When the sun was almost setting its rays poured in the open mouth of the big grotto. It was the only time of the day when every corner of the Paradise city was illuminated by a bright light, but the long shadows the buildings cast made the sight look rather surreal.
Nick had a little time to enjoy the picturesque sunset over the lagoon filled with ships. He was felt worn out, in fact, during the last days he was constantly tired, but now not only he had to cook for the alchemist couple, most likely king White will want some dinner as well despite eating a whole pig by himself earlier.
And then the main part of the evening will begin – he had an abundance of things to do during the upcoming hours.
Nick quickly cooked a simple meat stew for the king and prepared some of his favorite crackers as well. He was really running out of spices, but had to hold on only for two more days. After the king's dinner was ready, he grabbed a chicken that was already plucked clean, few vegetables and previously prepared mix of spices.
Then called Billy over and they went to Sten's house. Elders were not back yet, but Nick didn't stand in ceremony, asked the guard to bring him into the kitchen and immediately began making a chicken stew for the elders.
When they returned some time later, they got greeted by the fragrance of a tasty stew.
At this moment Nick was organizing bowls and cups on the table, and seeing both alchemists come in, he brought out the pot with the stew as well.
"I didn't have time to ask what you like, therefore I chose to prepare a meal that should be healthy for you, elders. Also the flavor palette makes this ordinary chicken taste almost as if it was a rank three jungle quail. Please, enjoy!" He said with a smile.
Master Sten grunted something and unceremoniously sat at the table, not waiting for madame Sigrid. Then he grabbed the ladle, filled his own bowl and began to loudly gobble down the stew without paying any attention to his surroundings.
"Sigh, barbarian ..." Madame Sigrid shook her head and sat opposite to the old man.
Nick filled her bowl and stood aside to watch both elders eat. He didn't come here to please them, or even after those ingredients he asked before. Nick had to find the best way to neutralize these two experts till the next morning and even a little time spent with them could provide with the necessary clues on how to perform this risky task.
"Is the stew to your liking?" He asked with the same hearty smile.
"Not bad." Sigrid smiled back. "Is this what you cooked for the king?"
"Uhmm, the king usually preferred meals from a high rank beast's meat. He insisted it helped his Qi cultivation. But nothing can be more beneficial to the body than masterfully prepared vegetables!" Nick said with a tinge of scorn in his voice.
"High rank beats being beneficial for a cultivator is the common knowledge." Master Sten blurted out between two spoons that entered his mouth.
"Stagnated opinions are meant to be proven wrong! By researching different mixes of ingredients I'll find even better effect than a flesh of a simple dead animal." Nick confidently said.
"Do you even know how Qi works?" Madam Sigrid started to laugh.
"This … only because I can't cultivate doesn't mean I won't achieve anything. My culinary is an art!" Nick pretended to be ashamed for a second and then got proud again.
"Come here!" Sigrit ordered.
Nick furrowed his brows and took few steps towards her. He knew what will follow from his experience with king White who checked his ability to practice Qi on the ship multiple times. Every time Nick used his own Qi to create few swirl-like obstructions in his pathways that made it seem like the pathways were clogged and practically unusable.
Madam Sigrid touched his hand, probed for a few seconds and shook her had.
"Sigh, you really have no talent for the cultivation." She said with regret.
"Why would I need that? I'm an artist, not a fighter." Nick said with confidence.
Both elders looked at each other and shook their heads – this kid really had no clue what he was talking about. But the food was good.
"Alright, from now on you can cook for us!" Madam Sigrid said after a moment of silence.
"Why would I do that? I'm already busy. King White even wanted me to cook meals for prisoners! Like hell I'll waste my life with that!" Nick looked a bit angry.
Both elders looked up from their bowls in shock. It has been a long time since anyone in the Paradise city dared to retort them. Master Sten was about to explode, when Sigrid spoke first.
"You refuse to cook for us?" A bit of impatience was heard in her voice.
"I don't refuse, I just simply don't have time to run around and cook for everyone! If you want, you can join king White or he can join you. But I don't have time to go from kitchen to kitchen all day." Nick stubbornly stated, "This is my first time on the Nestri continent, I still have a lot of research to do!"
Master Sten instantly changed his attitude.
"Kid, what kind of research?" For the old alchemist research was his only passion.
"There are thousands of new plants for me to check out and hundreds of thousands possible spice mixtures to test." Nick proudly said, "For me, to perform my art, I have to experiment and discover new things all the time."
"Sigh, what a shame." Master Sten shook his head, "You could've become a great alchemist."
But in answer to that Nick just shrugged. As their attitude changed, both elders became easier to speak to.
"If you look down on my research, do you mind telling why yours is so much more important?" Now that the atmosphere was better, Nick tried to find clues on how to solve the main task he came here for, "All of the people need to eat while alchemy is needed only for the sick ones."
"Boy, you don't even know what I'm researching!" The old man proudly lifted his chin, "If I'm successful, it will revolutionize all the warfare in the world! The three kings can't wait till they'll be able to blow up city walls and castles they try to raid and I'm sure this time the emperor himself will reward me generously!"
'F*ck! He is making a bomb! … Wait … if he's researching some type of explosives it will make my plan much easier! Thank you, old man, for your help!' Nick got frustrated, but immediately calmed down and inwardly grinned.
But on the outside they continued to chat and soon the conversation was on other subjects. Elders asked him about the Mainland continent and the trip they made and laughed laud when heard how king White infiltrated the "Queen Elizabeth".
'These old freaks are no better that anyone else here. They heartily laugh when hear how dozens of people are killed just like that and hundreds are sold as slaves. Let me send you off with a loud bang since this is the case.' Nick started to dislike them even more.
"What's with those wristbands?" Master Sten suddenly asked and Nick's heart skipped a beat.
"Oh, it's just a small invention I made for myself some time ago. It helps me to move hot pots or kettles without burning my hands and I don't even need to drop the knife or ladle that I'm holding. It really saves a lot of time." Nick told the same answer he gave to the king White back on ship.
"Here, take a look – it's really simple." He quickly took off the left wristband and passed to the old man.
"Get that smelly thing out of my face!" The old man angrily scolded back, "I asked just because our emperor has a similar looking one."
"Why, does ho also like to cook?" Nick's shock inside grew, but on the outside he looked really puzzled.
This time both elders burst into loud laughter. It took several minutes for them to calm down.
"No, kiddo. That wristband is very special. I even had the opportunity to hold it in my hands once." Master Sten said while still giggling.
"Oh, he only has one. There was no way for me to move a bigger pot with just one without turning it over." Nick said with a bit of scorn in his voice.
"Stupid kid! That wristband is magical! And there are only two in the whole world! One is on the emperor's hand and the other one is on his brother's."
Sten contentedly looked at the shocked Nick thinking, 'Finally this stupid kid understands how amazing it is for a magic item to be in this world.'
Of course, what shocked Nick was not the magic part, but the identity of the other wristband's owner – emperor's brother!
"They must be really good brothers for emperor to give a magic item away like that." Nick tried to probe further, "Did that brother save emperor's life or something?"
"No, they are brothers from the same parents, that's it. But I already said too much and, in fact, it doesn't matter – you'll never see an item like that in your life. Use your own wristbands and don't think of the things that belong to the emperor." The old man 'cooled down' the excited youth.
Although Nick pretended to ignorantly shrug, the new information was way too important. If the emperor of Nestri empire was the grand elder's real brother, he was almost three hundred years old. And that meant there was only one way he could survive this long! He used the same technique as the grand elder! Also, the princesses were being prepared to be sent off exactly for the emperor … in that case … they were basically almost dead!
"Elders, if you enjoyed the meal, I would like to invite both of you tomorrow when I cook for the king White. I'm not certain what protocol you have here, but if you won't eat together, I'll just serve you both in another room. The king's house is big." Nick slightly bowed, "Now, if I may ask – could you get me some of those ingredients? I still want to read up a bit on the Nestri continent's flora."
"Sure, sure." The old man grumbled and got up to get the ingredients, while Billy helped Nick to gather and wash the empty dishes. Afterwards they wished good night to both elders and went back to the king's residence.
"I'm tired, I'm going to bed." Was the last thing Nick heard before leaving. Madam Sigrid announced her withdrawal while master Sten already was busying himself around the workshop.
"Elders really must have liked your food." On their way back Billy said, "They are never nice to other people. I think they like you."
But Nick couldn't care less. He was still trying to process the recent information and was in no mood for chat. Princesses were in grave danger if he was late with his plan, but he needed only one more day, so things might still be fine. He decided against visiting their friends tonight, first, because he was short on time and second, there was a risk he could get caught. In that case there was nowhere for him to run on this island no matter how fast his legs were.
It was already dark when he got back, but just to make sure most pirates went to rest, Nick still practiced his first Qi technique for three more hours. Not only it was a good use of time, it helped him to replenish his strength as well.
Before he went out, he covered himself with the black cloak and sprinkled his 'stealth powder' over it.
Then he quietly left the room through the window and proceeded towards the warehouse district.