Chapter 2023 Different Customs
Of course, breakfast after waking up in the morning. To have better conditions for breakfast, I would not be vague. We directly asked for a high-class private room at the inn, and ordered ten servings of each of the inn’s signature dishes to be served first.
The inn’s kitchen was amazed, and they had to go to the market to buy more ingredients. Luckily, Valencia was by the sea, with abundant and fresh seafood. By the time the kitchen had used up all its remaining ingredients, they had already returned from their shopping trip.
Then I noticed the peculiar eating habits and even diets of the three new girls. First was Mari, the most normal one. She was not used to sitting at the table and instead knelt on the floor. She was also not used to using cutlery and found it very awkward.
“Hey, even if you’re an Eastern Ying person and have been in Western Europe for a few years, haven’t you learned to sit on a chair and use cutlery yet?” I couldn’t help but retort.
“No, I used to live in the Saigo Family’s mansion, where they always followed Japanese customs. After being gambled away to Gaspar, although I didn’t have to live in a prison cell, it wasn’t much better. He didn’t provide me with tables, chairs, beds, or cutlery either.”
I learned that Mari, as a Swordsman who had already been demonized, had a very good physique. Even without blankets or quilts, she could sleep directly on the floor without any problems. But I really didn’t expect Gaspar to be so stingy.
As for eating, most of what Gaspar gave his subordinates was bread, with some sliced meat and peas added to make simple sandwiches that could be eaten with their hands. If there was a lot of soup, a spoon could handle it, so she had never used cutlery before.
This dignified Swordsman, of course, could handle cutlery. She now infused magic into the steak knife, making it easy to cut through the steak. It was just a bit awkward and unfamiliar to use. As for twirling spaghetti or eating salad, she appeared clumsy.
“Forget it, use this,” I said, taking a pair of chopsticks from my waist pack and tossing them to her. I had gotten them from the Qing delegation, and I had a few extra pairs. They weren’t valuable anyway.
“There are chopsticks here?! Where did you get them? I’ve sharpened two myself before, this is great!” Mari exclaimed happily.
“Do you understand what I’m saying?” I suddenly switched to Chinese. Mari was stunned for a moment before replying in Chinese, “Although there’s an accent, I understand.”
As expected, Mari could speak Chinese. We chatted in Chinese for a while, and she even knew some Cantonese, Minnan, and Hakka dialects, and could write ancient seal script, clerical script, and regular script, among others.
I learned that Eastern Ying had been deeply influenced by Han culture. In ancient times, all formal documents were written in Chinese characters, and even the pronunciation and wording of incantations were entirely in Chinese.
Even though Japanese was now commonly spoken among the populace, high-levels still had to understand Chinese characters. Cultivators, in particular, learned Sinology first. Without understanding Chinese characters, they couldn’t even comprehend ancient texts, let alone the profound and complex cultivation.
Many ancient scripts themselves carried power. For example, the Japanese version of the Nine-Character Mantra copied back to Eastern Ying by Abe no Seimei required not only knowing how to read and write but also understanding the hidden meaning and literal meaning behind it. Otherwise, one couldn’t decipher the talismans and formations.
Not only Eastern Ying, but even Southeast Asia and the Korean Peninsula were influenced by Han culture, and it still flourished today. As long as one could speak Mandarin Chinese, one could travel unhindered in most of East Asia.
The only thing that could compare to Chinese was Sanskrit, or rather, the ancient Indian language represented by Sanskrit, including Old Aryan, Brahmi script, and so on. These were also scripts containing mysterious power, which were widely circulated even in the Central Plains. Han people had even created many cultivation methods and secret techniques based on Sanskrit.
While Mari and I were enthusiastically chatting in Chinese, the two Otherworldly beings on the other side put on quite a show for us. Sandstone was fine, just standing there, but Flame Feather even jumped onto the table.
“Wait! What are you doing? Let’s talk properly, eat slowly, why are you on the table?” I asked in surprise. She was wearing very little, and squatting directly on the dining table with her legs spread in an M shape was very indecent.
“Sorry, I’m just getting breakfast… I’ll be quick.” After saying that, Flame Feather skillfully used her talons to grab several food items and put them on her plate. Then, she carried the plate down with her claws and placed it on the floor. She then sat on a chair and ate the food with her talons.
Her two talons were incredibly agile. She could even skillfully use knives and forks with them and lift them to her mouth to eat.
We could actually understand this scene because Harpies originally had no hands. Their arms were wings used for flying, and all hand-related tasks were done with their nimble and sharp talons.
But understanding was one thing, and accepting it was another. Considering that Flame Feather rarely walked on two legs and would land on the ground and stand on her talons, she now used those dirty talons, which were often on various surfaces, to grab food and put it in her mouth.
Before I could say anything, Lorna couldn’t stand it. She stood up and said, “No, I have to wash your feet!”
“Hiss!? I don’t want to touch water, no!” Flame Feather vehemently objected upon hearing about washing her feet. As a result, she was grabbed by Lorna like a chicken, flapped her wings, and was forced onto the Holy Water basin to have her feet washed.
Older Brother Jayad, who came from the Slums, might not mind her eating directly with her talons, but I did. Lorna couldn’t stand it either. She had the Twins hold Flame Feather’s wings and personally washed her feet with Holy Water, making Flame Feather cry out in shame.
However, her talons were not actually dirty. No mud was washed out of the basin; there were only a few food scraps, which had just touched it. The basin remained clean.
I learned that Flame Feather regularly cleaned her talons and entire body with phoenix fire, which was more convenient and faster than water. But psychologically, we were still somewhat unable to accept it. We ordered her to take a bath at least once every three days.
Speaking of which, Harpy civilization was practically nonexistent. They lived quite primitive lives, barely covered in clothes. Their houses were just simple sheds. It was more like slightly modified nests than houses.
Although they could communicate with each other using simple harpy calls that outsiders couldn’t understand, the harpy calls themselves did not form a complete language system, and they had no writing system. Harpies generally didn’t need complex communication.
After the Divine Punishment descended, Harpies mostly lived with other Otherworldly beings, providing them with aerial support. They then learned the languages and cultures of other races. For example, they used to communicate in a common Otherworldly language that we could understand.
However, the special nature of their talons made it difficult for them to use tools and weapons of other races, so they could only perform hunting missions.
