Chapter 28

The following morning, every single one of my muscles was sore. I tried to stand up, but someone’s arms were hugging me firmly. I was being used as a pillow.

 

I put up a struggle, which, in the process of setting me free, also woke up my captor up.

 

“Oh, you are awake,” she said before yawning. “You know, I don’t know if anyone has told you this before, but for a goat with horns, you are very soft and squishy.”

 

“Huh!?”

 

I jumped out of the girl’s reach and quickly glanced at my magical bracelet, but nothing seemed to be wrong with it.

 

“Oh, that little trinket of yours,” she said, standing up from the pile of hay in which she rested. “It is truly masterful. I must applaud the genius of the Great Archmage, if you ever wish to sell it. Well, I am kinda broke right now, but once I am not, consider selling that trinket to me.”

 

“Who the hell are you?” I asked. There was something strange about this girl. Her curly green hair, her passionate red eyes, the smug smile on her face. She knew something that I did not know, and it brought her great joy.

 

Was she a threat? Was she a friend? She wore a uniform, similar to the ones that people in the Magic Academy wore, but it looked quite antiquated in comparison. Her red robe was being held together by a single golden talisman right below her neck. Was it of a religious nature? Maybe she had a strict upbringing?

 

“Oh,” she chuckled. “It seems you have many questions. How cute. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Aurelia. 7th circle magician and 27th president of the Escolae Magia Acedemica’s Archeology club. Pretty impressive, isn’t it? I guess I forgot to mention I was also twice elected to be the Academy’s consul, ohohoho,”

 

‘So she is another nutcase.’

 

I am beginning to think that I must be some type of magnet for this kind of people. Almost as if we were interlinked by fate.

 

“Yeah, yeah, nice to meet you. My name is Berry. Now if you excuse me, I have important things to-“

 

My stomach grunted with noises that one should only expect from an orc.

 

“Wow, you are very hungry aren’t you? Let’s go grab breakfast on my dime.”

 

‘No Berry. You must resist. Do not let this monster tempt you. Come up with an excuse,’

 

“I thought you said you were broke. I rather not burden you with-“

 

My stomach roared again, this time - without any sense of shame.

 

“Ohohoho, that will not be a problem. For I know a place that sells very good sausages for very very cheap,”

 

Against my will, I found myself following the eerie-looking girl into the slums of the city.

 

She seemed very happy that I choose to follow her. She energetically walked through the wet cobblestone streets as if she was part of a marching band.

 

“Beautiful city, isn’t it?” Aurelia asked.

 

I looked around, but this part of the city seemed to have been reduced down to almost ruins.

 

“Huh?”

 

“This city, you know. It has quite a long history to it. Since I am buying you food. I guess you have no choice but to hear me talk about it. Ohohoho.”

 

‘Does she not realize that I could just choose to not pay attention?’

 

She began to monologue about ancient battles between humans and demons happening in the proximity of the city itself. She spoke about the city’s ancient sewers and how, just a mere century ago, it still had unexplored dungeon floors.

 

Everything she spoke about had happened way in the past. She knew the events very well and spoke about them with great fascination, almost like a historian.

 

At no point did Aurelia speak about recent or current events. While talking to her, one could completely forget that the city was under constant siege by the army of the dead.

 

Ultimately, her lore dump was useful, but boring. I zoned out.

 

My mind remained numb until we reached a set of narrow alleys that smelled like dirty, wet clothes.

 

Upon entering the alleys. The cobblestone lead way to bare soil. The ground was covered with trash and pebbles. The surrounding walls were clearly breaking apart. I had to be very careful with my steps and careful of my surroundings.

 

Aurelia did not seem to care. She happily took me to an abandoned two-story inn.

 

“Is this it?” I asked.

 

Aurelia answered my question by knocking very violently on the building’s door.

 

Thankfully, no one answered.

 

“The place is clearly abandoned,” I said out loud.

 

However, Aurelia insisted that I was wrong.

 

“The best cook in the city lives here. You just watch,” she said. The smug smile on her face made it seem like there was no way that she could be mistaken.

 

“Well, if they do not answer in five minutes. We can always eat together another time,” I said. There would be no other time. I had made a mistake by following this crazy girl.

 

“Patience, the door will open,” she said. As she began pounding on the door with even more strength.

 

She made so much noise that a dog somewhere in the slums began to bark very loudly.

 

Was this really the place where I wanted to be? I looked around me; the Alley was humid, dirty and the buildings nearby were all in need of urgent repair. The floor was sticky and covered in mud and trash. There were flies flying nearby. It was a gross place to be at.

 

Maybe it was not the best idea to follow Aurelia here.

 

I allowed the early morning sunlight to give me a false sense of security. That was foolish. Here in the alley, the time of the day did not seem to matter much. For it was very dark and cold, with no one around to see me shiver in the darkness.

 

While I pondered what to do, a very burly, hairy, black-haired man opened the door. He was clearly in his fifties.

 

“What!” He yelled.

 

“Two specials, please,” Aurelia said, raising two of her fingers forward. The confidence on her face seemed infinite.

 

The man grunted and raised his arms as he made his way back into the interior of the building, but he did so while leaving the door wide open, almost as if he was inviting us to follow him inside.

 

He was also clearly not too far away from the door, as Aurelia and I could hear him murmur about common decency and respect. To this, Aurelia responded with a smug smile.

 

“Let’s go in!” She said.

 

“Wait, It might not-“

 

“Don’t worry about it. Victor is always like that,” Aurelia said, as she interrupted me and dragged me inside the building.

 

When we entered, I could tell that the building was divided into two sections. The small kitchen-restaurant from which we entered, and then next to it, behind a door, a hallway that lead somewhere deeper into the building.

 

Aurelia and I each grabbed a seat next to the kitchen-bar from which the burly man - Victor - began to cook.

 

From there, I could see Victor began chopping and throwing sausage into a boiling cauldron. He was cooking more than enough food to feed an entire family.

 

The entire situation was bizarre. The kitchen looked poorly sanitized and dirty. But Aurelia said nothing. She did not seem to care. Worst of all, the cook was beginning to sweat. This was because despite it being rather cold and humid outside, the kitchen itself had no ventilation in the kitchen and the stove was emanating too much heat.

 

However, the rest of the room was not as hot. Some of the cold morning wind broke in through the badly insulated windows.

 

“Is this place really a restaurant?” I asked.

 

The burly man in the kitchen laughed. His laugh was not malicious, and it did not last long.

 

“Restaurant? I am not so sure where you got that idea from,” he said before returning his attention to what he was cooking.

 

“Then, if is not a restaurant, where are we?” I asked.

 

Aurelia smiled. It was not a ‘I am happy you asked’ smile. Instead, it was a ‘I got you’ smile.

 

“My dear, if only you knew,” Aurelia asked.

 

She sounded almost like an older woman. Not because of her voice, but because of her tone.

 

Victor turned around and stared me deep in the eyes, without blinking. “This is the headquarters of the slaver’s guild. We sell demi-humans by the dozens,”

 

His voice was monotone, but harsh.

 

‘Fuck,’

 

My body got tense. But my Qi did not sense any malicious intent.

 

Victor turned his back to me and resumed cooking.

 

Aurelia saw my discomfort and smiled even further. It was quite impressive how much her lips could stretch across her face.

 

“He is joking,” Aurelia said. “Victor loves pranking his first time costumers all the time. That is why, as you can see, the business is not doing so well.”

 

“I can do with what I have,” Victor replied.

 

I had no context. The two clearly knew each other well. I allowed the food to speak for itself.

 

However, when I finally had a taste of the sausage and beans that Victor had prepared. I had no words. Not because it tasted very good, as it did. But because of the status that I was granted.

 

[+20% Stamina, +10% Strength +5% Mana] [You have consumed a Legendary Class Food Item]

 

“What the hell!” I yelled out loud. Tears fell from my eyes.

 

“Was it too spicy?” Victor asked.

 

“How can this be this good!?” I asked. It was almost as if I had unlocked a cheat skill.

 

“Fufufu, foolish child. Victor used to be the royal chef,” Aurelia said. “With a very prosperous career, I must add,”

 

“Royal chef!?” I asked. In moments like this, I wish I had an appraisal skill. “Why would you quit?”

 

“It was not worth it. Nobles are the scum of the earth,” Victor said. “However, it doesn’t matter now. That was almost twenty years ago. There are more important things in life.”

 

Victor rang a bell, and suddenly a multitude of kids came out of nowhere. They looked poor but well fed. The food that Victor had prepared was enough to feed around twenty kids.

 

When we left, Aurelia took me to the city square. There, she helped me search for my companions. Until suddenly, I bumped into Allisa.

 

She, for once, seemed happy to see me.

 

I was going to introduce her to Aurelia. However. Aurelia vanished without a trace.