The family dined together with Dan displaying his skills in cuisine once again.
Natalie a.s.sisted him while Juliet and Grace arranged the utensils on the table.
Dan and Natalie"s tacit understanding regarding the next steps on the recipe enabled them to work without talking. This created an outstanding show for Grace and Juliet as Dan and Natalie casually handed each other some utensils and ingredients to prep on.
Juliet stared in awestruck while Grace looked somewhat envious, her cooking couldn"t be considered mediocre but it wasn"t enough for her to stand together with Dan"s skills that he refined for the past decade.
Soon, the fragrant and alluring scent of meat and vegetables wafted out in the air. Excitement and antic.i.p.ation could be seen on Grace and Juliet"s expression as the two of them stared with s.h.i.+ning eyes on the pans that Dan and Natalie worked on.
Serving time soon arrived and Dan presented the dishes to the judges with incomparable calmness and elegance. His fluid movements when carrying the tray captivated the two as Natalie slightly smiled at the side. Dan"s pretentious side made him amusing to the eyes.
"Mademoiselle, here"s your Filet Mignon, Beef Wellington, and Fish Fillet de El Niño..." Dan placed the steaming hot plates on the table and lifted a smile on his face. Natalie"s hand came smacking down his nape as he turned around and said, "What"s wrong with you, Natalie! That was nearly perfect and you came here and interrupted me!"
Natalie shook her head and lightly chuckled, "We"re not in a luxurious restaurant and you"re not a waiter either, stop being so pretentious..." Natalie scolded and Dan clicked his tongue, "And here I thought that you would accept this chuuni side of me..."
"Chuuni?" Natalie mumbled, Dan hurriedly shook his head and waved his hands off.
The family soon sat together and peacefully dined with Juliet exploding in compliments as always. Grace kept her composure but her lips couldn"t help but faintly smile when tasting the dishes that Dan and Natalie made.
"The time will come that I will definitely be able to make good food like this..." Grace thought to herself as she resolved her mind that after everything was done and over, the first thing that she would definitely do was to hone her culinary skills.
"Today is quite lively, isn"t it?"
A familiar voice suddenly interrupted and everyone stared stupified by Mathias" arrival. Dan wryly smiled, staring at the utensils in his hands, it looked like he knew that they were cooking and brought some plates for himself.
Mathias casually sat on a chair beside Juliet and took his own share of food as Dan complained, "Headmaster, I didn"t expect that you would suddenly barge in while we"re in the middle of a family dinner. Aren"t you afraid that I"ll accuse you of breach of privacy?"
"Hahaha, don"t joke like that, young man, don"t we treat each other as family?" Mathias took a huge portion of meat and chugged it down his mouth without any care for his image.
Natalie and Grace bitterly smiled while Juliet pointed out Mathias" lack of manners, "That"s bad manners! Mama said to not bite more than you can chew!"
Mathias lightly chuckled and tapped Juliet"s head with a nod. After the family finished their dinner, Dan served some wine for Mathias and asked, "Isn"t it time that you inform us of your business, Headmaster?"
"You sure are in a hurry, Dan." Taking the gla.s.s of wine before him, Mathias sipped some of it and continued, "Are you that anxious to get intimate with your wives?"
Dan knitted his eyebrows in a frown while Natalie and Grace suffused a furious blush.
"Old man, could it be that your business for us is something related about your request?" Dan chimed in and Mathias turned towards him with a nod, "I already knew about your success regarding that matter, I am here to tell you that everything is done and over, I will now hand over your rewards..."
The notion of rewards ignited the eyes of the two women while Dan maintained his frown, "Everything is over and done? We only killed three people and I don"t think that the Academy would be cleansed with just that amount..."
Mathias took another sip of his cup, his calm expression looked like he fell into deep contemplation as he replied, "Since you already took care of the core members, there"s not really any reason to continue pursuing the matters about the Mercenary Pavilion, especially when I already exerted my influence and have those b.a.s.t.a.r.ds of the demonic path executed..."
The expression of the three stiffened. From the time that they finished off the three brothers until they arrived in the Academy to bring the news, merely twelve hours had pa.s.sed, yet Mathias already finished his decisive move.
Mathias" display of ferociousness and decisiveness astonished the three and once again, they were reminded that the lazy-looking man before them was the Headmaster of one of the prestigious academy in the Empire of Eternal Faith, the Paradyne Academy.
"So for now, the situation has stabilized, but if something else comes up, I"ll inform you and make sure to give you another mission again." Mathias placed the cup back on the table and flicked his wrist, sending two cold tokens flying towards Dan"s direction.
"As the Headmaster of the Academy, I could still exert my own authority to influence things, after sacrificing something on my part, I managed to secure two Honorary Disciple tokens, from now on, Juliet Longinus and Grace Longinus are now Honorary Disciples."
This thunderbolt of a news struck the heads of the three as their eyes widened in shock, Dan recovered from his stupor and asked, "I understand the reason why you made Grace an Honorary Disciple, but why did you include Juliet as well?"
Mathias stared at him for a moment as a small smile lifted on his lips, "What are you complaining about? Don"t you want that to happen? Honorary Disciples receive far more resources than Outer Disciples, in other words, being an Honorary Disciple meant that the Academy would spoonfeed you everything, making your life easier than the Emperor himself, why is it that you"re opposing this proposal of mine?"
Natalie and Grace also turned to look at Dan in confusion, having Juliet become an Honorary Disciple meant that she could enjoy all the benefits of an Honorary Disciple, why was Dan complaining about such an arrangement?
Dan lifted his head and stared right into Mathias" eyes.
"That arrangement is indeed for the better in terms of cultivation resources and the quality of instructors. However, do you really want me to spoil Juliet everything? It would be better to have her struggle from the bottom rungs of the rankings and have her work her way to the top than to give her everything that she may take for granted."
"I don"t want Juliet to become an arrogant, spoiled brat that would cry out for help without breaking through it by herself, a person like that would inevitably become a parasite and something that wouldn"t amount to anything on the road to the peak."
Mathias stood dumbstruck while Natalie and Grace stared at him with astonished eyes. Natalie"s expression looked indescribable while Grace wore a complicated one.
Mathias lifted a small smile on his face, "Young man, I hope that you don"t regret doing this for your daughter. Remember, the struggle as an Outer Sect Disciple is fierce and one couldn"t blame anyone for injuries, can you really bear to see her suffering?"
Dan shook his head, "Of course not, I love Juliet, and seeing her suffer makes my heart ache. However, if I didn"t do this decision today and she grew up as a spoiled delinquent that only knows how to bully those weaker than her than challenge those higher than her, It would hurt me far more than seeing her being injured in a compet.i.tion."
Mathias laughed out loud, his eyes flashed with jubilant lights as he said in a solemn voice, "d.a.m.n, kid, I didn"t expect that you"re not only a monstrous talent that has that geezer, Takemikazuchi as your master, you"re also a good father..."
"You praise me too much, Senior, a good father is the one that could raise such a fine beauty like Charlotte..." Dan joked, but as soon as he finished his words, Mathias suddenly turned serious while Natalie and Grace warily stared at his figure.
"W-w-what"s wrong with you guys?"
Dan uttered in confusion and Natalie gave her the answer.
"Dear, don"t tell me that you"re also targeting Sister Charlotte for your harem?"
Natalie"s eyes flashed in a strange light, Dan could feel the pulsating coldness from Mathias as he hurriedly denied,
"No, no, no, of course not! Why would I do such things? I already have two wives with me, why would I find another? Do you really think that I"m such an insatiable b.a.s.t.a.r.d?"
Natalie and Grace simultaneously nodded their heads as Mathias exploded into laughter, "Even your wives are thinking that you"re an insatiable b.a.s.t.a.r.d, how could you even possibly defend yourself with such solid evidence from them."
Dan glared at Natalie and Grace but the two merely turned their heads at the side and ignored his complaints.
"I accept your proposal about taking away Juliet"s Honorary Disciple position, however, since it would leave a bad taste in my mouth if I just took away your remaining reward, how about this, give me your wish and if it"s something that I can satisfy, I will definitely do it as long as my ability permits."
Mathias changed the topic and offered his proposal regarding Dan"s reward.
Dan thought for a moment as memories about these past months surged in his mind, particularly about Natalie"s past and his previous family. Taking a glance at her for a moment, Dan"s eyes flashed with a fierce light as he decided in his heart.
"Senior, since you"re one of the overlords in this Empire, it should be simple for you to annihilate a clan, right?"
Mathias who expected to be asked for Heaven Grade Artifacts or even the hands of her daughter stiffened. Grace"s eyes widened in shock while Natalie stared at Dan in astonishment as an epiphany struck her mind.
"Indeed, it is simple for us to annihilate a clan, but since we"re a righteous clan, we cannot just annihilate any clan out there without solid motive and complete evidence. So sadly, your wish is something that I cannot fulfill..." Mathias shook his head.
Dan nodded his head in agreement since the Paradyne Academy was affiliated with the righteous path, they couldn"t just go out there and annihilate any clan in just a whim. Doing that would make them public enemy number one and the subject of scorn for everyone.
"How about this, Senior, is it possible for you to help me make them pay a huge price?" Dan proposed, if Dan couldn"t erase them for now, then he would make sure that they"ll pay a huge enough price that would cripple them for at least several years.
Mathias thought for a moment before nodding his head, "It should be possible, however, the key word here is a solid reason. As long as you have a valid reason for doing such things, I will help you from the side and make sure that they won"t dare to fight back against you..."
"Here, take this personal token of mine, as long as you infuse your Spiritual Qi in it, I will immediately arrive by your side in three breaths." Mathias flicked his wrist and sent a fiery token towards Dan"s direction. Dan caught it in mid-air as a venomous smile lifted on his lips.
"I thank Senior for his generosity..." Dan clasped his hands together in respect and Mathias stared at him for a moment before turning around to leave.
Keeping the jade token in his Virtual Inventory, Dan turned towards the two and stared at Natalie before whispering.
"Those b.a.s.t.a.r.ds have enjoyed enough prosperity, it is time for us to knock them down a notch..." Dan lifted a venomous smile on his lips while Natalie embraced his arm in anxiousness. Rubbing her head, he said, "Don"t be afraid, with Senior Mathias on our side, those b.a.s.t.a.r.ds will definitely cower down."