Do I look that scary? Blour raised an eyebrow. It was the first time he had been appraised by a child in such a wary manner, and it wasn’t a good feeling. He strove to inject more warmth into his smile as he said, “Hello there, pretty little girl. Order anything you like; I’ll pay your bill for today. How does that sound?”


  Anna’s eyes lit up upon hearing that, but she gave no reply. Instead, she turned toward Joshua as if to inquire about his decision.

  “Thank you for your kindness, but my little Anna only wants to eat that thing that they’re holding. I’m capable of paying for that myself.” Joshua shook his head with a polite smile as he pointed to a customer who was holding an ice cream.

  “That’s ice cream. If you would like to order one, you can pick a flavor first. There are four flavors to choose from.” Yabemiya flipped open the menu to the ice cream page for them in a thoughtful gesture.

  Joshua’s brows furrowed momentarily at the sight of the 200 copper coin price on the menu, but he quickly put on a smile as he turned to Anna. “Which flavor would you like, Anna?”


  “Wow!” Anna’s eyes were shimmering as she looked at the images of the four different-flavored ice creams on the menu. She couldn’t help but inch her face closer to the menu, overwhelmed by the choices presented to her.

  “Anna? That’s a great name. If you want to try an ice cream, I suggest the mocha flavor; it’s super delicious.” Even though Blour had been given the cold shoulder, he was still appraising Anna with a warm smile.

  Anna looked at Blour again and didn’t say anything, but her gaze had indeed been drawn to the mocha ice cream that Blour was pointing at.

  “The mocha flavor is a green tea flavor. If you’d like a sweet and sour ice cream, you can go with the blueberry flavor. If you like a rich and sweet ice cream, the chocolate flavor would be the way to go. If you prefer something that’s light and fragrant, vanilla would be the best choice.” Yabemiya offered an introduction to help Anna make her decision. After accruing some experience in the past few days, she discovered that most little kids preferred the sweet and sour blueberry flavor or the super sweet chocolate flavor over the mocha flavor ice cream.

  “I want the sweet and sour one!” Anna pointed at the blueberry ice cream with an elated expression after hearing Yabemiya’s introduction.

  “Alright, please get us a blueberry ice cream.” Joshua turned to Yabemiya with a smile.

  “Would you like to order anything else?” Yabemiya asked.

  “No, thanks. One ice cream will do.” Joshua smiled as he closed the menu on the table in front of him.

  “Alright, please wait a moment.” Yabemiya nodded as she turned toward the kitchen.

  Blour looked at Joshua’s wrinkled face with complex emotions in his heart, at a loss for what to do.

  Anna was practically bouncing in her seat as she waited for her ice cream. Her gaze fell on Blour’s untouched portion of Yangzhou fried rice, and she suddenly couldn’t look away as her little stomach began to growl. She had only had a small breakfast, and was getting quite hungry. Even though there was a delicious ice cream arriving soon, she was still drawn to the delicious-looking rainbow fried rice.

  “I seem to have ordered too much food. Anna, can you do me a favor? I haven’t touched this portion of rainbow fried rice; can you eat it for me? Food is a blessing given to us by nature, and it’s not good to waste food.” Blour looked at Anna with a concerned expression.

  “Grandpa, can I?” Anna turned to Joshua with a pitiable expression. She had never seen such beautiful food before, and was salivating involuntarily.

  Blour also turned to Joshua with genuine benevolence in his eyes.

  “Alright, you have my thanks.” Joshua looked at the expectant Anna, then at the genuine Blour, and finally made up his mind.

  He had lived for over 700 years, and traveled almost the entire Norland Continent. He had seen everything there was to see, and had become a very good judge of character. At the very least, the eyes couldn’t lie. One’s nature could be gleaned through their eyes, and Blour’s eyes were very pure and clear. Even among elves, there were very few with eyes as clean as his unless children were factored in.

  Blour still had residual magic elements which indicated that he was very powerful despite his young age on his body. His mannerism suggested that he hailed from a major family in the Wind Forest, but the benevolence he displayed toward Anna was not feigned.

  The Wind Forest was the elven homeland, and not all members of the major families were bad people. That was something that Joshua constantly reminded himself of. At the very least, the elven princess had helped him in the past. Otherwise, he would have been separated from Anna.

  “Then…… I guess I’ll help you eat it.” Anna was still a little wary as she looked at Blour.

  “Alright, thank you for your help, Anna.” Blour offered the fried rice to Anna with a smile and handed her his spoon as well.

  “Thank you.” Anna accepted the spoon, but her attention had been completely drawn to the fried rice placed in front of her. An alluring scent wafted through the air, making her stomach growl even more ferociously. She scooped a spoonful of fried rice into her mouth, and her eyes shimmered like stars.

  “It’s so delicious!” Anna exclaimed with elation. She scooped up another spoonful of fried rice and offered it to Joshua. “Grandpa, you have a taste too; it’s super delicious!”


  “I’m not hungry, Anna, you should eat it. You can only grow big if you eat lots.” Joshua shook his head with a smile. He had taken a look at the Yangzhou fried rice on the menu, and discovered that it cost 600 copper coins. He wasn’t wealthy at all, so this was a very rare opportunity for Anna to taste such delicious and expensive food.

  “No! If Grandpa won’t eat, then I won’t eat, either.” Anna shook her head stubbornly.

  Joshua looked at Anna’s serious expression, and could only accept the spoonful of fried rice in a resigned manner. Anna was only a little girl, but she was very stubborn. If she set her mind on something, she would see it through to the end.

  “This flavor!” Joshua’s eyes immediately widened. The fried rice was incredibly delicious, but what was most surprising to him was that faint fragrant undertone.

  A memory that had been sealed away for decades suddenly sprang to life again. He was sure that he was tasting the flavor of the Spring of Life. Over 100 years ago, the elven queen had rewarded him, as well as a group of other elves who had made significant contributions in the war among species, with a cup of the Spring of Life. Even though it was only a small cup, the flavor was something he would never forget. He didn’t think that he would taste it again in a restaurant in Chaos City.

  “Are you guys traveling the continent?” Blour asked with a smile.