I sighed, depressed. Oh Lord, my head was spinning with all these questions popping up one after another.
Aria asked, "What's the matter, Alfie?"
I quickly shook my head. "Nothing."
A pretty woman sitting opposite Aria leaned forward across the table and asked, "Alfie's world is interesting? That sounds like a campfire story." She turned to me and said, "You must tell us about your kingdom and your life, Alfie."
I didn't know what to say to this. Obviously, she took me by surprise. I flicked my gaze from her green eyes to her dark red hair and a pair of furry cat ears on her head. She was another cat person, eh? And so pretty, too.
Aria giggled and then said, pointing to the one who was talking to me, "This is Dr. Leona Morton. She's famous, you know, for sewing and fixing people up."
I see. So Dr. Morton, a cat person, was a famous surgeon in this realm. Of course, I had no doubt that they needed someone like her when out in the field. Life-threatening injuries were bound to happen during battles.
Aria then hugged the other female sitting beside her. "This is Brenna Kent. She's one of our healers in this mission, acting as a nurse at the moment, and obviously, a cat person, too." She even delicately touched Brenna's cat ear as if to tease me.
I suddenly wanted to blurt out and ask if cat people were common here but held myself in check. As a girl from Earth who was pretending to be a boy from this realm, I should already know this basic information.
I said, "Hi." Of course, I was grinning like an idiot as I gazed lovingly at those ears of Brenna's. God, the urge to pet was strong.
Suddenly, I felt an arm wrapping around my shoulders, and Felix's deep voice said, "Aria? The medicine? Alfie's story can wait until we return to the palace. This is neither the time nor the place for it."
Aria said, "Of course, my lord."
Brenna, who looked rather flustered suddenly, offered, "I'll get the medication for you, Alfie. Please wait a moment."
I gave her a bright smile for being such a nice nurse, which caused her to blush shyly. Then I noticed her eyes shifting to Felix beside me and then to Caleb. She became flustered again, rushed out of her chair, and headed away.
Confused as to her reaction, I turned my attention to Caleb, whose steel-gray eyes looked rather dark, and then Felix, whose mauve eyes were just as intense. Both of their faces seemed so damned stern, too, despite being mostly hidden behind those masks.
Was Brenna afraid of these two lords? Then again, I was afraid of them, too, since the first time I had met them last night. Which, of course, begged the question as to why was I behaving so familiarly with these two men, as to even sit with them during a morning meal.
Well, I reasoned with myself, that is because Felix dumped me here, so I have no choice in the matter.
Speaking of morning meal, food suddenly appeared before us. The chefs came and placed an array of food on the table. There were muffins, toast, crispy bacon, scrambled eggs, an assortment of grilled vegetables, green salad, and even an array of different cheeses and breads.
"Wow!" I expressed, dumbfounded. A meal fit for a king. Or should I say lords?
What did I expect? These two near me were lords, weren't they? So of course they'd be treated as such even out in the field.
Aria asked, "What's wrong, Alfie?"
I jolted and then chuckled uncomfortably. "Nothing."
She liked asking me that question, didn't she? And why was she so perceptive?
Everyone started grabbing for whatever they wanted, and as hungry as I was, I did the same. I took two pieces of crispy bacon, two pieces of toast, and some scrambled eggs. I then picked up my knife and fork and tried some scrambled eggs.
"Hmm..." I sighed in pleasure and grinned. It was creamy and delicious, not unlike the way Mom used to make it back at home. I dug right in and ate to my heart's content.
I was just biting into my second bacon when I felt Caleb's gaze on me. Trying not to feel flustered or intimidated, I gave him a bright grin as I munched on my food. It was then Brenna returned, and she handed me a little round pill that looked like a small blue jewel. It was glowing, too, like a tiny star that was full of energy.
"This?" I asked.
"Painkillers," she said. "It's top quality, Alfie. It'll heal your headache in no time."
So this glowing, bright-blue little pill was something akin to aspirin, then?
I popped it into my mouth and then reached for my glass of water. Suddenly, I felt the pill melt in my mouth, and a burst of sweetness flooded my taste buds.
"Oh..." I expressed breathlessly. Then I chuckled. "It's sweet."
Leona said, "All top-quality pills are sweet. If it's not top quality, it'll taste bland or, worse, bitter."
Aria asked, "Do pills back at home taste bitter, Alfie?"
I nodded. "Very bitter. Although some of them have added flavor, which is mostly for children. Personally, though, I think they still taste horrible."
Caleb said, "Masking a lousy-quality pill with flavor is treachery of the worst kind."
Felix said, nodding his head, "It is, isn't it? But I've never in all these years heard of a kingdom that'd allow such a dishonorable behavior."
One of the men sitting next to Caleb said, "Having a low-quality pill is useless on the battlefield."
Another one sitting opposite him nodded in agreement. "Hmm. Of course, ours are quality checked."
Brenna asked, her plate now filled with food, "What kingdom are you from, Alfie?"
Her question had me cornered, and I felt at a loss as to what to tell her. I mean, I was merely mentioning pills and flavors, and now we were on to treachery, dishonorable behavior, and what kingdom I was from?
I moistened my lips and, trying to evade answering the questions as much as I could, I said, "I must admit that perhaps our medicine back home isn't as high quality as here, although we do our best, particularly in research and such like to find cures."