6 Dinner

"Now please have a seat, it looks like Elena is still busy," Katya said. She gave a small signal for the waiters to depart from the dining room which left her with Ryo. The only one who stayed was Sebastian who remained in his position beside her.

"Oh, really?" Ryo laughed a little awkwardly and sat on the chair opposite of the much older yet beautiful woman. He still couldn't believe that this was Elena's mother.

Then again, once Ryo paid close attention to Katya's body gestures, he realized that the way she held was befitting of her age and portrayed it well. She was indeed very feminine, gentle and graceful. It was in stark contrast to Elena who was very impulsive and seemed careless, but their beauty were both like two goddesses who descended from the sky.

Katya gave a smile and a chuckle, she then gently lifted her index finger and slightly glanced at Sebastian. The much older man who acted as the family butler, he understood Katya's quick glance and with a swift and smooth motion he opened the bottle of wine and started to pour the contents into three glasses.

Ryo was fascinated and wondered if Katya was going to drink all of those, but then right after the third glass was filled, the dining room door opened. Elena appeared and finally walked in with small but fast steps. There was a huge frown on her face as if she had just finished a heated argument.

"Sorry, I'm late, I had to clear this and that with the members of Parliament via video call earlier," said Elena as she pulled up her own chair and refused Sebastian's help. Her arrogance and self-confidence could be seen in her gestures. It was such a contrast with Katya.

"Ah? You're finally here." Katya glanced at Ryo with a wink. "At last, after three glasses of wine, here is my daughter," said Katya with a beam on her face. She stood up and kissed Elena's forehead.

'Mother and child in harmony.' thought Ryo.

Elena blushed slightly when she realized Ryo's gaze. It was probably because Ryo looked at her as if she was being pampered by her mother despite her age. She needed to keep things professional and act unfazed. She eventually sat down with a frown on her face.

"So... What's our dinner for today?" asked Elena. She immediately reached out for one of the glasses and took a sip of her wine.

"Sebastian, can please serve us the food?" Katya asked.

Ryo saw that she was polite even with her subordinates. In the corner of his vision, he watched Sebastian get help from a waiter as they brought a tray of luxurious dishes, and soon served it in front of the three of them. "Enjoy it," Katya said to Ryo with a warm smile.

The three of them were welcomed with a sumptuous meal, and from the looks of it, it was clear to Ryo that everything was cooked by a classy chef with the best quality ingredients.

While Katya sliced a piece of grilled meat, she eventually glanced at Elena and asked. "You look so annoyed, what do members of Parliament want?"

"New weapons and logistics, they even asked us to deploy our Rifter Elite to the Middle East to fight the Sands Diggers," said Elena as she chewed her meal.

"Just agree with it, Sands Diggers are only level D monsters. Even an E Rank Rifter can beat them if they work well together."

Elena now looked like she was more annoyed than ever. She continued to cut with her steak knife against the steak, until it finally reached the plate and caused it to crack. Elena's gaze was sharp as she stabbed the steak she had and put it in her mouth. Even while she chewed, it seemed to not have any effect because once she was done chewing, she looked up to her mother.

"But White Raven isn't a charity!" she exclaimed.

"Elena! We are eating," said Katya with a slightly raised voice.

"Sorry," Elena replied flatly.

Katya regained her composure then glanced at Ryo who remained calm and ate his meal. It seemed like he chose not to bother with the spectacle, but even so, Katya knew Ryo had a lot of questions running through his head.

It was finally time.

"Leaving that aside, it seems our guest has a lot of questions right now," Katya said after reading Ryo's thoughts.

Ryo just nodded as he took a sip of wine.

"Well, first I want to congratulate you on your awakening to power and I welcome you as the White Raven's heir. I've been waiting until you're ready. That's Ryuji's will before he disappeared."

"Will? Father never mentioned a will related to the White Raven."

"Yes, that's how your father operates. Ryuji is full of secrets and enigmas, he asked me for help to hide your existence from this world," said Katya slowly.

"Okay, so I guess you and Ryuji have been preparing everything since I was a kid, are you?"

Katya paused her meal and wiped her lips with a napkin, then answered Ryo,

"Even before you were born, actually. Ryuji had foreseen you, ever since the White Raven was founded. Everything was going well for the past hundred years. Until you finally awakened."

"One hundred years?! But you still look..." Ryo raised his eyebrows when he heard Katya's story, especially with Katya's appearance, who still looked very young. He even mistook her for Elena but now she was even older than Ryo assumed?

"Hmm? I suppose I still look charming?" Katya said with a wink.

"That's how it is," answered Ryo. He said it like that so he wouldn't cause any offence. But he was already full of thoughts. 'If humans can turn themselves into cyborgs in this era, then it's not impossible for them to look young after being hundreds of years old.' Ryo silently considered.

"Hmm… you may be old enough to understand all of this, but you're not strong enough to take on such a big responsibility as the White Raven's Heir.You have to get stronger and you know what I mean right?" Katya asked with a serious expression.

Earlier, Katya was still able to tease her daughter and interact despite Elena's personality, but now she was asking him for something with such a grave expression. Ryo hesitated to make his choice. Everything that happened was still like a dream to him. "Do I have to take on this big responsibility?" Ryo slowly replied after he heard Katya's words.

"You do realize what has happened lately, boy. Everything I did was to keep my promise to Ryuji but if you want to die out there, go ahead. It's your choice, but don't you think that's tantamount to cowardice?"

Ryo cupped his face with both hands and he hesitated, being a responsible human was the first teaching he got from Ryuji when his father was still alive. However, he was more practical.

'What will happen if I get out of here? No one can even guarantee my safety in the outside world.'Ryo silently thought and that made him come to a decision. It was the only option. .

He took a deep breath, then looked at Katya seriously, "Okay, I'll do it."

"Good, for that ... You must become a student at this academy. There are a series of tests, exercises and orientations that you must pass," said Katya then flashed a blue bracelet to Ryo. "I have prepared all the learning programs, curriculum, and other things in here."

"WristNect? I already have one." Ryo still caught the one Katya threw at him.

"This one is different from the mass-made for ordinary people, even more advanced than the version that the military has. This is resistant to all extreme weather, connected directly to satellites, and there is spatial space to store various items in it," said Elena.

Ryo twirled the blue bracelet confused about how to use it. There were no buttons or a small screen that showed a UI. There was only one small lens on the bracelet.

Elena watched him fiddle with the bracelet but then grew impatient when she saw that Ryo didn't know how his WristNect worked.

"Like this," said Elena. She pressed the small lens on her bracelet.

Suddenly Elena's battle gear came out from inside the bracelet. The bluish holographic light materialized and dematerialized physical objects. Finally, after everything materialized, a twin big handgun that she used when she saved Ryo's ass dropped on the dining table with a loud thud.

"Woahhh! I've read a lot about the theory of Spatial Space but this is the first time I've seen it directly. The physical matter of an object is broken, rearranged and converted into digital form," said Ryo with great enthusiasm.

Elena sighed when she watched Ryo act like a toddler who got a new toy. She rolled her eyes in disbelief. Was this really supposed to be the White Raven's heir? But she took in the role of helping him get a grasp on it.

"I'll explain a bit, the bracelet will be your guide as well as your observer, the A.I system in it will design all your lesson schedules and assess all aspects."

"Oh I see, that's great. So, will my privacy be maintained?" asked Ryo,, He continued to fiddlle with the bracelet and swiped left and right on the hologram screen.

"Don't worry! Even if you make out with horses, the system wouldn't care, the A.I only records learning and assessing activities. However… If there is something urgent and threatens your life, the system will automatically give an emergency signal and HQ will immediately send help."

"So it also records physical condition too?" asked Ryo.

"Yep, that's right! The system will read the pattern of your physical condition."

Ryo was very satisfied when he wore the blue bracelet but there were still some things that have been stuck in Ryo's mind since he arrived at White Raven Mansion. He looked at Katya and ventured to put forward some conditions.

"But, there are some conditions, which I want to propose to you," said Ryo as he looked at Katya seriously.

"Say it," said Katya.

"First, I want to keep my identity secret. Second, I don't like to be controlled, I wish to keep my freedom. Third, I need all access in the White Raven academy, especially the library.

"That's all?" Katya said. She raised an eyebrow and crossed her fingers underneath her chin.

"Yes, that's enough, thank you," said Ryo. He nodded in satisfaction.

Once they were done with the details, they continued with their dinner and enjoyed their meal. However, while they were about to finish their dinner, a waiter suddenly rushed in.

"Sorry to interrupt, but an important guest has come," said the waiter. He approached Sebastian and whispered something.

Sebastian suddenly turned sour when he heard the news from his subordinates. He immediately informed it by also conveying it silently to the lady of the mansion. Katya's brows immediately furrowed when she heard the message from her butler.

"This was a wonderful dinner, but I'm sorry that I can't stay around and converse some more. I have an important guest to meet now."

Katya got up from her chair with such a serious face, that Elena wondered what kind of guest could make her mother's face look like that. She was usually unfazed by everything, but then Elena realized what or rather who it was.

The hairs on her nape tingled when she felt the presence of a very strong person. When Elena expanded her detection ability, she immediately sensed the presence of someone she knew.

'Alucard?! What business did he come here for?!' Elena thought in her heart.

***