"Hey, that's not fair. They're eating good food while we have to eat this trash." One of the prisoners yelled while holding up what looked like stale bread but it might have been hard tack, Chronos couldn't tell from his position.
"They are only being held until someone responsible comes to escort them. They aren't actually under arrest. The only reason they're in a cell is because we ran out of secure rooms today." The guard near the door lazily responded.
"Would you like some too? Lyla is a really good cook." Chronos offered him a plate.
"I'm not allowed to eat while on duty... My break is in 15 minutes, hold onto it for me until then." He had tried to act professional but the delicious smell coming from the lasagna had won him over.
"One for me as well." Said the other guard.
None of the food in the cafeteria smelled this good.
Chronos gave them a nod and plated two slices of lasagna for later.
Unfortunately for them a few minutes later Micheal arrived to escort them back to the ship. He looked very upset with them.
"I leave you alone for a few hours and you get arrested! Can you not interrupt my day for once? And why are you having a leisurely meal while in jail?" He yelled at them.
In the cell Chronos had used a barrier to set up a table and they had covered it with a tablecloth and brought out nice plates to eat on; in the dim light it looked like they were just having an evening meal instead of being kept in a cell.
"You can't blame us for some idiot trying to kidnap one of us and we got hungry while we were here." Chronos said.
"Someone tried to kidnap one of you? I'm not sure if I should feel sorry for them or ask if they made it out alive." He muttered.
"They're still alive, mostly. More importantly, how much time do we have until the ship leaves? I still need to visit John Smith for a work request." Chronos said as he started cleaning up the table.
They would carry their plates with them, but they didn't want to leave any of the good food or dishes behind.
"Don't put all of it away, we'll just go to another room to eat. The ship was damaged worse than we thought so we won't be leaving until tomorrow morning and Blacksmith John has decided to come with us. Apparently, he wants to study the ship."
Chronos laughed as he transferred the meal to another room, "I bet you couldn't get him off the ship."
Micheal just sighed, "You're right. He already moved his equipment into one of the lower holds, much to the captain's dismay."
They went into the break room and were setting up their meal when more guards came in for a break.
"Something smells really good. Please tell me the chef finally learned how to cook something more than meat?" One of them complained.
"If you have a problem with my cooking then you can cook your own food. I'm only required to cook enough to fill you up for the day and those fancy dishes would just ruin your stomachs." The cook shouted at them.
Lyla looked over at the food set out buffet style in front of the cook.
Mashed potatoes, steak, sausages, meat pie, and ham there were no side dishes and a considerable lack of fruits or vegetables. From the smell of it he also hadn't used very many seasonings either.
"Why don't you add vegetables and turn that ham into a stew? You clearly have the skill to cook that much." Lyla asked.
The cook glared at her, "Well excuse me but getting fresh vegetables on the edge of a swamp isn't easy."
"Then use mushrooms to enhance your meat pies and add roast mutton with gravy. You should still be able to get mutton out here. Why not learn how to cook some of the local dishes?" She asked.
Looking at her face, the cook realized that she wasn't just mocking him but trying to help him improve. Clomping out from behind the counter he decided to tell her everything and showed her his wooden leg.
"I was originally a part of the road patrols before my leg was eaten by a wolf, so I don't know much about cooking. They just threw me in the kitchen when they realized I couldn't do patrol's anymore and I don't have a helper or someone to teach me either. Could you show me how to cook roast mutton and gravy?"
While he might have been a proud man he only really got upset when people mocked him without offering help. Asking for help from someone skilled, even if they were younger, didn't bother him in the slightest.
"Sure, I've got a few hours to kill. Pass me an apron."
She walked behind the counter and took control of the stove while giving him advice about how to tenderize meat. She had regrettably discovered that even his steak hadn't been handled properly making it tough and stringy.
As she taught him how to cook more guards wandered in following the delicious smell coming from the kitchen now.
"That smells so good, has the chef been replaced?" One of them happily called out to the agreement of the others.
"Not a chance you brats. I finally have someone to teach me properly. How many times have I asked you kids to find a chef to teach me proper cooking and not a one of you has done it. This is what happens when you actually help me out." He scolded them.
They looked ashamed as they realized that they could have been eating good food if they had brought in another chef to teach him.
"B-But that's not entirely our fault. We've been trying to hire another chef, but nobody was willing to work with us." One of them complained.
"Yeah, they kept saying they couldn't trust us with their family. We've been looking into why for several months now." Another added.
More than likely they didn't want to send their daughters or wives here because the traitors were causing problems for the commoners. There was no assurance their family wouldn't come back hurt or pregnant.
Well now that Jeffery would be hunting the traitors with support from the Matriarch, they should be able to hire some new staff soon. Actually, they might want to create an internal unit just for hunting down traitors, but they would have to be careful that they didn't turn on them.
Perhaps having the paladins swear an oath would work to keep the new order in line. They did value their oaths very highly after all. If they swore a stricter oath to join a higher order of paladins, they would take it as a great honor.
Chronos took out the introduction letter and added that suggestion for the Matriarch as well as a recommendation for Jeffery to be in charge, he trusted her to handle it well given her background.
Shortly afterwards Jeffery came in for lunch.
"Ah Chronos there you are. I've finished interrogating the others and your groups in the clear, you can leave whenever you feel like it."
"Thanks, also here's the letter of introduction for both the commander of the first order and the Matriarch. You should deliver the one for the Matriarch first as I don't think the commander will be back anytime soon."
"I'll do that." He said with an expression of relief.
Chronos sneakily smiled, he probably wanted to be done with this matter as soon as possible but if the Matriarch followed Chronos's suggestion Jeffery would be in charge of the investigation order from now on.
"Do you mind if I sit with you? I haven't had a chance to eat yet." Jeffery asked.
"Sure, here have a slice of lasagna." Chronos passed him a plate.
Sitting down he dug into the food with relish not willing to waste a single bite. It had been a while since he had eaten something this good.
"Slow down." Chronos chuckled as Jeffery nearly choked on his food. "The food's not going anywhere and Lyla is teaching your chef how to cook better meals."
"If her other recipes are as good as this then I'd like her to leave some of them behind. I don't suppose you could convince her." Jeffery hopefully asked.
Since she was a priestess of order he thought she might refuse in order to stay in line with her goddess's teachings but there really was no reason to be concerned.
"You don't need to ask me. She loves good food almost as much as I do and will definitely leave a few recipes behind for your chef. If you have a favorite meal, then you should ask her for a recipe before we leave." Chronos said as he sent her a message through the system.