Chapter: An Unexpected Guest
Smoke curled from the chimney as Cheng Yu worked in the kitchen, frying rice.
The manor garden wasn't just filled with flowers—several umbrella-like trees provided shade, with stone tables and benches arranged beneath them.
Maxi and the gray-robed old man sat casually at one of the stone tables, resting.
Mina wore her classic black-and-white maid outfit, a pair of fluffy white animal ears poking up from her head. Tall and slender, she swept the pathway with a broom in hand.
Maxi's gaze drifted toward Mina. The wolf-eared girl had a great figure and striking appearance, but his heart remained calm.
As the third prince of the Black Sun Empire, Maxi had seen countless beauties. He'd long since grown numb to them.
He was far more interested in food than women.
Cheng Yu emerged from the wooden house carrying two large plates of fried rice. He set them down in front of Maxi and the gray-robed old man.
The golden, crispy fried eggs gave off an irresistible aroma. Each grain of rice was distinct and perfectly coated, mixed with chopped green onions and MSG to enhance the fragrance and flavor. Just smelling it made your mouth water.
After taking a spoonful to taste, Maxi's round face immediately filled with shock. "Oh my God! Compared to this bowl of fried rice, the palace delicacies I've eaten before are complete garbage!"
"Is it really that good?"
The gray-robed old man was skeptical. He also took a spoonful to taste.
The crispy aroma of the fried egg and the fragrance of the green onions lingered endlessly on his palate.
"It's incredible!" the gray-robed old man couldn't help but praise.
"Amazing. To think there's such a master chef in the desolate borderlands of the Northern Fortress."
Impatiently, Maxi picked up the entire plate, opened his mouth wide, and poured the fried rice directly into it.
"Is this boss descended from a palace chef?" the gray-robed old man wondered aloud.
Hearing their praise, Mina showed disdain—like watching two country bumpkins who'd never seen the world.
Egg fried rice was just the most basic dish in Cheng Yu's repertoire.
"Mina, let's eat," Cheng Yu said.
After a busy morning, he hadn't had breakfast yet.
Setting down the broom, Mina brought out a plate of braised pork and two plates of seasonal vegetables from the kitchen.
The three dishes were placed on a stone table beneath another large tree—only five or six meters away from Maxi's table.
The braised pork had been cooked with pork belly, onion, ginger, garlic, dark soy sauce, rock sugar, star anise, cinnamon, bay leaves, dried chili, and other spices. The aroma spread everywhere.
Smelling the scent of braised pork, Maxi was drawn like a fly to honey. Unable to resist the temptation, he hurried over to Cheng Yu and Mina's stone table.
"Boss, what's this? It smells amazing!"
"Braised pork."
Cheng Yu picked up a piece and popped it into his mouth.
Leaning over the table, Maxi looked at Cheng Yu hopefully. "It looks delicious. Can I try some?"
"Sure, but you have to pay."
"Money's no problem."
Maxi used the spoon he'd been eating fried rice with to scoop up a piece of braised pork.
It was fatty but not greasy, soft and flavorful. The aromas of star anise and cinnamon complemented each other, forming a unique delicacy.
Maxi's eyes drifted shut. His round face showed an expression of pure bliss and admiration—like he was experiencing something indescribable.
"Boss Cheng Yu, can I live here? You can make delicious food for me."
Why bother going back to the northern fortress when he could enjoy delicacies here that even the palace didn't have?
Maxi planned to move in with Cheng Yu.
"Fatty, this is my home. Why should I let you live here?"
Cheng Yu's tone was blunt.
"I can pay you."
"Pay? How much?"
"I'll give you fifty gold coins a month."
"How much? Fifty gold coins?"
Cheng Yu was stunned. He could earn 1.6 gold coins a day selling buns—48 gold coins a month. After deducting costs, his profit was only around 47 gold coins.
This young man named Maxi was casually offering fifty gold coins. This was absurd!
Seeing Cheng Yu's reaction, Maxi assumed he thought it was too little. "One hundred gold coins. How about one hundred gold coins?"
Cheng Yu's mouth twitched. This fat guy was loaded. Some people were born in Rome, while others were born to be pack mules. The old sayings were true.
The manor covered several thousand square meters and had dozens of vacant rooms. It was bigger than most hotels. Accommodating two more people was no problem.
"Alright, but you pay up front." Cheng Yu was worried Maxi might refuse to pay after moving in.
"Teacher, give Boss Cheng Yu one hundred gold coins," Maxi said to the gray-robed old man.
The gray-robed old man hesitated, eyeing Maxi's bloated figure. "Um... weren't you trying to lose weight? Are you sure you can still lose weight living here?"
"As long as the speed of losing weight exceeds the speed of gaining weight, there'll be absolutely no problem." Maxi's round face was full of confidence.
"Fine."
The gray-robed old man pulled out a beautiful blue cloth pouch decorated with the logo of the Continental Magic Association. He extracted one hundred gold coins and handed them to Cheng Yu.
After receiving the coins, Cheng Yu stared at the blue pouch curiously. It was only palm-sized—nowhere near big enough to hold a hundred gold coins.
It seemed to be a spatial magic tool, similar to a spatial ring.
"My name is Maxi Bernard, and I'm currently a first-tier mage. This is my teacher, Austin Yarick, a fourth-tier mage."
Maxi introduced himself and the gray-robed old man to Cheng Yu.
"Fourth-tier mage? That's incredible."
Cheng Yu had learned about the professional system on the Celsis Continent. Each profession had nine tiers, and the strength gap between each tier was enormous.
Most people who studied magic in the Black Sun Empire were first or second-tier mages. Fourth-tier mages were rare.
These two guys—one first-tier mage, one fourth-tier mage—were generous and carried rare spatial magic tools.
It was clear these two had extraordinary backgrounds.
Cheng Yu had a pretty good idea of who they might be.
After getting a hundred gold coins from Maxi, plus the hundred gold coins from Marcus last time, plus the original fifty-five gold coins, Cheng Yu now had 255 gold coins. He was officially rich.
What should he do with the money?
Of course—rescue more adorable otherworldly girls.
A mischievous smile spread across Cheng Yu's face as he thought about buying another orc slave to help lighten Mina's workload.
"Mina, do you need anything? I can buy it for you."
"I want a greatsword."
Mina's profession was warrior. Warriors typically used heavy weapons like greatswords or hammers.
"Let's go to the main city tomorrow."
The goods in Bailu Town weren't comprehensive. Cheng Yu planned to visit a nearby major city to buy slaves, a greatsword, and some black pine nuts and wind-thunder fruit needed to make black flatbread.
After breakfast, Maxi followed Austin into the woods to practice magic.
A black metal magic staff materialized out of thin air in Austin's hand. He channeled magic power through the staff.
Intricate patterns wove together in front of the black staff, forming a circular magic array that glowed with white light. The array was filled with profound, dense symbols.
The next moment, a soft green light shot out from the white circular array and struck a sapling.
The half-meter-tall sapling began growing wildly at a speed visible to the naked eye. Within moments, it had become a nearly ten-meter-tall tree with lush branches and leaves.
"Today we're practicing magic to promote plant growth. You try."
A golden magic staff appeared out of thin air in Maxi's hand, a ruby set at its tip. He gripped the staff's long handle with both hands and used it to channel magic power, forming a magic array.
The array took shape, and a soft green light shot out, striking another sapling.
The sapling grew slowly, gaining only five or six centimeters in height.
The same spell, used by Maxi and Austin, produced vastly different results.
The deeper a mage's understanding of a spell, the stronger the power they could release.
Seeing magic at work like this, Cheng Yu felt a pang of envy.
When he bought his next slave, he'd definitely get one with the mage profession—or at least mage talent.