He just hoped the food here wasn’t too expensive. If it was, he wouldn’t be able to afford a meal.

For now, he’d better go get something to eat. He’d run out of rations ages ago, and he was starving!

The boy squeezed his way through the crowd and finally reached a small restaurant. The mouthwatering food on the tables sent its tempting aroma drifting straight into his nose.

“Wow, that smells amazing. Let’s eat here. It’s not very big, so it should be a little cheaper.” The boy nodded in satisfaction, then went inside.

The owner took one look at the boy’s ragged clothes and slightly smelly body and frowned. But he didn’t say anything. Business was business: if you had money, you were welcome; if you didn’t, you could get lost. This place wasn’t a shelter for beggars.

“What would you like? Here’s the menu,” the owner said flatly, handing it over.

The boy took the menu and stared at the dazzling array of dishes, his eyes practically swimming. There were so many! And this was only a small restaurant. Spicy Rainbowfeather Chicken Legs, Red-Braised Bristly Demon Boar... Just hearing the names made his mouth water. But the prices were steep, too. Even the most ordinary stir-fried chestnut leaves cost a copper coin. Back in his little mountain village, one copper coin could buy several bundles of chestnut leaves. Here, it only bought a single plate. These prices were no joke.

After thinking it over for a while, the boy decided to feast. He still had to watch his spending, but tomorrow was the Elemental Awakening Ceremony. He’d heard that anyone with an affinity above fifty percent could be recruited by a knight order. Then he’d just have to work alongside some big shots and he’d earn plenty of money. He wouldn’t need to worry about the cost of meals. Even if his affinity didn’t reach fifty percent, as long as it was above thirty, he could join an adventuring party, earn bounties by killing monsters, and still make a living.

So today, he’d let loose. He’d eat his fill, then find a comfortable inn and spend the night there. Tomorrow, he’d head to the Elemental Awakening Ceremony well-rested and comfortable. Even if the worst happened and his affinity didn’t reach thirty percent, he’d still have enough money to return to his little mountain village and learn how to forge weapons from Uncle Jerry. He could make a living selling weapons.

Still, that would mean letting his mother down a little. She wanted him to follow the path of the elements, after all. He hoped he’d have a good elemental affinity, too, and fulfill her wish.

All right. I can do this!

Having made up his mind, the boy smiled. “Boss, I’ll have a large Moonbird Wing Roast Meal, and a soda to go with it.”

“Sure. That’ll be eight copper coins in total. The soda’s one, and the large Moonbird Wing Roast Meal is seven,” the owner said with a nod.

The boy reluctantly took eight copper coins from his bag and handed them to the owner. The man’s once-cold expression instantly turned into a smile. If you had money, everything was easy. He was just a businessman. When he saw how dirty the kid was, he’d thought he’d come begging. He hadn’t expected him to have plenty of money on him.

The owner gave a slight bow and pointed to a table in the corner where two people were sitting. “Please, have a seat over there,” he said with a smile.

The boy nodded, thinking that the owner seemed like a pretty nice guy. He was being so polite. The boy knew how dirty he was, and felt a little embarrassed coming into a restaurant that looked so clean.

Once he’d taken a seat, the boy glanced at the two people beside him. One was a female adventurer dressed rather provocatively, with a fairly pretty face. The other was a male adventurer with a sharp, ratlike face, and he looked troubled.

...