A Grand Feast

"It seems you had a good harvest these two days, Machi."

Nobunaga stepped forward to the small pile of objects in the corner of the room and picked up some old protective clothing. Loki, who saw this, was going to stop him before deciding otherwise.

Although he could, in reality, there was nothing of real value in his old pile of stuff.

"This protective clothing is pretty good; the ones I pick up are always in tatters."

He looked at it and was amazed the more he looked at it. This piece of clothing had a lot of seemingly homemade additions. It was much better than the stuff you could generally get in the area.

"This protective clothing can be used to exchange for a lot of black Machi rice."

Hearing this made Machi's ears prick up before she remembered whose stuff that was. She had not forgotten the display of power Loki had just shown her.

"Don't think about it, Nobunaga; that stuff is Loki's," she said.

Hearing this, Nobunaga put down the clothing before slightly apologizing to Loki.

Uvogin became impatient and started speaking.

"Hurry up, and let's go. Can we exchange some protective clothing for black rice? Let's go look for some stuff."

Loki, seeing this had a better idea and pulled out all of the black rice he had stored.

"How about a treat for our first meeting," Loki said with a small smile in his eyes.

Uvogin wasn't incredibly smart, but he also grasped what Loki wanted to say at this time.

"You want to treat me to food? I'll tell you clearly in advance that I won't be polite," he spoke with a fiendish smile.

Loki smiled at this and began to pull out more bags of black rice he had hidden.

"Eat as much as you can, I've saved up for an occasion like this, and I'll feel bad if you're not full."

"Is that so?"

Uvogin, hearing this was no longer impatient as Loki's performance was right to his appetite.

"Then you can start making the black rice, and I will clean it all out for you."

Nobunaga was also getting somewhat excited and started to find a spot at the small tattered table.

Soon the black rice was finished, and Nobunaga and Uvogin were about to start eating when Loki stopped them.

"I think we should have a better atmosphere for the first meal between friends… don't you think?" he said with a slight chuckle.

Machi, hearing this had her eyes shrink to the size of needles.

Suddenly a domain of black light unfolded around them, looking like twinkling black stars.

Uvogin and Nobunaga, who saw this, were shocked, but this was just the beginning.

Soon the room around them changed to a luxurious high-class dining room, and the food they were eating looked like the most delicious food they had ever seen.

Although this food was still black rice, due to manipulating the black light to interfere with taste buds, Loki could make it taste like anything.

The two looked around in wonder as Machi looked around warily.

"No need for such vigilance now… After all, this is a celebration." Loki said, bringing their attention to him.

"Machi, how about you sit down and enjoy as well... After all, I did cut your last meal short," he said with a smile.

Machi heard this thought for a second before nodding and coming to sit at the now elegant table.

"Do you guys have anything you want to eat specifically?" Loki asked as he made more and more different dishes appear.

All he would have to do was manipulate the black light to change the taste accordingly.

"You can pick for us!" Uvogin said with a large grin.

Although he was wary at first, he didn't feel malicious intent and was attracted by the atmosphere and food.

Loki, seeing this, smiled and nodded, then snapped his fingers.

"Then let's start with a steak covered in a red wine reduction sauce with a side of fingerling potatoes and mixed vegetables," Loki said.

As soon as he snapped his fingers, the food in front of them had changed to a gourmet meal.

Steak with an attractive aroma, crispy golden potatoes, and a mix of colorful vegetables.

The scent was immediately spread through the entire room entering their noses.

*SFX* Guru~!

A particularly loud sound of gulping and swallowing drool could be heard throughout the luxurious dining hall.

"This is… a steak?!"

Nobunaga and Uvogin looked at the plate in front of them with wide eyes. The two juicy steaks were emitting a fragrance that seemed to tempt them to eat them now.

Machi was similar but tried harder to hide it while swallowing her saliva.

"Please enjoy…" Loki said while making a gesture to eat.

After hearing this, the three of them first glanced at Loki before looking at each other again. After another second, they could no longer hesitate.

"Although I don't know how these dishes were transformed, but since you are ready to treat me, of course I have to send it all into my belly!" said Uvogin.

Nobunaga also nodded over and over in response to this.

Soon they were diving into the food arranged on the table. Uvogin had decided to directly pick up the steak with his hands. In contrast, Nobunaga and Machi had opted to cut it.

Just as Uvogin was about to begin eating more a shadow approached the back of his head.

A strong light broke out in his eyes, and he let out a scream, which shocked Nobunaga who was eating.

"Your being too loud!" said Machi as she brought her hand back to her food.

Soon there was a great atmosphere as they were all eating without reserve with Loki watching over them and serving food.

While it looked that Loki was only watching them eat with a smile, this small feast was constantly testing Loki's manipulation of black light.

He had to constantly adjust their senses to get the right taste and texture of each piece of food. He also had to subtly use the black light to manipulate the black rice to hold the shape of the fake food.

Although this domain seemed easy, it was very taxing, and under the mask, there was a bit of sweat on Loki's forehead.

This, however, did not deter him as it was a perfect chance to practice while also introducing them to the prowess of nen.