A Royal Dish

He was somebody who should be cared for and lived along with all his seriousness, so as I thought with a single glare he gave. And while the second king turned towards us and approached us, not getting too close with slow steps, he talked,

"Dear warriors. I have already been provided with the news of everything you have done, and I have witnessed the greatness of what you have done. As a witness of the peace and success you have caused, I am speaking as a spectator to such glory and pain, that what you have done is an act too big to be underestimated. And with the brave hearts you have, you have made it all by carrying it to justice."

So the king of the second kingdom was the man in front of us. The very person that was talking to us, with a manner that was as sharp as a blade at first, and as cold as ice, but then softened up afterward.

We had never had a chance to see him before, but now we could meet him in front of our eyes, alive and bloody. Obviously, the excitement, tension, and confusion that came with coming face to face with even a person you only heard his name or her name, or even their repetition, was really messing with the extreme parts of my consciousness and my mind. He was an overweight man, and an older king than the first king. But the smile on his face, an unfading smile, was quite sincere, and his outward appearance, which he possessed, was beautifully expressive thanks to his charisma.

So I felt more comfortable, took a step forward, and started talking,

"We all did what we had to do. We were in a condition to help the ones around us, so it wasn't a problem for us to have in our way. But I'm still quite confused, that why you majesty would want to talk to us at a time?"

"You must be Ryuu. The leader of this heroic team has been very kind to us. The worthy king of the sea people, Maurice, told me about you. Quite appreciate what you did. In general, most people assume that what you all are doing is impossible and would be even scared to death by the idea. But still, what you did for the people was something that will not be forgotten, and it is unlikely enough for you to even be seriously rewarded."

"We are here every day, so it is no big surprise for us to kick some bastards while we go on."

"Indeed, it is not an unordinary situation for heroes like you. But every new day is a chance to change a life. And it is a must that every human being has to use this chance. And I would love to hear all of your stories about changing your lives."

The king wanted to continue the conversation with still having a bright smile on his face and an understanding tone of his voice, but even though we were already in somewhat of a conversation, he also realized that we were exhausted and hungry.

Babu was drooling with an open mouth and his belly was still grumbling. Hiroshi was trying to look carefully at his gun and tried to clean it, but was very tired and had his eyes go down quickly. And Lezlie was pretty much at a slow pace, after all the emotional let out, worrying, and fight that she gave earlier.

So it would be all better for us to rest a little.

So on and so forth, the king decided to do something about this, and he turned towards the table,

"You must be tired and hungry. If you want, let's talk about the rest after dinner."

He then looked at the sea king and said,

"What do you say, King Maurice?"

He replied, just in the tone he had,

"It sounds very well."

When the king had finished his words, we headed for the big table next to us. The table was placed so that it fits into a large part of the terrace, and it was equipped with dishes of all kinds and varieties on it. This table, which had a structure that stands out from all corners of the room with the tight and strong wood material that it had and is made of, was equipped with various kinds of unique handkerchiefs. It was quite stylish and looked just like a table worthy of kings. So I couldn't take my eyes off it and followed the king.

Everyone sat down, and everyone took their own seat.

King Maurice was at one end of the long table, and King Heinrich was at the other. Babu and Lezlie sat side to side, while Hiroshi was trying to find a seat that will have on his own, alone. And while that, I sat next to him at his request. He especially wanted me to take part in his feast, as the most special guest and made me sit next to him. He then carefully ordered the placement of items and made many replacements.

Apart from us, a few soldiers and captains who were not more than us but crowded were also sitting at the table.

We were eating our meals, enjoying our feast. But not to interrupt the meal, I started looking around, quietly. There were many people like I thought. Generals, servants, soldiers, guests. Not much like I said before, but they were still crowded. I had no particular information about who they exactly were, but still, I had tried to examine their faces and looks, otherwise, something would happen to them nor did I need to talk with them.

Then I bowed my head once more and continued my food.

When the sun went down, our bellies were full of food, and got every inch of it stuffed and ache with that fullness. I was out of breath exactly, because of the starvation we went through in the war and the missing vitamins and such that I had lost after the blood loss that I had. My body had lost its total balance and needed to regain everything slowly but big time. So I just sat there to have my systems reconstructed and finally got my head up after finishing the food.

When I finally got my head up from eating, I started looking at the others on the other side of the table. Hiroshi was telling Shou something. Something that they were talking seriously and had them making eye contact and having a deep conversation. And Babu, on the other hand, was the exact opposite of Hiroshi, almost everyone, and was excitedly telling Lezlie about all the events we had earlier.

He just had the mood that he would always have, and it was so nice to see him regain his happy personality after a fight like that he had with the king. He was just cheery and everything was getting built up nicely for him after seeing Lezlie healthy like that.

I guess that had a huge impact on the king and he didn't want to mistake against him again.

Princess Mila was having a great time with her father. She was happily filling the time they have lost or wasted, with many smiles and giggles throughout their meal. And I was just quietly enjoying the moment. They were all onto something, that wasn't involved with many people's future or something that would affect us and have us in a situation of big choices.

It was just a good evening, and was going like that for minutes. But that lasted until the seconds passed of the king spoke to me.

The king had leaned toward me slowly after dinner, and started talking,

"Before my father's death, my brothers and I used to sit at the table like this with my father and have family meals. He himself was actually a rather cold and domineering person. We used to eat calmly at the table because we would be afraid to even look at his eyes, thinking it would destroy the manners we had on the table. And it wasn't something we could change. He wanted us to have discipline, respect, being the person that would talk when needed. Over and beyond, his methods weren't like a normal person that would just feed you with love.

He rather had a method that would build us harshly but strongly, over getting us all filled with love and pampering us. It was obviously not an overly warm family view. But he was such a man that his kind heart, had many great things towards his people, beyond his quiet lips, he made us enjoy a good meal. Our mouths were not opening, but our insides were shouting with the words of the wonderful world our father had created for us. We all knew that he was somebody, with many responsibilities and not somebody who could just rest up and laugh."

He then looked at me and added,

"I never thought I'd miss those days. But this sight reminded me of those moments."

"It's really not clear what a person could miss. It just... happens."

"It is indeed like that. A thing, that no human being can't run away."

Then the king slowly pushed off his chair, and stood up, saying something,

"Would you like to go for a walk, Ryuu?"