Chapter 132 - 132. I've Got Them All... 87 Towns Info

Patricia and the rest of the members came sauntering in and saw the interns were preparing the lunch and by the look of the menu in front of them, it was like welcoming royal troops entering the Castle.

Prius and Rebecca had just returned from making their rounds at the production plants, the Keating's Day Care Centre, Strongbow Tavern as well as the Beauty World store.

They reminded me that the group of merchants and delivery guys would be holding a conference to meet me during lunch and I nodded in acknowledgement.

When Patricia entered the grounds and saw the interns were arranging the cuisine and were using the bowl to scoop the rice in the plate she can't help herself exclaiming, "Oh. My. God... The display is very enticing. Oh. My. God... The rice is of very nice colour and the smell is really very inviting. The chicken and the appearance makes me want to sit down and have the meal straight away...!!!"

Adam and Ingles saw the dishes that were placed in the middle and the way it was arranged make it look like an art. There were greens, red, white, yellow with dripping sauce and the chicken wonderfully roasted and was dripping with unknown juices that somehow makes them salivate.

Jane and Kayla saw how the chicken was made to split into two but was kept intact can't help exclaiming, "Daddy... This chicken is sooooooo huge...!!! 4 person to a plate of whole chicken? The words on the menu are already very nice sounding and when the food is served, I could chomp on it all day long..."

The rest of the members were also delightfully surprised and all went to scrub their hands and wash their faces before they sit down at the table. The interns and cooks had 3 whole chicken to themselves, properly arranged and displayed just like the rest.

They were delighted to know that I made them sit and eat with us and were treated equally. The other housekeepers, lifeguard and server were also told to dine together.

I said grace and it had been years since I was trained to do so but I seldom perform it. I don't know why I said Grace over our lunch today as I began, "Thank you, Lord, for the food that had been presented before us. In the name of God, the Merciful and Compassionate. Let us all eat... Nom... Nom... Nom..."

Kayla laughed at me and said I was kind of silly to add the Nom ... Nom... Nom... After saying grace because its the first time she heard in that manner. Soon the chicken was halved and quartered and the members and all started to dig in.

Kayla's eyes lit up when she took a spoonful of rice and remarked, "Daddy... This rice is super aromatic. It could be eaten just with the lemon tangy sauce, the salad, tomatoes, eggs and cucumber even without the chicken. No wonder you are a PAWWR... Because you are a PAWWR CHEF..."

Rebecca added after she had torn off the chicken thigh with her hands, "My goodness, the flesh simply fell off the bones... It is so tender and crispy on the outside. This is the best roasted chicken I've tasted before..."

"Well... I just tell the interns what to do and they followed my instructions. It's their handiwork and praises should be directed to them as a form of encouragement. Am I right, interns?"

The interns simply smiled and blushed because they had never imagined that they would learn how to cook from a man before.

Lunch was done when the merchants and delivery guys came over and lunch was served for them as well. Our long tables and benches were able to accommodate the 60 guests and they were complimenting on the cuisine.

Later they had learnt that I was the one who guided the interns how to cook and also its a part of our pilot project to create better chefs and create better menus. Also, the chefs would be highly paid and would be of high reputation since they will be certified by me.

I told the 60 guests to eat first and talk later about what they would be discussing with me next. I knew the main topic is safety for their lives and the next topic would be property and I guess right. Maybe it was the Insight that I had automatically used, however at least there's something I could have a heads up, to begin with.

"Good day everyone. Would you like to bring up the matter that was reflected in the letter sent earlier to me?" I began as everyone had finished their meals and were starting to pick their teeth with a wooden toothpick.

"Good day, sir... It had been a while since we had last met and I was the one who sent you the letter." said a young man with his wife beside him.

"The trouble seems to brew in between the cities and there are plenty of highway robbers plying the roads." another travelling merchant spoke up, stating his disgust at those human marauders.

"We have not seen such happenings within the towns but when we are in the road back from the outermost border, that's where the trouble started. These highway robbers would dig potholes and when the wheels of the caravan got stuck, they would rob us of our valuables and whatever credits we have. Fortunately, we have stashed our credits in you-know-where" another young couple highlighted to me and I took note of the MO of these Highway Robbers.

"So basically they tried to slow the traffic down so they could perform their heinous deeds. Hmm...ingenious." I replied and the young couple nodded their heads.

"We are afraid of our safety because we ferry our young children with us wherever we go. They claimed they do not want our lives, but who knows they might change after that. These robbers were known to be law-abiding citizens and they acted this way because of survival." another couple lamented as she hugged her young child close to her bosom.

I listened to them and I replied, "I wonder what makes then turned that way." the young couple spread their hands and shrugged their shoulders in a silent reply.

"Yes, and I've heard that these highway robbers have families to feed as well. We do not wish to travel there with goods laden at the moment because they might rob the customers' orders and then we might not be able to recover and pay the loss back to you." a father and son delivery guys spoke up and he looked sullen at the mention of paying back for the goods.

I was shocked when they mention they had to pay back the losses and I defended them, "No... No... No... Your lives and safety is the utmost importance. You can never buy your life back from any store. Goods can be replaced anytime and there we have plenty of it. No worries, material loss is nothing new to us."

"We won't be penalising anyone who dropped a bottle of shampoo just because their hands are slippery. No... No... As I've said, safety is more important. Nevermind, everyone takes a paid break for this whole week. I will see what I could do to salvage this situation."

An elderly man who was a travelling merchant spoke up, "Sir, if I may suggest, why not you assign one adventurer from Castle Keating-Macleod here to escort every single caravan then? We could scare them half to death by the prowess of these warriors."

"If we were to do that, they would not be able to compete of which House would come up tops as well as personal achievements on who had completed the most quest and collected the most kills on beasts, monsters and villains," I replied after I assess the suggestion. Furthermore, we have 30 caravans and only 20 adventurers.

"Then our livelihood is being disrupted this way, Sir. We love working with you because you are not hard up for results immediately and somehow we work free and easy for you. The salaries also were paid up a day before the month-end and lately, we had also received an increment in our salary." a mother and daughter who worked as delivery guys lamented at their fate if this matter goes on.

I looked at everyone and through Insight, I am able to tell that everyone is speaking the truth and was sincere about their hard work and dedication for Beauty World. "We had reported to Ruler of Aermagh and they had taken action. Prius, Blake and Bruce had discussed with the military advisors and will be pursuing the matters."

"We won't know how long they will deploy their soldiers over to eradicate this problem but we are pretty sure that they are not sitting on their fat ass cheek butts and do nothing. By the way, all of you have a system right?"

"Yes, we do Sir. What do you want us to do with our system?"

"Those plying the Northern, Eastern and Western borders, please link your systems up with me so I would be able to have all the town details. Please do it right now." I opened up my interface and went to select the map tab and I had a few links coming in to connect with me. I clicked on link-up information and a flurry of information was passed.

Within minutes I had the map filled with all kinds of information such as brothels, taverns, pubs, discotheque and drug houses. I looked at them and those who had given me the additional useless information grinned widely at me as I filter out those I do not need.

What I need is each of the 87 town names in those zones and their town squares, business district and the place where they held the distribution of sales. After getting all the information that I require, I shut the interface and thanked Ceres for the system upgrade.

"Give me three days and come back here to listen to my suggestion and make a rebuttal if you think it's appropriate" I finally said and bade them have a good rest within 8 days as they were paid to do so.

They thanked me and filed out of the Castle and some of them remarked that they should be sending their children and grandchildren here to be trained as adventurers when they grow up. Everyone agrees at the magnitude of the Castle and the humbleness of their founders.