"Your Highness Ron."
"Welcome, come on upstairs."
Mason and the others arrived together and followed Ron up to the second floor.
Seeing Mason and the others, Nora—who had been sitting on the couch—immediately stood up and hurried over to the dining table, pulling out chairs for each of them.
"What's going on here?" Harper looked curiously at the large pot in the center of the table and the piles of raw vegetables laid out. He looked puzzled.
"Are we cooking while eating?" Edith pulled Illya into a seat, then looked down at the three small dishes in front of her. "Are these the new sauces His Highness Ron came up with?"
"Yep, we cook and eat as we go. Just put what you want into the pot, fish it out when it's done, dip it in the sauce, and eat," Ron explained as he gestured for everyone to sit. "These three are dipping sauces—sweet, sour, and spicy. You can pick one or try them all."
Mason's interest was piqued. "What an interesting way to eat! His Highness Ron always comes up with the most fascinating ideas."
Nora quietly sat down at the seat to Ron's right without saying a word, looking especially well-behaved.
Mason sat to Ron's left, Edith sat across from Ron, while Illya and Harper took seats on either side.
"Hey! You can't eat that raw!" Ron quickly called out when he saw Illya pick up a piece of black fungus with a fork and bring it toward her mouth.
Thankfully, Edith reacted swiftly and held Illya's hand down just in time—otherwise, she really would have eaten it.
"Big sis!" Edith scolded, half-laughing, half-crying. "His Highness Ron already said these are all raw ingredients. You have to cook them first!"
Illya nodded and put down her fork, her whole demeanor blank and dazed, as if her soul had drifted off.
To her, dinner was just dinner—nothing important. Her mind was fully occupied by those two mysterious symbols. She hadn't paid any attention to Ron's hotpot explanation.
All she wanted was to finish eating quickly and dive into discussing magic formations with His Highness Ron, hoping that through his insights as a Chosen One, she could find a new approach to studying those symbols.
As for the black fungus… Illya glanced around indifferently—she didn't really care.
Elves, as children of the Tree of Life, had no problem eating raw vegetables.
It might even be more nutritious.
Cooking food was just a matter of taste. To Illya, it wasn't a necessity.
"One nice thing about hotpot," Ron continued, "is that you can enjoy hot, freshly cooked food the whole way through—no worries about dishes getting cold." He poured the clear soup base he had prepared earlier into the central pot and ignited the flame with a quick Fire Spark Spell. "Just pick what you like and toss it in."
"Huh? What's this?" Edith picked up a pair of chopsticks from the table and asked curiously.
"Ah... That's a type of utensil I made myself. It's used to pick up food," Ron explained as he picked up his own chopsticks and demonstrated by grabbing a meatball.
Edith followed his example, trying to pick up a meatball—but it kept slipping out, no matter how many times she tried.
Mason and Harper also gave it a shot. The veins on their arms popped out from the effort.
"Does this even work?" Mason stared wide-eyed and tried several more times, unwilling to give up. "This is way harder than using a fork!"
"Uh... You can use a fork if you prefer," Ron chuckled. "But for hotpot, chopsticks are a bit more convenient. Just takes a little practice."
Nora stayed silent, casually picking up and putting down a few pieces of tofu, acting like she was totally used to it—her expression a little smug.
After that brief interlude, the group officially began their hotpot meal.
Goblins and dwarves, being carnivorous races, naturally gravitated toward fatty beef, meatballs, and other meaty items.
Edith had a more varied palate—unusual for an elf—but she was also helping her sister with ingredients, so she ended up picking a bit of everything.
Nora was hesitant to grab food at first, but after realizing the guests weren't paying much attention to her, she gradually grew bolder.
"Mmm..."
"As expected, His Highness Ron's sauces really are something else."
"Totally different from the ones at the barbecue restaurants."
"But still super tasty—absolutely delicious!"
As the host, Ron kept the conversation flowing while dipping meat into the pot and chatting with the group.
Luckily, with Mason and the other two chatterboxes around, even though Illya and Nora were zoning out the whole time, the atmosphere at the table stayed lively and fun.
"Hey!" Mid-conversation, Ron turned just in time to see Illya lift a piece of tofu from the hotpot and dunk it into a cup of sour plum juice before popping it into her mouth, chewing mechanically.
Edith saw this and nearly spat out the beef in her mouth.
"Hahahaha!"
Seeing that there was no saving the situation, Edith burst out laughing, holding her stomach.
Ron and Mason wanted to laugh too, but out of gentlemanly restraint, they just covered their mouths and held it in.
Only Harper, being the straightforward type, joined Edith in laughing out loud.
When Edith heard Harper laughing, she immediately glared at him. "What're you laughing at?"
Harper choked, his laughter cutting off like a duck whose neck had been grabbed.
???
Weren't you the one who laughed first?
So she can laugh, but he can't even chuckle?
Harper was completely bewildered.
Ron ignored the banter between Harper and Edith, turning instead to Illya. "That's sour plum juice—it's for drinking. Only the three small dishes are actual sauces."
"I know," Illya replied, puzzled. "I just thought the juice tasted good and wanted to try dipping in it."
She wasn't stupid—of course, she knew which ones were the real sauces.
But she happened to prefer the flavor of the juice, so she figured she'd try it.
"Uh..." Ron was speechless, then gave up with a sigh. "Well, if you like it, that's what matters."
As time went on, the ingredients on the table gradually disappeared before their eyes.
After Nora was full, she quietly excused herself and went downstairs to tend the flower shop.
Mason was full too, but stayed at the table, slowly sipping his sour plum juice and chatting with the group.
"By the way," Mason suddenly said, "there's something I wanted to mention, Your Highness Ron."
"Hm? What is it?"
"A student came to see me today—wanted to ask who invented the Elemental Cards. He hopes to meet the creator and have a chat."
"A student from your academy?" Ron asked, puzzled.
"Yes," Mason nodded. "I looked into his file. Turns out he got in through connections—his family donated a large sum during admissions. Their family business also operates several trade caravans under the Gemstone Trade Alliance."
"I figure he's interested in the potential of the Elemental Cards and wants to invest."
"If you're interested, would you like to meet him?"
Ron, who had still been enjoying the food a moment ago, suddenly paused and turned his head. "The Gemstone Trade Alliance?"