Chapter 28: The God-Man and the Witch

Even though Lady Flam had considered the complexity of the sewer purification work and simplified the process as much as possible for Kalia, it remained a semi-punitive task that kept Kalia busy from midday until late at night.

Her mental state had shifted from being as spirited and energetic as a house-wrecking husky at the start, to that of a stray dog by the side of the road.

"Ah~~~ Roland, I can't walk anymore... Why is it so tiring?"

"What are you complaining about? Aren't I the one carrying you right now? If anyone's tired, it should be me, right? Damn it, why are you so heavy? Did you get fat in the last couple of days?"

"(Annoyed) Roland, it is impolite to discuss a young lady's weight to her face, and I am not heavy at all!"

Kalia tightened her grip around Roland's neck in dissatisfaction.

"Behave yourself. The fact that I'm even willing to carry you is already generous enough."

Ignoring her little antics, Roland asked, "Where are you staying tonight? I'll take you back."

"Where am I staying? Can't I go to your place?"

"?" Roland stopped in his tracks. "Did you not have a place to stay last night?"

"Oh, please! The old lady... the teacher lectured me all night long, I didn't get any sleep at all!"

Hearing this, Roland suddenly felt a sense of admiration for the witch's boundless energy. He continued walking with Kalia on his back, moving through the now-quiet streets under the glow of the streetlamps and the moonlight.

"So you're saying you didn't sleep at all last night, just got scolded, then spent the early morning buying groceries at the market and came over here to cook?"

"And after successfully using your wits and traps to trick me into joining the sewer purification work, you took on all the labor yourself and worked until now?"

"Heh heh, impressive, right?"

Lying on Roland's back, Kalia poked her head forward, seemingly eager to see the expression on his face. Unfortunately, she could only see the side of his cheek. Her hair brushed against his face and neck, creating a ticklish sensation.

"Impressive, indeed. You really are full of energy."

Roland gave a perfunctory comment and then changed the subject. "So, are you hungry? Even though it's late, there are still quite a few shops open in the city."

"Riescan is different from the capital; there's no such thing as a curfew here."

"There are plenty of workers on night shifts, so some shops are happy to do business. I've eaten at a few, and the food is quite good."

"I just don't know if they're open today, considering what happened yesterday."

"Are you serious!?" At the mention of food, Kalia suddenly perked up. "What kind of food?"

"What do you expect to eat in the middle of the night? Don't even think about desserts or snacks; it's all pub grub and hearty staples."

No sooner had Roland finished speaking than he felt his back become lighter.

Kalia jumped off his back, seemingly having recovered all her strength and spirit. The exhaustion that had been on her face vanished, replaced by a look of seriousness and determination: "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

"At night, you have to eat something that fills your stomach!"

Roland rolled his eyes at the energetic Kalia: "You, were you just pretending to be tired earlier? Trying to trick me into carrying you?"

"Ah hahaha... how could that be? I was definitely tired, I just regained my energy when I heard there was food."

Kalia turned halfway around, subconsciously twiddling her fingers, her gaze shifting away. Roland decided not to comment on that.

"Fine, fine. Which way? There's an alley around the corner at the end of the street. The tavern inside has great fried oysters and seafood noodles."

"Yay!"

...

"Ding-a-ling."

Roland pushed open the tavern door with Kalia. To his surprise, the tavern, which should have been packed at this hour, was completely empty. Only the owner was sitting behind the bar, reading a newspaper.

"Uncle Jules, the usual. Oh, make it two sets today."

The owner, known as Jules, put down the newspaper and stood up, protruding a beer belly. He wasn't actually fat; his limbs and face were quite proportionate. Only his stomach was particularly conspicuous; if he wore a looser jacket to cover it, he could easily pass for a handsome middle-aged man.

"Ah, you brat. You actually brought a friend along to support the business today?"

When Uncle Jules spoke, he put extra emphasis on the word "friend," his tone filled with teasing.

Roland didn't answer, simply asking, "Why is the tavern so quiet today? No one coming in?"

"You kid, did you forget about yesterday? The chaos in the city isn't over yet. Even though daily life isn't affected, the harbor is still under lockdown." Jules sighed. "No work, no business for me."

"But if you'd come a bit earlier, there were still a few tables drinking."

"Also, this young lady..."

"Just an ordinary friend, don't read too much into it."

Roland quickly interrupted Jules's inquiry and urged him, "Hurry up with the food, Uncle Jules. We're both quite hungry."

"Alright, alright."

Seeing he wouldn't get any more out of him, Jules headed to the kitchen to cook. Roland glanced at Kalia beside him; she seemed quite excited.

"You seem very happy?"

"Yeah, this is my first time at a tavern!" Kalia looked around at the furnishings with curiosity, as if everything was novel to her. She then looked at Roland: "You seem to come here often. Are you here to drink?"

"No, just to gather information." Roland shook his head. "Though I do have a light beer occasionally."

"There's a lot of flow in a tavern. Sometimes you don't need to do anything; just sitting here drinking is enough to overhear some interesting news."

"You come to a tavern and don't drink?" Kalia was surprised.

"Drinking interferes with focus and affects one's ability to make correct decisions. Even if I do drink, I make sure not to reach a state of intoxication." Roland added, "Even a tipsy state is out of the question."

While they were talking, two plates of freshly fried oysters were placed before them. There was no fancy plating; a few fried oysters were scattered on the plates, with a slice of lime and some Thousand Island dressing on the side to cut through the richness. It was typical Riescan cuisine.

"The noodles will take a moment, you two eat first." After serving the food, Jules turned back to the kitchen.

"Wow! It looks so delicious!"

Seeing the food, Kalia couldn't hold back; she immediately picked up her fork, skewered a fried oyster, and popped it into her mouth. Predictably, she started hopping in place from the heat.

Roland couldn't help but cover his face. Eating something straight out of the fryer like that—should he say it was typical of her?

"Let it cool for a moment; it won't be good if you burn your tongue."

"Woo woo woo... it's shoo hot!"

"..."

Roland suddenly stopped looking forward to his future school life. Just the thought of having to look after this eccentric girl at the academy made him feel that the future was bleak. Did this person put all her stat points into appearance and spellcasting talent?