1127 Bread or Brick?
Amidst the swirling desert sands, a lone figure trudged through the last bastion of human civilization, a city clinging desperately to life. The sun hung heavily in the sky, casting a harsh, relentless glare that baked the streets below. The man, weathered and in his early twenties, wore practical desert gear and carried a sense of determined weariness. His eyes scanned the bustling market stalls and makeshift homes, taking in the bleak yet vibrant scene.
Despite the activity around him, the atmosphere was undeniably gloomy. The sparse population moved with an air of quiet desperation, their faces etched with the weight of survival. Vendors called out half-heartedly, children played in the dust with a muted energy, and the remnants of humanity's last stand continued their daily grind, overshadowed by the looming uncertainty of their future.
With his face half-covered with a scarf, and his layered baggy clothing fluttering in the light breeze, the man walked into a run down restaurant and had a seat at the squeaky wooden table. It was mostly soldiers and army personnel who could afford eating at restaurants, and needless it was filled with those types of people. The red eyes scanned the place and settled on a man with black hair, amethyst eyes and goatee. He was calmly sipping on cheap distilled alcohol while seated in a corner. 'So that's where our eyes are from.'
Disguised as Frey, Lith thought to himself as he looked at the man with amethyst eyes. Coming across his paternal side of the family for the first time, there was no curiosity or interest, only uncomfortable rage swelled up inside Lith. If it weren't for his strong will, he would've already lost control and tried to kill this man for harming his grandparents. Lith did not know whether this man was involved in the issue with his grandparents, but he belonged to the Asura God Clan, so he must be eliminated. The entire clan did not deserve to survive. His rage would never extinguish until he set fire to both the clans and burnt them to ashes. The man with the goatee was a bastard grandson of the current Patriarch. His exceptional skills had earned him a position in the main family, but being an illegitimate child, he was sent on dangerous adventures quite often. No matter what he did, he would never be able to rule the clan due to his status. It was reserved for the legitimate kids, and they were protected and trained to act as great rulers while people such as this wiped their asses and did the dirty work elsewhere. The man's name was Maxim and he was a Supreme Rank. Lith was being careful to not alert him. He was by himself in this last land of humanity, checking up on the Asuras, and if he got into trouble, nobody was coming to save him.
The three supreme ancestors or Qingshan couldn't be brought along as this would signify that the Qing Mei Sect was trying to have a direct conflict with the Asuras. This would also be seen as the whole central alliance going against the Asuras as the sect was the spokesperson for them all.
Luna was out of question as well because she was a Supreme Rank, and a vampire. Her skin was as pale as Lith's, and anyone could figure out that they didn't belong to this place. Lith was covered in so much clothing to hide his skin. There were magic spells he was using too, but they were subtle and not over the top. If a Legendary Rank Asura were to pass by him, he would've felt the elemental fluctuations from the spell and gotten suspicious of him.
It was in Lith's best interest to dress like the locals here and act like them. Lith called the waiter and ordered himself some bread and thick animal stew. It arrived within a few minutes, and looked anything but appetizing.
The stew was dark brown and looked like the underside of wet soil while the bread was hard as a brick. Lith called the waiter again and pointed at the food. "It is inedible."
The waiter, a young boy with a dusty appearance and freckles, bowed and apologized. "Fresh bread is not available due to the scarcity of wheat, sir. This is the last stock we have left."
Lith got up from his seat, his towering figure casting a shadow on the young lad. "Take me to your boss. He is not making use of the resources properly," Lith said.
The boy felt really nervous, but agreed nonetheless, and took Lith to the kitchen.
The restaurant was busy, and being a random person, nobody paid attention to Lith. All his traits, his silky smooth hair, gem-like amethyst eyes, and tall, well-built figure was hidden under the clothes. Due to disguising as Freya, even his height had shortened to being just above average in this world.
The young boy and Lith arrived in the kitchen, where a scrawny man was working relentlessly and cooking many dishes.
"Boss. Some guest wants to see you." The young boy yelled.
"Tell them I have no time!" The boss replied.
"Boss, they're here."
The boy's comment grabbed the scrawny man's attention as he turned to look at Lith.
He walked close to him and frowned. "Who are you? How did you walk into my kitchen?"
Humanity was already at its last strand. Everyone had lost everything, and this restaurant wasn't far from shutting down. The man was at his lowest and had nothing to lose, thus he did not fear anything and talked so rudely. "The bread you gave me was like a brick."
"If you don't want it, then scram." The man wasn't polite. Lith shook his head and answered, "I'll teach you how to make do with what you have. I'll do the cooking, sit back and watch. I won't charge you a single copper."
Despite being in a disguise, an authority was an authority at the end of the day. Lith was a royalty, and his overbearing and regal demeanor was bound to be unleashed from the way he spoke, no matter how much he tried to hide.
The boss of the restaurant felt it and instinctively had a feeling to obey Lith's command. The young boy was anyway scared, so he continued to obey whatever Lith and his boss said.
Lith filled a big pot with water and placed it on a furnace to boil. He added some salt to it and placed a tray with holes inside, then placed a few loaves of bread on top of it and covered the pot with a lid. He then calmly walked towards the pot where the thick animal stew was boiling and began making changes to it such as adding more water, spices, animal fat, and meat as necessary.
While doing so, Lith said, "Don't watch idly. Go and take the order, boy."
The young boy was startled, but bowed and left to get the orders. The boss man continued to watch what Lith was doing. If it wasn't for the pleasant aroma coming from the bread and stew, he would've begun fighting with Lith.
Steaming the bread had caused it to loosen up. The man also had no idea what Lith did, but it felt as if he was in a bakery, smelling some freshly baked bread. How can placing bread in a pot of boiling water give such an aroma? The man was confused. "Table number 7 wants some veggie stew!" The boy returned and shouted. "Table number 9 wants some bread and animal stew!"
"Table number 3 wants some malt beer!"
Lith swiftly worked to pour stew in bowls, and cut the bread in proper slices. He lathered them with the fat coming up on the boiling animal stew, and once finished, gave the dishes to the boy and sent him out.
"Tell the customers that the bread will spoil in a few days, so we are clearing out the stock and giving one slice to them for free." Lith told the boy who was trembling and carefully walking towards the customer, trying not to drop the plates. "Hey!" The boss wasn't happy by this, but Lith tossed him a few silver coins and immediately shut him up.
Lith then stood by the boiling pot of stew and looked at his pocket watch. It was ticking slowly.
A minute later, the boy rushed into the kitchen again and said, "Boss! Boss! Orders! There are a lot more orders!"
"What are they?" Lith asked calmly. "Four Root beer for table 7 with a full loaf of bread sliced and seasoned!"
"Six Malt beers for table 2 with sliced bread…"
The orders kept coming and Lith took note of everything. Although it seemed a lot, this was nothing as compared to the time of his training. Lith swiftly worked his magic and gave one dish after another to the boy.
Eventually, Lith walked to the boss who couldn't believe what was happening, and gave him a small salt shaker. He patted his shoulder and said, "Sprinkle some of this seasoning to the stew or bread if the order is from table 5."
Lith didn't wait for his response, and left the kitchen, sneakily sitting back on his table and having his food. He took a glance at the man in the corner of the restaurant and found out that he hadn't noticed anything strange so far. Lith dipped the soft bread into the stew and had a bite of it. The juices from the tender meat flowed into his mouth while the grainy bread acted as a good binder and elevated the taste further. A few minutes later.
Someone joined the man in the corner. He was someone with amethyst eyes as well. The two ordered themselves bread, stew, and alcohol. Within minutes, it was served. Lith watched them take a few bites and gulp it down. He had his last bite of the bread, and putting the money on the table, quietly left the room.
As he walked out of the restaurant, he covered his face back with the scarf and thought, 'Need to setup the traps now.'