“Nia, about that Dragon Demon you mentioned earlier, what level of magic power is needed to deal with it?”
After leaving Felt’s place and walking for a while, El still couldn’t get that Dragon Demon out of his mind.
“At least a level four fire magic is needed to harm it.”
“Then, Nia, how high a level of fire magic can you use?”
“Level two.”
“Hm?”
Nia’s answer made El pause for a moment.
He stopped walking and cast a strange look at her.
“Didn’t you tell me before that learning magic was as easy as breathing for you? How come you can only use level two fire magic?”
“Magic comes in many types, and mastering all of them takes a lot of time,” Nia explained. “My specialization is wind magic; most other magic types I only know at an introductory level.”
“What about Meira?” El persisted. “Meira said her magical skills are better than yours, so she should know a lot more, right?”
“Miss Meira does have a very high level of magical attainment, but unfortunately, due to certain reasons, she can’t use most types of magic.”
“Sigh, looks like I have to figure something out myself.” El scratched his head in frustration.
Nia didn’t think El would come up with anything brilliant, but seeing how worried he was, she couldn’t help but try to comfort him.
“I think your worries are unnecessary. Didn’t you forget what Mr. Felt said? They’ve already invited magicians. With specialized magic users here, there’s really no need to worry about dealing with the Dragon Demon.”
“You’re right.”
Her reassurance seemed to work, and El’s furrowed brow relaxed a little.
El and Nia walked from the southern part of the town to the east, eventually stopping in front of a neat row of brick walls.
Judging by the length of the walls, this was probably a warehouse of some kind.
Nia’s guess was soon confirmed.
It was indeed a warehouse, filled with many sacks, and the air carried a natural scent of wheat.
A man in his fifties or sixties was moving sacks around inside.
Seeing someone enter, he put down the sack he was carrying.
“Isn’t this El? Long time no see.”
“Uncle Carter, long time no see. What are you up to?”
“Well, I heard there’s a monster attack coming to the town, so I need to move these sacks of flour elsewhere,” Uncle Carter said as he stretched his shoulders. “Can’t let those beasts ruin the food we need for winter.”
“How long will you be doing this alone? Let me help you!” El volunteered.
“No need to be shy.”
“That’s what I’m saying. This kind of work is for young folks.”
Without giving him a chance to refuse, El had already hoisted a sack onto his shoulder.
“Thanks for the help.”
Watching El start working, Nia hesitated a moment before joining in.
Her strength carrying the sack surprised Carter.
“Little miss, you can just watch from the side. This kind of work is for men.”
Nia didn’t quite understand his words.
Why should women just stand around?
“Why distinguish between men and women?” she expressed her dissatisfaction.
“Whether someone is capable of doing a job should depend on their ability, right?”
“As you can see, I have the ability.”
Nia said this, almost to prove her point, as she firmly lifted a sack from the ground.
“Old folks like me should be resting.”
Carter had no reply.
He glanced at Nia, then quietly moved over to El’s side and whispered.
“El, who’s this?”
“She’s Nia, living with me now.”
El’s answer was ambiguous.
“I see,” Carter said, misunderstanding the relationship, teasing El with a smile. “You kid, been away a while and already found a girl. Quite the fiery temper you have.”
“Don’t be fooled by how she acts outside; when it’s just the two of us, she listens to me very well.”
El sighed lightly, a helpless yet proud expression on his face.
“Ah, this damn charm of mine.”
Nia couldn’t take it anymore.
She put down her sack and coldly looked at the two men chatting behind her.
“If you’re just going to stand there and talk, please take it outside, okay? Don’t disturb those working.”
The two of them worked hard in Carter’s warehouse all afternoon, but it wasn’t wasted effort.
When they headed home, besides the items they needed to buy, Uncle Carter generously gave them several large sacks of flour.
Nia roughly estimated that it would be enough to feed them for over a month.
Although monster meat tasted decent, Nia still wanted to eat something more ordinary.
If it was ordinary food, combined with El’s strange seasonings, it would probably taste even better, right?
“Nia, don’t just stand there dumbly. It’s time to go home.”
Hearing El’s call, Nia withdrew her thoughts.
“I’ll take these three sacks, you take the other two. On the way back, we can stop to buy some other things.”
El divided the flour sacks into two piles and pointed at one.
Nia looked at him without moving.
Thinking she hadn’t heard him, El repeated himself.
Still no reaction—she just stared at him without acting.
A suspicion formed in El’s mind.
“Nia, are your ears broken?”
“Your ears are broken.”
“Did you hear what I just said?”
“You said I listen to you well when we’re alone, right?” Nia crossed her arms and sneered. “Does that not count anymore?”
So she was still holding a grudge about the boasting he did with Uncle Carter earlier.
“Fine, I give up.”
El stared at her for a while before finally giving in, hoisting all the sacks onto his back. “But I’m only giving up because I’m letting you win, not because I can’t do it.”
“If you can, then show me.”
“You started it.”
“Bring it on. I want to see what you’ve got.”
Hands and feet are attached to one’s own body—Nia wasn’t convinced he had any tricks if he wasn’t willing.
But the next second, she regretted her naivety.
“Wait here, I’m going to find Meira.” El smiled mischievously. “Miss Meira promised me before that she’d grant me any request. Getting her to carry two sacks of flour shouldn’t be a problem, right?”
“You!”
Nia was so mad she choked on her words, her cheeks flushing red.
“You shameless thing!”
“Eh, I like how you give me that trashy little-eye look.”
Al playfully reached out to touch Nia’s anger-flushed face, then laughed heartily, swinging the flour sacks on his shoulder as he strode toward the village entrance.
He didn’t walk far before his voice came back from the front.
“Now you know how tough I am, Nia. You better listen to me at home from now on.”
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