Chapter 1593: In Astra’s Name
When Arad walked into the castle courtyard, Gojo pulled a massive grill that looked more like a torture device than anything else, a huge steel box with a large pit for charcoal. It was at least fifty meters long and thirty meters wide; on it, they could probably roast several dozen cows at once.
Arad wasn’t going to let Gojo have the biggest grill, so he commanded the dirt to move with magic, creating a second grill the same size and shape as the one Gojo pulled out. He filled it with charcoal and set it ablaze, almost drowning the whole castle in smoke for a second if not for Zephyr.
But Arad wasn’t done yet. He could use all of that space to grill whatever he wanted, but that alone won’t be enough. He needed more things to put on the plates.
With a single wave of his hand, he created a hundred small stoves all around the courtyard. He’ll use them to cook smaller meals, prepare sauces, and even treats.
Arad himself didn’t know how to cook that well. The last time he cooked something, he failed miserably with those onion rings. They were good, but he aimed to make something for Aella, and those weren’t what he wanted.
This time, he won’t hold back. Even if he can’t cook, all of the vampires inside him knew how to cook and had access to hundreds of culinary books. With them forming a council and whispering orders into his head, he could follow any recipe they found.
Gojo wasn’t any less resourceful; he, too, pulled something absurd. A hundred shrine maidens walked out of his stomach with their stoves, tents, utensils, and carts after cards of ingredients.
Gojo was literally taking care of a goddess of gluttony; he had to have a moving kitchen with all of its staff to feed her. The goddess in question was that little girl in the back with horns, blue eyes, a smug smile, and nails as long as claws, sitting cross-legged on a chair and waiting for her food.
If only she were as graceful as her older sister Isdis or Eris, but to Gojo’s luck, he got a bratty, troublemaking goddess that eats anything and everything for breakfast and asks for her tenth’s dinner before midnight.
Not that any of it mattered. Right now, Arad and Gojo have multiple dragons, titans, and a gluttonous goddess to feed, so the feast shall start.
An all-you-can-eat buffet in Astra’s name, open for the entire city to enjoy. Both Arad and Gojo had countless whales, massive monsters, and hordes of wild beasts to cook hidden inside their vast stomachs. Meat wasn’t a problem, but anything else was. They had to have some side dishes ready, especially to create variety and make something that the high elves could eat. That was the maids and maidens’ job; they manned the small stoves and grills, created over fifty types of gravy, salads, and over twenty traditional dishes.
Arad flew over his massive grill, pulling tens of bisons and a whole whale from his stomach, skinned and cut them with gravity magic and his void sword before dropping them one by one on the hot iron.
Gojo cast a spell that conjured countless blades. He then flew up and used those swords to cut a Tall Neck dinosaur and five sperm whales into small pieces. He then spread all over his grill, watching them closely with magic to make sure nothing burns up. Unlike his little brother, who had zero culinary skills, he didn’t forget to season his meat with salt and all of the herbs he had stored.
Arad quickly noticed that he had left his meat bland, so he immediately got back to work. The maids rushed back and forth from the kitchen, bringing pots after pots as they tried to keep pace with the maidens.
The guards opened the castle’s gates and lowered the drawbridges, allowing everyone to walk into the courtyard as they wanted. As everyone was allowed inside, servants rushed from the castle with tables as the party seemed to have shifted outside instead of the ballroom.
Arad’s mother walked out of the ballroom with a smile on her face. She looked at her two sons cooking and lifted her hand, sparks of violet light danced from her fingers, rushing forth in a storm of sparks. Suddenly, over a thousand small grills appeared floating in the air above the castle, followed by even more pots and utensils.
Arad and Gojo alone won’t be able to feed the whole city, she was certain of that. No matter how powerful they were or how vast their pantry is, feeding everyone here quickly is impossible. The only one who could achieve that was their mother.
Violet had one advantage over everyone in the mortal world when it came to both cooking and fighting; no, that advantage extended to everything and anything she did.
This entire world was inside her stomach, every grain of sand, drop of water, forest, sea, and living soul ever. With a single spark of her will, she could see, sense, and catch anything inside her stomach. Massive monsters and animals were picked and teleported from across the whole world to be butchered and cooked.
By Violet’s will, barns over barns of herbs and vegetables were picked and harvested from farms all over the world, sending them right to her grills.
This night, she and her two sons have to feed over a hundred thousand people, on top of a goddess who never feels satiated. Luckily, when it comes to cooking skills, Violet had far more skills than any of her sons could; she even far outclassed the maids working the kitchen and the chefs there. Even if some might surpass her in raw cooking expertise, she is always ahead when it comes to volume and consistency.
Arad and Gojo were known for their stupidly fast learning speed; it all came from their mother’s uncanny ability to copy and mimic humanoids that she took their form.
"Arad! You’re cutting the portions a bit too big; make them a bit smaller. Gojo, you’re undercooking the whales. Use a bit more heat; we don’t have time to waste." Violet flew into the air with all of her stoves and pots dancing around her, followed by a torrent of crimson fire.
"Aella, go blow some air at Gojo’s grill to heat it up, and Zephyr, blow the air away from the castle. The last thing we want is a few tens of high elves getting sick." She then looked back, pointing a finger at Merida, who was standing in the back, leaning on a wall in her black dress.
"I’ve got another Tall Neck, cut it apart for me."
Merida sighed, her green eyes flashing faintly as she took a step -her high heels clicked on each step and soon were followed by the scratching sound of the tip of her sword dragging on the ground, leaving a trail of sparks.
Anyone who looked toward her, nobles or commoners, mortal or otherwise, immediately felt a deadly pressure of violence. A cold sweat ran down their back as if they had their hands inside a blender that was ready to rip.
It was then that they were called back to reality as a massive, 30-meter-tall Tall Neck appeared out of nowhere, and it was still alive and kicking. That was a creature that could topple massive castle walls, tank cannons, and even breathe fire; it was almost a dragon, if not for lacking wings and having a bird brain.
Merida disappeared in the blink of an eye, and soon appeared behind the Tall Neck. The creature shivered and its head fell, followed by its neck and all of its limbs. The flesh was separated from the bone and skin, and every organ landed on its separate mushroom bed. The deadly monster was alive in a second, and ready to cook in the next one.
Merida sighed, waving her hand and making her blade disappear. She then walked back to where she was, like she didn’t just kill a monster that could defeat a whole small army.
Nina was already on the move, dragging the massive bones away with Calorin and Meryem’s help. What was even more surprising was that no one found Nina carrying a house-sized bone strange. If the nobles were asked if she could choke a Tall Neck to death, they would’ve said yes without batting an eye.
As Arad used his gravity magic to move the meat to his grill, Eris came in and infused a small section of his grill with her plasma, making it so hot that he could sear the meat in the blink of an eye.
Isdis ordered the soldiers to man the gates and make sure everyone got in orderly. Mira didn’t have much skill that could be used in cooking, but she quickly got some maids and rushed with them to the cellar to bring several barrels of beer that Mora had left for them.
Each of Arad’s wives found something to do. Those who couldn’t help directly with cooking tended to the tables, and those who could cook tried their best to assist the maids and maidens.
Linda watched the whole castle come to life, and she smiled, lifting her hand.
"A moment like this should be engraved on time itself." Using her time power, she diluted time, making the night longer so everyone could get in and eat. The feast was held in her daughter’s name after all, and she won’t stand for anyone getting left behind.
"How is it?" She looked back, her eyes landing on Aether.
Aether looked at Arad cooking and smiled, a smug grin covering his face. "Wasteful bastard, but it ain’t all that bad. Party for little sister over here, so he’d better be generous."
She looked at him with a glare, but smiled, "Watch your tongue, he’s your father."
Aether chuckled, "You’re right. But I doubt he’ll care."