"Oi, Jordan! What the hell's wrong with you?! Are you trying to kill your husband's appetite and starve him to death or something?!"
Eve's sudden scolding takes me aback. I turn my head to her, unsure whether my ears are playing tricks on me or not; the blatant indignation on her face lets me know that, no, I'm not yet hard of hearing.
What the…?
Is she seriously offended on my behalf because the kids' food is in plain view? Why? What's wrong with that—oh, right. I've forgotten about that.
It's technically possible to disguise demon food into human-looking meals, which demons often do when they have to eat outside and crave some of their own delicacies. But there's no point in doing so in my case. These darn eyes of mine can see through every and any disguise, concealment, or stealth spell.
The thing is, she doesn't know that.
"It's fine," I force myself to smile. "I've got a good stomach. It's not some fried larvae and spiders that are going to stop me from eating my dinner."
That's a lie. But fried demonic insects are always better than moving eyeballs in a purplish-reddish liquid and the like. To be fair, those hairy spiders resemble tarantulas, and aren't too monstrous-ish. And I'm lucky enough to not be part of the arachnophobic people.
Otherwise, well…
Let's not think about it.
"Is our food making you sick?"
It's Ellena who asks, and I can see Elois looking around, searching for who knows what. I think he doesn't find what he wants, and he's just short of throwing his plate in the potted plant beside the table when I stop him, grabbing his wrist in the nick of time.
The heck is he doing?!
"Don't waste food," I admonish, and I can already see the tears welling. "I'm fine, really. It's just not things I'm used to seeing. It'll get better over time."
"…Should we just eat in different rooms?"
Like her little brother, Ellena looks about to cry, too. I'm at a loss. Why are you suggesting we eat separately if it makes you want to bawl your eyes out?! And it seems like their mother is also at a total loss. Looks like she hadn't expected her children to react so badly. Glad I'm not alone.
Only Jordan appears calm.
"Don't worry so much. We can ask the chef preparing your meals to take into account the presentation next time, and make our dinners look more proper."
"Or you could just cast a disguising spell?" Eve rolls her eyes, seemingly trying to hide her confusion. Let's say it isn't working, and I can see it as clear as day. "Why make it so complicated? Even the children can use such a simple spell!"
"But disguising spells don't work on Dad!"
Both kids wail, and I freeze. These frigging brats… Goddamn it. I sigh and bury my face in my hands. They don't even notice the blunder they've just made.
"…It doesn't work?"
"It doesn't! But we can't tell you why!"
Don't worry, you don't need to spell it out for your mother to get it, I'm sure. Well, I guess it's another broken record; I've only known the woman for a little over an hour, and my secret's already out. There's no way in hell she can't connect the dots, not at her age.
I peek at Jordan through my fingers. He's massaging his right temple, probably thanks to a proverbial headache. Dude. You need to teach your kids how to lie.
"It's alright, sweetie, you don't need to tell me."
There's not even a tremor in Eve's voice.
"It's my fault for overreacting earlier. I've grown too used to human society and business diners. If Scott says it's alright, then it is. Don't fret over it and just eat, alright?"
The children nod, but they eat slowly, pretty much nibbling at their food with a downcast expression. Their happy-go-lucky faces from earlier are gone, replaced by a deep guilt. They've been in a good mood because of the mountain of gifts their mother has brought them, but now they're not.
Please, guys! I'm begging you, don't be so melodramatic!
Seriously, I don't want you to get some sort of food disorder on top of everything else just because you're afraid to eat in front of me! Darn it, how can I make them understand that it's fine?!
…It's all their mother's fault!
Speaking of their mother, she's been staring at me with a quirked eyebrow. I pretend not to notice, but I do put down my hands and return to eating my pad thai. The delivery guy's been fast, and it's warm enough.
It doesn't seem like she's going to bring up the subject of Seers in front of the kids, and I sure as hell won't bring it up, either.
***
Our bellies full, we prepare to move down to the basement. Before leaving the dining room, I glance back at the table and the empty plates.
A sigh escapes me.
Thanks to our encouragement, the kids have eaten everything, albeit at a painfully slow pace, and their mood is only now starting to recover.
Goodness, they're a handful.
Turning around, I follow behind Jordan. It doesn't take long before the kids are plastering against me again, holding onto my pants, which at least hold well onto my waist this time, unlike yesterday. Jordan's pants are slightly too big for me, although mostly too long.
Anyway. Are the kids trying to trip me, or something?
Still, I don't complain and awkwardly walk down the stairs, supporting myself with one hand on the rail.
Holy cow—going around with two dead weights hanging on your thighs is harder than I thought. But there's no way in hell I'm shooing the kids away and handling another fit of crying.
Nopeuh, not happening.
Fortunately, I somehow manage not to fall headfirst down the stairs, and we arrive at an open area. The first thing that catches my eye is the gigantic screen, then the long U-shaped couch in front.
Looks like it's movie time.
The kids drag my poor person to the middle of the couch to sit on each side of me, unsurprisingly. Meanwhile, Eve takes place on the left end, and Jordan sits on the right after fetching the TV remote.
"Are you good with horror movies?"
Eve flashes me a smile, and I respond with a cocked eyebrow.
I'm short of replying that you shouldn't let your children watch horror movies when they're so young, but then I remember they're demons. Horror movies aren't exactly horror to them. Considering how biased and unreliable those are, I've got a hunch they can be seen as something akin to comedy from their points of view.
"Don't worry!" Elois says, puffing out his small chest. "We'll protect you from the bad guys in the movies!"
Ellena nods, a serious expression on her little face.
"With us by your sides, nothing will happen to you! We're small but strong! Even if a ghost comes out of the TV, we'll stop it and send it back to hell!"
Kids, it's just some horror movies. Chill out. Wait… Ghost coming out of the TV? Could they have seen that movie?
I peer at Jordan, who offers me an apologetic smile. Oh. So they believe that bullcrap. Well, they're kids at the end of the day. No wonder they're so adamant about 'protecting' me.
"You don't trust us…?"
"No, that's not it," I feel my mouth twitch. "Thank you."
While the kids tee-hee, I can hear their parents' light chuckles. Still, they don't comment on their children's knights in shining armor syndrome, and Jordan chooses a movie after making sure I'm alright with it.
'Cause no ghost movies tonight. I don't want the children to stay on high alert all evening and not enjoy it. Any other bloody monsters are fine. It's not like any of them scares me.
That is, as long as they're portrayed on screen, and I don't have to deal with them in real life.