"As if I was going to waste good food," Gran said, following my eyes to the skillet. That still didn't explain how she'd done it. She was serving everyone some fried rice, a new recipe for her. Not that it mattered, I was sure she'd knock it out of the park.

"Elder Gran, you really don't have to…" Qīwù was saying as she went around and gave everyone a portion. She made holding the skillet look effortless, despite it being much larger than the one we used at home. I could see that she now had some Nebula in her, meaning she had started down the road of cultivation, but at the same time she wasn't using it for anything.

Well, maybe she used it to keep the food in the skilled when she brained the Sect Master.

"Hush, child," Gran said, light in tone. "I cooked it, I'm going to serve it."

"Yes, Elder." Qīwù replied with the trace of a grin on her features. I could tell that Gran didn't mind all of the polite address she received as an Azure Sky 'Elder'. About time she got the recognition that she deserved, at any rate.

"You, young man," she said to the Sect Master, who we'd brought up and set at the table, "Aren't getting any dessert." Celistar had to cover a delicate giggle at that. It did amuse me to hear her call someone who was a few hundred years older than her, 'young man.' Not that he knew that.

I'm not above admitting that watching him flinch at her words made my insides feel warm and fuzzy.

The man was fairly harmless now, we'd take away his sword and he couldn't bring any power to bear without me instantly noticing. And besides, Celistar had done something to him which she said 'returned him to being no different than a mortal' while he was knocked out. Whatever the hell that meant. I'd heard a distinct noise - like a rock splitting combined with glass cracking - at the time. I had no idea what she could have done to him to have made that noise.

Sounded scary though.

So there he sat, moping for several reasons. I'd say the most important was a lack of dessert, but he'd also lost all of his power. Which, while not as important as Gran's treats, still mattered a bit.

I can tell you which one I'd rather lose, at any rate.

A man I didn't recognize came up and handed me a cup. It was earthenware: heavy and warm to the touch, with a wave to the edge that lent itself to fitting one's fingers around it.

"A gift for you in celebration of your victory in the Spar. May your path be forever Azure." He said, and I caught Celistar looking at me. She was clearly in on this. I lifted the cup to my face, inhaling the scent of the appropriately sky-blue liquid within. It smelled like flowers. So a tea then?

I took a sip, and a very delicate flavor hit my tongue, it was floral and fruity, like the smell, but also had hints of cucumber and just the barest touch of a sour bite to it. Incredibly refreshing, like the first deep breath of fresh air I'd had upon arriving.

"Azure Sky Tea," Celistar said, "Our best cháyìshī has been working on it with Elder Scholar."

Why was I not surprised that István was in on the tea making? Of course he would be. I caught him with an unspoken question 'Well, how is it?' written all over his face.

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"My Juniors have truly elevated themselves with this. I feel at peace." I said with no hint of a lie, and the I think the cháyìshī might actually have blushed.

"It was our honor," he said, bringing his hands together and giving a very low bow that he held for quite some time.

"Please join us," I said, gesturing at a free seat at the end of the table. The cháyìshī seemed pretty flabbergasted at this invitation, but 'Elder Gran' shooed him into a chair and gave him a serving. She'd taken hers standing up, saying she had enough sitting already for the day, and wielded her pan in a vaguely threatening manner at a junior who had trouble taking no for an answer.

The fried rice? Stellar, as expected. Gran had amazing cooking skills, so it only stood to reason that Magic Gran would be able to do even better.

She came by with a cream cheese pie for the vaunted 'dessert' and I may have made some unbecoming noises, earning me strange looks. I only got to have this twice in my life as all the ingredients were both expensive and rare in the 'old' world, as I was beginning to think of it. Where we were at felt much more like home. And this was the proverbial cherry on top.

Well, literal cherry on top, once Gran added the topping.

A lot of the dishes here were eaten with chopsticks, but they also had similar silverware as we'd used growing up. Not that it mattered, I wasn't about to waste even a molecule of this desert by letting stay adhered to a spoon.

I instead reached out with my Nebula and cut myself a slice, before lifting it into the air, carefully containing the crumbs of the crust with a sphere of power I'd packed so tightly I doubted air could escape. I lifted the construction to my mouth and dropped it in as the table watched.

"Oh heavens." I said, closing my eyes at the flavor. How I'd missed it. The rich structure of the filling had a texture that had to be felt to be described. There was a tang of lemon, and of course the cherries filled out the flavor. The crust was just densely packed graham crackers, if memory served, but somehow it added so much.

"You've outdone yourself, Gran," I said after opening my eyes.

"Of course I did." She said, but I could tell she was happy at my compliment.

Everyone got a slice, as she'd made two. Well, everyone but a certain Sect Master, who really seemed to be regretting his life decisions while he watched the reactions of everyone at the table.

"HOLY CRAP THIS PIE IS GOOD." Liam shouted at a deafening volume, as if to rub it in, earning him a bit of a look from Gran. And Alessa.

Both Steeve and Yuèyīng were perched on Gran's shoulders, with Steeve drooling an actual waterfall, complete with rainbow. She grinned at the goofy little fox, then set aside half a slice for each one.

Yuèyīng made an actual squee noise after taking her first bite, possibly the cutest sound I'd heard out of her.

As if seeking to outdo her, Steeve took a bite, sprouted a pair of wings and a halo, and then straight up ascended into the heavens, right through the ceiling. I couldn't help but notice how she reappeared through a door of light a moment later to grab the plate and the rest of the pie before disappearing again.

"This is truly divine, Elder Gran!" Celistar gushed about her portion, which was one heck of a compliment for someone who had been around as long as the Moon Fairy.

The former Sect Master was looking down at his hands, when he was suddenly bumped in the nose by a single bite of the pie. I'd cut it off of mine and floated it over to him.

"You might be an irredeemable shipdit," I said, using a insult Grandpa used to favor (because it kept him from running afoul of Gran), "But I think it would be a travesty for you to leave this world without having tasted this."

I was being a little facetious, but Grans cooking was really something you didn't want to miss. I also felt like the guy wasn't completely unredeemable, although Celistar certainly seemed to think so. I mean, he hadn't actually hurt anyone in my family, and after what the Moon Fairy had done to him, it was unlikely even be able to. He just looked like a somewhat frail old man now, and it did make me feel a little sorry for him.

Having sudden second thoughts, I glanced at Qīwù. He had blown her through a wall, after all, but she seemed in full agreement with me. So I looked back at him.

He looked at the floating morsel, then back at me, completing the circle of looks. It seemed he felt he needed permission or something.

"Go ahead." I said.

He plucked the bite out of the air, carefully putting it in his mouth. He then closed his eyes as he chewed savoring the taste.

"It's amazing, isn't it?" I more stated, than asked.

My only response was the tears rolling down his cheeks.

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