella.
Listening to Adrian's voice, Arella shed her worries and politely thanked Adrian for such a meal. The money was already gone, and she should not let the sea creatures wait! She sat down and started digging into her meal.
It was divine! She was already starving. During the fiasco, emotional upheavals, and sudden changes, she had no time to eat anything. Her stomach was crying.
She thought that after taking the spiritual connection test, she would eat something to make do with the hunger. But who would have thought that her husband could surprise her with such a lavish feast?
She happily ate to her core's content. It was phenomenal! No wonder it was considered a lavish meal. The taste was worth it! Truly fit for the meal of a royalty!
As soon as Arella dropped her fork and cleaned her hands with a napkin, the Pilot made his way to them.
"Sir, we have reached!" This time, learning from his experience, the Pilot spoke in a lighter tone.
"Okay, prepare to descend," Adrian commanded expressionlessly. Looking at the satisfied girl, he too, felt bouts of satisfaction. The food was worth it. It could bring a slight smile to her face. It was totally worth it!
"Yes Sir!" The Pilot went back to his cubicle. A sigh escaped from his mouth. Finally! He had been hovering in the air for half an hour already. Finally, he could land.
The headquarters was right in front of them.
When Arella and Adrian alighted the airship, a row of army fellows welcomed them. They saluted their Major General first and then congratulated both of them.
"Congratulations to Madam and Sir on finding each other. May your life be filled with happiness and prosperity." A loud, synchronized voice assaulted Arella's ears.
She did not know how to react! Fortunately, Adrian nodded in acknowledgment and walked inside the dome-shaped structure without giving her much time to respond. She did not know, that even such an aloof response from him was enough to pacify the soldier's enthusiasm.
Adrian was holding her hand. She simply followed behind. Following them was the attendant she had met during their marriage ritual.
When they entered a room, a few elderly people looked in their direction. All of them had silver hair and a charm of experience in their dull eyes. This was the norm. Every elderly person was given an office job. And all the youngsters had to work in the field. Fieldwork included plantation, scouting, hunting, building structures, and army work.
"Please sit on the chairs." An elder asked them straightforwardly. No greetings or flattery. Straight to the point. This was how elders were.
Both of them sat on their designated chairs. They sat opposite each other. Both had a blank screen in front of them.
Two of the elders stood at a distance from them. And in front of them was a panel. They put their hands on it and the blank screen in front of Arella and Adrian came to life.
"Hello! Welcome to the Spiritual Connection Center. Please put your right hand on the screen in front of you." A mechanical voice guided them.
They did as they were told. Arella had already performed the test with Luke in the past. So she was not nervous. But Adrian was doing it for the first time.
At that time, she had to register first and then was given a date. Even on that date, they had to wait for their number.
But today, there was no line, no wait, and no registration.
It was all because of Adrian. Arella thought that he might be feeling a little nervous. She looked at the man in front of her. He sat there with a blank face. He looked as if he was just a bystander. Arella felt a little disheartened.
After five seconds, she felt a prick on her index finger. The blood came out and was absorbed by the screen. Arella was still looking at the man. No expressions. Maybe the prick was not deep enough.
Another ten seconds later, she felt another prick. This time, a frown was etched on the face of the man who was sitting woodenly.
'Why prick again?' He internally thought. 'She had already bled earlier at the blood oath ceremony, and now they are pricking them twice! Do they want to bleed her dry? Maybe, he should prepare blood-enriching solutions for her. She is so delicate and looks so weak. What if she faints or feels dizzy.' Adrian's thoughts kept surrounding the health of his partner in concern.
Arella, too, was confused. Shouldn't one prick be enough? A cheery voice soon vibrated in the room.
"Congratulations to the couple! You have a spiritual connection of 100%." The mechanical voice made an announcement, and then the screen went blank.
The whole process only took a minute. But even after the completion of the procedure, a pin drop of silence remained in the room.
Nobody spoke for a while. They were all dumbstruck. 100% How was that possible?
The elders had heard of people having it, but since their deployment, they had never seen a single couple achieve this much percentage in their spiritual connection evaluation.
The people from the army were dumbstruck! 100%? How could their chief have a 100% connection with anyone? His beast was so ferocious and choosy! How was that even possible?
The attendant was lost in his own thoughts. So, it was really 100% He should not have doubted his chief when he claimed so earlier. He should have bet on it too. But he did not. He thought that the chief was momentarily bewitched by his wife's beauty. He was so wrong! Damn! All the money! He could have made a fortune! Now, the opportunity is all gone!
Arella was flabbergasted. 100% Really? Was this machine malfunctioning?
Everybody was lost in their own thoughts.
"Can we leave now?" A calm voice broke the silence. Adrian was only concerned about the health of the petite-looking woman in front of him. As for 100% spiritual connection, he knew from the start.
Since he saw and touched her, his beast was jumping up and down in an exhilarated state. His beast was too fussy and so to be this happy meant that he had found his heavenly partner. The girl could not feel so, because her beast was in a dormant phase.
At this moment, more than anything, he just wanted to feed his bride some blood-enriching nutrients.
"Yes. Sure. Congratulations on the happy union." The elders came to their senses and politely congratulated the couple.
"Is this result certain?" The first sentence that came out of Arella's mouth was only a confused whisper. But since the room was enveloped in silence, the elder standing next to her could hear it well.
"Yes. We are sure. We performed the test twice to be certain." He responded lightly. Frankly speaking, he could not blame the girl for being a little suspicious. Just now, even they thought that something was wrong with their machine. That is why they had to prick them twice.
"Good. Then we will be leaving." Adrian remarked after listening to the answer.
He moved towards Arella and said in a light tone, "Let's head home now."