Warm Food (Part 2)

After that incident, we were invited to the Siofra family’s dining hall.

The spaciousness of the hall became evident as my eyes scanned the surroundings.

Looking up, I noticed a second floor adorned with a beautiful array of flowers and leaves intricately woven around the wooden roof. The sight was breathtaking as if the essence of the forest had been brought indoors, creating a seamless fusion of nature and architecture.

The lathered wood floor beneath our feet felt invitingly soft and smooth, offering a luxurious walking surface.

According to Celicia, this is the only dining hall in Saevil Forest that exists, which means that every single clan division can just go here and enjoy a meal.

“The reason why is because we elves value unity, so each clan can easily go to this place if they want to dine in on our local cuisine…” Celicia explained.

“I know it’s a bit late to ask this, but how many clan divisions are there?” I ask as we sit down at a table in the far corner of the room.

“That’s pretty late…” Celicia folds her arms and gives a sigh. She continues, “Put simply, Saveil Forest has three different clans: Earth, Wind, and Water, with each respective clan embodying the three magic types of the gods, given to the chosen ones…”

“Chosen ones?” I tilt my head.

“Yes. There were three elves that were bestowed this power: Elegast; the earth user, Peregrin; the water user, and Alfiva; the wind user. These elves were the reasons why most of us here can use magic…” Celicia explained.

“Wait, you say that, but I didn’t see a single person around here that used any form of magic. Why is that?” I ask.

“…It’s because… a civil war occurred…” Celicia slouches her shoulders.

“…Civil war?”

“…Back then, we were a lot crueler and more brutal when it comes to claiming our territory. There would be a discrepancy on which clan has the right to be the main ruler of Saevil forest, but the breakout started the moment an elf was killed during a riot…” Celicia explained, her eyes stuck on the table.

“…”

“However, that war came to an end when our head chief; Eusilia came in to mitigate the dispute. She was one of the elves that experienced a tragic loss during the civil war, but she was miraculously able to unite them all on her leadership…” Celicia raises her head, gradually meeting my gaze…

“…But… wouldn’t there be elves that still hate each other?”

“Don’t ask that here!” Celicia yells in a whisper, covering her mouth with her left hand, “This topic is practically taboo!”

“Then why are you talking about it here you idiot?!” I yelled in a whisper.

“Who’s the person that asked first?!”

“Both of you are wrong…” The short red hair put our food on the table, and then she suddenly hit our heads at the time.

“Ow!”

“Ow! …What was that for?” Celicia asks with tears in her eyes.

“I get that you’re just trying to explain this good-for-nothing Otherworlder our history, but try not to talk about it if possible.”

I’ll just keep my complaints to myself.

“Also, here’s my treat.” Siofra then set out three meals that have meats that are shaped like a meatball and what I’m guessing is mashed potatoes on the side with some sort of thick red sauce sitting next to it. I’m not sure what this dish is called though…

“It looks good Sofi!” Celicia said while salivating.

“Yeah… The smell is nice too…” I answered, my gaze still stuck on the plate.

“I made it, so of course!” Siofra sits down next to Celicia. She then clasps her hands together and closes her eyes.

“…”

“Oh right…” Celicia hurriedly clasps her hands and closes her eyes.

I then clasp my own hands and close my eyes, then I said,

“Thank you for the food…”

It took a little bit, but eventually, both opened their eyes and started munching on their food.

“Woaaah! It feels like the meat is melting into my mouth…” Celicia said with her hand on her mouth.

“That’s who I am; Sofi the Genius!” She said while posing gallantly. She continues, “Not only is my cooking really good, I can also hunt!” After that, she gleefully munched on her meal.

“It’s good, but it needs more salt…”

“Huh?! What’d you say Otherworlder?!” Siofra suddenly yelled out at my remark.

“H-Huh…? I only said that it needed more salt… The taste is good, but the flavor isn’t strong enough to retain the aftertaste.” I explained.

“…So it’s not quite perfect huh…” Siofra suddenly became quiet, as if her explosion a few seconds didn’t happen.

“…”

“I don’t like you, but you have guts, so I’ll at least respect that,” Siofra takes a bite from her own food again. She then mutters, “Hmm, it does feel like something is missing…”

“…What’s up with this girl?”

Celicia suddenly leans in and motions me to get closer to her. I motion closer and she whispers,

“The truth is, Sofi loves to push herself to become more independent and reliant. She keeps raving on about how to become a great cook, she needs to be able to hunt for raw materials to know about the food she’s serving…”

“That’s admirable and all, but I still don’t get how she switches emotions so fast…” I whispered.

“She may not look like it, but she can take criticisms as long as it’s a criticism. The reason why she got mad at you for a bit was because it sounded like you were just making fun of her dish.” Celicia whispered.

“Wow… I can’t even stand people that tell me I’m wrong...”

“Right?! Even if they’re right about it, I’d still be annoyed about it!”

“Are you guys trying to praise me or trying to make fun of me? Make up your mind already?!” Siofra breaks her gaze from her plate towards us.

“Maybe a bit of both…” I replied, shrugging off my shoulders.

“Haah…” Siofra lumps her shoulders, “You’re really throwing me off here…” She scratches her hair.