Banquet

The rest of the afternoon, they did light exercise and a small spar to test their new limits. With the breakthrough, Isaac noticed that their joints were more flexible, and their bones were lighter. Practicing and adapting the moves from the Path of the Spiritual Guardian became slightly easier, too. At sundown, both kids were sitting under one of the trees, looking at the orange horizon.

"Say, Isaac," Dustin spoke first, wiping his sweat with a towel. "How are you going to name them?"

"Name what?" Isaac arched a brow.

"You know, the crops? Something like..." He remained silent for a moment, thinking. "Whistling sky corn?"

"I'll let you name them, i don't care about fancy names, honestly." Isaac shrugged. "If i could, i would name them 'brown watermelon' or ' hot tomato."

"...I'll do the naming, then."

"Young master, dinner is ready." Wilson's voice appeared out of nowhere once more, scaring both of them.

"For the love of... Wilson! Why?!"

"I don't understand your question, young master." Wilson bowed with a slight smile. "You are invited too, Mann boy."

"But mom is going to pick me up..." Dustin murmured his complaint as his cheek reddened once more.

"Your mother, Mrs. Mann, is invited too."

"That seals the deal. Let's go, little man. We have to take a shower." Isaac patted him on the back before going to the mansion.

"Did you just...forget it." Dustin sighed and followed closely behind his friend.

The boys took turns taking a bath. Isaac suggested that they should go in, but Dustin adamantly refused. However, he had to use robes lent by Isaac. He could have asked Wilson to use his "magic powers" to clean them, but he didn't want to bother him too much. Seeing Dustin all embarrassed was a nice bonus.

By nightfall, The Leigh family and Dustin were seated at the table, waiting for Joanna. Duarte teased Isaac while their parents looked at them, amused. Dustin, on the other hand, was at the edge of a breakdown, sweating and trembling while praying that his mother hurries up. When he heard a gentle knock on the door, he let out a relieved sigh.

"I'm sorry for taking too long, i was...occupied with some family matters." Joanna's figure appeared behind the door when Wilson opened it. She wore the Mann's family deep blue robes, a flower-shaped hair clip adorned her white hair, and inside her sleeves were a pair of boxes with hundreds of small needles. "I hope you didn't take offense, Mr. Leigh."

"None was taken, Mrs. Mann." Dixon shook his head and extended his hand, pointing at an empty spot beside her uncomfortable son. "Please, have a seat."

"Many thanks." She politely lowered her head and sat beside Dustin, giving him a hug and a small kiss on the head. "Did you wait for too much, little sunshine?~"

"Mom...not in front of Isaac..." Dustin blushed once more but didn't escape his mother's grasp.

Joanna saw the smirking kid in question: Isaac Leigh. A quick eyeglance told her that he was in the Muscle Rebirth realm too. His mannerisms didn't express excessive pride, and his look towards Dustin was warm. Unless he was a good enough actor to fool a foundation establishment warrior, he didn't seem like a bad kid.

"Well, nice to meet you, Isaac." Joanna smiled and nodded towards the child. "My name is Joanna, and I'm Dustin's mom. Thanks for everything that you have done for him. I'll make sure to repay your kindness."

"Nice to meet you, Mrs. Joanna, and don't worry about that." Isaac dismissed that last part. "I'm happy to have someone to work with me."

"Still, you have my thanks." She wanted to pry more into his motivations, but she didn't want to seem rude in front of his parents. "And I can't simply overlook you taking care of my son. Please accept this humble gift." She knew it was etiquette to humble yourself after receiving praise like this, so she prepared to fish something from her bag of holding.

"Nono, it's ok. You don't have to give me anything." But she was mildly surprised after hearing Isaac say that. "I mean, Dustin is already paying with his work, so...I guess it's even? Yeah, it's even, don't worry about it."

"I...understand." She smiled and made a mental note to pry into his intentions more when she had a chance.

"The food is ready, Master." Martha's voice came in clutch to prevent an awkward atmosphere. "First, the appetizers."

Several butlers and maids came with trays full of plates. One of them had salad, and the final one a jug full of juice. Joanna was surprised to sense spiritual energy in the food, as spiritual herbs were bitter or very uncommon if they had a 'good taste.' In a matter of seconds, they served everyone two portions of salad using telekinesis.

Portions of golden, grilled eggplant and slices of brown-golden tomatoes, without their mushy insides, overlapped and alternated each other. A glittering dressing bathed them, and fine herbs sprinkled on top. However, one of them softly glowed in blue color.

"Both of them are grilled eggplant and tomato salads." Marco, the head chef, entered after the salads got served. "If we had more variety, we wouldn't have to require the use of mortal herbs. But worry not, we did our very best in bringing out the flavor! But a word of precaution, the right one is very spicy, so i recommend eating it in small bites."

Dustin slightly trembled after remembering his experience with the pepper juice. His mother looked at him with a tinge of confusion but thought nothing of it. Almost all of them took a prudent approach, eating a moderate bite of each slice, except for Isaac, who began to stuff himself without consideration.

"Well...I must say that I haven't tasted something quite like this in a very long time." She used her sleeves to hide her blushing smile. "What herbs were used?"

"We used the eggplants, tomatoes, and peppers that young master Isaac grew in the backyard with the help of your son, Mr.s Mann." Marco respectfully answered, cupping his hands and slightly bowing towards her.

"Are the rest mortal herbs? You didn't use 100 years Ginseng for the spicy flavor, or Cave lilies for this fantastic surge of flavor and earth energy?"

"This lowly servant speaks the truth." Marco nodded solemnly.

The eggplants and the tomatoes had a crunchy exterior with a soft and warm interior. With each bite, the flavors and spiritual energy danced in their mouths before traversing their bodies. Even the spicy dressing wasn't painful as they thought. Its warmth was like a blanket on a cold night, wrapping their bodies and souls. Gasps of surprise slowly filled the table as they noticed that the food was gone...except for Dustin's spicy plate that was still full. Trauma is more overpowering than any delicious food.

"Mom, do you want mine?" Dustin meekly asked his mother.

"Thank you, my little sunshine." She warmly smiled and kissed his forehead before eating his portion too.

"It makes me happy to see that you like what we offer, Mrs. Mann," Dixon spoke in a milder tone. The salad left him in a good mood.

"Please call me Joanna. No need to be that distant." She nodded with a smile on her face. "And i must express my surprise. I don't know much about spiritual herbs, but i know that this has good quality."

"Are you considering our proposal then, Joanna Mann?" Dixon arched an eyebrow.

"I, Joanna Mann, as the matriarch of the Mann family, give my word that my family will help you with this new enterprise of yours, Dixon Leigh."

"Let's talk about that when we finish our meal, shall we?" Dixon smiled and signaled Marco to bring the next dish.

"Now, the main course!"

The servants took the dirty plates and replaced them with clean ones. In this round, they each served them a slice of stuffed meat. It got filled with diced vegetables, most notably the previous ones, with the addition of the blue peppers, hot tomatoes, and even the sauce faintly smelled like watermelon.

"This is stuffed berserker boar, a peak rank 1 animal recently hunted by our huntsmen. You'll find diced vegetables inside, coupled with hot tomatoes without seeds, so it isn't too spicy for the young masters. And finally, a sauce made with blue pepper juice, brown watermelon, and hot tomatoes." Small cups filled with the same sauce appeared before them. however, crimson red seeds sparkled inside. "If you want it extra spicy, this one will fill your need." Marco bowed and retreated a couple of steps once more.

Duarte and Dixon dripped the sauce without thinking. Isaac, Samantha, and Dustin refrained from doing so. Joanna looked conflicted for a moment before trying it too.

The first bite was worlds apart from the previous one. The tenderness of the meat accompanied by the different textures that the vegetables provided was like a symphony. The hotness of the seedless sauce was higher than the previous one, but it was enjoyable. Dustin and Isaac ate with blushing smiles on their faces. Samantha giggled, looking at her son eating like that was cute in her eyes. She enjoyed a pleasant meal without having to deal with excessive heat. However, With the rest, it was a different story.

"Huff...It's kinda hot, isn't it?" Duarte was the first to speak out. Smoke billowed from his mouth with each word.

"Yes...It wasn't like i...expected..." Joanna was in a worse situation than him. She was an entire realm behind, so her defenses weren't that powerful. "Can i have...some water?"

"Of course, Ma'am." Marco served her a cup of wine instead, much to her delight.

After drinking it in one go, the hotness subsided, and she left out a sigh of relief. Dixon smirked and ate without a care in the world... Even if smoke drifted from the corners of his mouth each time he bit.

The atmosphere relaxed enough after that small exchange that everyone began to chat about different topics. Like the city's state, the food's incredible flavor, the boy's talent, they even threw some darts at the Dahar family. After they finished the meal, everyone cleaned their faces and let the servants take the dishes away.

"Would you like to talk about business in my office, Joanna? I guess you got a good picture about our new enterprise." Dixon and Samantha stood from the table and nodded towards Marco. "Delightful dinner as always, Marco. Please send our desserts to the studio."

"Thanks for the food. You showed off tonight, Marco." Samantha followed her husband and complimented the food too. It was a nice change of pace from the usual, and it even helped her a little in cultivation!"

"I understand, Dixon Leigh." She stood up gracefully and bowed. "I'm excited to hear your proposals properly."