Chapter 309: Duties of the Council

The familiar clinking of utensils and quiet conversations filled the dining room.

After taking a couple of sips, Abel glanced over at Arsher, who was sitting nearby, and briefly exchanged a few words with him about the latest dragon calculations and Iron's training.

Kai glanced at Arthur, who was calmly eating across from him, and said:

"Hey, Arthur... When was the last time you actually went on a mission?"

Arthur calmly chewed his food, took a sip of water, and replied:

"Not too long ago, I think. About three days ago."

Kai immediately looked put out and opened his mouth to launch into another complaint, but Abel, who had overheard their conversation, spoke first:

"By the way, since we're talking about missions... Arthur, I actually have one for you."

Kai threw his hands up and shot Abel an angry, offended look.

"Wait, wait! Why him again?! Why him?!"

"Because you'll finish them off too quickly," Abel replied calmly.

"But I'll fight with just my sword!" Kai protested, getting worked up and gesturing furiously. "No magic, I swear! I won't use it at all!"

Abel let out a quiet sigh, raised a spoonful of food to his mouth, and calmly countered:

"Even so... this mission is still better suited to Arthur. He's never gotten any practical experience fighting a Lord of the Dead."

Kai's shoulders slumped, and he shot back angrily:

"Well, neither have I!"

Abel calmly put the spoon in his mouth, then replied:

"Well, looks like you won't get the chance, then."

Kai pouted at the response, then leaned back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest.

Noticing his mood, Abel softened a little and calmly added:

"I have a mission for you too, Kai."

Kai immediately perked up, raising his head with excitement.

"Really?!"

"But you'll only get it after we come back," Abel continued.

"Can't you assign it right now?!"

"No. For now, you'd better keep training."

Kai let out a heavy sigh, but didn't argue. He simply nodded in silence.

Arthur, still chewing his food, glanced over at Abel and asked:

"So, when am I supposed to leave?"

"Right after lunch. As soon as we're done here," Abel replied.

Arthur gave a brief nod of agreement. Abel continued, going over the details:

"Two High Demons and, as I already mentioned, one Lord of the Dead will be waiting for you there. For someone at your level, it should be pretty easy."

"Yeah," Arthur replied. "Where exactly is the location?"

"In the Dead Lands," Abel clarified. "It should be somewhere relatively close to the Dead Forest. You know the place, I think."

Arthur acknowledged the directions with a quiet "Mm-hmm."

Iron had been listening to their conversation in silence this whole time, watching from the side. Finally, unable to hold back any longer, he frowned, looked at Abel in confusion, and asked outright:

"So what exactly does your council do? And what are these missions supposed to be?"

Abel rested his chin on one hand, looked at Iron, and replied:

"Well..."

He drew out the word slightly, as though trying to come up with a suitable explanation.

"Well, we don't really have any particular duties. You could even say we don't do anything."

Arsher, who was sitting nearby, leaned slightly toward Abel and whispered:

"What about the gods?"

Abel froze for a moment and glanced sideways at Arsher. Then he looked back at Iron and corrected himself:

"Oh, right... We were at war with the gods for a long time. But eventually, we reached what you could call..." He raised his hands and made quotation marks with his fingers. "An 'alliance.' But I have a feeling the gods will break that agreement before long."

Iron raised an eyebrow.

"What alliance? What are you even talking about?"

"A pact forbidding them from setting foot on Earth," Abel explained. "We had an agreement that they would peacefully return to their own dimension and leave this planet alone. But knowing what they're like, they could very well break it."

As they talked, Iron glanced at the seats beside him. Noah was trying to move his chair away from Seraphina as inconspicuously as possible. But she kept moving hers along with his, settling right next to him.

A little farther away, Elyria was happily stuffing her face with everything she could reach.

Iron let out a heavy sigh, thinking to himself:

Do they seriously not give a fuck about any of this...?

Out loud, he returned to the topic at hand:

"All right. Then what's the point of these assignments? If you don't do anything?"

"Ooh, those?" Abel smiled slightly. "They're just a way to test our own strength. Though that's not quite it... More like an opportunity to have a little fun."

Iron nodded thoughtfully, processing the information.

"Any other questions?" Abel asked.

"No, that's all," Iron replied immediately.

Another five minutes passed.

Nivea carefully set her plate aside and said:

"I'm done."

At the same moment, her dishes teleported straight into the sink.

Elyria immediately let out a cheerful squeak:

"Me too!"

Before she could even move, Nivea sent her plate into the sink as well.

Elyria said happily:

"All right, let's go, Nivea!"

Nivea simply let out a tired sigh and replied calmly, keeping her tone restrained:

"Yeah, yeah..."

And the two of them disappeared.

Abel also got up from the table, turned toward the laboratory, and called out to Arthur before leaving:

"Finish eating and get over there as fast as you can. Otherwise, you won't make it back in time."

With his mouth full, Arthur could only mumble an affirmative in response as he kept eating. Abel disappeared down the hallway.

Iron had just set his spoon aside when the space beside him warped, and in the very next instant, he found himself in an empty room. Landing heavily on the floor, Iron shot Arsher an irritated look and grumbled:

"Could you at least let me wash my hands first?"

Meanwhile, the others were starting to get up as well. Noah silently stood, saying a brief "Let's go," and Seraphina followed him.

After finishing his meal, Arthur gave Kai a quick goodbye:

"All right, see you."

And the next second, he vanished in a quick burst.

Kai was left alone at the table. Resting his chin on one hand, he lazily rubbed a finger against the wooden tabletop and quietly muttered to himself:

Maybe it's not such a good thing that I'm this strong...?

He let out a heavy sigh, closed his eyes, and was just about to teleport after the others when he suddenly opened them wide, realizing there was no one else left at the table.

Kai shifted awkwardly in his seat, looking at the dishes in front of him before turning his head to the right. There, he spotted a whole pile of dirty dishes in the sink.

"Hold on, hold on! Is it my turn or what?" he muttered in confusion.

The plate in front of Kai immediately disappeared and reappeared in the sink. He had quickly teleported it there. He then pulled his hands back and started waving them around.

"No, no, no! It's definitely not my turn! I must've mixed something up!"

Muttering to himself, he hurried outside. But just then, Abel came out of the hallway right in front of him, heading for the kitchen.

Kai froze and tried to teleport away quietly, without making a sound. But Abel simply opened the fridge, took out a chocolate bar, and casually remarked:

"By the way, Kai, it's your turn to do the dishes."

Kai sighed in resignation.

"Aw, come on... What if..."

Abel was already heading back toward his laboratory, casually throwing the words over his shoulder without the slightest hint of concern:

"Arsher is busy with Iron, Seraphina is with Noah, Arthur is on a mission, and Nivea is with Elyria. So you don't have any other options."

Abel disappeared down the hallway.

Kai let out another heavy sigh, slowly dragged himself over to the pile of dishes, reluctantly picked up a sponge, and started washing the plates with a sour look on his face.