Chapter 11 : Dinner

Night has fallen, and now it's time for the Black family's dinner.

Van walked down the hallway inside the mansion toward the dining room. Along the way, Van encountered several servants and guards who were on duty.

However, the expression on all of them was the same when they met Van. A look of fear, as if they were seeing a demon.

'If I were them, I would do the same,' Van thought while watching some servants hurry past him.

Van finally arrived in front of the 5-meter-tall dining room door, made of special metal and decorated with medieval-style architecture, adorned with gold and gems.

Van could vaguely feel various runes on the gate.

As Van approached the dining room gate, he saw two knights standing guard. They also saw Van, and their bodies tensed up immediately.

Seeing the two knights standing still, staring at him in fear, Van became slightly annoyed.

"How long are you two going to stand there like that? Open the door quickly," Van asked.

"Ahh, sorry!" Knight A responded.

"Enjoy your dinner, Young Master Van," Knight B said.

Van just snorted lightly and walked into the dining room.

- - - - -

Once inside the dining room, Van noticed the appearance of an unexpected figure.

'Oliver and Olivia,' Van thought as he saw the two young children sitting on their mother and father's laps.

Father, Mother, and the servants also noticed Van's arrival.

Van's arrival caused the noisy atmosphere in the dining room to suddenly become silent.

"Van, finally you're here. Sit down. I've been waiting for you so long, I'm starving," Father said, trying to break the awkward silence.

"Okay, Father," Van replied and joined the others at the dinner table.

As soon as Van sat down, the food was served on the table.

Seeing the many luxurious dishes presented, Van paused for a moment, and a thought crossed his mind.

'No matter how many times I see this, it still feels strange to eat a meal worth more than your monthly salary.'

Once everything had been served, Father, Mother, and the others clenched their hands to pray before eating.

"Holy God..." Father said.

However, Van was the only one who didn't pray.

A strange flash passed across Van's face as he looked at this with his neutral expression.

'Which God do you worship? The God you worship is a God I created when I was bored,' Van thought as he recalled the various Gods in this world.

'God of War, God of Fire, God of Water, who else? Too many to remember,' Van thought.

After a few minutes, everyone finally finished their prayer and began to enjoy the food served.

The sound of plates clinking echoed throughout the dinner, making the atmosphere a bit awkward.

Fortunately, there was one foolish child who managed to ease the tension at the dinner table.

"Gugu gaga!" Oliver said as he stuffed a piece of meat larger than his head into his mouth.

Seeing this, Van's eyes twitched slightly, and he thought, 'Seriously? This is the MC I created? Is he really that stupid? I did make him a bit foolish to give a comedic impression in the story.'

"Van, what happened at the market earlier?" Father asked.

Father's question was like a large stone dropped onto a thin layer of ice.

It instantly shattered the mood and brought the atmosphere down to its lowest point.

Even the foolish Oliver suddenly stopped and became nervous when he realized the situation.

Van, who had been focused on the food on his plate, finally lifted his head and stared into Father's eyes.

Van saw the usual foolish and playful expression on his father's face disappear, replaced by a serious one, as if his father's blue eyes could pierce through anything in his heart.

"There's nothing, Father. I only did what I had to do," Van replied.

"What do you mean?" Father asked.

"We are the Black family. The Black family crest is a black sword. The duty of a sword is to strike and kill. What I did was simply fulfill my duty as a sword," Van answered.

"You... are right. That is the duty of a sword," Father replied, pausing for a moment.

"Is there anything else you want to ask, Father?" Van asked.

"No," Father replied.

"Alright then," Van responded in his flat tone.

Once again, the awkward silence took over the dining room.

"Well, let's forget about that. How was your day today?" Mother asked, seemingly trying to break the tension.

Unfortunately, that question seemed to add fuel to the fire. Realizing her mistake, Mother's face also became slightly stiff.

'How was my day? I just killed a man for the first time today,' Van thought.

In the end, the awkward atmosphere persisted throughout the dinner until it was finished.

Once they were done, Van immediately excused himself from the dining room without saying a word.

"That child has grown up so fast," Father said with a deep sigh.

"You're right. He's growing up too quickly," Mother replied.

- - - - -

Van, walking toward his room, could definitely feel the fearful gazes directed at him.

Seeing the frightened stares from the servants and knights, Van had become somewhat accustomed to such looks.

After walking for a while, Van finally reached his room and went inside. He then lay down on the bed, his red eyes staring at the ceiling.

'Right now, I can only use the first 6 [Shadows] from [101 Shadows]. From the earlier battle, summoning just 2 [Shadows] drained a lot of my [Mana]. Also, the [World Treasure] skill still hasn't been usable until now,' Van thought.

"I need to find a way to increase my [Mana]," Van muttered.

Even though Van Black was one of the characters with the most [Mana], that would only happen in the future. However, Van needed the [101 Shadows] skill now to proceed with his plan.

*CREEK

*CREEK

As Van was lost in his thoughts, the door to his room, which was originally locked, suddenly made a sound.

'Someone is trying to open the door. An intruder? A hitman? A traitor?' Van thought coldly.

Van then activated [101 Shadows] and prepared to summon the [Shadows] if anything bad happened.

The doorknob finally turned, and the door opened.

*POOF

Two small heads popped out from behind the door as if trying to sneak a peek at the situation.

Seeing the heads of the twin children appear, Van's heart finally relaxed.

"What are you doing?" Van asked coldly.

Hearing Van's voice, the two young children were startled and stared at him with their blue eyes.

Oliver then handed a book to Van.

Van took the book and looked at it for a moment.

"[Hero]? You want me to read you this book?" Van asked.

As if understanding Van's question, the two small children nodded lightly.

"Hah? Why should I do that? Ti-"

But before Van could finish his sentence, he saw that the two children were about to start crying.

"Sigh, whatever. Just sit on the bed," Van said.