Davis held a roasted piece of meat in his hands as he devoured it. However, he didn’t want others to notice his Martial Master Stage Cultivation, so he kept his liking for food in check as he sat amongst the higher-ups because he had no choice but to do so. After all, this was his welcome party.
"Haha! Who cares about that mysterious magical beast!? Right now, we should celebrate not only to welcome Davis Alstreim but also for the Infernal Lightning Palace’s unfortunate ending! Those bastards deserved it! Cheers!~"
"Cheers!~~~"
They brought out the rare reserve of wine pots that they had hidden all this time and enjoyed the feast with clamor. Most of them began to ask Davis what happened to the Alstreim Family in all these years, and since he couldn’t get out of this situation without making trouble, he patiently began to bullshit what he had from his mother.
After all, he didn’t know much about the Alstreim Family’s history in the first place, so he kept the topic to the recent years and told how the family was prosperous before the prosperity was destroyed by the scheming Yantra Family of the Flowing Mist Sect.
They became furious at the spot and began to curse the Yantra Family’s Ancestor, and even Ezekiel Alstreim was no exception. The only thing that stopped them from using even more obscene words was Niera Alstreim’s presence, who sat beside him.
Of course, he was the one who chose to sit beside her, so whenever someone, especially those elders who had wanted to know what happened to their families back in the Alstreim Family asked him any questions about them, he would avoid their gaze before they could even finish their sentences and begin talking to Niera Alstreim.
After all, he knew nothing about their families, even if they may be famous in the Grand Alstreim City. His silence or unsure words would quickly let them know that he was an outsider.
"... As I was saying, your elder sister is a beauty like you. She is brave, confident, and definitely has an aura that makes everyone respect her. However, you see, her subordinate was jealous and ended up colluding with someone from the Yantra Family, so she is now repenting for it." Davis spoke in a silent voice.
"I see..." Niera Alstreim muttered as she sat on the ground like everyone else, folding her legs with her arms, "I hope she doesn’t feel guilt..."
"That’s why she is repenting... She’s a good person..." Davis smiled as he took another bite out of the meat in front of her. He glanced at her contemplative expression and smirked.
Apparently, she was treated like a Princess here that she had could speak to all these elders without having to give them respect, but when she spoke with him, although she had lost her initial shyness, there was still some kind of reservation that did not let her voice become bold.
"Alright, don’t tell your father and mother, lest they become worried..." Davis warned.
"I understand..." Niera Alstreim uttered as she possessed a solemn expression on her face. She turned to look at him, "What about you?"
"Me?" Davis became taken aback, wondering if she realized something from his words.
Niera Alstreim’s expression became red, "I mean, we haven’t introduced ourselves yet, and you just began to talk about my elder sister as if you admire her..."
"Oh, my bad..." Davis awkwardly smiled.
Those elders just went away after seeing that they couldn’t get anything out of him at this moment, and since they wanted to ask something personal, they didn’t disturb him in public. Niera Alstreim’s father and mother were with Ezekiel Alstreim, going around to see if the people were enjoying the celebration as they should be, so, at this moment, only he and Niera were here, free to talk amongst themselves like the youths they were.
Davis realized this point and felt that this was rather a fishy situation. Why did they leave the Princess with him? Heck, he was suspicious from his own point of view, and yet, he couldn’t feel any soul senses spying on them.
However, since people were around from a hearing distance, he didn’t think much.
"Well, you want to know why my eyes are sapphire instead of purple?" Davis teasingly asked.
Niera Alstreim panicked, "Ah, I didn’t mean it that way... I just thought it was ent- different."
Davis noticed her change her words quickly, that he couldn’t help but smile as she appeared adorable. Her pursed lips became his focus before he blinked and looked away.
"My name, as you know, is Davis Alstreim. My mother’s name is Claire, and my father’s name is Logan. My father is not someone from the Alstreim Family but some other lesser power, so my eyes are sapphire in color."
"I see..." Niera Alstreim lowered her head, "I don’t really know what it means to be a lesser power, but I can only imagine with what I’ve heard from other people who have come from the other side of this space..."
Davis narrowed his eyes, "You want to leave?"
Her eyes brightened, "Of course! I do! Everyone does!"
She turned to him and echoed but then realized that she had closed the distance to his face that she couldn’t help but freeze.
Davis, who was looking straight, didn’t turn to look at her, "Don’t worry. It is said that the heavens don’t cut off all paths, so in a day, a month, or a year or a few decades, sometime, you will all be able to leave along with everyone else."
"Really...?" Niera Alstreim’s voice became emotional, "We’ll be able to leave...?"
’Well, as long as everything goes smoothly...’ Davis inwardly thought and slightly turned his head.
"We should, but you’re going to get me killed before that."
"What...?" Niera Alstreim uttered a sound of incomprehension.
Davis shrugged, "If you’re this close, people might misunderstand. Look, there are already a few youths casting their jealous gazes at me..."
Niera Alstreim turned behind to look and saw that there were her lackeys trying to get in her good books. Her eyes narrowed as she shot a cold look at them, and everyone either instantly ran away or walked away while whistling as if nothing happened.
’Woah, she really has this strange, intimidating presence, no, a bit more than her elder sister...’ Davis thought Niera was a shy woman but was it really the case?
"What’s your age?" He narrowed his eyes as he noticed that her cultivation was actually at the Law Manifestation Stage.
Niera Alstreim became taken aback before she returned to rest and answered, "Twenty-six..."
Davis cast her a look of disbelief, ’Twenty-six and Mid-Level Law Manifestation Stage? She’s only two years older than me and more than thirty years younger than her elder sister, who is at Peak-Level Law Manifestation Stage...’
He couldn’t believe that she made quick breakthroughs, but once he remembered that there was a special fire-attributed environment below and her parents and her grandpa personally guiding her in cultivation, he couldn’t help but nod in understanding.
"I see... wait! Then that means your law intent... What level is your Law Manifestation? At what level is it?"
Niera Alstreim shyly lowered her head, but there was a proud smile on her face, "Superio-"
"Hey, hey, it hasn’t been even a full day yet, and you’re now flirting with my daughter already?"
"Father!" Niera Alstreim raised her head and watched her father approach them with her mother and grandfather.
"Davis Alstreim, do you know your crimes?" Nero Alstreim narrowed his eyes as he pointed at Davis’s nose.
Davis’s lips curved into a smile, "I won’t take responsibility..."
Nero Alstreim’s eyes became wide as he couldn’t help but laugh, "Hahaha, Keira. Look at this rascal! He didn’t get scared of looking at our lineup! I told you, didn’t I?"
"It almost makes you think if he’s a heaven-sent man for our daughter..." Keira Alstreim couldn’t help but giggle.
"Mother, you too? Stop teasing me..." Niera Alstreim appeared to be aggrieved, while Davis became dumbfounded. He only meant it as a joke to get one back at Nero Alstreim, but he then suddenly understood that their intent was not him but Niera Alstreim instead.
And as expected, she stood up and ran away like a maiden who could no longer bear being teased.
"I wasn’t kidding though..." Keira Alstreim suddenly muttered as she smilingly looked at her daughter’s back while Nero Alstreim and Ezekiel Alstreim turned to look at her in shock.
Nero Alstreim turned to look at Davis with dead eyes, "Brat, you may have gotten the mother’s approval, but you haven’t got mine, you understand?"
Davis didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, ’Oh please, if I get Niera, it would mean that we Loret’s ended up screwing your whole lineage in all sense...’
After all, from the looks of it, Nora was going to end up his father’s woman, and he had literally wrecked Grand Elder Valdrey Alstreim and Elise Alstreim and robbed their properties, though the latter was his mother’s doing.
He didn’t think much about these matters as he felt that he already had more love than he could want from his wives, "Yes, I understand."
"That’s a good answer..." Nero Alstreim nodded in approval before he smiled, "Now that your celebration is almost over, I would like to say thank you for the meat you provided. It was extremely delicious, not to mention beneficial for us since the meat was fire-attributed."
He groaned, "It almost made me experience some insights to-"
"Who are you kidding?" Ezekiel Alstreim slapped his head and moved to the front, "Kid, for the foreseeable future, we would all be living together without a way to exit this place, so behave and don’t give trouble to anyone. Although some people might give you a hard time, you should report to Nero or me in this case. Don’t try to strut off your status as you would do in the Alstreim Family. It doesn’t end well in some cases."
Davis nodded his head, understanding that there were bad guys no matter where he went, or they might have turned bad from being influenced by the Infernal Lightning Palace’s wicked path.
Nevertheless, "All I ask is some time to get used to this while I continue to cultivate my own path. Is there anywhere I can train in seclusion without being disturbed?" Davis asked.
"Oh?" Ezekiel Alstreim became impressed, "To think that you haven’t lost your will after hearing our plight of not being able to leave, especially after hearing the case of the mysterious magical beast that massacred the Infernal Lightning Palace and its lackeys."
Davis smiled as he couldn’t help but find similarity with this situation, "If danger comes, it would. Until then, should I do nothing but just wait for it to kill me instead of strengthening myself so that I can stroll through the danger with ease?"
The three of their eyes simultaneously lit up that they couldn’t help but become impressed again.
Ezekiel Alstreim bent and patted Davis’s shoulders, "With this kind of will, I have high hopes for you. You can occupy my cultivation cave dwelling for a few months because I will defend this base as I sit outside all day long."
Davis’s eyes widened, feeling a bit impressed himself, even moved. However...
"Wouldn’t it be inappropriate...? I mean, wouldn’t there be your wives..."
Ezekiel Alstreim stood up and laughed, "Haha, brat! Did you think that I would be like those debaucherous characters that your mother warned you not to become?"
He turned and looked towards the entrance while standing with his fists folded.
"Elise is the only woman I love!"
’Woah, so manly...’ Davis couldn’t help but admire that thought. It was the past him, something he would look up to but failed to hold on to.
"Well, let me tell you what you were hesitating to ask before..." Davis smiled, "Your Elise hasn’t remarried yet..."
Ezekiel Alstreim’s body severely shook as he lowered his head, "I see..."
He raised his head and heaved a heavy breath, "Well, I thought it would be the case..."
’Liar...’ The three of them inwardly thought at the same time, but they all smiled, seemingly looking glad.
Davis stood up and left after Keira showed him where the cultivation cave dwelling was before he arrived there.
’Man, enough wasting time... People would be moving about now, so it is not safe to go down there and awaken the remnant soul since it seems like it would take me an enormous amount of time. I would easily get caught, so that leaves me with no choice but to train my Soul Forging Cultivation...’
Davis’s lips curved into a smile as he entered the cave, "It’s time..."