The Black Inn (4)

"By the way, Atticus," he called out, "Whom are you more loyal to, me or the inn?"

Taken aback by the question, the butler just smiled for a few moments before opening his mouth, showcasing his perfect white teeth, and saying, "Sir, since you were invited to our inn by the higher ups and decided to buy a lifetime membership, I only need to answer to you and not the inn. As such, my loyalties lie entirely with you. If you wish, I can show you the contrac-"

"It's fine," Menace replied, waving his hand, before taking off his mask and tossing it on the table before him.

He took a deep breath, finally free of the mask's burden.

Although he wouldn't have easily trusted the butler before, now was different. He glanced at the butler one more time.

[The target is telling the truth]

The message was the consequence of his passive skill 'Librarian's eyes' rising by a level when he completed the tenth floor's trial, which resulted in him acquiring a new active skill.

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Truth's Eye (A)

One of the constituents of the skill: Librarian's Eyes.

The user will be able to see if the target is telling the truth once every twenty-four hours.

*********

'Skills sure are convenient,' he thought, stretching his arms and legs.

The cool and soft breeze flowing inside the room softly brushed against his calm face as he sank more into the couch, taking in deep, long breaths.

He needed to do a lot of legwork in the coming days. But now, at the current instant, closing his eyes didn't seem like the wrong choice.

.

.

.

"There sure is a lot," Nox mumbled, sitting down to eat at the, white-tabelclothed dining table Atticus had thoughtfully arranged beside the window, while he was asleep.

Perhaps a product of his own imagination, the room seemed to have subtly expanded, generously accommodating the newly positioned dining table beside the window.

The sky on the other side of the window had grown dark, with the moon high up in the sky, reflecting brilliantly on the calm ocean. Soft waves crashed against the sandy beach, making the man feel much more relaxed compared to the past few turbulent days.

On the circular table, white porcelain containers holding dishes of various kinds had been neatly arranged around the glass vase kept at the centre of the table, housing a single, palm-sized red rose facing the beach.

"Since I wasn't informed which planet you originated from," said Atticus, standing to the right of Nox, "I prepared some of the most delicious recipes I knew how to."

The blue-eyed man scanned the table, trying to take in the variety spread on it.

A few dishes were red, a few green, a few blue, and a few white. Some were dry, some viscous, while the others were almost soup-like.

Some looked like bowls of salad, while others resembled expensive and juicy meat steaks.

Nox slid some of the green, leafy salad-like dish with blue chunks of 'something' scattered around, onto his empty porcelain plate, since he had imagined it to be something he was familiar with.

But this misunderstanding of his was blown away as soon as he pierced a part of the dish with his shiny, golden, and silver metallic fork, before putting it in his mouth.

"Ah…"

His eyes closed instinctively, and his back, which had been straight, fell back on the chair's backrest.

He didn't dare chew on the nibbles inside his mouth, which had started to melt on his very tongue, spreading their ferocious but graceful flavour all around.

It was unlike anything he had tasted before on Earth or in the Tower. But if its taste were to be explained so that the average human could understand its magnificence; it could only have been described as a mixture of the essence of dry and sour cabbage leaves, somehow combined with a moist rice risotto, together with a subtle hint of tender and juicy meat.

The flavours had been masterfully combined, with no single component overpowering any other.

As the salty taste of the dish left his mouth and traversed down his oesophagus, it left behind its refreshing, mint-like aftertaste.

He finally opened his eyes, facing the array of dishes in front. If a single nibble was strong enough to be able to serve him with such an euphoric experience, the rest of the dishes in front of him...