Chapter 617 - The Hunt (6)

"You did what?" Micah didn't believe me.

"I drank the elixirs in their raw forms. Are there any side effects?" I repeated.

"It'll be dangerous if you eat anything. Light fruits and salads are fine, avoid everything other than those," he advised me.

Alex noted Micah's instructions in his head, erasing the thought of making me finish half of my plate later. Repeating the scripted answers to the guests wasn't hard, standing for a long time was. I lazily sat down on the couch, glad to be inside the spare room. Alex was always surrounded by people and I couldn't leave his side since he was holding my hand. Unfortunately, Oili was busy helping Ethan with the other guests.

"But it's the best option you have. Continue drinking those elixirs and control your diet," Micah found my synthesizing abilities hopeless.

"I can make sure to control her diet," Alex tried to ȧssure him.

Micah disappeared back into the other dimension before Ethan knocked on the door. Micah was with us for an hour, giving me more tips after I told him how the previous round went. Apparently, the ropes were an innovative idea, something a fairy with abundant mana never thought before. To make sure Alex couldn't interfere, Micah temporarily froze his time, letting him go once we moved onto a safer topic.

"Are you going to be using the main hall for lunch?" Ethan opened the door.

"Is there another option?" Alex turned to him.

"You can use our exclusive lunchroom. You're with Rika," he implied fraction members were treated differently.

"We can use that one then," Alex concluded.

As one of the main hosts, Ethan sat on the head of the table, facing Flora who sat on the other end. The seats were already arranged, having my name card indicated to sit beside Ethan while Alex was on my other side. Meanwhile, Oili sat across from me, his partner facing Alex. However, the rest of the guests joining us were unfamiliar, my first time seeing their faces. I whispered to Ethan, "are those the people in our fraction?"

"They're not. Most of them are my parent's connections. Only you and Oliver come from the same fraction," he revealed.

I hid my surprise when even Alex seemed to be careful around them, leveling up his mask. This meant these guests were important people, having Alex reminding me inside my ear, "continue smiling and don't talk."

I made my smile more radiant, blinking several times that I understood him. It was these kinds of guests who asked hard questions. I wanted to avoid them as much as he wanted me to. I never had to experience this during the previous social weeks, the previous one already a mess with fairies and my first one dining in general lunchrooms. It was no wonder Ethan was asking us if we wanted to join him.

When the plates began to come out, my smile almost crumbled. Every single one of them were extremely heavy, mixed with tiny pieces of luxurious meat in the salads with creamy sauces. The fruits were covered in dazzling chocolates, placed beside the decorated slices of meat. Although I liked chocolate, they came at an extremely bad timing. I watched the other guests eat, not touching the food in front of me.

"Is there anything wrong?" Ethan whispered.

"I can't eat anything here. It's too heavy," I sighed.

"Is there something lighter, ones with no sauce or seasoning? It has to be fruits and salads," Alex joined us.

"I'll send an order to the servants to prepare something," Ethan made the servants take my current plates away.

Within a few minutes, a new set of plates arrived in front of me. Unfortunately, it appeared extremely poor compared to the dazzling plates surrounding me. Since I was hungry, I elegantly began slicing the fruits and chewed on the salad. These were just plainly chopped fruits and vegetables, nothing added to them. I instantly grabbed attention from the other guests, noticing my meal. Maybe I should have starved, pretending everything was fine.

"My cousin has ill health," Alex explained.

"Can I have the same plates as the guest beside you?" A guest turned to Ethan.

"If you can, I dėsɨrė the same meal as her," another person joined in.

"There should be a reason why she looks so pretty. She eats different things than us," a guest revealed her thoughts.

Both Ethan and Flora stiffened as the rest of the guests wanted their meals to be replaced. Alex stayed ignorant, silently eating his original plates. I wondered why they would want my poor meal compared to the delicious chocolate covered strawberries. It was taking all my efforts to not steal one from Alex's plate. I was thankful Ethan had the sense to have my plate to be filled with mostly sweet strawberries.

"Can you introduce yourself? We would like to know you better," a guest turned to me, waiting for her new plates.

I brightly smiled, silently crying in my heart since I wanted them to leave me alone. I hoped my irritation didn't show as I cutely pitched my voice higher, "I am Rika de Impalia Roselia. I attend the same school as my cousin and in my last year of middle school."

"I heard of her before. She appears purer and lovelier than the rumors," one of them murmured.

"Should we invite her? We could spend more time with her this way," a guest mumbled.

Ethan's invited guests lowered their voices, going into a discussion of their own.. Although I couldn't hear anything, I knew their topic revolved around me. When they were finished, a guest representing them asked me, "would you like to join our business circle?"