“Aaaah…. Awkward…” - Jack thought, as the family merrily ate and drank.

- Jack, pass me the salad please

[- Ah, sure mom]

“Why is she being so nice?” - Jack felt that, if he was in a japanese webnovel, a giant sweat drop would appear at his temples right now.

His mother had been extremely aggravated ever since that day. It was to expect, since she was the one closest to Christina, but Jack could understand it very well.

He had never seen his daughter grow, but seeing how his own children were growing nice and fun, he would surely choose to stay with them instead of going back to his mother’s house, had the need arrived.

Maybe he was a bad son. Or maybe being a father stirred his heart more than being a son. Between taking care of your mother’s emotional health or your children’s, who should you choose?

Hey, aren’t sons supposed to leave their parents’ houses and form families of their own?

Some just bring their bride home, but Jack wasn’t an easterner. He was born in the West, and it was natural for him to leave his parents’ house and focus on raising his own family instead.

“Ah, forget it. At least she seems to be in a good mood.”

Jack looked at his plate and noticed his own salad seemed to have been missing. He gave a side-eye look at his younger son, Pietro. The little rascal had an emerald leaf on his mouth right now!

“Do you know how difficult it is to grow emerald trees? These leaves are for the whole family!”

Still, all he did was to sigh a bit and then grab a piece of meatloaf. The seasoning was just right.

Sandro’s contemptuous look didn’t escape his perception, but, so what?

He would eventually solve that by himself, right?

Besides, if he was to talk to him, things would only get worse… probably. Contempt would hardly be solved with the person you have contempt with coming to have a heart-to-heart talk to you.

“Prideful children need someone they respect to teach them things” - is what Jack thought.

The dinner went on until late at night.

Obviously, it wasn’t he or Elicia doing taking care of the whole thing. A small Elemental Butler and a few Elemental Maids and Chefs had been summoned to make this dinner. Jack supervised everything and defined the recipes, but the small crew was the one to assemble it together.

The water elementals dealt with the beverages, the wind elementals created the ambiance and the fire elementals cooked. The earth elementals would in turn take care of the tableware.

Noting too fancy, however, except for the feast being a long one with many steps like the entree, the salad, the side dish, the fish dish, the main dish, the desert, then coffee, liquor and tea with biscuits.

A long course, but could it be called a proper high-class dinner when everyone ate and drink on big stone mugs and plates? When the dishes were served all together and everyone ate what they want at the same time, sometimes eating some salad and then eating fish, only to go to the side dish?

The short and cute gnome maids had a crooked smile on their faces. “If you want a family dinner, then why ordering a full feast?!” - Is what was going through most of their heads.

Jack liked the variety. It made him feel prosperous.

***

Silence.

The kids had been taken out to play. Elicia, Sasha and Jack were currently seated on a human-sized room, a few meters in diameter.

It had a few comfortable armchairs and ashtrays, as well as bottles of cognac whisky and other hard liquors here and there.

The main attraction, however, were the cigars and cigarillos in the left wall.

It was a smoking room.

Not that these three had the habit of smoking. It was quite ironic for Red Dragons to smoke, as nicotine and tobacco couldn’t even make them sniff.

Even high-grade stuff like 10.000 years diamond tobacco could only make them slightly relaxed, what to say about the common tobacco on the walls.

They enjoyed the room, however, as it was customary to smoke after a big feast.

Besides, they have things to talk between them. Sasha had been very clear on this - she wanted to talk about things.

Jack puffed his cigarillo with a little bit of joy in seeing how the smoke bended in the air. At the same time, his mother puffed a big cloud out of her double corona cigar.

…weren’t things inverted here?

Wait, before anything, shouldn’t it be only men who went to the smoke room after a feast?! The women were supposed to go somewhere else!

Ah, doesn’t matter - Such impressions went through Jack’s mind.

- Son - Sasha said, whilst Jack was lost in his thoughts.

“Ah!” - his mind napped into attention, as he looked at his mother, surprised. Did she just call him “son”? How many years had it been ever since?

- I’ll go on a trip. Want to come with me?