The First Legendary Beast Master

Chapter 763  Cookout

Once the locals found out what Tessa wanted, slightly damaged pots were quickly procured from a collapsed restaurant, and the Naga Bodyguards rinsed them out before filling them with water for Tessa to make stew.

There wasnʼt any shortage of things to cook today. Not with so many buildings collapsed and their coolers inoperative.

Much of the food had been moved to other locations, but partial packs or excessively damaged items hadnʼt been touched. Some of those were sorted through, and the salvageable bits were brought to Tessa, along with dozens more large pots.

Karl quickly drew temporary runes on the ground to heat the pots, and Tessa got to work making dinner for ten thousand or more.

She had plenty of help, so Tessaʼs role was more of food creationist and executive chef, who loaded the pots, while Remiʼs Bodyguards used the weakest possible casting of [Tsunami] to fill them with clean water.

Rice and beans were the staple of the clergy, but today, she had added garlic and onions as well as a rich spice.

Fortunately for everyoneʼs stomach, the beans were fresh, not dried. Half an hour later, when the rice was ready, everything else would be as well.

On a whim, Tessa made alternating pots in different flavours. That way, the people could pick from a spicy or mild dinner. Hopefully, it would suit the tastes of more people.

One pot at the end was left as plain rice and beans, the blandest possible option for those with sensitive stomachs, but imbued with a touch of holy magic from their creation.

On the other side of the market, near the collapsed buildings, grills were being set up to cook all the meat that wouldnʼt survive the night. It was cold now, but not for long. Cooked, or smoked into jerky, it would last longer.

With so many mouths to feed, there were bound to be long lines. But everyone was too exhausted or mentally weary to cause trouble today.

Thousands of bowls had been brought for the vegetable biryani, obtained from the same restaurants that the pots had been. For simplicityʼs sake, the workers just put one large scoop in each and handed them to the closest person, unless they pointed at a particular pot.

Row upon row, the citizens of Drodh were being fed, which brought everyone within the aura of Lotusʼ healing. The day was still a disaster for the residents of the Redwood Sprawl, but there was hope for the people to recover, and the locals were actually working together for the first time in decades. Lotus kept up her tree form all night long, and Tessa kept cooking until nearly midnight when the crowd was mostly dispersed. Then, the pots were covered, and the heat turned off so that they could be reheated in the morning.

The locals would happily sort it out themselves once the sun came up, and by afternoon the next day, the cityʼs Governor should have plans in motion.

It was nearly dawn when Lotus changed forms and the whole group headed back to the Inn. The Laughing Dragon was already cooking breakfast as they stumbled in, but everyone was too tired to eat. Instead, they went straight to their room and collapsed to sleep.

Late that afternoon, Karl was awakened by the sound of someone knocking at their door.

”Sir? Ladies? There is an envoy from the Governor here to speak to you.” Beth called, barely more than a whisper.

Karl gently swatted Dana on the backside to get her to release him, and the mage gave him a sleepy squeeze.

”Send Cara to replace you.” She complained.

Cara was asleep in her space, her nest of blankets sitting on top of a hill of treasure, so Karl moved her to the bed as he got up, and Dana settled back to sleep.

Karl got dressed and followed the barmaid down the stairs to a table in the corner where a man in a bright gold and red coat was sitting.

He was most likely a Demon, Karl decided, but it was honestly hard to tell him from a human, except for the aura of his magic.

That and his eyes. Once Karl sat across from him, the eyes were a clear distinguishing mark. They had sideways slotted pupils like a goat, and the sclera was entirely red, seeming to glow faintly.

”War Champion, thank you for coming so swiftly. After yesterday, I can see why you hold such a lofty position as a Monarch. We just ran into a small issue with the distribution of rewards for the battle. It appears that you are from a foreign enough location that your Guild Bank does not have a branch with access here. Would you prefer to set up a branch account at the Castleʼs Guild Bank Access point, or would you like the payment directly?” The demon explained.

Karl checked his nameplate for a moment. {Exchequer Mills}. Karl knew that was a word, and he might have heard it before. But by inference, it most likely meant that this was the big boss in charge of money.

Karl smiled. ”Guild Functions have not properly activated in my homeland. So, there is no official Guild Bank or other options for people like me. Only the approval of the Gods that grants us titles and status.” The Demon paused, then nodded slowly. ”So, youʼre from another continent. That makes sense. Until three months ago, the Guild Function in the Dragon Isles was completely inactive, and only recently has it come back online, including the Guild Bank terminal in the Castle, which has withstood the test of time.”

Karl thought about that for a second. ”If itʼs not too much of an imposition, do you think that you could bring me to the terminal? Perhaps it could activate the Guild Functions fully for me, and then I can make a proper decision.”

The Exchequer nodded. ”That is acceptable. Your Guildʼs team contributed greatly to the effort, and once this payment order is settled, the Governor would like to speak to someone known as the Healing Tree about continued assistance during the next week until new apartments are built in the Sprawl.”

Karl smiled. ”Sheʼs a Royal High Priestess of the Green Dragon. Her name is Lotus, and Iʼm sure that she would love to help. However, if it is possible, I would like to provide a few designs for the rebuilding. My home nation is known for its high-rise buildings, and they are much more durable than the ones which collapsed during the fighting.”

Or, they could be. All the windows would have been blown out of his apartment tower during the battle, but the building itself would have been fine.