"I didn't understand a word you said but it's amazing…"
Althea chuckled and shook her head, just leading them inside the restaurant. However, before taking a step she paused.
"I will only be taking the lord and one confidant."
The group of 'confidants' froze but low-key stared at Kimmy eagerly. This was with the exception of Raine, who was quiet and looking stable as a rock.
"Raine will come with me." Kimmy said and Raine smiled in response.
"Thank you for the opportunity, my Lord."
Kimmy nodded, trying to look cool and prestigious as always. She then turned and went to follow Althea's tail.
Before they parted though, Raine gave several dozen of silver for each of the 'rejected' companions. "Use it to shop around," He said, "It's not too bad, sitting in a meeting isn't very fun, is it?"
The people brightened. "Thanks, Master Raine!" They said and the man smiled, following their Lord through the door, met with the scenery inside.
It was definitely high-end and even the door was so intricately carved. Their beams also had decorations, and there were even finials.
The tables were hand-carved, and polished to a smooth luster that mirrored the ceiling above.
Varnish had now been developed in small quantities. They had extracted only a bit of resin from the waul trees, but relatively simple things like this could be done for now.
All the stone walls also had ornaments. They were ornate with wooden frames and carvings, adding to the overall atmosphere of the space.
There were not many people here, but without exemption each one coming out had huge smiles on their faces, glowing with satisfaction.
As they walked deeper, they couldn't help but catch sight of the food being served.
Gulp.
The plates were a symphony of colors and texture attacking the eyes, and there was a wonderful aroma attacking their stomachs.
Their stomach rumbled just thinking about it.
Althea led them to the stairs and they climbed to the private rooms on the second floor. "This is the most prestigious restaurant in the territory, owned by a Michelin chef who triggered a high-level chef occupation. Almost every meal that comes out has special effects."
"Occupation?"
Kimmy looked confused while Raine frowned. Althea was a bit surprised. The other two lords were obviously familiar with it, why not this one?
Although this girl looked sincere, there seemed to be a lot of details she missed.
"Some people triggered inheritances. The NPCs—aborigines—said if the person had shown enough talent and innovation in this land, they could trigger it."
"Aborigines?!"
Althea sighed. "Just ask the other two lords, I don't know much about this."
Kimmy turned to meet Raine's eyes, and they looked at each other with complicated expressions.
Before coming, they had thought that their territory was not bad. But—not even considering the advancement and the products—they were so behind others, even in information?
This was incredibly unsettling. At the same time they felt thankful that they followed her whimsy, letting them discover their shortcomings before it was too late.
The two's atmosphere turned somber and they just followed Althea to the room.
They had a feeling that this meeting would be much, much, more meaningful than they thought.
…
"An honor to finally meet the great Althea Witt." Micheal smiled, and beside him was Matthew, who was staring at her for longer than proper.
"You flatter me." She said, turning to also shake hands with Matthew.
"Ah, hello," he said, meeting her hands. He flushed when he realized he was a bit sweaty on his palm.
"Well, your name resounds in the botanical industry at such a young age." Micheal said, "The women in the family were great plant enthusiasts."
"You knew me back in Terran?"
"I know of your family."
"Oh?"
Micheal smiled mysteriously and didn't say anything. Althea blinked but shrugged in response.
She was a little curious, but she knew that this plaster-face (Ansel drilled the term in her head) definitely wasn't planning on telling her anything. So she didn't dwell on it and just invited everyone to take a seat.
The different groups sat around the large circular table, facing each other with their own thoughts.
On Altera's side, there was Mathilda, Gru, and Rowan.
On Bright's, there was Micheal and the only confidant that came with him this time, his bodyguard Dig.
On Vismont's, it was Matthew and a wise old man Leo and Luke would recognize as the cloth repairer guy, Old Yao.
And finally, to represent Belluga Village, there was Kimmy and her husband Raine.
Before officially starting the meeting, Cooke personally led the service staff to deliver the food, much like how he'd deal with VIPs in the five-star restaurant he co-owned back then.
The difference was that he was much more attentive this time.
After all, in this new place, your backing was not just related to your money, but also your life.
Of course, it so happened he really loved Altera Village and admired the Elder, so he naturally wanted the best deal for them.
Thinking of this, he introduced the meals with gusto.
"This is the grilled Gugu meat with soy-garlic sauce. The effect was to increase spirit regeneration by 10% for one minute."
"This is a vegetable salad with tomato and the local warmmelon for crunch, a wonderful combination of Terran and local plants, put together by my special sauce made from various berries. The effect is to increase mana recovery by 10% for one minute."
"Don't think this is useless because you're not going to fight outside any time soon, but the NPCs said that prolonged consumption of food with special effects has a chance of slightly improving permanent stats!
"Anyway, this viand is ...
He introduced the others and the visitors had to put effort not to drool. Not to mention, they were also amazed by the special effects. How great would it be to have a chef in your team, especially when you're traveling? How do they get one?
When Cooke left them with a smile and they started to dig in, it took a while for them to actually start talking. For some time, it looked like they were all angry at each other as they were too busy eating.
In any case, the meal was fabulous and was even better than what they ate back in Terran.
They chatted as they ate. A combination of good atmosphere and good food—it inevitably formed a good setting for the meeting.
And this was a very good thing.
After all, this was a meeting that would affect four territories.