Chapter 82: Dinner
“Burp, I’m full.”
Elrose leaned back against the chair, belching in satisfaction, her face glowing with contentment.
Seeing this, Luna quickly poured a cup of warm water and handed it to Elrose.
Elrose took the cup and drank it in one go, then smiled and said, “Thank you, Luna.”
“You’re welcome,” Luna replied gently.
Elrose chuckled twice and then turned her gaze towards Kendrick, who was sitting nearby: “By the way, Kendrick boss, we’ve been closed for three days. Are we opening tonight?”
“We’re not.” Kendrick shook his head and said, “I have some guests over for dinner tonight, so I won’t be opening the shop.”
“Guests?” Elrose asked, a bit confused.
“Yeah,” Kendrick nodded. “They’re all companions from my old adventure team. A few you’ve met before, and a few you haven’t. A lot happened today, and I’d like to hear their thoughts, so I invited them all over.”
“Oh, I see.” Elrose nodded, then, feeling a bit weary, said, “Then Kendrick boss, since we’re not opening, does that mean I don’t have anything to do? Can I take a nap? I really am a bit tired after running around outside.”
“Of course,” Kendrick smiled faintly. “Go rest. I’ll wake you up for dinner. Really, thank you for everything today.”
Elrose smiled and nodded, greeting everyone one by one before heading upstairs to sleep.
After Elrose left, Kendrick and his family quietly sat at the dining table, and everyone’s gaze inevitably turned toward Luna.
Kendrick sighed lightly: “Luna, now that the exam at the Obsidian Tower is over, do you have any plans for the future?”
“I…” Luna thought for a moment and decided to keep Elrose’s situation a secret for now. “I don’t have any ideas yet. For now, I’ll just maintain the status quo. I’ve come to realize that the Obsidian Tower isn’t all that great; it’s mysterious and not necessarily reliable. Lilith was right before; I might just stay home and study magic on my own and achieve something.”
Luna smiled wryly: “Just afraid I might trouble you to take care of me for a few more years.”
“Of course, that’s no problem,” Kendrick said firmly. “If your goal is to become a great mage, I might not be able to help much, but if all you want is that, don’t mention a few years; a lifetime would be fine.”
“Hehe, thanks, Dad.”
“Mm, good, you have a sweet tongue.”
The sun set, the moon rose, and nighttime descended. But Karashok remained lively, with lights glowing from every household, people coming and going, chatting and laughing, as if everyone wore a joyful smile.
At this moment, a foreigner cloaked in white crossed through the village gate and entered the bustling street. “So this is Karashok, it’s so lively.” Alicia raised her right hand, where the Holy Dragon Contract shimmered with bright light.
Alicia couldn’t help but show a joyful expression; although she didn’t know how Calandia was doing now, just thinking about seeing her again made her heart race. “Tia, I’m coming.”
With that, Alicia strode confidently further into the street.
At the same time, “Elrose, wake up!” Luna half-squatted beside Elrose’s bed, gently calling her.
“Mm~, let me sleep a bit longer.” Elrose mumbled, turned over, holding onto the thick blanket, and continued to sleep soundly.
Luna smiled helplessly, then leaned down to Elrose’s ear and softly said, “Elrose, you really should get up now, or someone else will eat your dinner.”
“Dinner!” Elrose instinctively sprang up from the bed, wiping the drool from the corner of her mouth, looking as if she was still half-asleep: “Dinner, dinner, don’t touch my dinner.”
“Haha, don’t worry, the food isn’t on the table yet.” Luna smiled cheerfully. “But there are many guests today, and the dinner will start soon. If you don’t get up, you might really not have anything to eat.”
Elrose instantly woke up.
With a “whoosh!”, Elrose jumped out of bed, got dressed in record time, and grabbed Luna’s hand.
“Dinner, dinner, go go go.”
At Nightmoon Tavern, on the first floor.
Lilith and Stella sat across from two men and three women. Among them, Elrose recognized Kendrick’s old team leader, Cedric, and the Adventurer’s Guild’s appraiser, Celia.
As for the other two women and the man. One of the women was dressed in priestly robes with a gorgeous necklace around her neck, clearly a cleric.
The other woman had a beautiful light purple longbow placed on the table behind her, obviously an archer, and it was easy to tell she cared a lot about her appearance, dressed elegantly and even wearing light makeup—seemingly preparing for this dinner.
As for the last man, he wore a mage’s robe, his identity being self-evident.
They chatted and laughed, and Lilith and Stella showed no signs of restraint sitting opposite them; it was clear they were old acquaintances who had met many times.
At this moment, Elrose and Luna, hand in hand, approached everyone.
“Uncle and Aunt, let me introduce to you, this is our new member at Nightmoon Tavern, Elrose.” Luna said politely.
“Wow~.” The cleric covered her mouth and exclaimed loudly, “What a beautiful little girl, just like she walked out of a painting.”
“What’s going on with Kendrick? This little girl gets cuter than the last.” The mage sitting beside them said enviously, “Damn, I want to pick one up too.”
Only the archer sat proudly to the side, seemingly indifferent to everything around her.
Seeing this, Elrose gave a slight bow and said, “Hello, I’m Elrose Phil, you can call me Elrose.”
Just then, Kendrick slowly walked over from the kitchen: “Oh, Elrose, you’re here! Let me introduce you. These five are all my old battle companions; they’re currently working in Karashok. Get to know them; if you encounter anything in the future, you can ask them for help.”
Kendrick began to introduce, “You’ve met Cedric and Celia; they both work at the Adventurer’s Guild. This jolly mage is Edwin; he’s the vice president of the Mage Association’s Karashok branch, and this beautiful cleric is Saya; she works at the cathedral, responsible for daily prayers and healing the wounded.”
“And her?” Kendrick glanced gently at the archer beside him: “This cold woman who acts like someone owes her a hundred thousand gold coins is Ischer. She’s not much use, so you don’t need to greet her when you see her.”
Ischer immediately slammed the table and shouted: “Kendrick, are you insane? Is this how you introduce people?”
“Hah, what else should I say? What do you want me to say to introduce you?” Kendrick replied dismissively. “A gentle and considerate big sister? Don’t be ridiculous.”
Ischer’s eyes widened: “Kendrick, I’ll curse you!”
“Curse what? I don’t know you; go ahead and curse if you want, it has nothing to do with me.”
“Kendrick, I…”
“Wozhi, Ischer, can you keep your mouth clean? My daughter is still here!”
“I don’t care, Kendrick, you…”
“I’ll… you old hag, if you curse me again, do you believe I’ll kick you out?”
“Fine, go ahead and try!”
The two squabbled loudly, their voices growing louder, but strangely, the others showed no intention of stopping them.
Elrose looked at Luna in confusion and asked, “Luna, what’s going on with them? Is it really fine for them to be this loud?”
Luna thought for a moment and slowly said, “Elrose, do you want to hear the truth or a lie?”
Elrose was taken aback and then replied, “If I’m going to hear it, I want to hear the truth. But I’m curious, what’s the lie?”
Luna gently nodded: “The lie is, they don’t get along, and they argue every time they meet; everyone is used to it.”
“And the truth?” Elrose asked.
“The truth…” Luna paused for a moment, somewhat helplessly said, “The truth is that the universe’s invincible tsundere girl has met the ultimate titanium alloy straight man. Even though they like each other, they just can’t connect. You get it, right?”
“Ha?!”
