After the short conversation with Hallberg, the meal went without any important topics discussed, and everyone seemed to be enjoying that table of sumptuous delicacies.
Jacob, in particular, didn't have such a meal for a while now, and the ale especially made me comment on its unique, intoxicating flavor that he never had tasted before.
Accepting his praise, Hallberg revealed that he had brewed this ale himself, and it was kind of his favorite hobby, which was definitely a dwarf thing.
However, as time passed, the three hosts were surprised by Jacob's appetite, which seemed endless. Even the Giants couldn't eat so much high-nutrition meat since it would be difficult to digest even with their powerful digested system.
Still, the giants were known for their big appetite and most powerful digested system and physiques, yet here they were, looking at Jacob dumbfoundedly.
In the end, everyone was speechless as over half of that twenty-meter table filled with all kinds of dishes was cleaned up by Jacob, and they wondered how this guy wasn't exploding.
"You can really eat," Hallberg commented without holding back his amazement.
"I must admit, I didn't have such a meal in a very long time, so I hope you don't think little of me." Jacob impassively said as he cleaned his mouth with a napkin despite the fact that he could probably eat far more than just that one table.
But Jacob knew they might freak out if they knew he could eat more, so he was satisfied with this much. At least it was far better than eating everything and anything raw.
"Hahaha… this is the best comment a host could get from his guest, and I'm really glad I can satisfy your taste buds. Besides, I know we alchemists rarely have enough to time to tend to ourselves, much less enjoy these kinds of meals, so I can relate to your feelings." Hallberg chuckled candidly.
The two giants hadn't spoken a word since the start of their meeting with Jacob, as they were silently observing as if they weren't here at all. But they were now starting to feel different about the 'elf' called Faceless Ancient.
Jacob merely nodded as he understood the last part about not being able to enjoy a meal with others if someone was obsessed with research.
'Once you realized all the work you give away your entire life for was going to vanish with your life, you're starting to realize just what you missed…' Jacob suddenly lamented.
"Alright, I'm full. Let's go for a walk. I'll show you the Dark Castle as well, for we can try this gift of yours. I can't stop thinking about it. What do you think?" Hallberg excitedly asked.
Jacob naturally had no objection as things were going fine with Hallberg, so he decided to let them progress as they were. So he nodded, and they all left the dining hall under Hallberg's lead.
Hallberg was walking beside Jacob in the big hallways of the Dark Castle while he showed off the same precious antiques and told history related to those items to Jacob while those two giants followed quietly from behind.
Jacob only listened attentively as he didn't know much about the history of this world. Still, he soon lost interest since the so-called history related to those items was all about the Dark City of the Rare Plains, not actually about the world.
For some reason, there wasn't any history of this place anywhere which was quite unusual. The only information available was from the beginning of the Freedom Plains, and before that, everything was almost blank.
While talking, Hallberg led the group into an open field that had an open battle ring as well as many weapon shelves placed around it.
"This is my private training ground where I can let loose once in a while whenever I am fed up with my research." Hallberg jokingly introduced.
Jacob nodded, "No bad."
Hallberg then quickly took out the gray disc as he looked eager to try it. The giants also looked quite interested in that disc which seemed to be capable of flight.
Jacob himself wanted to see its functions up close and made some countermeasures if those guys decided to show up again from the air next time. This disc was the only useful thing he had on that group of assassins, and it seemed unique to them since not even the Dark Earl knew about it.
"So, I just need to pour my magic energy into it?" Hallberg asked.
Jacob clearly had no idea if it worked or not. However, he still nodded as it was most likely the case since there wasn't any kind of mechanism on it to start, and his crafter's intuition shouldn't be wrong, especially after he learned magic smiting and had knowledge of Rune Artificer.
Hallberg didn't find any falsehood in Jacob's words, and he didn't have any reason to doubt Jacob providing him with false information on the item he had just gifted him away.
He was going to use his magic power when Water Wave suddenly stopped him. As she appeared right in front of him and said impassively, "Your Excellency, let me try it first. It should be dangerous to fly, and we still don't know if this thing has a protective function for its user to keep him from falling or its max speed.
"I don't think Mr. Ancient has any other intention of keeping this information on himself except to give His Excellency some thrill of novel experience. But as your adviser today, I can't allow you to try something this dangerous.
"So, please just let me test it first, and this way, you will also know how it works and won't face any threat or an accident. What do you think, Mr. Ancient? I mean, not offensive, but I hope you understand Dark Earl is too important for the Dark City, and we can't let some unfortunate accident happen to him?" Water Wave's tone was exempt from any emotion as she looked at Jacob.
Jacob looked deeply at the giant woman, and he could feel her vigilance and a faint hostility toward him, and he had this feeling from the start that she held some kind of grudge against him.
Still, what she just said makes a lot of sense, and she pointed out really major threats to Hallberg if this disc didn't have those functions.
Jacob didn't think about it much since he thought they could easily avoid falling or could balance themselves by using some sort of magic, but it seemed it wasn't the case at all.
Jacob was still quite oblivious about how magic energy worked since he didn't have any, and his point of view was different from those who had it. So, it could be understandable if he overlooked these important points.
As for Hallberg, he didn't think Jacob would try to harm him, and he also had his own way of protecting himself from falling. More importantly, he won't try to take flight on this disc right away before testing it. He wasn't a fool.
But Water Wave still brought it up, which was akin to looking down on his own intellect while also doubting Jacob's kind intention behind this gift.
Even Stone Hammer thought this was quite excessive since he also didn't think Jacob would try to do anything to Hallberg after that meal they had as he's been showing proper restraint.
Still, Water Wave's points were valid, and he also thinks that Hallberg shouldn't be this trusting to someone who they met just over an hour ago.
"I don't mind," Jacob replied without many expressions on his face.
But deep down, he now started to feel uneasy about giving away this untested treasure to the Dark Earl just to quench his own curiosity and test the other party's intentions.
Still, he would do it again if he had to since it was important to know the involvement of the Dark Earl in that assassination despite the result were not what he expected.
But Jacob still believed that there wasn't anything wrong with this treasure as they were being used just fine when he picked them up after killing their owners, and he didn't believe they had any chance to do anything to these discs since he killed them instantly.
Hallberg, on the other hand, frowned slightly while giving Water Wave an unhappy look as he found this insult toward his guest.
Still, he didn't want to berate Water Wave as she was one of his Dark Nobles, but he decided to give her a piece of his mind when they were alone.
As for now, he gave her the disc with a stiff expression and said, "You better not break it."
"Of course." Water Wave nodded without any emotion in her eyes before she took the disc from Hallberg's hand, "Please step back."
After the three got a few feet away, she finally activated it and poured blue magic energy into the disc, and it suddenly shimmered in a blue hue and…!