The second group of five walked with a casual stride yet there was nothing subtle about them. The mood they gave off commanded attention with every step. Heads turned, vendors paused and passersby stared openly, unsure whether they were witnessing nobility or walking works of art.
Vastarael walked at the front, wearing a simple black T-shirt tucked slightly into his light-gray shorts. Despite the simplicity, the defined shape of his arms and the way his white curly hair swept neatly to the side made him look like the model from an ancient myth made real. Xander and Eldrigan followed beside him, Xander wearing a crisp white T-shirt that clung slightly to his upper frame and navy shorts, while Eldrigan, more laid-back, had a dark olive shirt and brown shorts that complemented his complexion. The Andelaris twins, Natalis and Denisia, wore near-identical light pink blouses with golden embroidery, tucked into high-slit white skirts.
Their destination was a long, domed butchery lined with frost-covered storage containers and shelves stacked high with meat. The place smelled of spices, chilled air, and raw power, literally. The meat in the room gave off faint energy signatures, indicating just how high-grade and cultivated it was. Inside, Xander whistled low as he stared at the shelves stacked with unfamiliar meats.
"Alright… I've seen livestock liver. I've seen boar ribs. But this? What in Spheraphase is this one?"
The butcher, a burly Hydroborn male with bronze scales flecked across his face and arms, laughed heartily from behind the enchanted cleaver station.
"That's Tidebeast steak, young Divine. Good for strengthening your durability. Not too chewy if you roast it slow."
Eldrigan poked at the next display and muttered. "What in the hell is this? Looks like fish but feels like pork."
"That," the butcher said proudly, "is from a Sea Slitherox. Meat of the sea creatures. Rich, buttery, and dense. You fry it, you die happy."
Vastarael, arms folded, tilted his head as he stared at an entire half of an animal mounted vertically. He blinked.
"That's chicken?" He asked slowly.
The butcher looked at it, grinned, and nodded.
"Yep. Our prized Delvi Cluckers. Only exist here in Inexpelcae. The smallest ones are the size of sheep."
Vastarael stared again. In his past life, a chicken was something he could hold with both hands but this? The one he was looking at had claws the size of dinner plates and a torso thick enough to carry three saddles.
"Huh. Spheraphase really is a fantasy version of Earth."
He stepped back and took a long look around the butchery. Every animal product was massive. The meats were still the same general color but that's where the familiarity ended. The air buzzed with unfamiliar names and divine nutritional markers. Even the vegetables earlier in the day had been odd. Nothing was green. Everything was blue, red, or golden yellow. Fruits too. Food was plentiful but uncanny.
"Still, give me all of the chicken, all of of the Tidebeast meat, and all of those steaks. In fact, give me all the expensive meat. I don't care how much it costs."
The butcher blinked at the order, wide-eyed.
"You got a whole royal court to feed or what?"
"I do, actually."
While Vastarael spoke with the butcher, the twins had drifted over to a side counter with Xander and Eldrigan. Denisia looked at the cuts displayed and then at Xander.
"I always found meat so… plain. The texture can be interesting, but there's no deeper meaning in it."
Natalis nodded, her arms loosely crossed.
"Same. I can taste. I can enjoy it but the pleasure of food never really meant much. We don't need it. So most times, I don't bother."
"Shame," Xander said, chuckling. "A good meal before battle? That's where life's at. Or after. Or during. Honestly, food is sacred."
Eldrigan nodded with a grin. "Can't disagree. Eating meat you hunted yourself? Roasting it under the stars? There's a whole culture behind it. But I get your point."
The twins looked at each other and smiled faintly.
Natalis added, "We're starting to understand. It's not about the food. It's about the memories."
"Well said," Vastarael called from across the aisle, hauling a magically sealed crate of meat into his inventory. "That's why I cook. It's about the people I cook for."
Denisia rolled her eyes affectionately. "You're such a prince sometimes."
"You say that like it's a bad thing."
By the time they finished their orders, each taking turns placing large meat bulk orders to be delivered in the morning, the five of them left the butchery to the stares of an entire crowd that had gathered to watch. They strolled along the illuminated night streets of Nyramith's marketplace, now shifting into its quieter hour as stalls began to close down.
"We're heading to the spice section now," Vastarael announced casually, waving his hand as they passed a small artisan bakery stall and turned left into a more vibrantly colored alley.
Unlike the rest of the market, this alley seemed to pulse with intense aromas and glowing shelves. Towering racks of spice bottles and herbs lined the corridor like relics in a vault, each glowing faintly in their own unique hue. Vastarael slowed as the scent of something nostalgic reached him. It was a piercing aroma with just the right amount of earthy bitterness.
"Black pepper?"
He murmured, leaning in to inspect a small clay bowl of finely ground powder. It shimmered faintly, like crushed sapphire dust under moonlight. It was blue pepper, actually. And beside it were names he recognized too easily: turmeric, cardamom, thyme, cinnamon, coriander…
Sure, the colors were wrong and none of them looked exactly like Earth versions but the smells were near perfect, just slightly enchanted. Blue pepper instead of black. Indigo cumin instead of brown. White cinnamon instead of...
"Why are these names sound so different?" Eldrigan asked, leaning forward and sniffing at the yellow salt curiously.
Vastarael smiled, his eyes glassy with faint nostalgia. He turned to the vendor and created large, hollow sapphire crystal cuboids from thin air.
"Could you please fill these with each type in bulk?" He asked the Hydroborn merchant politely.
The man blinked at the sight of the conjured containers, then nodded with a respectful grin.
"Of course, young Divine. This will take some time, but they'll be delivered to your mansion by the cliffs at noon tomorrow."
As the merchant and his assistants began to fill the cuboids with scoops of enchanted spices, Eldrigan turned back to Vastarael with a raised eyebrow.
"Alright, chef. Spill it. How do you know all this? You talk about spices like you've studied them for decades."
Vastarael chuckled lightly, watching as blue pepper was delicately poured into one of the cuboids. He looked at it a bit too long before answering and his smile dropped into something softer.
He wanted to tell them that in his past life back on Earth, in that small rundown orphanage, he'd taught himself to cook just so the younger kids wouldn't have to eat flavorless mush every day. He'd woken up early just to prepare rice with a bit of soy sauce and garlic powder because it made them smile. In high school, he'd spent countless afternoons volunteering in the culinary club, praised by teachers, even given a chance to compete in a local cook-off, and he won. He also took formal cooking lessons on scholarships not because he wanted to become a chef, but because he found peace in the smell of grilled tomatoes and rosemary.
But Earth was gone and so were those memories, buried beneath the weight of new titles, battles and impossible expectations. So instead, he simply said with a small laugh.
"I learned from my mother."
Xander blinked. "Wait, really?"
"Well, kinda. She… wasn't a great cook. She taught me the basics but I had to improvise a lot. Eventually, I started improving the recipes on my own. Cooking became... my thing."
That wistful little smile he gave after saying that made the Andelaris twins glance at each other and smirk.
"That explains it," Denisia said, crossing her arms with a teasing tone.
"Explains what?" Vastarael asked, genuinely confused.
"That you somehow managed to get three incredibly powerful and gorgeous women to fall in love with you," Natalis replied flatly, smirking more.
"Huh?"
"Never mind," they both said in unison and turned away, pretending to examine jars of preserved herbs as if they hadn't just dropped a truth bomb in the middle of a spice stall.
Eldrigan burst into laughter, nearly doubling over as he slapped Xander's back.
"I swear, we seriously underestimated him. Look at that soft-spoken prince thing he pulls. Cooking, romantic, mysterious… meanwhile we're out here looking like foot soldiers."
Xander snorted and nodded. "Yeah. We don't stand a chance if our girls start thinking too hard about this."
"I can hear both of you," Vastarael said flatly, but he was smirking.
"Well, you've got the right to flex," Xander said, lifting his hands. "You've got a wife and two girlfriends. If I was in your shoes, I'd be scared of them."
"I am scared of them. Especially Adelasta."
Denisia giggled behind her hand. "Smart man."
"I'd like to point out," Eldrigan chimed in, "that my girlfriend is a Royal Succubus from hell so no, I'm not impressed."
"Farrynelle's a Skyrover, dude," Xander countered. "She's literally a trained war machine. I have to sleep with one eye open when I annoy her and you think I'm impressed by a succubus?"
"You're both talking big," Vastarael said, stretching his back. "But let's be real. None of us would survive ten minutes in a fight with our own lovers."
The men went quiet for a second, then burst into laughter again, drawing glances from nearby market-goers. As the spice cuboids were sealed and floated into their inventories, Vastarael dusted his hands and looked at them fondly.
"Alright. Last stop. We meet with the other group, then head back. I'm making breakfast tomorrow."
"And you're waking up early to do it?" Eldrigan asked.
"Yep."
"Respect," Xander said, nodding seriously. "Man of the house vibes."
"Prince of the kitchen," Eldrigan added.
"I am a prince," Vastarael said smugly.
They all groaned and laughed together as they walked with bags of herbs they decided to buy for the preparation Vastarael was about to make the next day.