Centered around the marble long table,
a distorted butler moved chairs into place,
two on the left for the two guests who came to the family,
and one on the right for the young master of the family, Lebeite.
The last special chair was placed at the head of the table, the owner’s seat.
It was special because this chair was completely different from the regular ones, equipped with various forms of restraints corresponding to a humanoid armor and electrified.
It seemed that once the owner sat inside, they would be fixed by the armor. What exactly was its purpose was unknown.
Luo Di knew very well that the "father" Lebeite mentioned was the master of the Invisible Manor,
a term he often used, and whenever "father" was mentioned, Lebeite would become noticeably reserved and reverent.
This father seemed to have appeared at an event hosted by Mr. Question Mark, but no matter how hard Luo Di tried to recall, he couldn’t remember.
Tap~tap, footsteps echoed,
not heavy nor light, no different from those of a normal person.
However, the sound did not come from the doghole Lebeite had crawled through, nor from the underground detour Luo Di and the others took, but rather from some hidden passage.
The butler pulled on a wall lamp on one side of the banquet hall, and a secret door opened.
A man wearing a bowler hat was walking out,
his left ring finger adorned with a family crest ring, a black tuxedo enveloped his body, and a yellow scarf wrapped around his face, hiding everything below the nose.
There was an air of aging and bulkiness, giving the impression that his clothes were stuffed with many things, slowing his movements down.
The edge of his hat faintly revealed silver-white aging hair.
Even though the scarf covered most of his face, it couldn’t hide his whitening eyes or the wrinkles around their corners.
If not for the fact he was called "father," Luo Di would have guessed he was of the grandfatherly generation.
The strangest thing to Luo Di was, he couldn’t sense anything.
Even the pituitary-known gray sense couldn’t capture any information about this "father,"
unable to determine what level of anomaly he was, or what kind of plant he might be.
He emitted no monstrous aura, appearing no different from a human at first glance.
With the arrival of the master, Luo Di and the others swiftly stood up, nodding and watching as he took his seat... But then... snap!
The "father," just emerging from the secret door, unexpectedly slipped and fell hard, and the cane he was holding tipped upward upon hitting the ground.
The tip plunged securely into the "father’s" eye socket, and blood began spreading across the floor.
The nearby butler immediately let out a strange wailing sound upon seeing this.
Soon, a large number of deformed butlers arrived, holding cloths to clean the blood while spraying disinfectant to remove the odor.
all those butlers, not a single one went to help the fallen "father."
For some reason, Luo Di instinctively wanted to help, but suddenly his tongue tingled, making him hastily cease this good-intentioned action.
Yu Ze next to him did the same, rising briefly from his seat only to quickly sit back down.
Sitting opposite, Lebeite remained silent throughout, expressionless, quietly watching his fallen father.
the fingers twitched,
the father gradually rose, pulling the cane from his eye and wiping the blood from it with his pocket square, before continuing his advance with the cane.
Just as he seemed about to take his seat,
his hand slipped on the chair back, his body pitched forward again and he fell once more! This time he fell even harder, hitting his face on the protruding part of the chair. The scarf unraveled, and several teeth flew out.
As luck would have it, one landed right on Luo Di’s dining plate, and a drop of blood flung from the root adhered to the corner of Luo Di’s mouth.
The butlers got busy once more, replacing Luo Di’s plate and using a sterilized cloth to wipe the blood from his mouth corner.
And yet, no one took care of the father.
Instead, a butler brought a new scarf over.
When this father finally rose again, he managed to sit in his seat.
He then activated the mechanical switch on the seat, allowing the armor to bind him completely, utilizing the mechanical energy provided by the current to facilitate various bodily movements.
It was noteworthy that,
the injuries from both previous falls had not healed; he remained with a broken eye, a torn mouth, and six damaged teeth.
The scarf was donned again but no longer covered his mouth.
He opened his bleeding, torn mouth and spoke in a perfect British English.
"Welcome to the Invisible Manor, and thank you, Luo Di, for your assistance in the Corner in helping Lebeite multiple times, particularly allowing him to touch upon the essence events. Although he ultimately didn’t obtain the essence of the fog, he achieved significant growth in the incidents.
The manor rarely receives external guests. Although you’ve brought an additional friend this time, you are most welcome.
You may lodge here for this period, enjoy the basic privileges of the family, but for no more than a week."
"Thank you, how should we address Mr. Lebeite?"
"Lebeite is my son’s name; it is exclusive to him and unrelated to me. During your time at the manor, you may call me ’Father.’
Any creature setting foot in the Invisible Manor is family to me."
Though the appellation felt strange, Luo Di quickly accepted it.
"Let the banquet begin. You must be hungry from the journey."
Upon receiving the order, the butler promptly brought out the banquet starter from the kitchen.
As the cover of the dish was lifted, the sight of the food made Luo Di feel intensely uneasy once more.
The asymmetric attribute appeared once again,
though this time, apart from the shape, there were other aspects as well,
a mutated small quail lay on the plate,
the quail’s body was roasted but its neck upwards remained alive, writhing in pain.
Called a quail, it actually sprouted human-like fingers and a hair-like structure.
At this moment, Luo Di seemed to understand something, grasping why Lebeite longed for the human world... Indeed, being forced to live in such a family, who wouldn’t want to see the outside world. Google seaʀᴄh novᴇlfire.net
As a guest at this gathering, he had to consume this food, or else it would be disrespectful to the host.
Yu Ze on the other side had already devised a countermeasure, placing a talisman paper in his mouth.
Once in contact with the food, the decomposition talisman would break it down into its most basic nutritional liquid, removing any harmful substances from the body.
Luo Di followed suit, using Hell’s characteristics to raise the temperature in his mouth, initiating a "second cooking" upon placing the quail inside to burn off harmful substances, ensuring it was at least a cooked meal.
He started the operation.
Using a fork, he delivered the small quail to his mouth, and everything went as expected, finding in surprise that the roasted quail tasted good.
Upon swallowing, however, Luo Di suddenly felt some meat strands lodged between his teeth.
Using his tongue to dislodge them, he instinctively began chewing.
Yet this bite, unexpectedly, made Luo Di feel something was off with his face... crack! A seemingly normal bite inadvertently severed his entire tongue.
The severed tongue fell precisely into the dish.
On its surface, a large question mark remained.
As Luo Di tried to explain his impolite behavior, the father raised his arm via mechanical control, signaling him not to be nervous.
"Your tongue is being monitored; refrain from using it during your stay at the manor. ’Mr. Question Mark’ is a rather troublesome existence, moreover, the entity corresponding to your tongue isn’t to my liking either."
Luo Di vocalized through other means, halting any intent to regenerate.
Only then did he realize,
all the string of bad luck the father experienced upon his entrance seemed intentional, especially the second time.
The teeth flung his way, and the blood incidentally landing on Luo Di’s mouth corner might well be the root cause of the tongue-biting accident.
In contrast to all the asymmetric anomalies presented by the family,
the "strangeness" this father exhibited was what truly made Luo Di uncomfortable.
He also noted that this father and Lebeite weren’t of the same kind at all, with almost no common points found on him. Should they stay with this family further, utmost caution was warranted.