Chapter 86

“Pu… I was just thinking, maybe it was because the tavern was too noisy, so normally no children would come here to eat?”

“A shorty isn’t necessarily a child, and a child isn’t necessarily short… Who are you calling short?!”

“Hahaha, don’t worry, Shaya, I’m not making fun of you.”

“Ugh… damn it.”

Whenever Sheffy watched Xiarette’s every smile and frown, her golden hair swaying with that mature confidence, she found it pleasing to the eye—but at the same time, she clenched her teeth in hatred!

If it weren’t for that curse… If it weren’t for the fact they said she would never grow tall, she would definitely be able to sit here and at least look like an adult.

How miserable.

Seeing Sheffy slumped over the table without moving, Xiarette touched her fingertip to her lips, let out a couple of soft laughs, and shook her head as she began to report the coming meal to Her Highness the Princess.

“I’ve already ordered the food, all right? Mostly ingredients you probably wouldn’t see over in the Demon Domain, like Aurus sweet potatoes, Cormier smoked duck. We can order some other dishes to try too. Anyway, when you eat with Shaya, there’s never any leftovers…”

“We should just go straight to the kitchen and sit down to eat.”

“…”

What a truly creative idea.

Sheffy lay on the table watching one large wooden barrel after another with handles being set down at other tables, feeling a little curious.

“Xiarette, what’s in those big wooden barrels?”

“Barrels…? Oh, that’s the house-made grape wine here. That you can find just about anywhere.”

“I want to try it.”

“No way. Minors, as well as Sheffy, are not allowed to drink.”

“Hiss… What kind of rule is that?”

As a substitute, Xiarette ordered Sheffy a chilled fruit juice.

This wasn’t about looking down on her; it was just that when one subconsciously looked at Sheffy’s appearance, they would never consider letting her drink. A perfectly normal reaction.

The two chatted while occasionally hearing Sheffy’s stomach growl.

Before long, the long-awaited food finally arrived!

A plate of steaming hot roasted duck with an oddly unappealing appearance was set on the table.

Sheffy’s eyes lit up as she stared at the duck meat, but just as she reached out to pick up the knife to cut the meat…

She lifted her head slightly.

And noticed that the person serving the dish seemed a little strange.

That wasn’t just a little strange… That was downright bizarre.

They brought the food over without saying a single word—fine, that could be explained by having a shy personality.

—but who served dishes with a long robe covering their face?!

Xiarette had also noticed this situation.

With such an obvious gaze, the person wearing the hood naturally also saw who was sitting at the table.

Xiarette clearly heard a sharp intake of breath from under the brown robe, and it was obvious the person beneath was just as astonished, so shocked it was as if they had seen a ghost!

On any other day, Xiarette and Sheffy might not have recognized them at once.

But since they had only seen that brown robe earlier this noon, it would be far too rude not to recognize it now.

You are…

“Fire lizard!!” Shaya immediately gave her conclusion.

“You’re the fire lizard! Your whole family are fire lizards! You little wretch, how dare you call the noble Fire Dragon Clan a lizard?!”

“Ah… it really is you. Didn’t you say you disdained money? Are you working part-time now to earn some? Truly hard work.”

“!”

In a fit of rage, the Fire Dragon Clan girl, Timani, tore off the hood covering her head, revealing her true face, and now she felt utterly miserable.

Why did she have to run into these two little fiends no matter where she went…?

The moment she yanked off her hood, Timani regretted it.

With so many people here, if she revealed her dragon horns, she probably wouldn’t be able to keep working, would she?!

That damn little girl… yelling about fire lizards all of a sudden!

However, the frightened screams and panicked fleeing she had imagined didn’t happen at all.

Puzzled, Timani looked back, only to see that those diners kept right on eating and drinking as if they hadn’t noticed anything happening over here.

They knew exactly what this fire lizard was thinking.

Sheffy used her finger to hook the edge of the duck meat on the table closer to herself and, in passing, reinforced the perception barrier again.

Now not only the diners but even the staff delivering dishes wouldn’t be able to notice what was happening at this table.

“Don’t panic. Since you’re from a higher race, you should be able to sense it, right? There’s a layer of [Perception Isolation Barrier] here. Forget taking off your hood—even if you roasted a lizard right here, nobody would notice.”

“You little brat, you have a death wish…! Who are you calling a lizard?!”

“Huh? I wasn’t talking about you. I just remembered that the menu had something called Fire-Roasted Forest Lizard. When you roast those things, they sizzle and wriggle around, making such a ruckus. I was using it as an example to explain how useful the isolation barrier is. Why are you so hot-tempered? Can’t you stay calm for once?”

“……”

Under her fiery red hair, Timani’s face was burning.

She hadn’t exchanged many words with this black-haired little wretch, but every time she did, she could never get the upper hand.

Still, higher races had their own pride. Crossing her arms over her ample chest, she snorted, turned her head aside, and forced herself to act tough.

“It… it’s just a perception isolation barrier. Of course I could feel it. My panic just now was because… uh… because… No, I wasn’t panicking at all earlier.”

Apparently, this Fire Dragon girl hadn’t noticed the perception isolation barrier in the slightest…

Xiarette reached this conclusion not just because of Timani’s reaction just now, but also because when she had competed in the arena before, her magic had gone out of control.

All of this seemed to show that although Timani’s mana reserves were high, her control and perception of mana were still rather lacking.

Timani was in quite an awkward situation now. She had thought she’d never run into these two fiends again, and yet after just one afternoon, she’d encountered them once more.

She didn’t intend to say anything else.

She turned around, intending to put her hood back on and leave.

But…

Miss Shaya had started eating the roasted duck meat at that moment.

After all, it wasn’t as if Timani was the only one who didn’t feel like talking much—Sheffy always adhered to the principle of speaking as little as possible and moving her mouth as much as possible when it came to good food.

Munch, munch…

“Oh…! Surprisingly, it’s pretty good? Xiarette, come try this duck leg, the oil is sizzling out!”

“Mm… is it? It’s all right, I suppose… yeah, it’s all right.” Xiarette tasted the duck leg but didn’t look very enthusiastic.

“Oh, oh, I know what you’re thinking. Don’t worry! It’s tasty, but it definitely doesn’t compare to your cooking!”

“Phew… Shaya, you should’ve said that earlier. Well, in that case, I can give my opinion freely—it’s roasted nice and crisp outside, tender inside, just a little too salty.”

“That’s no big deal. After all, it has one decisive advantage.”

“What is it?”

“It’s cheap! This whole roast duck costs the same as a doughnut outside. I can eat until I burst!”

“Pft… don’t be like that. Eating isn’t a battle, you know.”

“Hehe… just kidding. I’ll stop before I’m stuffed. Slurp… I’m going to gnaw on this duck head first. Hm…?”

Sheffy had just brought the duck head to her mouth, ready to take a big bite.

Then she silently put the duck back down.

Because… Timani was still standing there with her back turned.

Her hood was halfway lifted, as if she wanted to put it back on, but she couldn’t make up her mind and just kept hesitating, without leaving.

Sheffy could never fully enjoy eating when there were others standing around.

After all, you could never be sure whether someone might quietly steal a bite from your plate—especially when it was a fire lizard, and then it was even more uncertain.

Xiarette also turned halfway around and noticed Timani’s state.

“Miss Timani? Is there something else you need… Miss Timani?”

“Ah? What is it?”

“Well, it’s just… you’ve been standing there the whole time… uh.”

When Miss Timani turned back around, her gaze instantly locked onto the half-eaten duck meat in front of Sheffy.

She probably hadn’t even realized it herself—this noble higher race Fire Dragon girl had a tiny glimmer of drool clinging to the corner of her mouth, and her vertical-pupilled crimson eyes were sparkling with longing for the food.

The big red tail sticking out from her brown robe was wagging back and forth so quickly, she looked practically like a little puppy staring at a treat!

The most obvious thing of all… was Timani’s stomach suddenly rumbling.

“Mmm…! No… no, I didn’t!”

Timani felt her belly crying out in misery. Tears of the deepest shame welled up at the corners of her eyes, and she clutched her stomach as she crouched down on the floor, desperately trying to suppress the hunger clawing at her.

Indeed, whether it was humans, demons, or the higher races, their bodies were always honest.

The roasted duck’s aroma set off a second rumble in Timani’s stomach. The red-haired beauty did her best to shrink into the corner of the table and hide it, but it looked like she was already on the verge of crying from her own shame.

At times like this, the highly perceptive Miss Shaya could always spot when someone was in need of help.

She lifted up the half-eaten duck’s head and gave it a little shake. Timani’s gaze followed the swinging duck back and forth.

“I say… are you hungry? I understand, I understand. The feeling of hunger is painful—your stomach will say everything for you.”

“Hun… hungry…?”

“Yes, you didn’t have a coin on you this noon, right? I suspect you can’t afford a meal anymore. Want a bite of roast duck?”

“Who… who can’t afford a meal… I can afford it… I am from the Fire Dragon Clan… how could I have no money…”

“Oh, as long as you have money, that’s good—so you won’t have to come trying to share my roast duck. In that case, I’ll just eat it myself.”

“Ah…!”

Sheffy lifted the duck, raised her head, and opened her mouth wide—she looked ready to demonstrate once again her technique of devouring half a roast duck in a single bite!

The drool at the corner of Timani’s mouth and the tears glimmering in her eyes fell at the same time!

No matter how noble or dignified she was…

The feeling of an empty stomach would always tell you there were some things you simply had to fight for yourself!

Sheffy brought the duck meat to her lips but didn’t take a bite.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Timani reaching toward the roast duck but still frozen in place. She silently set the duck back onto the plate.

It had to be said, Miss Shaya’s mischievous streak was rising up again!

Last time you roasted my fish and kept giving me that sour face, right?

Old grudges and new debts—let’s settle them all at once!

Seeing that little devilish grin on Sheffy’s face, Xiarette’s brow twitched. She knew perfectly well that Sheffy had definitely thought of another bad idea.

Sheffy cleared her throat twice and pointed at the still steaming duck meat on the table.

“Want to eat?”

“I… I don’t want it. Mmgh… but if you insist on tearing off a bit for me… I can reluctantly accept it!”

“Oh-ho…? Still haven’t learned the ways of the world? Fine, higher race or not, today I, Teacher Shaya, will teach you a lesson!”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep