The maid soon laid down the dish, and the aroma from it was pleasantly strong that everyone nearby couldn't help but enjoy its smell after taking a sniff.

However, Valentina didn't seem that excited even after taking a bite since she felt that Damien's cooking was far more excellent and delectable.

Damien also took one of the meat slices in his hand but paused for a second before putting it in his mouth.

Yara seemed to be enjoying her dish as her smile seemed to reach her eyes, and she couldn't help but compliment, "Wow, this is so good. You guys love it, right?"

Valentina said, taking the pose of a critic, "Well, I guess it's fine compared to the other restaurants. But of course, nothing could beat Damien's cooking."

Yara laughed slightly, "Haha, of course, I know about his cooking. And since you are his girlfriend I am sure you won't have eyes for food made by somebody else. Damien, one day you should also let me have a taste of your cooking skills."

Valentina beamed hearing the part about her love for Damien, making her look even more charming and adorable at the same time, much to the surprise of the others who took quick, subtle sneaks at her.

Damien had a veiled smile and said, "Of course. Anything for a friend."

He then looked at Yara and asked casually, "By the way, do you still have the pill I gave you last week?"

Yara pursed her lips as her expression became contemplative and said, "Oh, that pill? I think I kept it somewhere in my home and even forgot about it, sorry."

Damien chuckled, "It's fine. It's a gift, after all."

"What pill?" Valentina asked with a puzzled expression seeming unable to remember Damien gifting a pill to Yara.

Damien waved his hands, "Oh, you were not there. I met her up in between break to gift a pill as thanks for saving us from some trouble."

Yara smiled with a hint of embarrassment, "Oh, Damien, I already told you it wasn't needed. Well, I accepted it only because you insisted, okay?"

Damien mildly laughed, "Haha, of course. I didn't want to come off as ungrateful. I just asked to know if you had taken that pill. After all, Alchemist Azrael gifted it to me, and it could really help boost your soul cultivation if you have a bottleneck."

Yara nodded, "Of course, I have been eagerly waiting to take that pill. But I just have a lot of things going on right now. So, I thought it would be best if I take it later and cultivate in peace."

Valentina seemed to be immersed in eating the delicious-looking meat, but her ears seemed to be perked and sharp as ever.

Damien and Yara discussed some everyday things while Valentina chimed in between occasionally.

Drinks were also brought up, and soon enough, Damien and Yara had flushed faces with tipsy eyes.

Valentina seemed to be the only one not getting drunk, and she pursed her lips as if she was blaming her own body for being too resistant to these things.

But soon enough, even Valentina started to feel sleepy, and strangely enough, she never felt so sleepy in her life before except when injured.

It was as if her body was tempting her to sleep, and her senses were becoming duller by each minute.

Damien seemed even worse than Valentina, and he could hardly keep his eyes open just enough not to let his head bang over the table.historical

The others in the restaurant who saw the trio shook their heads with an amused smile, wondering what kind of feast they had to get this drunk.

They never thought that the famous Elite disciples of the Xeton Ethereal Foundation would be this unrestrained when coming to drinks. Usually, they would maintain a proud and aloof image and would never create a chance to make a fool of themselves.

After all, when drunk, who knows what all silly things they might do unless they try to clear their head using their cultivation. But being drunk was a sort of pleasure since it would make one feel as if their burdens and troubles disappeared temporarily and only they existed in this whole world.

So some, even if they had the ability to sober themselves up, wouldn't do that and instead, go home in a drunken state.

However, some people noticed that Yara seemed to be the only one less drunk than the other two even though her face was flushed red as well; but was not as worse as the other two, who seemed like they would lie down on the table any minute.

*Plop*

After a few minutes of Damien dozing off on the table, Valentina's head plopped on the table as well, with her eyes completely lazy.

Yara loudly sighed as she put her glass on the table, "Ahh, you guys already dozed off? Now, I have to take you both home...fuuuuh...you guys have to compensate me later."

She slowly got up and asked the maid nearby to give her something to sober up.

"Miss, do you want me to help them sober up? I can quickly make a drink to clear their heads," The maid asked in a genuine tone.

Yara waved her hands, "Oh no, thanks. No need to bother about it. They actually wanted to stay like this for the whole night. You know the spars they recently won, right? These two really worked hard, and as their friend, the last thing I could do is let them have a good rest," Yara said with a smile.

The maid nodded in understanding and left before giving a slight bow.

Yara went around the table and put Damien and Valentina's arms around her neck before slowly leaving the restaurant, much to the amusement of others.

But hearing Yara's words from before, some felt that Damien and Valentina indeed deserved a good rest after going against the heirs of the top five families.

Who knows, maybe they wanted to let off their steam after all the pressure they might have had to endure.

As soon as Yara came outside the restaurant, she summoned an ethereal flying beast from her beast bag.

*Cooo*

A green-colored ethereal beast about two meters tall with a large wingspan came out of her beast bag and stood before her.

It didn't seem much fierce but instead seemed docile, and one could easily recognize this beast as the Jade Winged Pelican because of its jade-like wings and its long beak.

Most of the seasoned practitioners knew that this ethereal beast was good for carrying few people but not for combat. Some guilds even used them to transport things, but these beasts were quite expensive due to their efficiency and speed.

Only the privileged could easily afford it, and seeing Yara summoning it, they again realized that the heirs of the top five families are indeed in a different league.

Yara easily put Damien and Valentina over the top of the bird and got atop it before ordering it to fly away to a certain location.

Soon enough, the Jade Winged Pelican disappeared into the clouds covering the night sky. However, behind them, an even larger shadow seemed to quietly follow it without giving away its presence.

After traveling for a little more than two hours, the Jade Winged Pelican had already traveled too far from the imperial city that it was only visible vaguely, even from the horizon.

If anybody else saw the place Yara was in, they would wonder if Yara was too drunk to travel to the wrong location or if Damien and Valentina really lived in a barren forest that only seemed to have few dilapidated buildings around.

It seemed like some kind of battle took place in this area and was actually sealed off not to let the public enter. But Yara easily passed through the barrier as if she had access to enter this area.

Strangely enough, she made her mount land down at a black-colored building about fifteen meters tall with broken windows and rundown doors.

Yara's expression was strangely calm, completely opposite to her usual spirited expression. Her eyes looked extremely cold and sharp as she picked up Valentina and Damien onto her arms and went inside the building.

The interior of the building was only a huge hall with broken furniture while most of the space was empty. One could even see how high the roof was since there were no extra floors. However, there were few metal beams running from the roof of the hall to the ground.

Without any flicker in her eyes, she tied the seemingly unconscious Damien and Valentina to two of the metal beams as their head hung listlessly.

"Finally, you are here. Good, you did well. As expected from the number one assassin, haha," A sadistic laugh sounded from behind 'Yara' just as she finished chaining up both Valentina and Damien.