Chapter 70: The Girl From Before
Chapter 70: The Girl From Before
Mag nodded. “Okay. Please wait a moment.” He turned to walk towards the kitchen. He was pretty satisfied with Amy’s answer; at least she didn’t say yes right away. Seeing that this magic caster was not quite ready to give up, he was still on alert.
Now that it was evident that Krassu was not here to sell matches and that he had money, Amy wasn’t in a hurry to make him leave. “White-bearded grandpa, where are you from?” she asked curiously.
“I’m Krassu Aiou, from Rodu—the capital of the Roth Empire. It’s much bigger than Chaos City—a dozen times bigger. I walked half a year to arrive here,” Krassu answered with a smile, trying to soften his voice and expression.
If people from the Serving Tower saw Krassu, who used to be stern and even grim, talking to a little girl in such a gentle way, they would be stunned speechless.
Mag stopped moving and clenched his fist.
About half of the powerful human magic casters were living in Rodu, and the most powerful ones among them were stationed at the 36-storied Magus Tower. They served the royalty, so the tower was also known as the Serving Tower.
That night, three magic casters had attacked him, and two had been from the Serving Tower. That meant the royal family—or at least some of them—had given their consent.
That incident had shocked the army of the empire. The king had ordered to clean up the Magus Tower. They had made two small potatoes from the royal family their scapegoats, and then the whole thing had blown over.
Mag found Krassu in his predecessor’s memory. He was one of those magic casters serving the royal family. It was said he was over 120 years old. He was very introverted and mysterious, and had never left the Tower. Even if there were big events in the Roth Empire, he had never attended them. The king himself could do nothing about him.
As a knight, Mag didn’t like magic casters very much. He had never seen Krassu before until now. He didn’t know whether that incident had been agreed upon by all the magic casters in the Tower or had been a secret mission executed by only those two magic casters.
Either way, Mag decided to keep Amy away from this Krassu. The Serving Tower consists of different kinds of people. As one of the senior magic casters in it, he must have heard about that incident. I can’t take any risks.
Seeing that he was trying to interest Amy in Rodu, Mag became a little anxious. He would never let Amy leave his side, to say nothing of letting her go to that lifeless Magus Tower.
Having made up his mind, Mag went into the kitchen and started processing the ingredients to make Yangzhou fried rice.
He walked half a year? Amy thought a moment, cocking her head.
As Krassu was assuming that she would become intrigued and ask questions about Rodu, Amy let out a sigh. “White-bearded grandpa, you’re so old,” she said considerately. “Such a short road took you six months. Why don’t you stay at home? If you fell, someone would have to take you back. It’s very troublesome.”
Surprise choked Krassu’s words. It would have only taken him about 20 days to come here by carriage.
Yet he had chosen to walk because he wanted to find a good disciple. He had detoured to visit a lot of places. He had never thought that he would be seen as a decrepit old man by Amy.
Krassu tried to calm himself down. “Actually, I can use more powerful magic…” He was attempting to draw Amy’s attention with magic again.
“Ugly Duckling, do you want to see his magic?” Amy asked as she looked down at her kitten.
Ugly Duckling cast a glance at the old man and shook its head.
“Me neither,” Amy said, shrugging.
“…” Krassu learned for the first time that children were not as easy to be deceived as he had expected. This half-elf girl is difficult to be persuaded. She has a vicious tongue and a quick, leaping mind. She is an unusual girl.
While Krassu was thinking hard on how to make Amy interested in him, Mag came out, holding a plate of Yangzhou fried rice. “Your Yangzhou fried rice,” he said with a smile as he put it before him.
What’s this? Krassu’s eyes brightened immediately as he saw the colorful fried rice in front of him. Just like Amy had said, it was like a rainbow. Colors had been chopped up and fried together. Egg-coated rice and grain-sized ingredients cut by amazing skills combined to make such an exquisite dish.
The aroma of the eggs and different ingredients made him swallow in spite of himself. It was so strong that it was even more inviting than the food the chefs made in the palace. Krassu had lost his appetite for many years, but now he felt an urge to try it.
He picked up his spoon, took a spoonful from the middle, and ate it. The eggs outside the rice were so tender, and the ham released tasty juice as he bit into it. The mixed taste of different ingredients stirred his long-dead taste buds, seeming to have revived them; they found nourishment in the food, and he found his long-forgotten appetite again.
When he chewed on the rice, Krassu opened his eyes immediately. This is… The rice was sweet, delicious, and comfortable, nourishing his whole body as he swallowed.
He was startled and confused. I’m familiar with this feeling. It’s the taste of Spring of Life!
The elves’ holy spring. Once, an interesting elf girl had visited him and brought him a small jar of water from the Spring of Life. He could never forget its taste. The water was the main reason why he was able to live such a long time.
Even he had only got to try the water three times, and the other two times was because of the welfare of being a royal magic caster. Such a shame. What a nice girl! She married a wrong man.
Where does the taste of the Spring of Life come from? Did the owner add some while cooking? Even one drop of that is something.
Krassu’s hand paused a moment, and then he couldn’t help but bring another spoonful to his mouth. Savoring the delicious taste in his mouth, he forgot the Spring of Life, his depressing memories, and his rough journey in search of a disciple. The taste made him forget everything for the moment.