Chapter 39: Battle of Taste
It was a rather quiet morning. The sky was clear and the sun was shining. The environment was just as always as it was green, lively, and a bit quiet. Everyone was looking forward to the festival, as it would be one more day for the festival. Alex was asleep for two days, he had overdone it while the guards safely gave Xandyr to Xavier. Alex was currently rested in a hospital.
As his eyelids opened, he flew up from the bed. He then looked around to see that he was in a small room. His body was packed with bandages and his arm was broken.
He was relieved," And here I thought I was going to die."
He then left the room with the idea to visit Xavier. He walked with a stick as his leg was damaged. He looked like an old man even though he was ten. He was as slow as a turtle, even the elderly moved faster than him; he moved the pace of a snail. As he opened the door, Xavier looked at him with shock.
" You're awake!"
" Yeah."
" I'm sorry this is all my fault, I sent you out there with Xandyr. Who did this to you anyway?"
" It was the same person spying on us."
" Damn it!" Xavier slammed the kitchen table." If I had believed you, none of this would have happened!"
" Don't blame yourself, it's partly my fault too. Anyway, how long was I asleep?"
" Three days."
" Seriously? Then what about the dish?" Alex turned his head towards the chicken.
He was shocked by how much Xavier did. Xavier tried to remake many things from his old world. He tried making things like Pizza, Noodles and so much more. Even though it didn't come out the same way as it had different ingredients, it still tasted exquisite.
" How is it?" Xavier asked.
Tears ran down Alex's face like a waterfall. Xavier was startled, he thought it taste bad from Alex's reaction but that wasn't the case. Alex was crying because it tasted too good to be true.
" It's the best thing I've ever tasted." You could barely hear his voice as it sounded muffled due to his crying.
Xavier wiped the sweat off of his face," That's a relief."
Alex could tell how much time and effort Xavier put into these dishes. He felt bad not being able to help him at all. While he was just asleep, Xavier was working his bad-off. But that wasn't the case as it was supposed to be, while he was fighting for his life, Xavier was cooking. Alex took things upon himself too much. It wasn't his fault at all, he tried his best and so did Xavier. They both struggled in their own ways whether cooking or almost dying.
" So what are we going to do now?" Alex asked.
" Tomorrow we make that guy wish he never challenged us." Xavier smiled.
" Oh yeah, where is Xandyr." Alex looked around and couldn't find him anyway.
" Don't worry about him, mom got someone to take care of him for the meanwhile." Replied Xavier.
" Okay."
" Also, how strong of an opponent was that person anyway?" Xavier asked.
" Well, there were two of them. They couldn't use magic though, so I was practically saved."
" Does that mean you used magic against them? You awakened in that fight, didn't you?"
Alex scratched his head," You could say so."
" That must be how you beat them. Anyway, why did they target you?" Xavier asked.
Alex shook his head, "Not me."
Xavier narrowed his eyes," Why would they want Xandyr?" One could hear the unhappiness in his voice.
" You remember how Feran is the strongest holy knight here?"
" So they had a grudge against Feran?"
" No, being the son of one of the strongest holy knights in the continent meant Xandyr would have the ability to cast powerful magic once he got older. They wanted to raise then sell him to a wealthy noble."
" Bastards! So they were slave merchants?"
" Yeah."
" This means we must always be on high guard," Xavier asked.
You're correct about that." Alex much agreed with Xavier.
" So what happened to them anyway?" Xavier questioned.
Alex then averted his eyes," I made sure they never kidnapped anyone again."
" And the slaves?"
" I let them go."
" All that aside, what type of magic were you able to cast?"
" Earth."
" How strong were you?"
" Not bad at least. I was able to summon multiple earth spikes but the limit of how much I could cast one after another was only six." Alex explained.
Xavier then yawned," I'm going to take the rest of the day off."
Alex sighed," You always say that yet you go to study magic with some weird book thingy."
" I'm just learning spells until I can use magic again."
" Whatever, go already. I'll see you later." Alex then waved Xavier goodbye as Xavier left
***
Alex flew off of his bed once more. It was the day of the festival, as he looked through the window and looked down the hill, he could see how packed the town was. People roamed the town like an army of ants, it was packed with people including visitors and others. Alex grabbed his walking stick and got up. He then left the room in which he and Xavier shared. After getting his hygiene checked, Alex slowly walked down the hill now gaining a better view of the town. There were even more people than before, everyone was prepared for the festival which would start in a few hours. They dressed as neat as they could. Even the miserable and poor looked clean. It seemed that people really loved the festival. The reason for this was just one man. He didn't even live to his adulthood yet he was considered a man due to his bravery. He was an extremely admirable person who once lived in Třekov. A long time ago, monsters were way bigger and more aggressive, they attacked and massacred towns of people even cities slaughter the likes of child women alike. One of the unfortunate few whose families were killed was this man, Vlad. Vlad watched with his eyes as the monsters slaughter his family when he was a boy. He swore that he would try his best to prevent what happened to him from happening to anyone else. Later down in his life, Vlad traveled city to city, town to town, and continent to continent saving people soon resulting in his own death. He thought of others even to the end of his life. He didn't pass
teenagehood.
The point of the festival was to honor Vlad. People from every corner of the world traveled to Třekov to pay their respects to this man. Every five years they would hold this festival. The last time, Xavier couldn't go as he was home alone, Feran and Vivian feared him wandering the streets on his own. As Alex walked the town, he saw Xavier.
" There you are." Alex then approached Xavier.
" Oh, you're awake?"
" Why didn't you wake me up?" Alex asked.
" It's not my fault you're such a sleepy head.
" That's a phrase?" Alex titled his head.
" Uh! Never mind that. The guys that the stallkeeper talked about are here."
" The nobles? Then we must get going, nobles are impatient you know!"
As they made it, they saw people on chairs by a table and the stall keeper standing while talking to them. There was a man with long white hair, small eyes, and fancy clothing. Then there was an overweight woman with blonde long wavy hair, a bent nose, and thick eyebrows. Then there was a bald man with round eyes, a big forehead, a big nose bridge, thick eyebrows, and dimples there too.
The stall keeper then turned around to face Xavier and Alex's direction," And here I was starting to think you wouldn't show up."
" As if," Xavier said.
" Well then, I'll go first and try not to cry, okay?" The man teased Xavier.
The man then presented the food to the nobles. It was a pretty simple dish, but it looked excellent. The salad looked perfectly made and the chicken looked about right. The nobles stuffed their faces into the dish like pigs. They even chewed loudly. They were then finished as they wiped their mouths with their handkerchiefs.
" Perfect, nothing sort of perfect. I didn't think you would do this well Rein. You're one of the few commoners that can easily blow my expectations away. Why don't you work for me as my chef?" It was the bald guy.
" I'll think about it later sir." Rein answered.
The fat noblewoman looked around," Where's your challenger?"
" Hey, kid! It's your turn to show!" Rein shouted.
" Geez! I'm coming, don't you have respect for silence." Xavier was annoyed.
" A kid! You couldn't have challenged a kid could you Rein?" The nobleman with long white hair stressed.
" That brat's gonna poison us." The fat woman was angry.
" Now! Now! Let's see what he made." The bald man was the only one who wasn't suspicious of Xavier.
As Xavier presented his meal, they all grew shocked.
" To think a mere boy could pull this off!" The man with long white hair and a weird voice was shocked.
" It may look good on the outside but what about the inside?" The woman still held her guard up.
" Now! Now! Natalie, I'll try it." The bald man would be the first to test it.
As he took a bite of the cheese his eyes sparkled like diamonds. Xavier had mixed both goat and cow milk resulting in this outcome. It tasted sweet, the bald man couldn't stop eating the cheese. He didn't even bother to test anything else.
" Marvelous!" The bald man shouted.
Seeing his reaction, the others tried testing it too. And to their surprise, it tasted like heaven. It tasted better than anything they had ever tried in their whole lives. They devoured the food like monsters.' Just what did Xavier put in that?' Alex thought as he looked at Xavier.
Xavier then turned to him as he smiled," No worry. I saved some for the family too."
" I wasn't thinking about that." Alex quickly defended himself.
As the nobles were finished, they wished it had more. One could see the sudden sadness on their faces.
" Ahem!" The woman cleared her throat." It wasn't bad." She was clearly lying as she was the same person who rushed it down and finished first.
The white-haired man then licked his fingers as he said," I don't recall ever seeing most of the dishes, did you make those on your own?"
Xavier had remade things from his old world. Xavier then shook his head signaling yes.
" What do you say, wanna work for me as my chef?" The bald man eagerly asked.
" With all due respect sir, no, I have no intention of being a chef."
" It's understandable." The bald man replied.
Rein looked in shock. He couldn't believe he who called himself a master cook lost to a boy who was barely eleven. Meanwhile, Alex sort of expected the whole situation, he knew Alex better than most. As Xavier turned around to rub his win in Rein's face, Rein grabbed his hand and forcefully did a handshake.
" A good cook always accepts his loss to a better." He said as he bent down." Now then, allow me to lick your boots."
Xavier then stopped him in motion," I was just joking."
Rein looked at Xavier with guilt because if he had won he would make Xavier lick his boots but Xavier who won didn't do this. Out of guilt, he lent Xavier six tickets to the Mayor's place where part of the festival was being held exclusively for nobles.
" I'm not a noble, I couldn't take this," Xavier said out of modesty
" Do I look like I'm one either, it's an invite ticket." Rein replied.
" How did you get your hands on this?" Xavier asked.
" Look around, I have connections everywhere whether or not I'm a noble."
Xavier watched as Rein walked off.
' Finally, it's over!' Alex thought.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone