The Blue Eyes

"You like what?"

"I like the food here. To be precise, me and Blue like the food here."

"Blue?"

"Yes. Blue. The blue-eyed girl who was with me when the war just ended."

Kris could only listen to their conversations with his dumb expression.

Earlier, after they coincidentally bumped into Casper Owsinski at the buried valley site, the young soldier immediately asked them to leave the site and went to a tavern to fill their stomach.

Kris wanted to argue because he still wanted to observe the site further, but Jack suddenly agreed with the young soldier to find a place to eat. The tattooed man even recommended a tavern where they were currently eating.

"You've been in Chilad before?"

"Yes. I went to this district some time ago with Blue."

"Only with Blue?"

"Yes."

Kris looked like a traffic cop looking to the right and left following the speed of the vehicle. Jack and Casper sat opposite each other, and all he could do was patrol their chatter.

Kris's face looked so bored, and he couldn't hold back anymore.

"Am I invisible to you two?"

Hearing Kris's lazy question, the two men stopped chatting and turned their heads to Kris simultaneously.

"Oh? You're still here, Kris?"

The caramel-haired man rolled his eyes when he heard Jack's annoying question.

"I feel something is not right here," Kris stated as he glared at the two men in turn. "This young soldier acted politely to us earlier when we just met each other, but all of a sudden, this young soldier acted like your old friend, Jack. How come you two so familiar with each other?"

The questioned ones looked surprised to hear Kris's query. They glanced at each other for a moment before turning their gazes to Kris again.

"We..." Jack spoke, but he seemed hesitant. "We met several times after the war ended," he then continued as he shifted his gaze away from Kris.

Kris furrowed his brows at Jack's answer. "So, you two have secret rendezvous after the war ended?"

Jack once again looked up at Kris with his pair of wide eyes. "What's secret rendezvous? We're just hanging out as friends!"

Kris took Jack's clarification lightly. Jack looked a bit panicked, and that was such an interesting sight to him. He wanted to tease the tattooed man more. Just take it as revenge!

"If the two of you were just friends, you should have told me about it. Don't tell me that you always run into this young soldier whenever you go outside? Just like back then when I accused you of flirting with some girls. Were you flirting with this young soldier instead?"

Kris was so dedicated when he wanted to tease the other man, and he even brought up the topic that caused them to fight with each other some time ago.

And Jack looked very surprised when he heard Kris's questions. It felt like he was being interrogated by the burly man now.

"I didn't flirt with Casper!"

"Oh... so you admit that you went out to meet this young soldier back then?"

Jack's face reddened at Kris's next attack. It seemed that Kris successfully hit the right spot. He just made a random guess, but it turned out his guess was accurate.

Jack huffed as he drew his gaze away from Kris. He didn't want to look at Kris anymore and didn't want to say anything either. He looked like a sulking kid.

Kris couldn't help but laugh at the sight. He then decided to leave Jack alone and turn to the innocent soldier.

"Hey, boy. You should be careful of Jack. He can eat you up anytime if you give him a chance."

The young soldier frowned at Kris while Jack was glaring at him.

"I think Jack is no longer a werewolf now. How can he eats me up when he's just a normal human now?"

Kris chuckled at Casper's naivety and glanced at Jack, who was still scowling at him.

"Jack can eat you up even if he's just a normal human now, kid. But, instead of feeling the pain, you probably will feel the pleasure when he eats you up."

Both Jack and Casper's eyes widened at Kris after the tan-skinned man finished with his speech. Casper, who finally understood what Kris meant, could only hide his blushing face by lowering his head.

"Stop with the nonsense and go back to business, Kris!"

Kris once again snickered as he looked at Jack lightly.

"And stop calling him kid! He's only four years younger than us!"

"Oh? Do you even know his age? Even his birthday?"

Jack's obsidians widened when he heard Kris's questions. "O-of course!" He managed to reply with a stutter. "We are friends, so we know each other birthday!"

Kris took Jack's answer carelessly as he smirked at the blonde dude. "But we don't know each other's birthday, right, Jack? That means we are not friends?"

"Yes! We are not friends! And who says that I don't know your birthday, Kris? Next month you will turn 28, right?"

"Oh? So you know my birthday? I'm a bit touch."

It was Casper's turn to feel like an outsider when Kris and Jack were engulfed by an invisible bubble. Casper didn't even know what to say, so he just pouted while looking down at the table.

Both Kris and Jack noticed the young man's attitude. Jack was about to say something, but he held back when he saw the tavern lady walk over to their table with a tray in her wrinkled hands.

"You young men sound so lively. You better eat first to fill up your energy, alright?"

The tavern lady put down three plates on their table, and all plates were so green. Yeah, all plates were full of vegetables.

"Enjoy your food, young men. Don't be hesitate to call me if you need anything."

The tavern lady smiled at them politely before excusing herself to go back to the kitchen.

Both Kris and Casper looked down at the plates with horror expressions.

"You ordered grass, Jack?" Kris asked as he looked up at Jack. He was surprised when he saw the food on his plate. Earlier, Jack just ordered the tavern's specialty, so he didn't know that the one Jack ordered was a pile of grass!

"That's not grass. That's the famous dish in Chilad. I can guarantee that the dish is delicious."

Kris was dumbfounded when he stared back at the green dish. Some time ago, he got a blue dish in Rodein, and now he got a green dish. Why did his life suddenly become so colorful?

"We were a carnivore, Jack. You sure you can eat something like this?" Kris was doubtful when he looked back at Jack.

He was still not very fond of vegetables. It was true that he could eat them, but meat and fish were still his favorite. If it was not for Kevin, then he wouldn't eat vegetables.

Jack ignored Kris's question as he started digging in his food. He grabbed the spoon and scooped the green dish with the spoon. Without a slight hesitation, Jack brought the food straight to his mouth.

Kris was speechless. Jack could eat vegetables like it was the most delicious dish.

"You should try it, Kris. It's so yummy," Jack spoke again after he swallowed his food. He then turned to Casper and said, "You too, Cas. Don't soldier usually eat more vegetables?"

Kris flinched a little when he heard how Jack called the young soldier, but he didn't comment. He just glanced at Casper and found the young soldier started digging his food as well.

Kris had no other option than to give it a try. Sighing a little, Kris started using his spoon to shovel the green dish. With a hint of horror in his brown irises, he brought the dish to enter his mouth. He started to chew the dish, and his eyes widened.

"It's so delicious!"

Jack giggled when he heard Kris's excited tone. "Of course," he responded. "The tavern lady used meat broth to cook the dish. That's why this dish miraculously tastes like meat, right?"

Kris's lips formed an "O" shape when he heard Jack's explanation. He, once again, was being fooled by the colored dish. When he was in Rodein with Kevin, he also got fooled by the blue dish.

The three men then continued enjoying their dish, but then Kris remembered something as he turned to Casper.

"What are you doing in Chilad, baldy? I know that it has something to do with the buried valley site, so you better tell us the truth."

Casper looked surprised when he heard Kris's question. He was about to answer, but Jack snapped at Kris first.

"Why did you call him baldy?"

"Because he has so little hair?"

"But he's not bald!"

Casper could only shake his head at the two men's arguments. He raised his hand to caress his head, and yes, he only had a little hair on his head. The rules in the army did not allow the soldiers to have long hair, so they had to cut their hair so short.

"He's almost bald, and he looks like Casper the ghost!"

Both Jack and Casper looked surprised when they heard Kris's statement. Jack suddenly turned to Casper and observed the latter's appearance.

"I think Kris is right. You look like Casper the ghost. So small and so cute."

Casper's eyes widened at Jack's tender words.

"Do you think I'm cute?"