Realizing the woman has lost all reasoning because of shock, Gaya retrieved a healing potion from her space ring.
"Here, take it" Gaya sat on Michael's other side, handing him over the healing potion. He was sandwiched between a loving mother and a caring girlfriend.
"Come here" while Nightmare was gawking at Diana, Sabrina plucked him up from Michael's shoulder.
Nightmare seemed he's still in shock as no words escaped his mouth to protest.
"Lady Diana, I'm alright. Look the bleeding stopped" Michael told her again. Even without his control, his voice sounded extremely gentle.
"Samuel, bring me Healer Adele" Diana frantically shook her head, refusing to let go of his hand.
"Yes, Lady Diana"
Michael sighed. He initially wanted to spend a few hours here so he could release the spiders into the house but now he realized that Diana is going to make him stay here for at least a few days.
"You must be tired after everything that happened. Come on Sweetie, I'll make something for you to eat. You too sweetheart" Diana said, locking her arms with Michael's. She then smiled beautifully at Gaya before playfully pinching Gaya's rosy butterball of a cheek.
"Meet my sweet mother" Sabrina finally let out a chuckle, neglecting what happened a few hours ago.
**********************************
Mushroom soup, bitter greens with tomatoes the size of peas, rare roast beef slices as thin as paper, noodles in a green sauce, cheese that melts on one's tongue served with sweet blue grapes. The servers, all young people dressed in white thick tunics with layers of fur move wordlessly to and from the table, keeping the platters and glasses full.
When Diana said she's going to make something to eat, Michael didn't expect she would prepare a frickin feast. After seeing the various delicious-looking dishes on the table, Gaya's face lightened up a bit.
The aroma radiating from the dishes overwhelmed both the Dragon and the Snake's senses.They couldn't wait to dig into the food but they had to wait for everyone to seat themselves at the table.
It was a long oak table that could easily let thirty people dine on. The throne-looking chair at the front of the table was empty which obviously belonged to the Lord of the family.
Diana seated herself next to Michael, acting like a personal maid to him.
Fortunately, Michael's plate did not have enough space to contain all the dishes Diana personally cooked.
"Lady Diana, are you planning to kill me with food?" Michael chuckled only to receive a slap on the wrist from Diana.
"Noah is a really lucky guy" Michael stared at everyone at the table. The dining room was filled with laughter. Everyone seemed to forget what happened earlier and emerged themselves in nothing but happiness.
Except for the youngster who stopped Michael earlier, everyone was extremely friendly towards Michael, Gaya, and the little dragon.
"So Ghost, what's your plan on Kethen?" Diana's elder sister, Amelda asked. Just like Diana, Amelda, and her younger sister, Natalia too had golden hair. Although the three ladies were laughing happily, Michael noticed a tinge of sorrow buried deep within Natalia's eyes. Every time Natalia's eyes fell on the chair Nightmare was sitting on, the sorrow became more obvious. Her smile would instantly disappear from her face for a moment as her eyes slightly welled up. Natalia did a good job wiping out the tears from the corners of her eyes but Michael noticed this without Natalia noticing him.
The three beautiful women were so graceful that they could make anyone respect them in a matter of seconds.
"We're attending the weekend auction in Icefair" Michael answered, placing the spook and the knife on the plate.
"Buying or selling?" Amelda questioned him.
"Let him eat in peace, Ami," Diana playfully yelled at her sister.
"Selling but if something interesting comes across, I might buy it" Michael answered with a smile.
"How's the food Aelia, Nightmare?" Diana asked. Nightmare was surprisingly good at maintaining table manors, he did not eat like a wild beast at the dining table but used his claws to pick the meat from the plate and ate almost like a human.
"Good, Lady Diana" Nightmare had a good impression on Lady Diana. He politely answered her although it was nowhere close to the cooking of Raylene.
"Good" Gaya answered Diana taking a bite of the mushroom fry.
"Good?! Aunty Diana's cooking is the best" the same youngster rolled his eyes, making a few people at the table awkwardly smile because of his tone.
"It's that they used to eat Raylene's cooking, Lady Diana. She's a 5-star chef"
"Oh...what?! A 5-star chef?!" It took several seconds for Amelda to realize the meaning of Michael's words.
"You are all welcome to the opening of our restaurant" Michael gave them an invitation as it would increase the reputation of his establishment quickly.
"Of course, we will. Now would you like some roasted pulse tetra?"
"Do I have a choice, Lady Diana?"
"No"
The laughter continued as they all talked about some boring things which Michael answered with either a smile or a nod.
"He's just like Noah, isn't he?" Amelda asked Diana as Gaya almost coughed up the food in her mouth. Michael was the last thing one could compare to Noah.
"Except your choice in dress colors, am I right Samuel?"
"Yes, Lady Amelda. Young Master Noah likes to wear white whereas Young Master Ghost seemed to favor black" The old butler said before stepping towards Michael with a bottle of wine.
"Water is enough for me. I don't drink wine, ale, or any kind of liquor" Michael surprised everyone at the table yet again. They all stared at him like he spoke some forbidden words.
"You don't drink liquor?" Sabrina asked. Surprise and disbelief were written all over her face.
"Yes, bad for the body and hinder your cultivation speed" As a 5-star Alchemist, Michael knew all about a cultivator's body. It was a lucky coincidence that his non-drinking habit was actually a good thing for his current life as liquors affected the body, obstructing the energy paths in one's body resulting in a slow cultivation level.
"That might be the reason for your cultivation speed huh?" Sabrina said. Michael could tell the girl had just taken a note in her mind and expected her to follow his habit from this day onwards.
"If you don't mind me asking, what are you planning to sell?" Amelda seemed to like asking questions.
"A few herbs like Cold Grass, SeaWeed, Raven flower"
"Raven flower?!" Natalia almost screamed. Everyone's gaze fell on Natalia as Michael noticed a glimpse of sorrow emerge on Diana's face.
"Yes," Michael's voice trailed off.
"Natalia, we already have a Raven flower, remember?" Diana asked as Natalia sighed.
"It's just that my nephew has fallen sick to Star pox. We had to scour through the kingdom to find the Raven flower. If only Lord Gabriel accepts to brew the phoenix potion" Amelda sighed.
Michael noticed Diana open and close her mouth as she had something to ask. He had already guessed what that would be but he wanted them to ask rather than offering his help.
"Sweetie, can you? '' However, Michael's heart completely melted before even she could ask for his help. She had this weird effect on him ever since he saw her. He couldn't bear to see the woman he just met a couple of hours ago plead.
"You don't need Gabriel to brew the Phoenix potion. I can brew it in my sleep"
The whole room fell silent after the words escaped his words. Natalia's face lightened up. She immediately stood from her chair before running to Michael.
"Can you?" Natalia squeezed his palms.
Gaya's jaw slightly dropped, she wondered what made her selfish human offer his help like candies. First, he almost risked his life to save Diana and now, he was about to help save Natalia's son. Their main plan was to bug Noah's room but she could tell he was deviating from the plan.
" Have you got all the ingredients?"
"Yes Young Master, we got everything one needs to brew the potion"
"Wait, we only got enough ingredients to brew a potion. What if he messed up?"
"I trust him, Jacob" for the first time, Michael saw the gentle-looking Diana turning into a domineering woman. The smile on her face was replaced with a stern look, her sharp gaze seemed like it could cut anything in half.
"How can we trust this guy?" Jacob protested but this time his tone was not as loud and rude as before.
"It's that or waiting for Gabriel to accept your request. I think I don't have to tell you about the Star pox"
"Shut up, Jacob!" Natalia snapped. All the grief buried within her exploded in the form of anger.
It was not a secret that Star pox would kill the infected in three months if left untreated. Only wealthy people like Noah's family had the resources or the gold to get the cure, the phoenix potion. However, the potion was extremely reactive, it had to be used in a few minutes after brewing or it would react with anything such as air and lose all of its medicinal quality. This was the reason that the phoenix potion wouldn't be available in auction houses and needed to be brewed at the spot by an Alchemist above 3-star level.
Weirdly enough, Michael had a soft spot for the motherly lady, Diana. Only because of her, he decided to lend a helping hand instead of giving Jacob the middle finger.