Chapter 248: Master

Hmm? What kind of character setting is this again?

Before Xia Duo could recover his senses, the instructor spoke again: "Becoming a Sword Singer is not the only path to avenging your father. I think you could focus on the path of a Mage. You should think it over carefully at home these next few days."

Xia Duo nodded blankly, not knowing what to say.

"Go on back, your little friend is waiting for you outside!" At this moment, the instructor seemed to have truly become someone approachable.

Hearing the instructor's words, Xia Duo subconsciously walked to the entrance of the Training Ground, only then remembering that he didn't even know where his home was!

"Asuosi, over here!"

Following the sound, he saw Gelada hiding behind a landscape tree by the road, waving at him. With no "prompt" for the moment, Xia Duo could only walk toward Gelada.

"Here, your sword!"

Gelada took the sword, performed a flourish, and sheathed it at his waist. "Sorry, I dragged you into getting lectured by the Big Black Face again. Come to my house for dinner; we're having your favorite pan-seared venison ribs!"

Hearing "pan-seared venison ribs," Xia Duo couldn't help but swallow his saliva. This wasn't his own thought, but an instinct of the body; perhaps the Elf Asuosi really loved this food.

Not knowing where else to go for the moment, Xia Duo followed Gelada home, though he really disliked Gelada holding his hand.

But perhaps the previous Asuosi had been used to it, so Xia Duo just followed the local customs.

……

Gelada's home was beneath a White High Tower in the city, a small, exquisite manor with fully armed guards at the gate.

The guards seemed to have known Asuosi for a long time; when Gelada pulled Xia Duo along at a trot into the manor, the guards only glanced at them and did not stop them.

And there was pity and gratitude in their eyes—very complex. Xia Duo felt this was likely another "background setting" that came with Asuosi.

"Mother, I'm back!" Gelada finally let go of Xia Duo's hand and hopped into the kitchen. Immediately after, Xia Duo heard a string of spoiled pleas: "Mother, the Big Black Face wants to drive Asuosi away again. Can you ask Father to put in a good word for him? Please!"

"Get out here this instant!" A crisp female voice rang out. "Get Asuosi some fruit to tide him over; dinner will be ready in a moment."

"Wuwuwu, Mother, you're biased!"

Soon, Gelada came out of the kitchen with his ears drooping, but upon seeing Xia Duo, he immediately regained his spirit.

After skillfully taking a plate of fruit from the cabinet by the wall, Gelada stuffed an apple into his own mouth before tossing the fruit plate directly to Xia Duo.

Xia Duo didn't exclaim in surprise, however, because the thing was floating, the speed at which it flew over wasn't fast, and the fruit on it didn't budge at all.

Xia Duo also picked up an apple and began to gnaw on it while chatting idly with Gelada, though most of the time it was the other party talking, while he tried hard to gather information from the other's words.

By the time dinner arrived, Xia Duo finally understood his situation a bit: Gelada's family and Asuosi's family had been neighbors for nearly a thousand years.

However, when Asuosi was a child, his parents died in the war against Aryvandaar, and Asuosi was practically raised by Gelada's mother.

And because both his parents were Sword Singer Masters, plus his desire to avenge them, Asuosi also wanted to become a Sword Singer and go to the battlefield to kill the Elves of Aryvandaar.

It was just a pity that Asuosi's talent wasn't enough to allow him to balance Magic and martial arts, so he had always been the "bottom of the class," having been advised to withdraw several times, only for Gelada's father to plead for him and get him back in.

What a pitiful person indeed!

"Asuosi, Gelada, come over, dinner is ready!"

Hearing the voice, Gelada jumped three feet high and ran quickly to the dining table, about to reach out, but his speed couldn't compare to his mother's.

With a *slap*, he was hit again. "You never wait for Asuosi; you deserve to be hit!"

Xia Duo looked at these two Elves who looked like siblings, feeling a bit envious of their bond. Niya said that the Projection Plane was virtual and unreal to people from the Main Plane, but this experience was incomparably real.

It was very easy for one to become addicted.

Here, he was a young Elf, cared for by friends who were closer than family, and he had at least several hundred years of life.

Yet in the Main Plane, he was just an ordinary human, and it was uncertain if he could even live past 100. Even if there was Magic for Longevity, couldn't Elves use Magic for Longevity too?

For a moment, he even thought about just staying here.

"Asuosi, Asuosi!"

"Coming, Aunt Keluo Na!" Xia Duo subconsciously moved his feet; it seemed the "prompt" had come again.

But this "prompt" also clearly reminded him that he was not Asuosi; he was Xia Duo, and his roots were in the Main Plane!

At the dining table, the three of them sat on two sides, with the head of the table left empty. Gelada's father was the Chief Official of the Sukanweisa Mage Corps and was busy with official duties, so he returned very late most of the time.

And before the formal meal, there was one more activity: giving thanks to the Creation Mother Goddess.

"Thank you, Mother Goddess, for creating the Tai'kuise Clan; thank you, Mother Goddess, for bestowing upon us our New Homeland, 【Feyrun】."

It was just two very simple, plain sentences. Seeing that Keluo Na mentioned neither a divine name nor a Divine Office, Xia Duo followed along and recited the two lines.

Gelada finished even faster, then grabbed a piece of roasted meat from the platter.

Xia Duo shook his head inwardly, while also feeling puzzled. From the Elf materials he had read in the Tower of Time, the Elves did not have such a Creation Mother Goddess.

Let alone to the extent of having a pre-meal thanksgiving.

Was it a regression of Elf Faith, or some other reason?

Xia Duo suddenly felt that he seemed to have touched upon something extraordinary, but since it involved a god, he could only suppress his curiosity and focus on the venison ribs Keluo Na had made.

These pan-seared venison ribs were crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, further complemented by a variety of spices that cleverly removed the gamey smell without overpowering the natural flavor of the meat, even bringing out its original savory aroma.

Truly a Master of culinary arts!

Glancing at the wolfing-down Gelada, he stopped maintaining his imagined Elf demeanor and began to feast, feeling so moved that he was almost in tears.

Since transmigrating, he had never eaten anything this delicious; even back on Earth, he had rarely eaten food that could compare to these ribs.

It was truly so moving!

Soon, the two racks of pan-seared venison ribs were completely finished by him. Xia Duo rubbed his bulging stomach and took another piece of bread.

He had never eaten Elf bread before!

This bread was also far better than the bread at the Tower of Time—soft, sweet, and melting in the mouth; it didn't feel like eating bread, but rather like eating cream.

And so, another whole piece of bread went down, followed by a gulp of fresh fruit juice—it was just too comfortable!

Xia Duo leaned back against his chair contentedly, completely disregarding his image, while beside him, Gelada had already started rubbing his own stomach.

The two looked at each other and burst into laughter simultaneously, leaving only Keluo Na to reveal a helpless expression as she began to clear the table.