It was just after seven in the evening in the castle's dining room.
Lucas sat back, finished with his meal, a faint smile playing on his lips as he watched Rhea and Mira. The two birdkin were eating with terrifying speed, thick slabs of steak disappearing from their plates in the blink of an eye.
"No way! This one is mine!" Ayesha cried out, her purple eyes widening as she glared at Mira. A dangerous aura radiated from the cow-girl as she shielded her plate with both hands. Even her tail was bristling with indignation—it was clear that if anyone tried to snatch her food, she was ready to throw hands.
"Uh..." Mira sheepishly retracted her fork, pouting as her gaze drifted toward Amelia's plate instead. The food in this castle was simply too delicious; no matter how much she ate, she couldn't get enough.
Cough, cough, cough!
Amelia let out a spectacularly fake cough, intentionally sending a spray of saliva onto the steak remaining on her plate.
"Pffft, hahaha!" Annie burst out laughing at the sight. She quickly turned away, her shoulders shaking violently as she tried to stifle her giggles.
"Well, since you're so busy laughing, I guess you're full, Annie." Mina smirked, deftly swiping a piece of steak from the fox-girl's plate.
"I'm not full! Dammit, that was mine!" Annie's fur practically stood on end. She glared at the cat-girl, who was already chewing the stolen meat.
"Oh? I really thought you were done," Mina said, her voice muffled by the steak. She was clearly just messing with the fox-girl.
"You annoying cat! Give it back!" Annie fumed.
"Here, Miss Annie, you can have mine," Freya offered, sliding her own steak over. The wolf-girl caught Rhea's eye and instinctively used a more formal tone since guests were present. She could still sense a lingering, dangerous pressure coming from Rhea.
"No, you eat it. I'm... I'm full anyway..." Annie shook her head, still pouting at Mina. She went back to her rice and stir-fried tomatoes and eggs, chewing so hard her teeth literally clicked.
"Mina, stop teasing her," Nicole said with a sigh. She placed her own unfinished steak onto Annie's plate. "Here, eat this. I've had plenty."
"Hehe... Nicole is the best!" Annie beamed, her fox tail wagging triumphantly as she shot a smug look at Mina.
"Ayesha, you want this?" Mina asked, realizing she couldn't bait Annie anymore. She handed the rest of her meat to the big-eating cow-girl.
"Yes! Give it here!" Ayesha stretched her neck out and caught the steak in one bite.
Annie's lip curled again. That steak was supposed to be hers. Infuriating!
"Ayesha, are you still hungry?" Elisa asked, offering her last half-steak. As an elf, her appetite wasn't nearly as voracious as the beast-girls'.
"Can I?" Ayesha licked her lips. Because of the two new guests, the meat portions were a bit smaller than usual tonight, and she hadn't quite reached her limit.
"Of course. Eat up," The elf said with a gentle smile.
"Ayesha, eat some vegetables too," Helen added, scooping a large portion of greens from little Hazel's plate. The deer-girl was small and didn't eat much. Ayesha, being Ayesha, accepted everything offered to her without hesitation.
"Hello, my name is Dahlia," Dahlia said softly to the stoic Rhea, sliding a piece of steak toward her. She knew Rhea was Amelia's sister and noticed the two newcomers were struggling to fit into the chaotic, warm atmosphere of the table. She was trying to bridge the gap.
"..." Rhea looked at the steak, then looked at Dahlia. After a moment of hesitation, she gave a stiff nod and began to eat heartily.
Lucas watched the scene, his smile softening. He gave Dahlia a mental thumbs-up for her high social intelligence.
"I'm full. I'm heading back to my room; I have some things to take care of tonight," Lucas whispered to Mina and Nicole.
"Understood," They both nodded. They knew his subtext: he was heading to the "secret room," and they shouldn't worry about his "disappearance."
"I'm heading out, everyone," Lucas announced to the table. He stood up and walked out, with Mina following close behind to stand guard.
The two walked through the corridors, the moonlight spilling through the windows.
"Go get some rest, Mina. No one is going to break in," Lucas said, turning to the cat-girl. "The War Wolf squad is handling security."
"I ate too much. I need the walk to digest," Mina replied with a grin, her hands tucked behind her back as she followed him.
"Fine, have it your way." Lucas shook his head at her stubbornness. He reached his room and entered the hidden chamber.
Inside the secret study, the bookshelves were now mostly full, holding over a thousand volumes. Many were technical and professional books he had hauled over from Earth.
"If I have to translate all of these by hand, I'll drop dead before I'm finished," Lucas sighed. He wondered if he should just start teaching people English. If he used English as the "inner circle" language for his household, he wouldn't have to worry about the knowledge in the books leaking, and his people could learn much faster.
"Later. It's too early for that," He muttered, shaking the thought away. He closed his eyes and focused on the command: Teleport.
Flash!
A second later, he was back on Earth. He appeared in the basement of the house he had purchased—a space he had heavily reinforced with thick, welded steel plates. He had returned early because several orders had arrived, specifically components for the hydroelectric generators he needed for the other world.
"It's stuffy in here," Lucas muttered, fumbling for the light switch. The basement was packed with books and stacks of paper he hadn't moved yet.
He scanned the room. Everything was exactly where he had left it. He looked at the exit; an apple was still hanging from the door lock—his low-tech alarm system.
"The stuff I planted should be sprouting by now," He thought. He took a bite of the apple, unlocked the three heavy deadbolts, and pulled open the massive iron door.
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