Lon's mood noticeably improved, and he started putting more effort into cooking to finish it faster.
He and his father continued to talk and cook together until they were completely done with the food and placed it on the table.
Lon let out a heavy sigh and smiled:
— Finally, we're done. It was really nice cooking with you again after two weeks apart. — he looked at Donald.
Donald looked at Lon and smiled slightly.
— That's true. When I cook with someone, I start remembering the days with Ramana... So your presence is very important to me, not just as a son, but as someone who might bring her back...
Lon laughed dryly.
«After Ramana's death, he seems to have forgotten how to talk to people properly...»
But Lon didn't dwell on it too much, he just nodded and said:
— Then... I'll go get Santi, and we'll start our family dinner.
Donald nodded.
Lon quickly went up to the second floor and walked toward Santi's room. Standing in front of the door, he gently knocked and said:
— Dinner's ready! Come out quick!
A few seconds later, Santi opened the door and looked directly at Lon, who was standing in front of him.
— Just give me five minutes.
Lon smirked and nodded.
— Just don't take too long, try to be a little quicker...
Noticing the obvious hint, Santi rolled his eyes and turned back to grab something from his room. He quickly returned and handed Lon a piece of paper.
— Here, take it. I just drew this, so don't think I was doing anything weird...
— Hm? — Lon took the paper from Santi and looked at it.
On the sheet was the face of a young man with black hair, wearing a long, cone-shaped hat. A silver monocle covered his left eye. He wore a gentle smile and looked off to the side.
«...»
«I've seen him somewhere before... but where?» — many thoughts rushed through Lon's head. But he just decided to forget about it — it wasn't worth stressing over some drawing.
— I don't know who you drew, but he looks pretty mysterious... And the monocle gives him a sort of depth and fear... Overall, not bad, you definitely have talent for drawing.
Santi smugly rubbed his finger under his nose and said:
— That I've got talent for drawing — that's true. As for the man I drew, I don't know who he is... He just appeared in my dream...
— A dream? — Lon was surprised.
Santi nodded and didn't say anything else.
Lon sighed and shook his head.
— Alright, your drawing's not as important right now as dinner!
Santi quickly nodded and snatched the paper from Lon's hands, then went back to his room to leave it there.
Returning to the hallway, he and Lon went to the kitchen to eat together. When they got there, they saw Donald already sitting at the main seat, waiting for them to arrive.
Santi sat to Donald's left, while Lon sat to his right. Once everyone was in place, Donald — as the head of the family — carefully picked up a cutlet with his fork and took a bite. Marking the start of dinner.
Santi didn't wait for his older brother to take a bite next. He immediately cut the cutlet into several pieces and started eating, occasionally sipping tea in between.
Lon calmly watched this and said nothing.
«Is this his way of trying to provoke me?..» — such a thought crossed his mind.
He shook his head and calmly began eating his dinner without saying a word.
While they ate, Donald looked at Santi and asked:
— Are you already preparing to apply to the Economics University?
Santi looked calmly at his father and nodded.
— Yes. I've already started preparing at the library. I'm currently reading several important books on economics, and I've also started learning the Donsk language so I can trade with the Kingdom of Logan in the future.
Donald nodded seriously.
— Good. Keep going until you've learned everything. — then he turned to Lon and asked:
— And you? Did Mr. Gredarik tell you when you'll return to work?
Lon paused for a second and stared at Donald.
— Of course he did. He gave me three days off after getting out of the hospital, so in two days, I'll be back at work. — Lon replied with a smile, continuing to eat.
Donald nodded and kept eating too.
An awkward silence settled over the meal, filled only with Santi's chewing sounds. No one brought up any topics, not even casual remarks about today's events.
This silence really weighed on Lon — it made it hard for him to focus on the food.
Finally, he made up his mind, looked at his family, and asked:
— Did anyone have any interesting stories today?
Donald didn't say anything, and Santi, sitting nearby, thought for a moment and replied:
— I did. Today, while I was heading to the library, I saw a group of homeless people gathered in a circle and talking about something. It was a bit strange since there usually aren't any homeless people in the northwest part. But that wasn't even the strangest part.
— Then what? What did you see that made a homeless gathering in an unusual area seem not strange? — Lon quickly asked.
Santi's gaze turned more serious than ever before, and he said in a grim tone:
— I got curious and approached them quietly to find out what was going on. Luckily, they didn't notice me, and I was able to eavesdrop on their conversation.
— Although I didn't realize it at the time, I now understand that it was a really dumb decision — to eavesdrop on a bunch of homeless people gathered in a circle talking about something. But that's not the point.
— When I started listening, I didn't understand a single word! It was like they were speaking a language that doesn't even exist!
Donald's eyes lifted slightly. Lon frowned.
— What do you mean, you didn't understand a word? You know both the Heavenly and Romani languages, and you've already started learning Donsk, so you should recognize how any of them sound. So... what language were the homeless people speaking?
In this world, there were three main languages used wherever people lived. They were spoken by literally everyone in the world — there was no need for more languages.
In the Eastern and Northern regions, people mostly spoke the Heavenly language — it was fairly simple compared to the other two and was a simplified version of the Romani language. Romani was considered the oldest and most complex language in the world, mostly spoken in the Western region and the western part of the Eastern region.
The Donsk language differed from the other two and was used only in the Southern region.
These were the three languages all humans spoke. Others simply didn't exist, which is why Lon was so surprised. If even Santi, who knew two of them and was almost fluent in the third, couldn't understand a word — then what language were the homeless people speaking?
— I tried to focus harder to make out the words better, but I still couldn't understand them... — Santi said, a slight fear on his face.
— What did the language sound like? — Donald asked from the side.
— I can't really describe it... But I do remember a few of the words...
Lon placed his fork on the table and said firmly:
— Say them.
— Okay... It was something like: "Akhten... dano... thogot..." and "dangtahn... reno... sahvo... lirp..." — Santi pronounced the words as best he could.
Lon frowned.
— I've never heard a language like that either... Maybe it's some unknown tongue we just don't know about? Or maybe those homeless people are from some tiny island where the three main languages aren't used?
Santi shrugged.
— Maybe. After all, the world is a big place, and we probably don't know everything.
Lon sighed and realized he'd stumbled onto yet another mystery. He shook his head and asked Santi:
— What happened after that? Did you report it to the Seon Guard?
Santi shook his head no.
— No. It didn't seem strange to me at the time, so I didn't report it...
Lon sighed.
— It's alright. Just try to avoid that alley from now on. And if you see anything weird, don't get involved. Because... — Lon didn't finish.
Santi nodded several times. Then he asked Lon:
— And you? Did you have any interesting stories today?