Wait a minute…
Looking at the sudden glint in Roche's eyes, Li Ke felt a sudden, ominous premonition wash over him.
Right on cue, Sharan's next words confirmed his worst fears.
"Oh? If that's the case, then I can finally breathe a sigh of relief," Sharan said, her shoulders visibly relaxing. "Even though the Mages' Guild is well-funded, our budget for catering isn't exactly infinite. If this girl kept eating and drinking on the guild's dime, we'd have to start forcing our mages to pay for their own meals out of pocket pretty soon. After all, this child managed to single-handedly consume half of our entire food budget."
Sharan pinched Roche's cheek, her face a mask of pure, helpless resignation.
...Half of the entire food budget?
Li Ke felt that if he had a cigarette in his hand right now, it would have dropped straight to the floor. Without a doubt, this piece of information was a massive psychological shock.
"Hehe..."
Roche rubbed her cheek bashfully, though she didn't look genuinely bothered. "That was mostly because I was starving for way too long before. Normally, my appetite is actually pretty small!"
"..."
Li Ke remained highly skeptical. "Are you absolutely sure about that? Or is the guild's food budget just really low?"
"Well, it is a bit on the lower side, but what I said is still a fact... Alright, fine, it was a bit of an exaggeration," Sharan chuckled softly. "What's the matter? Regretting it already? Besides, there's a reason I recommended Roche to you. This girl's magical capabilities are incredibly strong. She'll be able to help you quite a bit on your journey to learning magic. I have no intention of scamming you."
"Understood."
Li Ke nodded, turning his attention back to Roche. "Well then, please look after me for the foreseeable future."
Li Ke extended his hand toward Roche. In response, Roche gave him a polite, formal bow first. Only then did she step forward to take his hand and shake it. Her manners were absolutely impeccable.
"Please look after me as well!"
Wait, isn't she incredibly polite?
Li Ke found it a bit strange. In games and fan fiction, mages were usually depicted as incredibly rude—or to put it more accurately, childish and eccentric. Roche, however, seemed completely different.
But this girl was the absolute definition of well-mannered.
"Let's go grab something to eat first then," Li Ke said.
His words made Roche's eyes light up. She bowed to him once again, her fiery red twintails swaying back and forth with a cheerful bounce. She really was quite a striking girl.
It was a bit of a shame that her hair wasn't tied very neatly, and her frame was still a bit too thin and small. If she grew up a little more, Li Ke might have started having some inappropriate thoughts.
But right now? Li Ke harbored absolutely no worldly, impure desires toward her.
"Mhm! Thank you, Big Brother Li Ke!"
Hearing her call him "Big Brother" made Li Ke feel, once again, that he probably hadn't been scammed after all. He bid Sharan goodbye and led Roche toward an alleyway next to the Mages' Guild, planning to take her to a nice restaurant he knew.
However, just as Li Ke was about to walk into a restaurant that looked fairly high-end, Roche suddenly tugged on the hem of his shirt.
When Li Ke looked back at her with curiosity, she spoke up, looking a bit self-conscious.
"Um... well, Big Brother Li Ke, maybe not this place? The food here is really expensive. I don't want to make you spend too much money. Plus, I know another place that has amazing food, and it's super cheap!"
Her eyes were filled with a mix of anticipation and worry. Having spent the recent period intensely focus-breeding, certain traits embedded deep within Li Ke's genes left him completely defenseless against a gaze like that. He subconsciously stopped in his tracks and gave a smile, gently rubbing Roche's red hair.
It was only now that he finally understood why "doting father" and "little sister" web novels were so incredibly popular.
The reason was simple: traveling with a pretty, adorable, sensible girl who didn't cause trouble was a thoroughly delightful experience for the mind and soul.
"Don't worry about it. I have plenty of money," Li Ke patted his wallet. With his supply of iron ingots from 7 Days to Die backing him up, he was never going to be strapped for cash.
Yet, the moment those words left his mouth, a look of profound embarrassment crept back onto Roche's cute little face.
"Well... it's just... the main thing is I really, really like that other shop... And um, I'm not on the best terms with the owner of this place. The last time I came here to eat... I kind of got kicked out by the owner."
"Kicked out?"
Li Ke immediately glanced at the busy restaurant owner, whose expression soured the moment he caught sight of Roche. After a brief thought, Li Ke took Roche by the hand and turned away from the establishment.
"Alright, let's go to your place instead."
Hearing this, Roche let out a massive sigh of relief, reflexively patting her flat, modest chest.
Li Ke was genuinely curious about why she was reacting this way. After all, Sharan had already mentioned that draining half the guild's budget was mostly a joke.
Still, to be safe, when they arrived at the small restaurant Roche mentioned, Li Ke checked the menu prices before ordering.
"Three copper coins for a bowl of rice, and twenty coppers per dish? Not a single item costs a silver coin? It really is cheap."
Feeling the weight of the dozens of gold coins remaining in his wallet, Li Ke felt completely at ease. This pocket change would easily cover whatever Roche wanted to eat.
"Mhm! That's why whenever I couldn't get enough to eat, I'd always come here," Roche said happily. "The owners love seeing me. Though I wonder why the lady owner isn't around today."
Li Ke didn't think much of it and nodded. "I see. Go ahead and order then. Eat as much as you want."
He truly refused to believe that a little girl who barely reached his chest could out-eat his fortune, no matter how massive her appetite was. Was she really going to burn through dozens of gold coins? Impossible.
"Okay! Thank you, Big Brother Li Ke!"
Roche thanked him politely once more. The next moment, she raised her hand to catch the waiter's attention.
"Um, could you bring out three pots of rice to start, and these five dishes over here?"
Three bowls of rice and five dishes? That's not much at all. Why did Sharan make such a big deal out of it?
Li Ke nodded along, but a second later, the wording finally clicked.
Wait. Three pots?
He whipped his head around just in time to see two waiters walking over with wide grins. Balanced in their arms were three massive bamboo steamers, each measuring a full meter in diameter.
Li Ke's jaw dropped. The waiters set the massive quantities of food down on their table, then gently patted Roche's red hair. Sporting the exact same doting expressions Li Ke had shown earlier, one waiter laughed warmly.
"Are you feeling down today? Why are you eating so little? Is this just a light appetizer to get you started?"
So little?
An appetizer?!
Li Ke stared at the fifteen-centimeter-tall, meter-wide steamers. He silently picked up a pair of chopsticks, his hand shaking so violently that he held them like a cigarette as he brought them to his mouth.
He had severely underestimated anime logic.