Chapter 769 769 Ice Cream Monster
”There really are plenty of people here with animal adaptations. I wasn’t expecting it to be like that, but they look like they’re all fine, and not harmed by them.” The younger mage muttered, seemingly talking to himself, as Wolfe negotiated with the small bunny about the appropriate times to have ice cream.
“You won’t be hungry for dinner if you have ice cream now, and that will make your mother very sad, since she worked hard to make dinner for you.” The older mage explained, which made the bunny giggle.
“Mom is a terrible cook, we get all our meals from the cafeteria unless dad is cooking.” She replied.
“Cafeteria?” The older man asked, looking at Wolfe.
“There are two large cafeteria style restaurants in town. They’re open at any hour of the day, but the specials are only served during certain hours, so if you want a solid meal you don’t have to cook, just go there. This place started as a military camp, and we just kept the practice of having a basic meal available to anyone who wants it, three times a day.
It’s far from basic now, as our cooks take great pride in their work, but the principle is still the same. There are vendors over there that sell street food, snacks, desserts and ingredients, the clothing vendors set up in that courtyard, there are miscellaneous shops all over the place, as well as up in the residential areas, so you don’t have to go to ground level for the little necessities.
The basic infrastructure is all magical. Lights, water, sewer, it’s all magic. That shouldn’t be a problem for you two once you learn how to activate the inscriptions, and you’re here to teach magic to more of our residents, so even fewer of them will need mana crystals for the essentials.” Wolfe explained.
One of the Fae took out a small mana crystal and handed it over. “These are what he means. I don’t sense any on you, so I’m not sure if you know how to make them. They’re just a basic mana storage lattice, but as most of the city runs on magic, even the transportation, we use it as a form of currency.
There is an official currency in the works, but it keeps getting delayed by small international crisis events.”
Hearing their invasion characterized as a ‘small international crisis event’ was a bit disconcerting to the two mages, but the way that the attack had been handled left them in no doubt that it was how the locals had viewed the situation.
“Can I ask you a sensitive question?” The older mage asked, then paused until Wolfe nodded his agreement.
“Why did you fight the first battle on our side of the portal, but deflect all the others to the perimeter of the forest?”
The Ancient Demon and the Fae Prince smiled, while the little girl excitedly raised her hand.
“Oh, oh, I know the answer.” She insisted.
“Do you now? What do you think that the answer is?” Wolfe asked the girl.
“The first guy was really rude and kept trying to attack the same spot, so you took a couple of people there to ask him to go away, but the others were less insistent about opening a portal in the middle of the flower gardens.” She declared.
“Not bad. How did you come up with that answer?” Wolfe asked.
“The teacher told us. We were doing art class in the garden over there when the first portal opened.” She explained.
The Mages looked shocked. The fact that the Emperor had tried to open the portal right in the middle of town was insane. This place had walls, but it wasn’t the sort of place you could besiege by attacking from within. That just left you surrounded.
“So, he used the interdimensional portal spell to force his way in, and predictably, your unique negotiation style did not get him to back down from his plans. So, you what? Sent your own Legion in to fight him?” The younger mage asked.
The Fae Prince laughed. “Legion? You misunderstand, young man. The second Emperor fell to the group that captured you, and the first fell to just the elite forces within that group. There was no need for a Legion, his defences didn’t even last ten minutes against our counterattack without any of the seniors among us getting involved.”
The two mages shared a horrified look, but the small bunny was unconcerned with the day’s events.
“Don’t worry about it too much, big brother. Mister Wolfe has killed millions of bad guys, he won’t let anyone harm the town. How about we have some ice cream to celebrate today’s victory?” She suggested, unaware that the two mages were from the enemy force.
“Well, when you put it that way, how can we resist? I don’t suppose that someone could loan us a few coins for ice cream?” The old mage asked.
His younger counterpart looked concerned at his change of pace, but the old man was already resigned to his choice. He would stay here and be a teacher, and if the next Emperor came and tried to take this town again, he would be sure to send a warning letter with whoever went out to meet him. But in no way was he willing to get in the middle of that again.
Wolfe laughed, and passed the lady at the closest dessert stand a mana crystal, which she exchanged for a set of small bowls of ice cream. She knew the young girl’s mother, and that the bunny had no filter, so she was almost certain to snitch the moment that she was asked about the incident.
If it was just a small bowl, she could blame it all on Mister Wolfe and his friends. A big bowl or a fancy cone would definitely come back at her when the girl’s mother got to work in the market that night.