A Father's Duty

After Zeref came in, he started looking at the decorations and the atmosphere of the tavern. He could feel that the place brings him peace and calmness as he sit in front of the counter.

"What do you want to order?" Noctis said as he pushed a menu to Zeref.

Meanwhile, Irene felt a strong entity downstairs that even if her senses were off when she is in their home, she could still feel it.

When she arrived downstairs, he saw Noctis with a man in front of him looking carefully at the menu that Noctis created. She walked and stood beside her husband and greeted the man.

"Good evening your highness. Never expected you to visit our house." Irene said with a smile.

"Good evening, Irene. I have heard rumors about this place when I returned. Also, I would like to thank you for defending the place in the war." Zeref said.

"Please, I helped you guys in my wife's stead. I already got my rewards for that. No need for thanks." Noctis said as he waited for Zeref's order.

"I can see that you have made rice a staple item in your menu, may I know why?" Zeref asked, it was the staple food for the slaves and he was wondering why did Noctis choose such ingredient as his staple ingredient choice when there are so many ingredients he could use.

"Because rice is a tasty food. Its just that they can't think of other ways to cook it. In the olden days, people used to eat raw meat, but when they learned about roasting it into the fire, it became the staple food for the people. Rice is the same, few people eat it, mostly slaves but if they learned about how to cook it properly, I'm pretty sure rice would become the staple food of everyone as well." Noctis said to Zeref who is listening to his reasons.

"I see, then I would like to take the master's recommendations. I can't choose from the dozens of food in the menu." Zeref said as he puts down the menu.

"Sure. Irene, put the kids to sleep. I can handle this." Noctis said as he gave Irene a kiss on the back of her cheek and started preparing a meal for the customer. Irene was about to complain but she had never seen her husband, this serious and focused.

"Okay." Irene reluctantly went up as she looked at her husband's broad back, her eyes filled with worry, as she went upstairs to bring the children to sleep.

"Looks like owner knows of me." Zeref said lightly.

'System upgrade my cooking skill to max.' Noctis thought as he immediately gelt the changes. His mind clearer and he could feel the voice of the ingredients, guiding him on where to cut, where to slice, the timing for the food. He could hear it all. He is the conductor of the orchestra and Zeref noticed the changes and was brought to a theater as he watched Noctis guide every musician to create a beautiful symphony.

"Indeed, I do know of you. Zeref, the dark mage." Noctis said calmly. Although he could wreck Acnologia using brute force, he couldn't kill an immortal just yet but he could fight him toe to toe.

"I wonder how much do you know about me, Somnus?" Zeref said which made Noctis confused.

"What do you mean? I'm not Somnus, that's the name of my brother." Noctis said which confused Zeref as well. He thought that the man in front of him is Somnus' reincarnation because they similarly looked the same but it turns out he was wrong.

"My apologies, you just looked like that man. So Noctis, how much do you know about me?" Zeref regained his calmness as he asked another question.

"Not much. I know that you built that Kingdom for protection. I also know about your curse, and the other person that was inflicted by it as well." Noctis calmly responded, his focus is so intense that he would react to any threatening moves that Zeref will unleash.

Zeref's eye shook after he heard about Noctis' words. He remembered the other person whom he loved so much but was taken by the stupid curse that resides in him.

"Have you met her?" Zeref asked.

"Nope, not yet. But I know that she is one of the founders of 'that' guild." Noctis said.

"I see." Zeref said.

"Since its a rare opportunity to meet the King of Alvares, let me talk to you as the former crowned prince of Lucis. Let's talk about some cooperation. Lucis would like to form an alliance with Alvares. My wife likes to work in your territory and I'm not going to make it hard for her. What do you say?" Noctis calmly spoke towards Zeref.

"What's in it for me and my territory?" Zeref calmly asked as he entered into a negotiation.

"Your territory gains an ally who will support you from the dark. As for you, I can let you study a budding tree of life." Noctis said which made Zeref's eye widen.

"Impossible! The World Tree is already destroyed! Its just impossible!" Zeref exclaimed.

"Oh? But I do have it. I'm going to transfer it maybe this week." Noctis said as Zeref calmed down after forcing himself to calm down.

"I see, but my territories' gains is low." Zeref said.

"We could offer you a solution that could help grow faster and help the common folk of your territory, that's my bottom line, King Spriggan." Noctis said.

"Are you sure you have this much authority to negotiate with me like this?" Zeref curiously asked.

"Of course, as long as the terms are beneficial to both countries, then all is good. We gained a rising Kingdom with a possibility of establishing an empire as an ally, while you gained the chance to look and study the world tree while your territory gains a stable supply of food, currency, trade partner, and an ally that will support you from the dark." Noctis said to Zeref.

The terms that Noctis stated is not that harsh to be honest, he didn't state that he would give Alvares, the latest formula for improving the soil, the World Tree is Noctis' property so he had no qualms on using it as a bargain piece, they even gained another trade partner other than Minstrel.

Noctis let Zeref decide as he continued making food for Zeref. He took out a wooden mug and put some beer in it and placed it in front of Zeref who looked at the mug and took in the aroma of the beer before chugging it down in one go.

"This is good. What plant did you use to make this kind of beer?" Zeref asked.

"I used hops grown by me and my ȧssistant." Noctis continued searing the meat.

After a few more minutes, he put the steak in front of Zeref. The meat is actually HoneyBear's meat. Although the most valuable ingredient of the Honeybear is its blood, its meat is not a pushover. It was the same meat that was nourished by Honeyblood for a long time and its meat releases an intoxicating sweet aroma that could mesmerize you.

"Here, a steak made from Honeybear's meat with sauce with a touch of honeyblood. Enjoy." Noctis placed the dish in front of Zeref who was mesmerized instantly by the aroma of the food.

"What are you waiting for? Dig in while its still hot?" Seeing Zeref mesmerized, Noctis chuckled as he urged Zeref to take a bite.

"Well then, let me take a bite..." Zeref used his fork to stab the meat and he could feel the springiness of the meat. He then placed the meat in his mouth and started chewing as his eyes went wide.

"This is...!"