章 18: The workers of the castle (IV)

Opening both doors, Moca bowed, allowing me to go in first. A large, oak table in a U shape that could fit sixteen people were present. It was beautifully crafted. Phil, Don, and I picked a spot to sit. Multiple trolleys hooked with chains with cooking equipment entered into the room pushed by Tart.

"Young Mistress! I'll be cooking your food right now. Please wait."

Four trolleys were separated around Tart. Tart tied his white apron and put on his chef hat. Sharpening his knives, he dove into work. Vegetables, fruits, and meat were flying left and right in quick succession.

For a moment, I thought I saw four different Tarts working on different things at the same time. Tart grabbed a pan and flipped vegetables and cut up the meat into the pan. A burst of fire erupted from Tart's mouth as sizzled and heated up the food in it.

"What the hell?" Exclaimed Don. "Are they dragon's too?"

"No. We are monsters that have been gifted with transformation." Coco spoke. She was waiting at the side of the table, not too far away from me. "He would be a Black Fire Wolf."

Don was still confused. "They're monsters?" Gulped Don, he paled, looking over towards Tart.

"Monsters? Him?" I asked. It was hard to envision it.

"Yes, the one that you don't want to come across."

"Why?"

"Because they are considered the strongest type of Wolves in this world. Not only that, one Black Fire Wolves are born.

I wondered what Coco and the Moca were.

Like a magic show, Tart continues to use different tricks to prepare the food in front of us. I couldn't help but be delighted at the incredible skill that Tart showed. Even the presentation of the food that he made was spectacular.

"Please enjoy the food." Tart replied happily. The food was distributed out evenly with the help of Moca and Coco.

"Aren't you guys going to eat too?" I asked Coco.

"Until you are finished with your meal, we do not eat."

"Oh, come on. You're just going to stand there and watch. That's like torture." The thought of them standing there made me uncomfortable. "All of you come over and sit down for crying out loud."

"But young mistress, this is to mu-"

I cut her off. "I order you to eat with me from now on."

"As you wish." Coco bowed. Tart excitedly made more food and rushed over to sit next to me. Those adorable cheeks, how I wanted to pinch them but stopped myself. I took a bite out of the noodle that Tart had made. Delicious! Even though I have never had this cuisine before, it vaguely tasted like the food from Earth.

"We need to head back towards my grandfather's territory. The goblins will be coming in five days. I can not leave my grandmother there."

"We'll leave at night. I'm a bit spent from the flight."

"We need to be prepared when they attack, the number of goblins that'll be coming will overwhelm the village."

"Goblin?" Don asked.

"I'm sorry, I keep forgetting that you just arrived," I said. "Phil's grandfather's land is going to be invaded by Goblins. So far, we heard that over fifteen thousand are marching towards the direction of his estate. We have never seen such large numbers of goblins before. This is truly a rare occurrence."

"That's not the only problem, we don't have walls to keep the goblins at bay. The people will be over-ridden in seconds. Our forces only equate to a thousand, and the nearest reinforcements will take six days to arrive. Before then, the whole village will be destroyed." Phil worriedly spoke. He was twirling around the meatball in circles. "The evacuation to move to another city has halted."

"Why is that?" Don asked. He was munching on the steak in front of him greedily.

"The goblin had split up into three groups. This unforeseen event made it that much difficult to escape. Even with a thousand soldiers, it won't be enough to fight off five thousand surrounding us on all sides."

"Young Mistress could wipe them all out in one blow." Puffed Tart with pride. I turned towards Tart stupefied. Silence filled the room.

I honestly did not know how strong I was, plus war was something that I had never experienced in my life. I was a virgin in killing things.

"Tart!" Coco spoke out loud in a fury. "Young Mistress is not a vicious monster that goes out and slaughters things left and right. She is a lady." She emphasized on the lady.

"B-but she's a dragon. Our young Mistress is powerful!"

"Well, I wouldn't say that." I murmur underneath my breath. I was uncomfortably moving around from my seat from the states that everyone was giving. Nervously reaching over a small pile of gold, I popped a coin into my mouth.

Crunch. Crunch. Crunch. Gulp. Whew, that is delicious. My nervousness couldn't help but eat gold to calm myself.

Don looks at me funny when he sees me eating the gold coin. I couldn't bear the silence and once again ate another.

"No," Phil spoke out. "This is my family business. I cannot put you in harm's way just to die for us. That is not the way of the household of Zemrik.

I was silent at Phil's answer. He was quite an honorable man, or it might have been his pride that stopped him. Either way, I sighed with relief. The number of shifts was already used up. I don't think I could transform again on the day of the invasion.

"Did she just eat gold?" Don asked in disbelief.

"Don't ask," Phil spoke, raising his hands to stop him from saying anything anymore.

"Instead, why don't you bring your people to the Solitary Mountains? It's much safer." I casually threw out. It was true. Getting here wasn't easy.

"!"

"It's not much of a burden if they live at the foot of the mountain," I suggested.

"You don't mean for my people to move here?"

"Well, not in the castle. It won't fit everyone, but close to it. I do have spare rooms for you and your family living here. Your grandma was kind enough to let me stay in her house and tried to adopt me without a clue of what I am." I twiddled my fingers, "Honestly, it gets pretty lonely living here by myself."

"Are you sure about this? Your cover could be blown." Phil frowned.

"I don't mind."

"Thank you," Phil warmly replied. He gave me a gentle smile, which caused my heart to thump loud and hard for a split second. Wow. What a knockout.

For someone cold as he was since the first day, he just showed me an unexpected side.

"You can stay as well, Don. Adjusting to this world is a bit difficult at first, but it's not too bad once you get used to it. Whenever you feel like leaving, just tell me."

"I appreciate it." Don also smiles, making my heart do another somersault. These two will seriously give me a heart attack if I'm not careful.

"Young mistress, please let us come with you," Coco spoke. Her voice was solemn from the thought of possibly being left behind again.

"I don't mind. Do you mind, Phil?"

Phil shook his head.

"Thank you."

"I didn't know you were a noble," said Don.

"My grandfather looks over a small land with a population of about 5,000 people. We are not considered the wealthiest or the strongest force of the Dragon Kingdom."

"That's pretty cool."

"Cool? For being a noble?"

Don shook his head. "I have never seen a noble before. I always wonder what it's like to be one."

"It's not all glory and riches. Corruption runs rampant in the kingdom." Phil furrowed at the thought.

"I'm not surprised." Don finished his food and pushed it aside. "I'm stuffed."

"Me too." I happily leaned back and patted my belly. "That was a delicious meal, Tart. Keep up the good work."

"Thank you, young mistress!" Tart exclaimed happily. He puffed his chest proudly.

The conversation between Don and Phil continued for a while. I, on the other hand, was slowly starting to get sleepy. Yawning, I stretched.

"I'm going to take a nap before we leave." Getting up from the chair, Moca picked up the dishes.

"I'll take you to your room, young mistress." Coco stood up.

"Please. I'll see you guys later." Yawning, I followed after Coco. My brain was muddled, and the only thing I could think of was sleep. Winding through the hallway, we arrived in front of the door to my bedroom. Coco opened the door, letting me in.

"Please rest well, Young Mistress."

"Oh, before you go. Please wake me up when the moon is at its highest and get everyone outfitted for war."

"Do you want me to take out the legendary and mythical items?"

"Well....no. I don't think that would be a wise idea to bring out right now. They are not strong enough to wield it." At the back of my mind, the energy that everyone was putting off did not compare to the legendary and mythical items. If they were not careful, I feared that they would be swallowed up by the items themselves.

"Then, rare?"

"Well, see if they can wield it first before you go hand it out."

"I shall."

"Thanks."

Getting out of the clothes, I quickly slipped into the bed. This is what I'm talking about, a comfortable bed and a full belly. The door clicked close, and sleep overcame me in a matter of moments.