562 Dinner with the Drosas


    Compared to Vaan''s advancement to Mid-rank Earth Spirit Body when he consumed the Divine-rank Stctite Milk, Lta and Lillias''s advancement took much longer during their absorption.


    However, they consumed less Stctite Milk and of lower quality on top of that.


    In terms of overall resources expended, Lta and Lillias consumed less than Vaan to achieve the same advancement in their Earth Spirit Bodies.


    This was despite Vaan having the system to help him optimize the potency of the Divine-rank Stctite Milk.


    As expected, witches with natural earth affinity would reap more benefits with minimum expenses when they consume earth-attribute resources due to their innate earth talent.


    Nevertheless, Vaan had nothing toin about.


    Everyone had their strengths and weaknesses, and his strengths were the biggest cheats in the world - a system and the heaven-defying ability for learning.


    Given these two overwhelming advantages, it would be strange if he couldn''t grow quickly.


    Furthermore, it didn''t matter if it cost him more resources to raise his Earth Spirit Body. He had more Divine-rank Stctite Milk than he could use for himself.


    By the time Lta and Lillias finished raising their body''s earth affinity to Mid-rank Earth Spirit Body, the darkness of the night had already covered the skies.


    The twodies had taken a third of the day to fully absorb the potency of five vials of Transcendent-rank Stctite Milk.


    "It''s already dark?" Lta uttered with astonishment, noticing the absence of sunlight.


    When Lillias heard that, she also gasped with surprise. Neither of them had been aware of the passage of time.


    At that moment, a line of servants could be seen carrying trays of extravagant food from the cookhouse to the main dining hall.


    Perhaps due to the high demand to maintain Vaan''s powerful body, the lovely fusion scent of spices and herbs easily whetted his appetite.


    Rumble...!


    Within moments, a person''s stomach suddenly rumbled in protest of hunger. But it did note from Vaan; it came from Lillias.


    "Hehe, who''s hungry?" Lillias asked, scratching the back of her head abashedly.


    "Let''s head to the dining hall. Food should be ready shortly," Lta suggested with a rxed smile before adding, "I don''t think Vaan has tried our Drosa Marquisate''s signature dish, the honey-zed ming pork roast yet."


    "It''s something to die for," Lta boasted.


    "Then, I have to try it," Vaan calmly said with a smile, seemingly interested but actually wasn''t all that eager.


    Although he enjoyed good food, he wouldn''t go out of his way for it unless it provided medicinal benefits that could improve physical conditions and mental states.


    In other words, unless they were spirit food, food was nothing more than a nutritional necessity for survival.


    After all, he used to live as a street rat, scavenging and fighting others for leftover food in the slums of ckmoon City. Edibility was not a concern back then as long as the food filled the stomach.


    Even if he no longer needed to eat garbage food to survive, the experiences of those times stuck with him.


    If it was necessary, he could eat anything - Vaan believed.


    ...


    When Vaan and the twodies entered the main dining hall, arge assortment of extravagant, high-quality food was alreadyid on the dining table.


    At the same time, Belline Drosa was already seated.


    "You''re all here. That''s great. I was just about to call someone over to fetch all of you," Belline stated receptively, gesturing to the empty seats at the dining table. "Come, take your seats. Let us dine together."


    "Thad the chefs make the best dishes our territory has to offer. I hope you will find them ptable, Lord Vahn," Belline sincerely expressed.


    The food on the dining table was already enough to feed half the people in the Drosa''s estate. Yet, more dishes were still being brought over by the servants.


    Some people wouldn''t even get the chance to look at so many mouth-watering dishes, let alone taste them.


    It was certainly more than four people could finish.


    However, Vaan was long aware that the nobles of every country usually upheld such tradition or standard of procedure.


    The food that couldn''t be finished by the master of the house and their guests would be given to the servants after they were done with it.


    It was normal that the servants only dined after their masters finished.


    "I''m sure everyone is famished, saving their stomachs for tonight''s feast. There''s no need to hold back or uphold any formality at this table. Please dig in," Belline urged Vaan and her daughters to start eating.


    Despite Belline''s permission, Lta still maintained certain dining etiquettes at the table, eating neatly and cleanly with a fork and knife.


    Lillias and Vaan, on the other hand, directly tore off drumsticks from a whole roasted chicken and ate with their bare hands, easily greasing them up.


    They didn''t hold back at all.


    "Ahem!" Belline coughed awkwardly.


    She didn''t expect her youngest daughter to show such an unruly and udylike side in front of their guest of honor. She feared her youngest daughter''s actions would cause the person to lose interest in her.


    However, seeing as their benefactor acted the same way, she couldn''t really reprimand her youngest daughter on the spot.


    "What do you think of the food, Lord Vahn? Is it to your liking?" Belline inquired with a wry smile.


    "The food is great, Lady Belline. It''s definitely the best food I''ve eaten in my life so far," Vaan honestly answered in a casual manner that was neither overly polite nor disrespectful after sampling twelve different dishes.


    Unfortunately, despite all the food on the table being spirit food with medicinal benefits, none of them could improve Vaan''s physical attributes like they did in the past.


    His body had grown to a level that such a level of spirit food could no longer support.


    "I regret not knowing of a better way to repay the great kindness you have bestowed upon my household, Lord Vahn," Belline suddenly said apologetically after noticing her best dishes weren''t enough to amaze her benefactor.


    "I''m well aware that a single meal is hardly enough to repay your favor, Lord Vahn. So, if you need us for anything, please don''t hesitate to ask us. My Drosa Household will do its best to meet your demand"


    "Actually, there is something I could use your household''s help with, Lady Belline," Vaan casually admitted with a slight smile.