"Ta-da!"
On the middle of the table was a delicious-looking meal for Lilim and Adam, with everything cooked with top-quality ingredients from what they have available in this kitchen, comprised of three chicken breasts, vegetables, and mashed potatoes all on one plate. A confident smile was apparent on the pixie's face.
"So," she says, looking at Adam with hopeful eyes, "what do you think?" Asking the question while her hands are on her hips, showing her own confidence in being able to cook for them. And yet, the man didn't say anything but stared at her with a judging look, as if he were examining the dish in front of him to see if it was even good enough to eat.
Grabbing a fork and taking one bite, it was surprisingly good with its seasoned flavors and texture. He didn't know what the ingredients were, but still, "it is very good," enjoying the taste of the food. "But," Adam looked at Garnet with a displeased look, "you may burn it a little," seeing that the fried chicken is burned from the inside and its lack of seasoning.
"Uhh," she had to agree that it wasn't as good as what she did earlier, still giving her credit for trying in the first place, "well," having been feeling proud about herself from showcasing her prowess in preparing food, "I did my best?" Shrugging embarrassingly with a forced, uneasy smile on her face.
Not minding her reaction at all, Adam simply sighed with a smile of his own before turning to his daughter, who was drooling at the sight of the food, making unintelligible noises from seeing the plate of food and grabbing it with her hands. "Hungry..." The girl says in a delightful tone, causing him to smile more from this display.
As she chewed down on the food, her father closed his eyes and thanked the pixie for giving his daughter a great meal. "Hey Garnet?" Asking the pixie with a casual tone, causing Garnet to switch her attention to him in a confused manner.
"Yes?" She said with an unsure tone, not understanding where this is going,"Is something wrong with what I made?" The pixie can't help but feel insecure as she was so confident about the food, but now she doesn't know what is going on, and Adam just watching her in slight amusement makes the situation even worse.
"Lilim, say thanks." Opening his eyes, Adam nodded at the pixie for her generous and kind act. Most people in this world wouldn't do such a thing when many are trying to survive or benefit for their own selfish reasons and are not willing to help others for nothing. However, seeing such rare acts of kindness and compassion for his daughter was enough to put him in a good mood.
For a moment, Garnet was caught off guard by his thanks, as before the guy in front of him was rude, but the more she spent time with him, the more she began to understand the type of individual she was dealing with. "A-ahh, no problem, I was happy to do it, she said, waving her hands nervously while blushing in embarrassment. "It's my job after all."
The girl just continued to chew on the chicken, not caring about the conversation at all, as she was just glad to have something to eat, and with a full stomach, she could rest easy. Even though she doesn't know what is going on, she doesn't mind the meal, as it was delicious to her own liking, and that is what matters most at this moment.
He chuckled, shaking his head for a moment. "Your job, huh? I suppose so, she said, giving a small smile before nodding in approval, "but let me ask you something." Garnet tilts her head, asking, "Why do you have to do this for us?" His facial expression turned serious and calm, making the pixie slightly cautious and confused about this.
"What do you mean?" The pixie said it confusedly, not understanding where this is going at all, even though she has an idea of what he is trying to ask, but it was better to hear it directly from him. She felt an urge to just go away from this conversation as she wasn't liking it, but at the same time, she was curious to know what he was even talking about.
"Everything: rescuing us from certain death, having a place to stay, and giving us food. Why do it?" Questioning her with genuine interest, while Lilim was still eating, she was doing so quietly, not wanting to disturb this conversation at all as Garnet couldn't help but stare at Adam in bewilderment, not knowing how to answer his question.
A melancholy smile appeared on Garnet, wrapping her arms around herself before looking down in shame. "I... wanted to help you, she said, saying those words with a genuine feeling of helping and caring for them, "but I can't even help myself." His daughter had stopped eating at this point and was listening to the conversation with curious eyes.
Brows raised on Adam's face, studying her for a moment before finally coming to the conclusion, "It's because of your mistress, isn't it?" She flinched at the answer, unable to find the right words to say as she knew where this was going. Lilim herself had no idea what was going on and was just staying quiet and not understanding everything, simply tilting her head when she saw someone sad.
She widens her eyes a bit from having such a correct answer, "yeah," not even in her wildest dreams did she think that he would be this perceptive to see the truth, "but that doesn't mean I would leave you guys to your deaths!" The pixie quickly rebutted, knowing full well that, aside from what she had expressed, Garnet isn't heartless to leave someone who needs help when she is capable of helping them.
Adam then simply nodded once again, already knowing about Garnet's true intentions from the get-go. "I see." It wasn't a good enough reason for him, but it was still a reason from her own point of view, and in that aspect, he wasn't going to question her and force her to do something she didn't want to do.
"Anyway," having had enough of this conversation, he then turned his attention to Lilim, who was currently eating while watching the two, and asked, "Are you full?" A small nod was given to him, causing Adam to smile with relief, glad that she didn't ask for seconds. "Then I will be going to the bedroom for a good night's rest, he said, standing up from his chair and walking away from the table as his daughter followed suit with a bone of chicken still in her mouth.
Garnet turned her attention to them before looking at her father, who was already heading out of the kitchen. "W-wait!" He stopped in his tracks and turned his attention to her with a confused look on his face. "Aren't you going to cook?" Flying towards them with questions, she had completely forgotten about that.
"Yeah, about that..." He didn't feel the need to eat at this moment; just making his daughter a meal for their dinner was enough for him. "I'm good; don't worry." Not wanting to burden the pixie, Adam just went straight to the point, and she was more than glad that he did because he was getting exhausted at this point.
"Ah, okay, but before, do you even know where you're going?" Garnet asks with a concerned look on her face, "Because I have to remind you that place is huge and—" Adam cut her off, returning a response with his tired expression, "I know where it is; don't worry about it." Having a mind palace was the most important ability that he had in order to remember everything, even without a map or any other assistance.
The pixie stared at him for a moment before nodding her head and saying, "Okay, before you guys go, could I ask one favor?" Holding up her index finger while saying that as he looked at her with a quizzical expression, wondering what she was getting at, not understanding what she was even talking about at all or the need to even ask for anything in the first place.
"And that is?" Adam said with a baffled expression, not even knowing what she was going to ask. Even though he didn't want to ask for anything from her, he supposes that having had their lives saved and getting shelter, he should at least repay this act by listening to whatever she has to say. It's not hurtful to try.
"Umm..." Garnet rubbed her head for a moment before coming up with a solution: "Remember the deal? I need your blood for my young mistress to survive," an uncomfortable smile plastered on her face, remembering her own deal with Lilim and the favor she is asking from him, "could you please?" Begging in the most polite tone and humble way possible
Adam was about to reply with his usual curt and annoyed response before managing to keep himself in check, knowing that a deal is a deal and he should honor that in one way or another; "alright," he told with pause, "give me a knife and cup," straight to the point, if he didn't even want to waste time at all.
Garnet just stared at him for a moment, concerned and confused altogether. "Your... you're not afraid?" Confusion was apparent on her face, and she thought that Adam would be a bit hesitant to do this in exchange for his own blood. It was strange that he even agreed to it without even asking what was going to happen with it in the first place.
Tapping his foot, "Well, are we going to do it or not?" Impatience grew on him, wanting to get this over with and feeling a bit more tired than before from having to comply with her wishes. Even though he was offering himself to help her out of kindness, Adam felt a bit uncomfortable in the process and would rather get this over with quickly.
Blinking several times, "actually, I have to bring you back to her chamber to drain your blood," the pixie explained to him before explaining the details of what is going to happen in great detail. "Sorry about that," feeling guilty for having him go like this instead of this, "I promise it won't hurt compared to what you are doing."
A look of questioning doubt spawned on his face: "This Alucard won't transmit me diseases or turn me into one of them from a bite?" That is the most concerning part of all of this: having any possibility of contracting an unknown disease, "because if so, I will pass and start packing my things." Already getting tired from everything that he had to do and get through, he didn't want to deal with any sickness at all.
"What, no!" Garnet exclaimed in disbelief and raised her hands up in a gesture, "You won't have disease or become like her! It's just like a harmless, similar to bat feeding on a sleeping animal!" The way she said it gave him the impression of the term bat, making him suspicious of something about the mistress she served under.
"A bat?" He said in suspicion, "So she's some mutant that acts and feeds like a bat?" Trying to unravel the mystery of Alucard's true nature, making him wonder if he was in the right place to begin with. Knowing that Garnet would be dissatisfied with the answer, Adam shrugged his shoulders, not caring about it at all.
Hey, she's not mutant!" Garnet reasoned while waving her hands in front of him, "My mistress is—" She almost said it out loud, forcing herself to refrain from detailing Alucard's true nature due to the many complications and consequences of allowing her identity to be known to him: "Just forget it!"
Adam scratched the back of his head, getting more tired than usual. "Each of their own, I guess; you two have your own reasons, and we have mine. So let's stop with the chitchat and head to her already," he said in a low tone of voice while giving her a look that she can't read at all, causing the pixie to blink several times and think of his own words for a moment before nodding her head. "Yeah," she agreed, not really wanting to waste any more time.
