Lioran stepped out of his room and headed toward the stairs. The faint morning light streamed through the hallway window, casting long shadows of the railing across the floor.
He was slowly descending the stairs when Subina noticed him.
She was carrying a tray of food toward one of the tables. As soon as she saw Lioran, a warm smile spread across her face, and she called out cheerfully,
"Oho! Good morning. Slept well? You're here for breakfast, right?"
Lioran, still coming down the stairs, glanced briefly at her before replying calmly,
"Yeah, thanks."
Subina's smile widened instantly.
"Then grab a seat—I'll bring your breakfast right away."
She turned and disappeared back into the kitchen with the tray.
Lioran sat down at one of the tables without saying a word. His cold gaze drifted across the inn.
Besides himself, only four other people were there, each quietly focused on their own meal. The hall felt far too empty, and that emptiness made it clear that Subina's business wasn't doing well.
Lioran was lost in thought when the soft clatter of a tray against the table suddenly cut through his train of thought.
A young girl's voice came from beside him.
"Here's your breakfast, sir. Cheese, strawberry jam, half a loaf of fresh bread… and a glass of orange juice."
Lioran lifted his head.
A young girl stood beside the table—young, with blue hair and blue eyes, and a simple, innocent face. She couldn't have been more than fifteen or sixteen. Carefully, she arranged the food in front of him, trying to appear neat and polite.
At that very moment, from the dark inner world within Lioran, Anahita noticed the breakfast.
Her eyes sparkled instantly. Her mouth began to water, and she reached her hands forward. In a voice trembling between hunger and regret, she whined,
"Lioran… please forgive me… let me eat some of that food… I'll do whatever you say. Just let me eat breakfast for you… I haven't eaten anything since last night…"
Lioran tore off a piece of bread. He spread some cheese over it and added a bit of strawberry jam on top.
Without even looking up from the bread, he said to Anahita in a cold voice,
"Shut your mouth… you damn spirit. If you haven't eaten since last night, I haven't tasted food in months."
He brought the bite to his mouth.
Anahita's protesting voice immediately rang out.
"You bastard… that's my share! How cruel can someone be—locking someone in darkness and eating their share of food too? Stop it… let me eat… my precious breakfast…"
Lioran slowly swallowed the bite. He paused for a moment, then said in a lower, softer voice,
"It really is delicious… I thought I'd never taste sweetness again."
"Delicious, right? I made this jam with Aunt Subina."
A girl's voice came from beside the table—a young voice, tinged with a hint of pride.
Lioran turned his head slightly and cast a brief glance at the serving girl.
In the same cold, emotionless tone, he asked,
"You're still here?"
"What do you mean, 'still here'? I work here, old man!"
The girl frowned, planted her hands on her hips, and replied with indignation.
Lioran lifted the glass of orange juice and said impatiently,
"Well, why are you standing here? Aren't you done with your work?"
He took a slow sip.
The serving girl crossed her arms and replied, eyeing him suspiciously.
"I'm here because I want to know who you are."
She leaned forward slightly, lowering her voice.
"You know… Aunt Subina usually mixes a little water into customers' orange juice to make a little extra profit. But your glass didn't have a single drop of extra water. And I've never seen you here before. That's why I got suspicious."
Lioran slowly placed the glass on the table. He cast a brief, cold glance at the girl.
"First of all, you shouldn't put water in any orange juice.
Second, before you ask someone's name, shouldn't you introduce yourself first?"
The girl was silent for a moment, then suddenly burst out laughing.
"Oh come on, don't be so serious, old man!"
She shrugged and continued in a mischievous tone.
"But fine, since you seem so eager to know the name of a beautiful and smart girl, okay. I'll introduce myself."
She straightened up and said,
"My name is Malisah. I'm fifteen. I don't have parents, and I live at the church. I've been working here for about a year because I want to save up fifty gold coins."
Her eyes sparkled.
"Because I want to go to the Tira Kingdom's Magic School."
She paused briefly and continued with a confident smile.
"You're probably confused right now, wondering how an orphan peasant girl can enter a school where only nobles study… Let me explain it to you myself. Because I'm a genius—"
Lioran continued eating his breakfast without even looking up from his plate. He chewed a piece of bread slowly, occasionally taking a sip of his orange juice—as if no one else was there.
When he realized Malisah had no intention of staying quiet, he cut her off without raising his head.
"I didn't ask you to tell me your life story.
And frankly, I couldn't care less how you plan to get into Gebra Magic School."
Malisah's face flushed with anger, her eyebrows knitting together in irritation. She stepped forward and snapped,
"It's the great Tira Magic School, old man, not Gebra!"
She then flashed a mocking smile and continued without pause.
"And obviously, you're just jealous. Because I get to go to such a great, prestigious school, while you're stuck in this ruined town."
With childlike enthusiasm, she waved her hands and dragged out her words.
"Father Timo told me I'll become the greatest water elemental mage one day! I'll be so rich I can feed all the kids at the church as much as they want. Then everyone will respect me—wherever they see me, they'll bow their heads and say:
'The Water Lady has arrived! Bow your heads!'"
She stared at Lioran with a contemptuous look and finished mockingly,
"So you have every right to be jealous, old man… with your red hair and those lifeless, zombie-like eyes."
While Malisah kept talking nonstop, Lioran didn't pay her any attention. He calmly chewed his food and spoke to Anahita in his mind.
'Check that loud girl's power. See if she's really as strong as she claims.'
'Which girl?'
In her inner world, Anahita had been completely mesmerized by the food, drool almost running from her mouth. Hearing Lioran's voice, she finally snapped out of it, though her gaze still lingered on the plate.
Lioran impatiently shifted his eyes toward Malisah.
'The one talking without taking a breath…'
Anahita cast a quick glance at Malisah and smirked.
'Hmm… pretty girl… alright… if I check her power, will you let me eat in your place? That's a good deal, isn't it?'
'I was going to forgive you sooner… but after that comment, your punishment just got longer.'
Hearing Lioran's threat, Anahita shrieked.
"No! No, no, no—wait! It was just a joke! Why do you have no sense of humor?"
Then she quickly turned her attention toward Malisah. The expression in her eyes changed; her pupils narrowed, and a faint golden light emanated from them. At that moment, something shifted in her vision.
She no longer saw Malisah's face or clothes.
Only a faint blue aura rising from the girl's body…
And three floating, transparent blue circles hovered above her heart, looking as if they were made of condensed water. The circles were connected by patterns resembling ancient runes. Two circles were fully formed, but the third was still incomplete—as if it only needed a little more power to be filled.
Anahita spoke in a serious tone.
"A three-circle water elemental mage.
If she trains properly, she might enter the fourth circle in a few months.
Three circles at this age… that means she has tremendous talent.
She might even become one of the greatest mages on this continent within ten years."
Lioran showed no reaction. He simply reached into his pocket, pulled out his coin pouch, and took three silver coins from it.
At that moment, Malisah's angry voice rang out.
"Hey! Are you even listening to me or not?!"
Lioran finally cast a brief glance at the girl, and asked in the same cold tone,
"Do you know where the Adventurers' Guild is?"
"Yeah… the city center. Same place where the statue of Duke Jinf Orestal stands."
Malisah answered unconsciously, then suddenly seemed to remember she had been angry about something. Her eyebrows furrowed, and she continued indignantly,
"Hey! Old man! What does that guild of those wild people have to do with what I was saying? I was talking about my future! Don't tell me you weren't listening at all!"
Without reacting, Lioran quietly placed three silver coins on the table, stood up from his seat, and, without saying a word, turned to leave the inn.
Seeing that she had been ignored again, Malisah stomped her foot on the ground. She waved her hands in the air and shouted angrily,
"You're ignoring me, old man! I swear, if I ever become a great mage, you'll come begging at my feet and apologize to me! And on that day, no matter what you do, I won't forgive you!"
At that moment, her eyes fell on the coins gleaming on the table. She froze in surprise, quickly picked them up, and shouted,
"Hey, old man! Breakfast doesn't even cost one coin, but you left three! Don't tell me you drank ale instead of orange juice?"
Lioran, who had almost reached the door, raised one hand slightly without turning around and said,
"My name is Lioran, not old man.
And add those coins to the money you're saving for magic school."
"So… you were listening to me?"
Malisah stood there in stunned silence for a moment. Then her face lit up, she broke into a wide grin, and waved at him excitedly.
"Okay! I'll think about forgiving you now! When I become a great mage, I'll even give you an autograph! So be grateful!"
Subina, who had witnessed everything, smiled quietly to herself as she watched the scene.
But Lioran walked out of the inn without another word.
And only one thought circled in his mind.
Hopefully I won't encounter such crazy people on my path anymore.
But Lioran didn't know that in this adventure of his, Malisah would turn out to be one of the most normal people he would ever meet…