Way of the Knights

Chapter 877: High on food?

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Stephen truly didn’t know what to do right now. 

This man just came out of this house that he didn’t knew was there before and suddenly offered to cook his fish for him. He kept telling himself that he’s dreaming but everything felt so real. 

“…”

“Look, how long do you plan on gawking there? We don’t have all day you know?” The man spoke once again, waking him up from his stupor. 

“…why?” Is all Stephen could ask. 

“Hmm? Why what?” The handsome man tilted his head. 

“Why are you helping me?” Stephen asked. 

“Because I can.” The man replied to him, sounding as if he’s just stating something so obvious. 

“But…I-I don’t trust you.” Stephen unknowingly blurted out, he even flinched upon realizing what he just said. 

“Well I don’t trust you too either.” The man stated with the same tone as earlier. 

“…so why? If…if we don’t trust each other, why would you help me?” 

“Trust isn’t going to cook the damn fish, I would.” The man placed his hands on his hips and shook his head. “Seriously? Why do you ask this questions? Who told you that you need trust to cook something? Goodness, what they teaching kids nowadays.” 

“I-I know that! That’s not what I mean!”

“Then what do you mean? You should’ve probably began with that so there’s no misunderstanding, no?” 

Stephen huffed as he was close to losing his patience. He then replied:

“What I mean is why should I trust an adult like you? I don’t know who you are! You just came out of that damn door and offered to cook my food for me! Who does that? Nobody! What do you want from me?” 

“Oh!” The man looked like he understood him now. “Well, again you should’ve started that. But see, you already have the answers to you questions, you know?”

“I told you that you don’t need to trust me since I don’t trust you either. As for who I am, just call me Old Man or something, I don’t care. And who just comes out of the door offering someone to cook their food for them? Well, duh it’s me. And no, I don’t want anything from you. You don’t have anything to begin with aside from that fish anyways.” 

Stephen was gobsmacked. The man was too straightforward and he found himself unable to refute against his logic, not that he knows what that is. 

To him, this old man was weird. He calls himself an old man but he looks so young to be an old man. He is unlike any other adult he had met so far, those who abused him or down right ignored him, this man is nothing like that. He talked to him like he’s a person, someone with an equal standing. This is a first time that Stephen was treated as such so he found extremely hard to believe a word he says. 

“So?” The man got his attention again. “Are you going to come in or not?” 

Stephen thought for a bit before he eventually decided that he should just refuse. He doesn’t know what kind of schemes this old man was trying so it’s for the best if he just left him alone. Unfortunately, his stomach protested loudly with his train of thought. 

“…damn, your stomach is about to revolt and abandon you. That’s freaky, son. If I were you, I’ll do something about it real quick.” The man smirked once he saw the flustered face of Stephen. 

He cursed under his breath and berated his stomach for causing a ruckus. It didn’t help that he’s feeling really weak right now since he hadn’t eating anything since he woke up. 

Stephen doesn’t have any other option. If he want to eat something, this old man was his only option. Which is why with careful steps, he slowly approached the old man, bowing his head in hesitation. 

The man didn’t say anything and just lead the way inside his house. 

The moment Stephen stepped inside, he immediately felt some sense of comfort. He can’t explain it with words, if anything he knows one thing. He likes it here. 

“Give it here.” The man shook him out of reverie and Stephen handed him the fish. 

They were now at his kitchen but the man shooed him away and told him to sit in front of the table and wait, to which Stephen obeyed. 

While waiting for his food to come, Stephen looked around and saw the interior of the building. 

The walls looked sturdy and had antiques hanging as decorations. He saw a lot of furniture around, most of which he doesn’t know what for nor know what they’re called. He could only name a few things here and there, as for the rest, nobody told them what they are. Some of this things were even unknown to him. 

After a couple of minutes, Stephen smelled a heavenly scent wafting from the kitchen which caused his mouth to salivate. 

He looked at the direction of the kitchen in anticipation and anxiety since he was really hungry, thankfully the man didn’t disappoint and showed up soon carrying a tray filled with freshly cooked food and beverages. 

The man placed the tray on the table and started arranging the plates in front of him. One bowl was filled with a creamy warm soup. One plate was has a chunks of crispy fried fish, there also bread, vegetables and milk. 

Stephen’s eyes shone like diamonds upon seeing all the food in front of him, he hesitantly looked at the old man and asked:

“I-is this…all for me?” 

“Mhm!” The man nodded in reply. “Go at it slowly though, you might suffer from indigestion if you eat them too fast.” 

“A-alright.” Stephen nodded. He then brought his palms together and closed his eyes to pray. “I thank the Allfather for blessing me with this meal.”

Unbeknownst to Stephen, the man heard his prayer and scandalously raised a brow. Stephen didn’t see it though since by the time he opened his eyes, he instantly dug in. 

Stephen had never been this happy, that he can say with utmost confidence. He felt so blessed right now and it’s all due to this meal. 

He head never eaten something so delicious in his entire life. He savored the meal with all of his being that he had even completely forgotten about everything else. 

Stephen forgot where he was, he forgot about the man who cooked this meal for him, the hardships he went through just to catch a fish, he even forgot that he got kicked out of the orphanage and had nowhere to go. 

None of those mattered to him currently. All he knows is that, this food was good. So good that it took all of his worries again and that he wanted to eat this forever. 

Unfortunately, it has to end. Stephen finished his food rather quickly but he still hasn’t come down from his high. 

The man nearby who was watching him frowned and thought to himself:

‘I didn’t put any alcohol nor hallucinogenic in those. I’m sure of it.’ 

However, it wasn’t really hard for the man to deduce what was happening so he just let the boy be. 

Unexpectedly though, instead of coming down from his high, the boy started falling asleep after devouring his meal and drinking all the milk in his glass. 

The man chuckled and shook his head. With a flick of a finger, Stephen suddenly started levitating from his seat but he didn’t notice it since he was already asleep. 

The man walked up to the second floor of the house and opened the first door on the right. That room was a bedroom and he placed Stephen there so that he can rest. 

When he wakes up earlier, he’ll probably freak out and try to escape but it’s fine. He must’ve had a long day and it’ll take sometime for the boy to adjust to things anyways. 

‘The boy doesn’t even know how his life changes from this very day.’ 

Raven shook his head walked downstairs, leaving the boy alone before vanishing as soon as he stepped out of the house. He didn’t plan on staying here anyways since he had other things to attend to. He just came here to personally see what his future heir was like. 

He already arranged an Avatar of his to accompany the child and get him started. 

Raven has no plans on letting the boy know everything for now. The kid’s only 13 or 14 years old. He’s too young to be involved in cruel cultivation world. For now, it’s best to educate the kid first and ask him what he wants later on. It wouldn’t be too late for Stephen anyways. 

In the meantime, some people will be judged accordingly to their actions. 

Raven scanned Stephen’s memories and he was greatly disappointed by what he saw. To think that corruption was rearing it’s ugly head on his home world is something completely intolerable for him. He already sent his judgement and the culprits will soon receive them. 

No people should freak out when lightning strikes down some people later on. 

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