Chapter 12: The Silent Conversation
"Food!! So delicious!!"
Kelly murmured with her mouth full of food, as she chunked everything down. All the frantic, terrifying energy she had displayed while tied to the chair had instantly evaporated the second the plates hit the table. She ate with an innocent, uninhibited joy.
Juliana stared at her, speechless, then lowered her gaze to the countless food, and delicacies on the table. The sheer volume and quality of the meal were a stark contrast to the cheap, meager rations they had been surviving on for the past fourteen days.
’He went all out today.’ She thought, picking up meat on her plate, placing it in her mouth.
"I love the one giving me so much food!!" Kelly continued eating, packing full spoons. She was completely oblivious to the danger they were in, existing only in the immediate comfort of a full stomach.
Asher smiled sadly at her, staring at the 20% affection on the screen. It was a painful reality check. Kelly loved the chef, but not the one who cooked the food. Her fractured mind couldn’t connect the act of provision with the husband sitting across from her.
’Why does that sound strange? Anyway, forget it.’
He turned to Sara, who was slowly chewing her food, her gaze fixed down on her plate. Despite the horrific list of agonizing ailments the System had revealed—her failing kidneys, the internal bleeding, the profound depression—she still carried herself with a quiet, undeniable elegance.
’I need to get ready before that fat pig comes here with her husband... I also need to activate the sword physique.’ He thought, the ticking clock of their impending doom echoing loudly in the back of his mind. He couldn’t afford to get comfortable just yet. He gently placed his spoon down, then moved his plates towards Kelly, who took it without a single glance. She was a bottomless pit when it came to a good meal.
{DING!!}
Before Asher could stand up, the system screen suddenly appeared before him in a flash of golden light:
{Congratulations Master for Investing In your wife Kelly!!}
{Investment: A Beautiful Dinner.}
{Due to this being your first investment on Wife Kelly, Master Triggered the 100,000x Return.}
’What?!! Hey!! Are you cheating me?!!! I should at least give her something of immense value!! Like money!!’
Asher almost felt like crying. The 100,000x return was meant for his very first investment! If he had known simply cooking for Kelly would trigger such a massive, one-time multiplier, he would have given her money, or a weapon, or something that could actually help them survive the night. He paused, his frustration fading as he turned to Kelly, watching her happily stuff her cheeks.
’No... With her current state, giving her money is useless, she won’t even know what to do with it. Maybe this isn’t bad.’ He thought to himself, relaxing back in his seat. Providing her a moment of pure happiness was still a good investment.
{Gained The Mythic-Tier cooking skill!!}
{Cooking skill has been merged with Master’s mind.}
Asher blinked, staring at his hands. He flexed his fingers, waiting for a surge of power, but he felt nothing. There was no rise in energy, no improvement in physique, this was just a normal cooking skill—albeit a perfectly mastered one.
’Why do I feel like I have been cheated on?’
He murmured, turning to his other wives. Kelly triggered a return, but the two didn’t trigger any, despite eating the exact same meal.
’Hmm... It seems the system only give return if my wives love the investment. Oh well, I feel much better as long one of them like my cooking.’ He turned to Sara, who gently placed her spoon down, clearly done eating.
Asher remembered her profile, the staggering list of her suffering burning in his memory. He needed to establish a real connection with her. He slowly brought out the notebook, then removed the pen. He wrote down on it, taking extra care to make his handwriting legible, then passed it to Sara, who was on his right.
Seeing his movement, Sara turned towards him. She stared at his face, her black eyes studying his earnest expression for a moment, then looked at the note on the table. After two seconds of deliberation, she moved her hand and took the notebook.
[Can I speak with you alone, at the porch?]
Sara stared at the words for ten whole seconds, but to Asher it was an eternity. The silence stretched thin. This was actually the first time he had made such a request. In the past two weeks, he had only nodded, greeted, and wrote some simple, functional words to her... But now, he was asking if she could speak with him alone, breaking the comfortable distance they had maintained.
He blinked in relief as Sara finally nodded her head, and slowly stood up from her seat, moving with a frail but dignified grace.
"Can I?" Kelly asked, pointing her spoon on Sara’s half-eaten plate of food.
Sara smiled softly. It was a genuine, maternal expression that hid her physical pain completely. She moved the plate towards Kelly, offering up her portion without a second thought, then turned and walked towards the porch.
Asher didn’t waste any more time, and also jumped to his feet, picked up the notebook, and quickly followed behind her. He moved past her, courteously stepping ahead, and opened the door to the cool night air.
Sara paused at the threshold. She stared at him for a long while, her sharp intuition trying to dissect this sudden change in his behavior, then walked out of the house, and onto the porch. Asher followed behind, and closed the door behind him, sealing away the noise of the dining room. He then walked towards Sara, stopping beside her.
The two stood in silence, staring at the night sky, their gazes fixed on the huge bright moon above. It was a peaceful moment, sharply contrasting the violent chaos that awaited them at the hands of the Fat Pig’s guild.
After what felt like centuries of years, Sara finally turned towards him, and pointed at the notebook in his hand.
Asher handed her the book, watching closely as she picked the pen, and started writing on it. Her movements were fluid and practiced. When she was done, she handed him the whole notebook.
".....?!"
Asher stood frozen, staring at the beautiful, elegant handwriting on the book. It looked like calligraphy crafted by a master; compared to this, his chicken-scratch was like dirt and shit. He wasn’t even a match.
He swallowed his embarrassment, and finally read the words on the book:
[Thank you for the meal. I want to ask about the sword with Juliana, how did you acquire a Heaven-Tier weapon?]
Asher stared at the words, especially the "Thank you for the meal." It warmed his heart to know she appreciated his effort. But the main question here is, what answer should he give? He couldn’t say the system gave him the sword, she will think he was crazy, or worse, that he was mocking her intelligence.
After some seconds of frantic mental gymnastics, he picked up the pen, and wrote on another page, then handed it to her.
"....?!"
Sara stared at the answer, stunned speechless by the sheer audacity of what she was reading:
[I encountered a dungeon raid today, and I helped some people to safety. After everything, an old man walked out from the dungeon and gave me a storage ring as a "Thank You" gift, saying it contains all my wishes. I tried to ask for his name, but he flew away... Clearly an SSS-RANK Awakener.]
Sara stared at the word, a frown appearing on her beautiful face. The lie was so astronomically absurd, so poorly constructed, that it was almost insulting. She turned to Asher, who was deliberately staring at the sky, his neck stiff, not daring to look at her in the eyes. He knew exactly how pathetic it sounded.
After a moment of silence, instead of interrogating him or calling out his blatant falsehood, she calmly wrote down on another page, and passed it to him.
[Alright. Why do you ask me to come out here?]
"....?"
Asher stared at the words, completely dumbfounded. Sara was incredibly smart, and she won’t easily believe the absolute nonsense he just said, but she chose to accept it without a fight, and even changed the topic. He turned to her beautiful side profile, now thoroughly speechless, struck by a profound respect for the quiet woman standing beside him.