LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 201: Complacency
Holding a plate in each hand, 50 attendants walked out of the grand doors.
Compared to previously, they were much more composed.
"Esteemed Guest, apologies for the wait. Here is your Siren's Melody poached Egg, please enjoy." An attendant said as he placed the fragrant dish before a drooling guest.
Waving dismissively, the guest shooed him away.
The attendant already having grown accustomed to the disrespect after being subjected to it twice, did not take it to heart.
Similar scenes occurred in the venue; guests dismissively waved the attendants away or plain out ignoring their existence.
While that occurred, 51 plates of Siren's Melody Poached Eggs remained in the kitchen.
Those 51 plates were for the attendants and guards, who previously ordered the Siren's Melody Poached Eggs.
[Haah. Head Attendant Mei is even crueler than before. Even if we are on duty, can't she allow us a minute to enter the kitchen and eat the Siren's Melody Poached Egg? Why do we have to wait until the auction is finished?]
[I'd rather be whipped than be subjected to this torture.]
[Tch.] An attendant snorted angrily when she heard the couple's words. Gritting her teeth, she exclaimed, [At least you all can taste Chef Lucian's food later, while we can only stare.]
The others who had not ordered the dish bitterly nodded their heads.
As they conversed, in the third VVVIP Room, a tall and slim figure held a spoon with a piece of Siren's Melody Poached Egg up to the light of the chandelier, analyzing it with a critical eye.
He was none other than Cai Jinbao, the City Lord of Harmony City.
The aroma released from the Siren's Melody Poached Egg gave him an animalistic urge to devour it, but he remained composed in the face of the smell.
"Now I understand why such a ruckus occurred in my city." An unknown light flickered in Cai Jinbao's eyes after he spoke.
After that, Cai Jinbao lifted his spoon and placed it into his opened mouth. Soon, his expression gave way to euphoria.
"James, you found yourself quite a money tree." A calculating look soon overtook his expression, it was unknown what he was thinking, but anyone who knew him well enough would say he was formulating a plan for his city.
Even in this situation, they would not be wrong.
Meanwhile, as Cai Jinbao's head spun with several ideas for the future, in the room beside him, two people, a middle-aged man, and a young girl, wore expressions of anticipation on their faces.
"They swallowed! It's about to happen!" Su Bei exclaimed happily when she heard the sound of gulping.
In the quiet venue, such a sound was as loud as a tiger's roar.
Meanwhile, the moment the poached eggs slid down their throats, at first, there was silence, but then came gasps of astonishment and happiness, which the pair had become used to.
One guest, a slim handsome man near the center of the venue, clutched his fork with trembling hands. His face was covered in shock.
"What… what is this!?" He stuttered.
Su Kuan sinisterly smiled. "That, my dear friend, is called Voidtear Essence. You can thank James for your impending death."
Thereupon, a complacent expression covered Su Kuan's face.
However, the handsome man nor anyone other than Su Bei heard Su Kuan's voice. The Runic Formation inscribed on the VVVIP Rooms blocked any sound from exiting.
"Uncle is the best!" Su Bei praised him loudly, fueling Su Kuan's ego further.
But then… a female's startled cry froze Su Kuan's complacent expression and Su Bei's excitement.
"M-my Mana, it's… surging too!"
The guests who had just eaten the Siren's Melody Poached Eggs felt an unmistakable rush of Mana, invigorating their bodies, and filling their Mana Veins at a speed they had never experienced before.
The surge in their Mana was noticeable for any Mage, instantly, causing Su Kuan's complacent expression to falter.
This was not supposed to have occurred. The Voidtear Essence should have absorbed their Mana, wringing them dry, and turning them into nothing but powder for the auction house servants to broom up.
Instead, they were invigorated.
It was the complete opposite of what should have occurred.
"Uncle-" Su Bei's worried voice sounded, but abruptly stopped upon meeting the eyes of her Uncle. Boundless rage filled his eyes, sending cold shivers down her spine.
What had gone wrong? Su Kuan asked himself the same question multiple times, and each time, he arrived at the same conclusion.
Branch Leader Yoshiko.
She interfered in his plan. If not her, then who? Not even for a second did he entertain the thought it was the brat who cooked the Siren's Melody Poached Eggs.
According to the Ghouls Brothers, he had not even reacted in the slightest when San left the alternate Dimension to pour the Voidtear Essence. If he could not even sense San, then how could he sense something amiss with the Siren's Melody Poached Eggs?
Furthermore, James was out of the question, the greedy merchant had never once stepped out of his room since he entered.
The only plausible answer would be Yoshiko must have sensed something dangerous in the eggs. This branch auction house was under her management and leadership. It was only reasonable she would thoroughly examine the food given to the guests.
As a Mana Soul Realm Mage, her prowess, Artifacts, and arsenal of Skills were far more abundant than weaklings like Lucian and Mei.
'I was too cocky.'
All of a sudden, realization dawned upon him, 'Those five minutes were for purifying the Voidtear Essence.'
'But she shouldn't know it was me. Even if she's suspicious of me, she shouldn't have evidence that it was me. Otherwise, she would have exposed the truth.' Su Kuan breathed out a sigh of relief and wiped the sweat, that at some point in time, formed on his forehead.
While Su Kuan went through a mix of emotions, Yoshiko and James had faired no better; going from inwardly being anxious to relief.
James and Yoshiko had the most to lose in the deal.
If the guests had been poisoned to death, James, as the person who claimed Lucian as his personal chef would have been kicked from the Orchard Family for staining the family's reputation.
The Orchard Family were very lenient when it came to their family members, believing that they should only give them a foundation to one day spread their wings. In other words, only by allowing a child to grow and soar on their own, would the child flourish.
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However, that did not mean the family was overly lenient if a family member brought them shame, they would be disowned. And that was the lenient of the punishments that had occurred over the years.
Yoshiko, on the other hand, as the Branch Leader, would have been held accountable for the ordeal, and her ending would have been far worse. Crippled and thrown to Magical Beasts to be eaten alive.
Just the thought of what could have happened had caused her to shiver numerous times, but now a relieved smile could be seen on her face.
'The gamble paid off.'
Even James, despite trying to hide his relief, could not hide it from someone as perceptive as Lucian.
"Sir James seems relieved… I wonder why?" Lucian smiled at him knowingly.
James sighed with a wry smile.
"I won't hide it from Senior…"
'It's not like I can even if I wanted to.' He mused internally and continued, "I was worried the Voidtear Essence somehow remained in the Siren's Melody Poached Eggs. If the guests had died, my life would have followed once the news reached the ears of the Orchard Family."
Lucian shrugged.
"Now you can rest easy."
After hearing Lucian's words, in addition to feeling a sudden chill, which he quickly realized belonged to Lucian's lover, James did not know what to say. Therefore, he wisely chose to return to gazing down at the guests.
Lucian also did not choose to bother him. The greedy merchant had done a lot for him. It would be rude if he continued to tease him, much to James' relief.
The intermission period continued, and just as Lucian had predicted, once the attendants stopped serving the Siren's Melody Poached Eggs, a commotion occurred.
It was mainly caused by the 5,000, or so guests, who had not tasted the Siren's Melody Poached Eggs.
But after Branch Leader Yoshiko flew down from the third balcony, and said they could only blame themselves for not ordering, they all had no choice but to reign in their emotions.
Offending a Mana Soul Realm Mage would do them nothing but harm, especially a Mana Soul Realm Mage with an illustrious status as Branch Leader Yoshiko.
Following that, the attendants took the tableware and wiped the tables clean before Meng Ruo took to the stage and continued the auction.
On the other hand, after mulling it over for a few minutes, Su Kuan finally decided to leave.
"Let's go, Little Su. There's no reason to stay here any longer than necessary." Su Kuan stood up and left the VVVIP Room followed by Su Bei.
All of a sudden, a surprised voice sounded from behind them, "Oh? Owner Su is that you? What a coincidence. Are you leaving too?"
'Tch! Coincidence? Do you think I live under a rock?' For a moment, Su Kuan gritted his teeth.
Turning around with a strained smile, Su Kuan gazed at the owner of the voice, before bowing, "City Lord Cai, forgive me for not properly greeting you earlier.