Morning breakfast time at the annex building. Normally, the annex would overflow with laughter and conversation more than the food spread on the table, but today a dark silence had settled over the entire dining room.
"Hmm..."
Raon let out a thin groan as he looked toward the head of the table. In that seat that was always empty sat a mountain-sized old man with golden hair and red eyes, carrying himself with dignity. Glenn Zieghart. The continent's strongest martial artist emanated the same heavy aura as always, even during mealtime.
"Ahahahahaha!"
Edgar burst out in natural laughter as if trying to lighten the heavy atmosphere.
"Now that Father has come, the entire annex seems to brighten up. Your hair especially sparkles so much it's dazzling! You seem much more radiant than Raon or Sylvia!"
He rubbed his hands together like a fly while praising how beautiful Glenn's hair was.
-That idiot...
Wrath sighed as if Edgar had said something wrong.
"Ahem!"
Glenn seemed displeased by Edgar's words, letting out a rough cough while his eyes turned cold.
"My hair is what?"
He gestured with his chin toward Edgar as if telling him to say that again.
"Hup! Th-that is..."
Edgar rolled his eyes at Glenn's uncomfortable aura and breathed heavily.
"Father."
Sylvia seemed to want to change the atmosphere as she ladled stew herself and carefully placed it in front of Glenn.
"This is beef stew I made myself, please try some."
She seemed more nervous than when dealing with Rector, swallowing her dry saliva.
"Hmm."
Glenn nodded quietly and picked up his spoon. He scooped up the stew Sylvia had ladled and slowly put it in his mouth.
"It's delicious."
Unlike his serious expression, Glenn slightly raised his voice and nodded with genuine sincerity.
"The meat's flavor is properly melded. It seems even better than the main building's chef."
He tasted the stew again as if it were truly delicious.
"R-really?"
Sylvia erased her nervous expression and showed a smile at the corners of her mouth.
"I'm confident in making stew though. Raon has liked it since childhood."
She clenched her fist, saying she could make stew better than anyone thanks to Raon.
"The other dishes should be fine too. Everyone cooks well."
Sylvia said all the food on the table would be delicious and gently pushed them toward Glenn.
"They're certainly not bad."
Glenn tasted each dish Sylvia had pushed toward him and nodded with satisfaction.
"They're not fancy, but they're all dishes made with care."
He showed a gentle smile as if the dishes pleased him.
"Grandfather! Try this too! It's delicious!"
Sia smiled brightly as she cut a piece of the steak she was eating and placed it on Glenn's plate.
"S-Sia!"
Sylvia gasped and tried to stop Sia, but it was already too late. Sia's piece of steak covered in sauce dropped onto Glenn's plate. The sauce splattered from the steak, leaving brown stains on Glenn's white shirt.
"Ah!"
Sylvia thought everything was ruined and grabbed her head with trembling hands. She rolled her eyes left and right as if worried about what would happen next.
"Oh my!"
"Goodness..."
"Wh-what do we do. On the Head of House's clothes..."
Helen and the other maids stopped breathing when they saw the steak sauce on Glenn's clothes. They could neither wipe it off nor clean it up, so they just shuffled their feet anxiously.
"Hup!"
Raon was also startled and gaped his mouth open.
'I-is this okay?'
Isn't he going to flip the table? Glenn is someone who always maintains such a clean appearance that not even dust or blood gets on his uniform during battle. Naturally, he never spills or eats messily during meals either, so Raon was tense about what results Sia's steak sauce on his shirt might bring.
'Plus he absolutely never eats things like sauce.'
Glenn often eats meat dishes too, but perhaps for body maintenance, he eats them plainly with just salt and pepper instead of sauce. Not knowing how he would react to the current situation, Raon's stomach began to ache as if he had indigestion.
-This is dangerous, isn't it?
Wrath also narrowed his eyes as if he couldn't predict what would happen next. (E/N: Are those people stupid? I'm confused.)
"..."
Glenn looked at the steak that had fallen onto his pristine white plate, then slowly picked up his fork. An intense wave emanated from his movements as if he were facing an enemy.
"F-Father!"
"Grandfather!"
Just as Sylvia and Raon were raising their hands to stop Glenn, he stabbed the sauce-covered steak with his fork. He put the steak pierced on the fork directly into his mouth without the slightest hesitation and chewed.
"Hup!"
"Ah..."
"F-Father..."
Helen covered her mouth, Raon let out empty air, and Sylvia called Glenn with a trembling voice. All three people knew how fastidious Glenn was, so they openly showed their surprise.
"How is it?"
Sia looked at Glenn with a smile, not caring about the atmosphere around her.
"Hmm!"
Glenn closed his eyes briefly as if thinking, then opened them and nodded broadly.
"It's very delicious! It tastes even better because Sia put so much sauce on it!"
He deliberately kept sauce on the corners of his mouth while showing a bright smile toward Sia.
"Right? Steak is delicious when you put lots of sauce on it!"
Sia smiled broadly and took out new meat, applied sauce to it, and handed it to Glenn.
"Thank you."
Glenn ate all the steak Sia gave him without losing his smile.
"F-Father..."
Sylvia blinked in confusion at Glenn's behavior she had never seen before.
"Sia has talent for gastronomy too!"
Glenn laughed as if it were good and shared the dishes with Sia.
"She knows how to eat everything properly."
This wasn't an act - his cheeks turned red as if he was genuinely enjoying the situation.
"I learned from Raon!"
Sia laughed, saying she learned how to eat food deliciously from Raon.
"Is that so?"
Glenn looked at Raon while maintaining his smile.
"How should I eat this to make it delicious?"
He pointed to the grilled tomato next to the steak.
"Ah, yes."
Raon nodded briefly and picked up his fork and knife.
"The tomato itself is large so it's delicious even eaten plain, but it would be better with ham and cheese on top."
He placed sweet cheese and salty ham on top of the tomato and handed it to Glenn.
"Let's see..."
Glenn's eyes sparkled with anticipation as he put the tomato Raon had prepared into his mouth.
"Hmm!"
His eyes widened as if it exceeded expectations and he let out deep admiration.
"Just as you said. The combination is quite good."
Glenn said it was a common way to eat it, but it seemed more delicious, and drew a faint smile.
-Huh?
Wrath blinked as he watched Glenn smiling.
-What's gotten into that monster old man who only eats Nadine bread? Won't the sun rise from the west tomorrow?
The guy tilted his head as if he couldn't understand it no matter how much Glenn loved his grandchildren. It seemed Glenn was growing on him a little.
"Father. Please try this too."
Sylvia felt the atmosphere had relaxed considerably and placed peeled shrimp on Glenn's plate.
"Thank you."
Glenn seemed to have no intention of refusing anything today as he cheerfully tasted the grilled shrimp Sylvia gave him.
"Hehe."
"Should we bring more food?"
"I'll go!"
The maids who had prepared the food also seemed to feel proud seeing Glenn's satisfaction, entering the kitchen with smiles on their faces.
"Father!"
Edgar, who had been quiet until now, suddenly stood up. He put various sauces and vegetables on top of steak and offered it to Glenn. (E/N: You moron)
"This is how I eat it! I applied two types of steak sauce to enhance the sweet and salty flavors, and added fresh vegetables to cut the greasiness! It's full of umami, so if you try it right now, you'll experience heavenly taste!"
Edgar shouted that all the previous food would be forgotten and panted heavily.
"Raon said this was the most delicious! He also said Dad was the best at cooking!" (E/N: Dad = Edgar)
Edgar clenched his fist, saying it was a taste even Raon acknowledged.
"That never happened..."
Raon sighed as he watched Edgar fabricating memories that never existed.
-Is he really an idiot?
Wrath shook his head while looking at Edgar.
"..."
Glenn looked at the steak Edgar had prepared and deeply furrowed his brow.
"Two sauces? Isn't that too excessively salty? There are too many vegetables too. You eat it yourself!"
He waved his hand dismissively and roughly returned the steak as if uninterested in Edgar's cooking.
"Ah, yes..."
Despite having gathered courage, Edgar failed to win Glenn's heart and slumped down in his seat as if heartbroken.
"Grandfather, this!"
"Yes!"
Glenn pushed away Edgar's cooking and received with his mouth the steak Sia had loaded with two types of sauce on her fork. It was completely different from what he had said about being too excessively salty just moments before.
"Sia, you try some too."
He now offered food to Sia in the way he had been eating. It looked like a grandfather and granddaughter who had built deep affection, so smiles naturally formed on the faces of everyone at the table.
'This is nice.'
Raon slowly nodded, feeling that the annex building's dining table had become brighter than usual.
'It's become more like a family than before.'
In the past, there was always something uncomfortable whenever they ate with Glenn, but thanks to Sia stepping forward, the atmosphere relaxed like a warm breeze. Now it seemed like they wouldn't envy any other family.
-The atmosphere has improved, so now you should eat something too!
Wrath wrinkled his nose.
-How long are you going to just watch with all this delicious food in front of you!
The guy patted his shoulder, saying they should eat too now.
'I can eat from now on.'
Just as Raon drew a faint smile and was lifting his fork.
"Father!"
Edgar seemed to have gathered courage again and stood up from his chair once more.
"Please accept a drink from me!"
He brought out his precious wine and approached Glenn's side.
"This wine is a masterpiece made from grapes grown in the southern seas, aged immediately after juicing, then stored deep in the salty ocean! No matter how much money or fame you have, it's hard to obtain! Raon brought it and I've been saving it!"
Edgar said he brought it out specially because it was Glenn, opening the wine with trembling hands.
"..."
Glenn looked at Edgar holding the wine bottle with cold eyes and shook his head.
"Do you think I came here to have fun? I came here to teach Raon, and you're offering alcohol from the morning! You drink it yourself!"
He frowned at Edgar as if he couldn't get his act together. (E/N: I feel bad for Edgar ngl. He had been a conscious undead basically tortured for years but since being saved everyone troll him)
"Ah..."
Edgar froze like a statue while holding the wine.
"Y-you're right. I'm sorry..."
He seemed shocked at being rejected by Glenn several times in a row and deflated like a punctured ball in the corner.
"Grandfather, this!"
Sia didn't care whether Edgar was deflated or not and offered Glenn the abalone she had personally shelled.
"My goodness! Our Sia shells abalone well too!"
Glenn even clapped as if he had never been angry and received the abalone Sia offered with his mouth.
"Father. Please wet your throat a bit."
Sylvia took out wine from the cabinet and poured it into Glenn's glass.
"Yes. Wine is perfect when eating meat."
Unlike when he rejected Edgar, Glenn drank the wine in one gulp.
"Mm! Excellent!"
Though it was lower quality than the wine Edgar had brought, he smiled refreshingly as if he had drunk heavenly nectar.
"Hup!"
Edgar seemed to feel that Glenn disliked only him, holding the wine bottle close while his eyes welled up with tears.
'If it's to this extent...'
Raon let out an empty laugh seeing Edgar's complexion cast in gloomy shadow, contrasting with the dazzlingly bright dining table.
'Is it just that he doesn't like Father as a person?'
-That's also true, but your father just has no sense of timing!
Wrath sighed, saying Edgar had no sense of timing at all.
'No sense of timing? Why?'
Raon blinked as he looked at Edgar again.
-Sigh, now I see where you got your own bad sense of timing from!
Wrath narrowed his nose bridge while looking back and forth between himself and Edgar.
-You're exactly like your father!
'That's why I'm asking why!'
***
After finishing the breakfast that was awkward for just one person, Raon came out to the lake behind the annex building to warm up his body. Glancing back, he saw Glenn in the garden talking with Sia while looking at flowers.
He couldn't stop smiling as if this time was extremely enjoyable. It was like seeing a grandfather who doted on his granddaughter, not the Destructive King of the North Glenn Zieghart.
'I really didn't expect Grandfather to come in person.'
Glenn had said he would visit the annex building, but Raon hadn't expected him to actually stay here. Honestly, he was flustered and worried. But seeing today's mealtime, there wasn't much need to worry. Unlike when he was at the main building, Glenn was softening the atmosphere and adapting to the annex building.
'Of course, excluding one person.'
When the meal ended, Edgar's complexion had turned yellow like someone who hadn't eaten for days. Excluding him, everyone would be able to have an enjoyable time.
'But how will he conduct the training?'
Raon briefly smacked his lips.
'Will he teach swordsmanship? Or maybe just give me books and leave me alone like before.'
While he was wondering what kind of education he would receive and thinking various thoughts, Glenn left Sia and approached him.
"It's always a nice place whenever I see it. The annex building."
Unlike before, Glenn nodded as if he liked the annex building.
"I think the same."
Raon smiled back at Glenn's smile.
"Now that we've eaten breakfast, we should start your cultivation."
Glenn took out a nameless booklet from his chest as if to start cultivation now.
"Yes."
Just as Raon was carefully extending both hands to receive Glenn's booklet, the nameless booklet in Glenn's hand burned in red lightning and turned to black ash.
"G-Grandfather?"
Raon's jaw trembled as he watched the ashes that had been a booklet scatter into the air.
"Come to think of it, you wouldn't need something like this."
Glenn shook his head calmly, expressing clearly it wasn't a mistake.
"Because you cannot become me."