Chapter 498: Ellis's Departure
Northern's sleep was short, but he didn't mind; to be honest, this one even felt so short and peaceful that it felt like a lie.
It was also strange and uncomfortable to have a peaceful, undisturbed sleep, without the imminent fear of an impending danger.
He woke up, and Ellis had prepared a steaming white bread on the table alongside a warm brownish liquid he called decaf.
This drink Northern had never seen or known about; actually, now that he thought about it, he hadn't had much to drink except for water and fruit juice which Eisha was adept at making.
Thinking of those times he would get home with tea waiting for him made him sentimental, and such sentimentalism caused his expression to fold with darkened resolve.
'I must find her at all cost!'
He stood up from the ground and sat on the chair, looked to his side with an irritated expression.
"What exactly are you doing standing there like that?"
Ellis, who was standing behind him like an attendant, grinned with pride.
"I figured that since you let me sleep on the bed-which, by the way, I didn't want—it would have been really cool to sleep together."
"Ellis, I am not going to sleep... together with you," Northern cut him off with a bland, emotionless tone.
Ellis's expression contorted with sadness; he mumbled, pouting, "Why do you keep saying it like that? I mean no harm."
After a short silence, his eyes regained their life. "But you really should try the bread and decaf. You know decaf, right? It's the kind of beverage drink made from the Earis Decaforium."
'Ah, right... I thought the name decaf felt familiar. I remember mother often calling the tree decaf.'
Northern was quite familiar with the tree itself; that is because the nectar of its flowers can be used to detoxify poisons.
'Well, detoxification can be a huge word, since all it does is slow down the effect of the poison till the antidote is administered.'
And no matter how fast such poison works, the nectar of the decaf tree's flower worked regardless, the same way.
Realizing that this is a healthy drink, Northern sighed and gently slipped a finger into the handle of the cup and used two other fingers to support the base.
Ellis watched him as he sipped and couldn't help but admire, 'What an elegant manner of sipping...'
"Stop staring, or else I will splash this on your face."
"Tch, you used to be so much fun," Ellis commented begrudgingly and looked away.
Next, Northern tasted the bread. As he put the bread in his mouth, his eyes widened terribly.
'What?! What is this?' He stuttered in his mind as he struggled to comprehend what the taste
was.
Tasting a divine mix of flour made him realize that, actually, he had been eating monster meat for over a year now-roasted monster meat!
Northern, his eyes shocked and widened, began to shred the bread crudely and fold it into his mouth, before gulping down the decaf.
Ellis looked at him and chuckled; he had the exact reaction, so he understood perfectly what Northern was feeling.
Whatever it was that they were eating while stranded in the dark continent, they had gotten so used to it that it served as the peak of delicacy.
Some monster meat was strangely peak delicacy while some were severely disgusting to eat. This had created a benchmark of what delicacy was for them, albeit unintentionally.
But tasting bread now, it didn't matter if any of them had eaten it before.
It's like their taste buds broke into a brand new world after millennia of tormentous food.
Northern became less aware of his surroundings and greedily devoured the bread on the table. Eating it like this made him realize he had been hungry all the while!
It also made him think about what the humans in his soul would be eating; the monsters
didn't need food, they have an everlasting amount of Void essence to feed on.
A soft knock resounded on the door, causing Northern and Ellis to stand up.
Thankfully, Northern stood up with no regrets since he had succeeded in devouring all of the bread without leaving a crumb.
If there was any regret he was left with, it was the regret of not being able to have more since they had to leave.
Ellis opened the door, allowing Shin and the rest to enter.
Shin glanced over both of them, his eyes then came to rest on Northern as he asked,
"Did you have a good night? Something strange happened at midnight. It got me worried for a minute..."
Shin held off on the rest of his words. After the strange feeling at midnight, he had wanted to come and check up on Northern.
After rushing towards the door, he belatedly realized how foolish he looked to himself, which caused him to freeze and later go back to sleep.
The fact that Northern was strong enough to take care of himself and, as a matter of fact, may have been the source of that devastating atmosphere struck and humbled him.
It wasn't a proud feeling, but he had to come to terms with it either way.
Behind him, Ryan and Reno stood in the hallway. Ryan, with his usual detached self, and Reno with a slight look of naivety.
Throughout the journey, he had been silent and submissive.
"I felt it too. Aside from that part, I had a great night."
Shin nodded, "Well then, we can get moving?"
"Yeah." Northern looked at Ellis, "You need to part ways now, don't you?"
Ellis's expression became somber; he folded his hands and stubbornly looked away,
stuttering.
"W-wha-what d-do you mean? I'm still going with you."
Northern smiled and said to him,
"It's fine, Ellis. I'm sure your parents have been waiting for you since the first day you left. You've turned out to be a very strong and dependable son. It's time for you to show your family how much you've grown. I believe we will see each other again. I will need you after all. But for now, your family needs you."
Ellis's face crumpled, streams of tears running down his eyes and nose; he sniffed and rushed to hug Northern, who stood still without a flinch and silently tolerated the young boy who had always, since the beginning, tolerated him without complaints.
Northern's mind raced through it all, causing him to sigh and raise a hand to pat Ellis's back.
"You will call me if you need me, right?" Ellis spoke with a muffled voice due to all the cries
and mucus in his nose.
"Yes, Ellis. I will definitely come for you when I need you."