Sweet, Salty and Sour

~~~🍽️~~~

It was the third time Rei sat at the royal dining table of the castle, having eaten the rest of his dinners on a dark chair under the light of strange workshop candles. Dinner was served on the traditional long oak table, draped in a solemn cloth, far too grand for four tired youths, still carrying on their clothes the sweat of horses and the dust of the plains.

“I understand dinner time is sacred,” said High Counselor Nireya with disdain. “But could you not have taken a bath beforehand?”

“No, it’s fine,” added General Maedros, sipping his wine as if nothing was amiss. “The smell of the battlefield is something every man must get used to. And every woman too. Besides, you should give them some credit, Nireya. They stopped a horde of wild horses...”

“Exactly!” Nessus defended himself.

“...which escaped because of a certain idiot. He’ll be looking after them for a whole month to learn his lesson.”

Nessus froze. “I think I’d better go take a bath.”

“You’re not going anywhere,” Ettor cut in.

“Damn it!”

As the conversation went on, a few servant girls arrived at the hall and gracefully set down dinner before each of the diners.

“Here you are, Lord Hero.”

Before him was placed a steaming bowl of thick stew, lean meat mixed with sweet spices.

“Thank you very much,” Rei exclaimed, more cheerful than before.

He took a spoonful and forced himself to swallow. The texture was weird. The seasoning too perfumed. Like someone had tried to sweeten a salty broth. He sipped the golden drink served beside it. The face he made was enough to make Nessus burst out laughing.

“What?” Rei asked, carefully setting down the jug.

“Your face looks like a foal tasting bitter grass for the first time,” Nessus joked, reclining with a painted grin on his face.

“I still can’t get used to the food in this world,” Rei admitted, resting the spoon on the plate. “Everything tastes strange. Not bad, just… very different from my home. What I’d give for some rice balls right now.”

Seeing his expression of distaste, a servant girl rushed to his side.

“I’m so sorry, Lord Hero!” she cried, bowing deeply. “Would you like me to prepare something else?”

“Huh? No, please! Don’t worry!” Rei stammered, trying to reassure her. Luckily, he succeeded, and soon after began eating again. “Back home, there were many times when we had nothing to eat. I won’t waste any food I’m given, even if I have to endure a calamity.”

He took another bite. “Solaria, please, send me a rice ball.”

Leonoris watched him in silence, her fingers laced upon her lap. Ettor, meanwhile, kept his composure, drinking in measured sips, as if nothing could break his discipline.

“Thank you, Magdalin. Please, enjoy your meal as well,” King Conferius spoke warmly to his servant, who bowed solemnly, as did his wife. Rei once again confirmed that this Royal Family was far more humble and cordial than any emperor or king back in his own world—more family than royalty. “Well, we can mark down your first victory, can’t we, Hero Rei?”

“A majestic victory,” Nessus chimed in, glancing at his siblings and the rest of the council. “Admit it—you didn’t expect Rei to last that long with the horses.”

“…Hey.”

“Not after the chaos in the Smithing District,” added Magistrate Dalthon. “The whole city was shocked by ‘the Hero and the Three Enlightened.’”

“Oh, Virinus,” complained Master Velina from across the table. “Do you always have to find fault with something?”

“That’s literally my job. To be fair with everyone, instead of letting them walk away as if nothing happened.”

Rei raised an eyebrow, setting down his spoon.

“Thanks for the compliment, I guess. Though before Leonoris healed me, I couldn’t even move a muscle.” Rei took another bite, the food becoming slowly more tolerable, and then remembered. “By the way, Leonoris, what’s with attracting so much danger? In the infirmary you almost got hit twice by falling jars, and then a tree almost crushed you. You should really purify yourself with Solaria.”

Rei grinned, taking another spoonful. He wasn’t ready, however, to find the whole table silent, most of them staring at Leonoris in shock, as if he had spoken blasphemy.

“Did I say something wrong?”

Rei looked at her closely, and she at him. The world seemed to freeze. Then the girl dropped her gaze to her knees, as if wanting to escape the conversation. She made a motion with her hands, then stopped quickly, sighing.

“Since I was born... magic has never favored me as it should,” she confessed quietly. “It always brings me bad luck.”

The table fell still again, but this time the gazes shifted toward the Hero. Rei blinked, processing, and then a crooked smile formed on his lips.

“I see. So you’re unlucky. And to summon me here, you gave me so much bad luck that a scale crushed me. That’s almost poetic. I'm sorry.”

“Exactly, right? She became the cursed sister for not eating her vegetables as a child,” Nessus laughed, breaking the tension, though Leonoris lowered her face, cheeks burning with embarrassment.

Rei, still with a spark of irony in his eyes, leaned toward the three siblings.

“You’re right. Although, to be honest… you three don’t really look like siblings at all. Well, maybe in the face, especially you and your sharp-edged version,” Rei nodded toward Ettor, who looked far from friendly. “But the rest… nothing alike. Hair, height, even the way you talk is different.”

“On more important matters,” Ettor set down his cup with vehemence, clearly uncomfortable with the direction of the talk, “we need to focus back on the pirates. They’ve been scouting more and more lately, and we don’t know when they’ll strike again.”

The pirates resurfaced in Rei’s mind, cutting off any other conversation.

“Ah, yes. I’ve been meaning to ask you about the ships. Like I told the others, in my world they don’t fly—they only sail. How do they work? Why do they fly?”

“I wanted to ask you that too!” Nessus interrupted. “Do ships really not fly in your world?”

“No. Planes fly, but very high. Ships only sail across water.”

The middle Solaris sibling clicked his tongue and leaned back in his chair.

“So your ships always move before taking off? Booooring!”

Rei couldn’t help but smile.

“Yeah, boring. But at least they don’t look like something out of a fever dream.”

Ettor, resigned, explained calmly.

“Ships fly thanks to the Aether Core embedded deep in their hulls. It’s a mana crystal that generates an anti-gravity field. It doesn’t move them, just prevents them from falling.”

“The sails catch wind currents, just like on the sea,” Leonoris added softly. “But Kounarian ships also use enchanted side-wings for balance. The rudder doesn’t just steer—it stabilizes.”

Nessus leaned toward Rei, his eyes glinting mischievously.

“And if the core breaks, the trip’s over. Straight crash. Piiiiuuuujjj. Spectacular.”

“So they’re completely dependent on that crystal,” Rei frowned.

“Crystals that, aside from feeding our magic with unique powers, also keep the ships afloat. That’s why they’re so coveted—and we believe that’s what the pirates are after, raiding across all the Kingdoms.”

While they talked, Rei listened with a deep frown. His fingers drummed on the table. His mind filled with images: gears, wooden pieces fitted with precision, endless flows of energy. The spark of invention glowed in his eyes—so vividly that even Nessus noticed.

“Hey, look at his face,” he murmured, leaning toward Leonoris. “He’s plotting something.”

Rei barely heard him. He was too absorbed in the king’s comments, sketching invisible diagrams in the air with his gaze. He stayed like that for quite a while, eating and talking, until he noticed both siblings watching him with half-smiles on their faces.

“What?”

“You look like you want to build your own ship,” Leonoris remarked, Nessus grinning innocently.

“Is that it, young Hero?” asked Queen Valeta. “I must admit, it seems very difficult, and the pirates are constantly spying on our constructions.”

“It’s not that,” Rei shook his head. “That’s too big and risky to attempt right now. But I do have some ideas for what we could do. I’ll need to read up on all those books about magical materials, but… I like the challenge.”

The faces around the table brightened, as though seeing him revived after so many days could finally mean things were beginning to look up.

“As long as you don’t cause more destruction.”

But for Ettor, the conversation quickly turned into confrontation, souring the mood.

“...Excuse me?”

“All of this is fine, but it doesn’t change the fact that today you ordered the formation to be broken and endangered the capture. And the horse injured its legs from the fall. You need to think beyond your nose.”

The words hit like cold water. Rei stared at him, incredulous.

“Ettor…” Nessus spoke in disbelief, his sister’s eyes echoing the same. “Rei’s commands were spot on for catching the horses, and his gadgets worked. Was that really necessary?”

“Uh-huh. And for that, we should let him cause all the collateral damage he wants? Don’t be a fool—you already caused enough trouble by leaving the gate open.”

Nessus frowned, clearly angry, but chose not to push further.

“Ettor,” the High Counselor intervened. “I understand your concern, but not your timing. Let us at least enjoy a small victory.”

“I can’t believe you call catching horses a victory,” Ettor’s voice hardened. “Victories are against the pirates—not these trifles.”

“Well, I don’t see you winning many victories yourself.”

Rei, who had been gritting his teeth, realized too late that his mouth had moved before his brain. The entire table turned toward him again, more stunned than before.

“What did you just say?” Ettor demanded, both shocked and furious.

Rei’s mind froze.

“Uh… well…”

He froze again, remembering Ettor’s blows during training, and how everyone spoke of him. He was certainly not someone you wanted as an enemy.

But Kashiwa Rei wouldn’t be treated like that. Yet he could do nothing about it. But he was the Hero. But, but, but...

“Thank you for the meal. Excuse me.”

Frowning, clouded with anger, Rei shoved the chair back with a sharp sound. He stood and walked away from the table without looking back.

“Rei!” Leonoris called, half-risen from her chair, but it didn’t stop him.

“Dear…” Not even the Queen’s voice could.

Ettor, on the other hand, sighed dismissively.

“That’s what happens when the Hero turns out to be a spoiled child. Solaria really made things diffi—”

“Are you an idiot or what?! Just shut up!”

Of all the people who could have yelled, Leonoris was the least expected. But hearing Solaria’s name spat out while cursing the Hero had made her explode. She bolted after Rei. In the same instant, Nessus shot a final glare of resentment at his older brother before running off as well.

“Rei!” they caught up to him at the end of the adjoining hall, just before he stepped into the courtyard. “Are you alright?”

The Hero paused at the threshold, the door open. Moonlight cast a silver veil upon his hair.

“Thank you for standing by me,” he replied, not turning around. “I’ll be fine. But I need to work through my anger the only way I know. By being alone. By creating things.”

Without waiting for an answer, he stepped into the courtyard, the darkness soon swallowing his silhouette. The two siblings remained in silence, hearts heavy, watching as the boy was unfairly judged once more.

It would be another long night for the Hero.