CHAPTER 24 : WORK

Vince come back holding the metal handle of the thick bucket of stone that occupied by the metal that he melted

then he proceeded to pour it carefully on the holes of the mold that Calix made from before; it took him some time to find out that the excessive molten metals were already gushing out on the spots he was pouring.

Vince looked up towards Calix with a thumbs up after he wholly drained the molten metal on his relatively thick bucket made out of stone he was carrying.

" ... "

Calix smiled back at him with a nod, inaudibly saying, ' job well done. ' while he was standing under the shade of an Oak tree and waiting for Vince to come.

Vince delicately stepped upon his exit while balancing himself with the heavy bucket made of thick stone, afraid to destroy the mold they created and mess up everything.

While Vince walked towards the direction of the oak tree where Calix was, Melisa came at the back of Calix.

" my liege... I... I'm sorry.... your meal was already prepared."

Melisa is still confused about approaching Calix, and she was still not quite accustomed without any my liege or my lord in her every word.

" don't stress yourself too much if you find it troublesome you can call me whatever you want... However, as much as I want, don't treat me so highly because that kind of hierarchy might build a big barrier to our group, and it might become messy when it comes to our coordination as colleagues."

" colleagues... "

" yes, we are colleagues, so you have all rights to complain; after all in every management complaint was needed to grow, and I, as your liege or whatever it is. have a responsibility to seek for greater improvement for all our wellbeing."

" my liege, did I do a good job? "

in a critical timing, Vince broke their conversation with his energetic voice like he was not carrying something heavy and tossed the bucket made out of thick stone in the ground with ease

Calix and Melisa randomly look at him that makes him a little bit awkward, and he scratches the back of his head when he realizes that it seems like he just disturbed them just now.

" I will tell him later," Melisa respectfully looks at him.

Calix just nodded to Melisa and replied to Vince; after that.

" YES!! JOB WELL DONE! " he copied how energetically speak Vince to him

" by the way, my meal is getting cold now. for now, I will leave the two of you here cause I will fill up my stomach first."

Calix left the two of them and came back to the nipa hut that Vince created later that night and hastily opened its door.

" wow "

The table was full of dozens of assorted fruits, and grilled meat was beautifully arranged on the table like they were in a grocery store.

" It was so... many for my appetite."

Calix was stunned for a moment and curious how they got this much food and how did Melisa expect his stomach capable of housing this much food, but he immediately set his thoughts aside and rummaged the fruits piled in the table based on their types.

he first pic the fruits that have an appearance of pineapple but have a shape of an apple

Calix check the fruit first, and he can see that although its skin may look a little bit rough, it was edible, he guesses, so he takes his first bite without minding the appearance of the fruit.

" hmmm "

When he takes the first bite of the juice that the fruit execrates, it tastes like fresh honey that was recently harvested on a honeycomb, but when he chews it wholly, the level of its sweetness changes slowly until it tastes like chocolate.

" strange but delicious..hmmm."

- slurp -

- munch, munch, munch -

-crunch-

-munch, munch-

the crisp sounds were very distinct in every bite he took on the fruit, and Calix was enjoying it so much to the extent he cants stop himself from biting nonstop even though his mouth was still full

he breathlessly eats like an orphan who starves for a whole month

" how.... - crunch- ... can it be so delicious.... - slurp- okay, let us try the meat."

he picks up the piece of meat that just like ribs of beef he bites it mercilessly with full of hungry expression he doesn't care if the oil will dirty his face

to his surprise, his teeth did not face any resistance and tore the meat like melting the butter; then, he immediately chewed it without hesitation

every chew, Calix could feel the fiber of the meat separating and melting on his mouth that producing a tender, juicy texture and a flavor that took over entirely his taste buds

" This is incredible! "

After that, he takes his second bite. Then a third bite, until he was already lost in counting his bites.

Calix's hand was nonstop on grabbing any food he could take, and even his mouth was tirelessly chewing all of it. until he didn't notice that he had already eaten all the foods on the table and only the bones and fruit's seeds remained intact

He was left catching up some air while sitting in the chair with double his size now. leaning helplessly with a satisfied expression

" phew...how can it be so delicious? I'd never imagined eating that all.... burp."

Calix helplessly stayed sitting for a while cause his stomach was so full, and he had a hard time pulling himself and standing up in his chair.

" what a great time.. thank you for the meal."

then Calix rested for a moment and reminisced the aftertaste of his meal with a joyful expression until he didn't notice that he had already fallen asleep

When he woke up, the temperature was not that so hot, just like when it was at noontime, and it was clear that he slept more than an hour, and his stomach came back to its original size, evident that he had already fully digested all the things he eats.

"Argh.. burp.. my bad, I fell asleep out of my satisfied stomach."

Calix complained to himself with a slight groan, then he stood up hastily and opened the door of the nipa hut to check if their work proceeded without any trouble. even he was fast asleep

however, when he exited on the door, the atmosphere on the outside was a little bit different now because in the outdoor there were a lot of people sitting on the ground and their hands were tied up except for one girl the that brought by Cynn later that night

Calix remained standing at the front door and wondered his eyes back and forth, assessing what happened why there were so many living people present here.

" I'm I still dreaming?"

He didn't know how or when these people came from and why they were here. amidst his confusion, his eyes landed on the familiar figure because of its distinct feature among the crowd

blue-haired man with a scarf wrapped around his neck walked towards his direction and bowed with his one knees on the ground

" Welcome back, Sebastian."

" thank you... "

it looks like Melisa already reminded him while he was sleeping

"hmm... before everything else, why there are so many people here? I didn't even know a single person except for the girlfriend of Cynn. where did they come from? "

"to make good use to you, my lord."

"huh?"

" they might become useful when it comes to running some errands, especially when we need to enter into a city of humans."

" anyway, that's also a good thing, so monitor them for now cause I have to help Melisa and Vince in assembling the bone engine..."

" When we've arrived, they were already assembling it, and Melisa took away the mithril to me. she said that they really needed to finish it before you wake, my lord."

" where they are now."

"I think they are still near in the oak tree."

"Okay... can you handle them for now? "

"yes, you can take your time, my liege."

" I'll be going now."

when Calix was on the oak tree, the mold he created from before was now only a big hole, and the metal they cast was now hammering by and polished by Vince with his bare hands and unique technique to process the metals properly

Calix sees him working hard in the shade of the oak tree, and he realizes again how lucky he was to have servants like them.

" master. oh, you're already awake? " it seems that Melisa had already spoken about him their conversation from before, and Vince is acting more friendly to him now

" yes "

Calix replied to him while looking at the already processed metal on the ground.

"I looked at you a while ago, but I found out that you were sleeping, so we just proceeded based on the thing you draw."

" I'm quite ashamed that I fell asleep due to my stomach getting satisfied with the food that I ate."

" no, it was okay, my lie (liege)... master, we didn't face any difficulties up until now; it was all thanks to the description you drew last night."

" Still, I'm sorry for being lazy."

" My liege, don't say sorry to us; this was our obligation to do."

" ..... thank you, Vince... by the way, where is Melisa now? "