CHAPTER 96: CHAPTER 86: WUWU, COUNTRY LIFE IS TRULY WONDERFUL!

The dinner was very sumptuous.

Tomorrow is Lin Ke’s birthday, and a lot of precious ingredients were already prepared.

This time, due to the arrival of Akel and Rica, the extravagance has doubled.

Of course, this extravagance is certainly meant for Azanen.

After all, the two distinguished guests...

One is Akel, who was bestowed the title of Count, relying solely on his wealth and achieving a 13th-level profession, and the other is none other than the daughter of His Majesty Insomnia, one of the strongest in Naseng.

It’s likely, in their eyes, these ingredients were far from luxurious.

For example...

"Hmm, this should be the meat of a level-one Magical Beast Fire Lizard, right? It tastes quite like Red Dragon ribs! Except the texture is too tender, energy too low, and color too pale..."

Rica sliced a piece of vividly red meat, looking like flames, with her knife and fork and began chewing.

The most precious piece of level-one Magical Beast Fire Lizard meat on the entire table, which Lin Ke hadn’t touched yet, was disparaged as worthless.

No, rather, the mere fact that Fire Lizard meat was compared to Red Dragon ribs, if Fire Lizards had a nation, this Fire Lizard would likely become the pride of the entire Fire Lizard nation.

"Wow! Is this the ’legendary’ Ice Water Grass?! I’ve only ever had Flowing Ice Fruit, nurtured with the divine power of the Ice and Snow Goddess for seventy years... Hmm, this refreshing, seldom-tasted flavor lacks the pungent divinity, making it truly rare!"

Rica devoured the large chunk of Fire Lizard meat in several bites and then turned her gaze to a few small plates filled with translucent blue grass strands, three plates in total.

This Ice Water Grass is a type of grass that grows by springs and used to be just ornamental until someone mistakenly ate a plant and discovered its deliciousness, making it a delicacy at noble dining tables ever since.

The older the Ice Water Grass, the more water elements it absorbs, becoming tastier. Rumor has it that someone cultivated a ten-year-old Ice Water Grass, which bloomed and tasted even better.

And the ultimate form of Ice Water Grass is merely the Flowing Ice Grass Flower, while the Flowing Ice Fruit is unheard of.

Moreover, this kind of Ice Water Grass is usually guarded by Magical Beasts fond of water elements, hence very precious.

These three Ice Water Grass plants are the only stock available in Parrot City, each worth one hundred gold coins, thanks to Lady Heshan becoming the queen of Parrot City’s Underworld, with the mice presenting them as tributes, and then being brought back by Butler Billy as gifts for Lin Ke.

And this was something Lin Ke had never tasted.

How rare the element-infused food is!

This time, Lin Ke was looking forward to a feast for his taste buds.

Previously, on birthdays, the good stuff from Parrot City likely ended up with Baron Puxin, while Azanen Castle had at best some accidentally hunted wild boars or mistakenly killed Gula cows, really boring.

But in Princess Rica’s mouth, it completely changed...

"It’s said that ten years ago, Elsa, the Ice and Snow Goddess and one of the councillors of the Eternal Freeze Council, was killed for provoking His Majesty, and the divine power was rewarded to the third Prince as a reward for some accomplishment..." Akel introduced hoarsely from the side.

It appeared that the pressure from Princess Rica not only affected Lin Ke but also this wealthy Count.

And Ove, nearby, felt the pressure too, not to mention Antova and the others.

Ove was only level twenty, while ten years ago, the Ice and Snow Goddess was inheriting the glory of the Ancient God, considered a strong level twenty-three deity, yet her divine power was used for planting grass...

As for Antova, her mother’s family was merely a remote Count, and an already somewhat decaying family at that, and they hadn’t even heard of planting grass with divine power.

"Eat, why don’t you all eat?" Rica proceeded to grab a plate with roasted wild boar tenderloin without using utensils.

She then tore a whole piece of tenderloin apart with her teeth and stuffed it into her mouth, chewing and mumbling, "Mmm... it’s so delicious... I’ve never eaten such chewable meat, even the Titan Giant Wolf’s tongue isn’t this tender!"

Then she widened her light green eyes and looked at Lin Ke: "Can I have more of this meat?"

Lin Ke silently nodded.

There were very few wild boar dishes on the table because the banquet was prepared to entertain the two distinguished guests, and such cheap meat as wild boar wasn’t fit for a main course.

However...

"Yay!" Rica clapped her greasy little hands and reached for the remaining meat on the plate, but upon raising it in mid-air, she suddenly sighed and asked Housekeeper Curry behind her: "Uncle Curry, doesn’t Father like me?"

Behind her, Housekeeper Curry bowed and softly replied: "Of course not. The Princess is to His Majesty what the tongue is to the Titan Giant Wolf, important indeed... Besides, these ingredients aren’t as precious and high-end as you might imagine..."

Housekeeper Curry naturally knew what his princess was thinking, assuming she hadn’t had these things before and thought they were rare.

In fact, as the most beloved princess of Insomnia, wherever she went in the abyss, nobles were eager to bring out the finest ingredients to entertain her.

The problem lay in the fact that the ingredients in the "Abyss" were simply too high-end, leading to Rica, on her first outing, becoming enamored with these lower-grade ingredients.

Kids!

Who likes eating nutritious meals? They all love tasty and novel snacks instead.

Rica trusted Housekeeper Curry’s words, especially hearing she was as important as the delectable Titan Giant Wolf’s tongue, which made her happier.

So, she savagely tore apart the wild boar tenderloin in her hand, and the originally chewy wild boar meat in her mouth turned as soft as pudding.

Though, her eating manner was rather questionable.

As she ate, swallowing several bites of the wild boar meat, Rica’s movements slowed. She raised her head, eyes teary, and turned to Curry: "Sob sob, Uncle Curry, life in the countryside is really wonderful..."

Thus, the whole table was left speechless.

Their hearts actually wanted to tell Princess Rica, that if such a difficult life could be entrusted to them, let them bear it for her!

Lin Ke, helpless, gave a look to the others, and they silently began eating.

Noble etiquette dictates that speaking is only permitted during the juice session.

While eating, Lin Ke observed Count Akel, noting his actions and gestures were exceptionally graceful and refined. Despite being a [merchant], he perfectly embodied the aristocratic demeanor.

Whereas Ove, despite his somewhat awkward movements, exhibited traces of prior aristocratic lineage... perhaps from hundreds of years ago.

Speaking of which, Ove indeed sacrificed a lot just to support Lin Ke, even dining at the table. Thankfully noble etiquette dispensed with awkward chatting upfront, otherwise, the situation would have been even more awkward.

But...

"Eh? Why aren’t you speaking?" Princess Rica said, left hand holding a drumstick, right holding a duck leg, and with half a soft and sticky ox tail in her mouth, voice muffled.

Before Lin Ke and the others could respond, Housekeeper Curry reminded from behind: "Princess, Abyssal noble etiquette dictates that communication happens during the juice session, as the profession of [Etiquette Expert] states, only..."

"Alright, alright, don’t go on. I know. But... Father said that set of rules is just for fooling the little country nobles, right?" Rica waved her hand dismissively: "Mother also said whatever feels natural and comfortable is fine, why bother with so much."

Country nobility seated at the table:

Antova opened her mouth, but said nothing; after all, the person in front was a Princess.

Never mind her, even the Blando Clan behind her hadn’t seen a Princess before, though she felt as if parts of her inner world had shattered.

As for Akel, he was absorbed in examining a plain green grape, as if it were a dragon egg instead.

These two were the most elegantly dining individuals at the table.

Except for these two, everyone else simply pondered Rica’s words.

"Indeed, the essence of power is thus." And unexpectedly, Housekeeper Curry even agreed with Rica:

"A legend sitting directly on the muddy ground grasping and devouring roasted mouse meat appears more graceful than common folks using star diamond utensils to eat Red Dragon ribs."

Thus, the table fell into an even deeper silence.

The heirs of the ’country nobility’ quietly amused themselves, especially watching the unnatural expressions of Antova and Akel, finding it particularly amusing.

That Insomnia Emperor, such a straightforward person!

He really hates these; he still prefers the previous life, where the whole family gathered casually, dining warmly and cheerfully.