"Let's make it extra spicy, two."
Suddenly, a strange, thin adolescent voice stirred the air. A man with a large belly, completely out of proportion to his age and height, came to the food counter. He looked at the tall, thin stools for a while but didn't seem sure they could support him. Realizing this, Jalal immediately brought one of the large stools they used for their larger guests. He knew the old lord had the same need. The Old Lord was a legend among bean gourmets.
With his sword on his back and his big face and green hair, he looked like a cross between a mighty sword saint and a pig.
Please don't think I'm insulting Kasuur when I say this. I am only pointing out the resemblance.
Milena turned her head and looked at the burly figure with a frown. He was a formidable opponent. His age should not be underestimated. Looking at Kasuur's belly, one might doubt that his greatest talent was cultivation.
"I heard you were severely beaten by the little boy. I thought you'd be out of commission for a few more weeks." Kasuur's face instantly crumpled.
"I don't want to talk about it."
Milena laughed condescendingly. Soon after, she realized that someone was trying to climb onto the stool next to her.
"Huh?"
She thought a dwarf had come into the restaurant, but then she turned her head and saw the figure next to her. Turns out, she was wrong. It wasn't a dwarf. Instead, it was a little girl.
"Wow! It's been a long time since I've eaten here, Brother Jalal. Did you miss me?"
The little girl next to Milena had chubby cheeks, long black hair, and green eyes. If anything made her stand out, it was her ears, not her age. Did she sleep with her ears covered every night, resulting in such long, prominent ears?
"Just a mortal. He'll probably eat simple baked beans."
"Of course she'll eat regular baked beans, but that's not appropriate for a seven-year-old girl. Where are her parents?"
"Oh, maybe she's waiting for someone?"
Soon, voices could be heard from all sides. People were speaking their minds endlessly, making it a noisy place. Ah, the old geezers never mince their words. Everything they say seems as true as a law from the heavens. In the noisy atmosphere, Jalal had difficulty hearing the little girl's order. Valeria, with a mischievous smile on her face, realized this and didn't hesitate to say her order a little louder.
"Dry beans and rice! I want the motor oil version!" a thin girl's voice rang through the restaurant, and suddenly, all the noise stopped.
The motor oil version. It was an incredibly daring version of baked beans that not many people would dare try. After eating this dish, many people either made progress in the cultivation realm that they had not been able to make for a long time or were completely crippled. It was unbelievable that a seven-year-old girl would order a dish no ordinary person would eat.
"You've got to be... kidding me!"
"There's no point in making a child drink poison, even if it's only for mortals!"
"It's not a competition. Does it have to be such a big deal?"
A few minutes later, the food they had ordered arrived. Kasuur and Milena's orange baked beans with white rice made for an interesting contrast. But Valeria's plate of baked beans was bigger than her face and had black liquid dots on it. Many people had never seen such beans before. Their voices gradually died down, and they just watched to see what would happen. No one moved to stop the little girl.
Kasuur gritted his teeth and looked at Valeria with a fierce expression. He narrowed his eyes.
'I refuse to believe that you can eat beans like that!'
Milena looked at Valeria suspiciously and then buried herself in her own food. But no one was paying attention to her anymore. It was hard to say whether Milena was disturbed by this.
Unaware of anything, Valeria picked up her spoon and stirred her food. People watched her curiously, many thinking that she would eat at most one spoonful and leave the rest. Her clothes looked like a maid's, and she didn't look wealthy. Her parents were bound to be furious with her.
"I don't believe there's a child who can eat this," Ulam said haughtily from the corner.
Then, the green-eyed, chubby-cheeked girl excitedly dipped her spoon into the food and began to gobble it down. One spoonful, two spoonfuls, three spoonfuls... People were amazed at how much she enjoyed her food. It was amazing just to watch her.
Kasuur, sitting right next to her, could smell the strong odor of the beans. This made him feel inferior and angry towards Valeria. However, Kasuur was only annoyed with Valeria.
"Ah, so this is the league of giants..." lamented Ulam. He didn't seem to have any intention of getting involved. Surprisingly, he didn't seem upset that an eight-year-old girl was better at something than he was.
Kasuur, on the other hand, was already on his feet. His green hair tickled the back of his neck as he considered whether to use his sword to teach this little girl a lesson. Unaware of his thoughts, Valeria sensed the tension but continued eating.
There was no one there who could stand up to Kasuur. So, everyone continued eating. Their eyes followed the young genius, wondering if he was really going to hurt the little girl out of jealousy.
Kasuur took a step forward, his hand moving toward the sword on his back.
"Hmph! I assume someone here wants a beating."
At that moment, Kasuur felt a blast of cold air on the back of his neck. He instantly backed away, suspecting a monster was behind him, but the black-haired boy made no move toward him. He took a step forward with his cane and approached Valeria. Everyone in the restaurant was looking at him, and even Milena looked up from her food. Unlike her, however, Valeria buried her head deeper in her food, pretending to be an ostrich, hoping Mais wouldn't see her.
"Did you think you could skip class and come here to eat baked beans?"
Even though Valeria was not in Mais' custody, Mais had noticed her the moment she left the house and enlisted the help of Ms. Xiao to follow the little lady who was supposed to be in class.
The young woman turned her head away in shame. A mortal had escaped so easily under her watch. She really should have been ashamed.
"You can come back for dinner when you finish your lesson. I'll treat you," Mais said. With those words, the embarrassed little girl bowed her head, smiled a very sweet smile, and did not complain as Mais took her by the hand and led her away. The two left with Miss Xiao, while Kasuur remained in a defensive posture. Eventually, Milena told Maria about the situation, and Kasuur was bundled home unhappily under her consolation.
However, by the end of the day, it was young Master Ulam who had lost. Kasuur slept peacefully. Unlike Kasuur, Ulam tried to sleep through the night in his room, plagued by an unpleasant odor and great shame.