After a moment, Flora slowly moved away from Ilya and sat up a bit straighter.
She had seemingly gotten a bit too carried away just now. She took a deep breath to clear her head. ‘Wake up, wake up. After all… no matter how you look at it, I haven’t even finished my meal,’ Flora reminded herself.
‘Get it together.’
“There, just relax.” Ilya knew Flora wanted to catch her breath, so she patted the girl’s back before standing up and returning to her seat across the table.
About 30 seconds later, Flora picked up her spoon and continued eating the remaining half of her food. However, her pace had slowed.
She was listening to the voices from Eileen’s direction, which made the flavor of her meal feel less intense at times, while at others, it felt exceptionally delicious—so good it seemed to touch her very soul.
“Eileen, how are the flowers you’re growing?” Kaan asked. Seeing that Eileen didn’t seem to know what to do with herself while they waited for their food, he looked for a casual topic to chat about.
“They’re all right. Most of them are fine, though a few withered while others bloomed beautifully.” Eileen explained the condition of the flowers in a normal tone, yet there was a slight difference in her voice, though it was hard to say why.
“Which ones do you remember blooming the best? Like, the most brilliant ones?” Cole added from the side, finally saying something appropriate for once.
“Hmm… if you ask me, I think the purple flame flower we bought back then bloomed the best. It didn’t feel like ordinary brilliance; it was a kind of desolate splendor. The entire flower seemed to give off a bleak yet scorching aura. It was completely unexpected.”
‘The purple flame flower?’
Flora paused. ‘Is Eileen actually growing flowers now? And she actually succeeded?’
The purple flame flower was actually quite common in the demon race territory and could adapt to the environment of the human territory.
However… she had never heard of a purple flame flower growing so well in human territory. Even back in the demon race territory, she had never seen a native purple flame flower look that remarkable.
Furthermore, that “bleak yet scorching aura” Eileen mentioned was something she had never heard of before. It was truly strange.
Still, she had to admit that the purple flame flower itself was indeed beautiful, possessing a unique charm that other flowers lacked.
By then, the rest of their dishes had arrived, and the group stopped chatting. Flora continued to turn these thoughts over in her mind, only realizing after a while that they had finished their conversation. She went back to eating quietly.
Flora noticed they had also ordered one herb roasted chicken. She estimated that even now, they weren’t exactly well-off. Ordering one herb roasted chicken was likely a bit of a luxury for them.
Watching how none of them were willing to be the first to “disturb” the herb roasted chicken, Flora’s heart ached even more.
Just then, the restaurant’s heavy wooden door was slammed open with a loud bang, hitting the wall hard and interrupting the surrounding chatter and whispers.
Five figures filed in, bringing with them a coarse atmosphere that clashed with the warm restaurant.
They were dressed in a mix of styles and didn’t look like locals; their faces bore the dust of long-distance travel and a certain arrogant expression.
Leading them was a tall man with a prominent scar across his face. His eyes were fierce and wild, like a leopard searching for prey.
Some of the men beside him were lean while others were brawny, but every one of them carried a faint air of malice.
The scarred man’s gaze swept through the restaurant like a needle before finally pinning itself onto Eileen’s table by the window. He bared his teeth in an evil grin, waved a hand behind him, and led his men straight toward them.
Flora saw them. She recognized the man with the scar, though she hadn’t seen him in a long time. ‘What is he doing here?’
She paused for a second as a thought rose in her mind—’Could it be…’
The noise in the restaurant died down. Many people lowered their heads and hurried to finish their food or pretended to be engrossed in conversation.
These men clearly looked like trouble, and no one wanted to get involved; it was better to mind one’s own business. At the same time, however, people couldn’t help their curiosity, and their eyes frequently darted toward the scene.
The waiter frowned but didn’t approach immediately, seemingly gauging the severity of the situation.
Glen came to a halt beside Eileen’s table, his massive shadow looming over them. He didn’t even look at the food on the table. Instead, he spoke in a raspy voice, intentionally raising his volume so the entire restaurant could hear:
“Yo, look who we have here. If it isn’t the famous Kaan and his cute little sister, Eileen? Oh, and Brother Cole? It’s been a long time.”
His gaze moved slowly across their startled faces before locking onto Eileen, whose face had instantly turned pale. His smile deepened, filled with blatant mockery.
“What, don’t recognize me? Well, I suppose important people have short memories.”
He reached out and rapped his fingers crudely against the tabletop, creating a dull thud.
“But that’s fine, I can give you a reminder. 3 years ago, that ‘amazing’ Owen really made sure I’d ‘remember’ him, haha.”
Hearing this, Flora’s heart felt as though it had suddenly plunged into a frozen lake in the dead of winter, turning to ice instantly. She didn’t look directly at Glen, but her consciousness was tightly locked onto the five men.
Kaan slammed his hands on the table and stood up, the legs of his chair screeching against the stone floor. He stepped in front of Eileen, his face ashen and his fists clenched.
“Glen! What do you want? We didn’t come looking for you, and we didn’t provoke you!”
“Not welcome?” Glen laughed loudly as if he had heard a joke. Lex, the skinny man beside him, joined in with a piercing laugh full of malicious satisfaction.
“You think you run this town? Kaan, times have changed. Your ‘brave’ brother Owen’s bones are probably mostly rotten by now, aren’t they?”
He leaned down, bringing his face close to Kaan’s. Though his voice was lowered, it remained clearly audible.
“Back then, he relied on his bit of skill to make my brothers and me lose face in front of so many people. Does that debt just vanish because he’s dead? There’s no such thing as a free lunch in this world!”
He straightened up and raised his voice again, his gaze sweeping over the diners who were all ears, as if he were making an announcement.
“A father’s debt is paid by the son, and a brother’s debt is paid by the sister! It’s only natural! I’m here today to tell you—none of you who are left are going to escape what Owen owed us!”
Lex chimed in from the side, his shrill voice like a stabbing knife.
“That’s right! Either you apologize to Boss Glen in front of everyone today to earn back the face we lost, or…”
He gave a sinister smile, his eyes roaming unpleasantly over Eileen.
“We’ll have to settle this debt another way.”
Eileen gripped the edge of the tablecloth tightly, her knuckles turning white.
“If you have a problem, take it up with us! Don’t touch her!” Kaan stood tall, shielding Eileen behind him.
Cole stood up as well, flanking Kaan. Though his face was filled with anger, a hint of nervousness lingered deep in his eyes as he faced the clearly superior numbers and hostile intent.
The air in the restaurant seemed to solidify. The only sounds remaining were the crackling of the wood in the fireplace and the heavy breathing of Glen and his men.