"Caelus, you eat so little every time. Your appetite isn't even as big as mine, a kid."
Bianka swallowed the food in her mouth, then her sky blue eyes looked curiously at Caelus, who was drinking tea from a cup.
The two were currently inside a restaurant. Bianka had already eaten three plates of pasta and two steaks, while Caelus had only eaten one plate of paella and was now drinking tea brewed with hot water from who knows where.
"I don't need to eat to maintain my body's energy requirements. Moreover, I can't taste food. The reason I still eat is just to try to find a sense of being a normal person."
"You can't taste food? That's so pitiful. If I couldn't taste food, I feel like life would instantly become so gray."
For Bianka, a life where she couldn't taste food or savor delicious meals seemed far too miserable.
She looked at Caelus, who was drinking tea, with pitying eyes.
So, the question arises. How are these two eating openly in a restaurant without any cash? Are they about to stage a dine and dash?
Not long ago, Caelus had led Bianka across the snowfields and arrived in this city. At the time, he thought he might find some kind hearted people to obtain a bit of startup capital.
It was the kind of thing often found in novels, going to the dark corners of the city to find those idle, jobless punks who were constantly testing the boundaries of the law.
Obtaining startup funds by stealing from thieves was a good method, and one that his faint sense of morality would not condemn.
However, perhaps the city's public security was simply too good, as Caelus led Bianka around for several circles without finding any thugs attempting to rob them. He could only regretfully abandon the option of robbing the rich to help the poor.
Then, Caelus began busking.
He found a spot in a square and set up a painting stall, specifically offering to paint portraits for people.
Relying on his own high quality features and unique temperament, the painting stall indeed attracted many visitors. Coupled with his excellent skill and extremely fast painting speed, the business earned him a handsome reward in a short time.
After earning a sum of money, Caelus took Bianka to a nearby restaurant to enjoy some fine food, mainly to fill the stomach of this girl with a huge appetite.
"Caelus, where are we going next?"
As a girl who had lost her past memories, Bianka looked at the city outside the window with eyes full of curiosity, as everything seemed so novel to her.
"We will keep heading south. I plan to visit Shenzhou. I've heard that country has a long history passed down for thousands of years, along with various cultural customs and ancient mountain monuments. I want to see them, understand them, and record them all in my notebook."
Caelus looked at Bianka, who was watching him with ignorant eyes, and said after a moment of thought, "There are also various delicacies passed down through that long history. It's said that every region has different cooking methods and unique flavors. It's well worth experiencing."
As expected, upon hearing about the various delicacies, Bianka understood instantly. She immediately became excited, filled with longing for the journey.
After finishing their meal, Caelus took Bianka to a nearby bookstore. After purchasing some books, he spent time in their hotel room reading through various historical records and stories while teaching Bianka how to read and write.
As for the issue of identity, that could be solved directly by the System. Moreover, Caelus did not bother buying any official identification at all. He simply had the System help him create fake IDs.
Although they were fakes, as long as they were not scrutinized closely, no one would see any problem. After all, while real documents could be obtained, they were not as cost effective or as convenient as fake ones.
Bianka was indeed a clever child. She only needed a little study to memorize many things, and she could quickly master and understand various mental arithmetic and formulas that were difficult for ordinary people.
After living in the city for a week, the two set out on their journey once again. They continued heading south, sometimes walking along the highway.
Occasionally, passing vehicles would pull over out of curiosity to chat with them. Some kind hearted people would buy the paintings Caelus had done, pay a certain reward, and offer their sincere blessings to the two.
Sometimes they would also walk into sparsely populated jungles.
For normal people, a jungle filled with various snakes, insects, rats, ants, and wild beasts would be impossible to survive in without matching survival knowledge. But for the two of them, it was nothing more than scenery on their journey.
Taking this opportunity, Bianka even took a good look at the real appearance of the various insects and small animals she had seen in her picture books.
Naturally, the journey was not always smooth sailing. Some evil people, perhaps for money or perhaps for lust, set their sights on this pair who looked harmless from the outside.
As for the result, it went without saying.
However, precisely because she encountered these things, Bianka felt that if she were to travel alone in the future, she must also master a form of power. Thus, she requested to learn whatever combat abilities she could from Caelus.
Caelus did not refuse and began teaching Bianka swordsmanship along the way.
Just like her talent for learning, Bianka's talent for combat was equally impressive, perhaps even surpassing it.
Swordsmanship techniques that would take an ordinary person long periods of practice to memorize could be mastered by Bianka after only a few practice sessions.
This startling talent naturally caused Caelus to pay more attention. After some thought, he decided to let a more suitable teacher instruct Bianka.
Then, under Bianka's surprised gaze, an illusory figure gradually manifested. A handsome and elegant male wearing a purple suit appeared by their side.
"Hello, Bianka."
The Lancelot puppet smiled and greeted Bianka. In the days to come, he would be Bianka's teacher, responsible for passing on the technique of Knight of Owner, a skill sufficient to condense into a Noble Phantasm.
While Caelus and Bianka were traveling on a budget, earning money for their trip through painting along the way, back on the Siberian permafrost they had left behind.
A man with a head of white hair and a dejected expression returned to his residence. He sat on a wooden chair with vacant eyes, his head lowered as if all light had vanished from his gaze.
He too had a pair of sky blue eyes.
Meanwhile, a girl whose face was still wrapped in bandages, looking about eighty percent similar to Bianka, was watching the man sitting in the chair with a slight sense of unease. He was completely shrouded in an aura of despair.
Eventually, the girl stood up and brought out a bowl from the kitchen. It was filled with a thick, viscous soup made from unknown ingredients that emitted a strange aroma.
"You haven't eaten in a long time. I don't know what happened to you, but your body won't be able to take it if you don't eat."
Siegfried looked up, watching the girl holding food that was clearly made by a Kaslana. Seeing the worry and unease in her eyes, he took a deep breath and forced a smile onto his face.
"I'm fine. I just can't find someone very important to me."
(To be continued.)
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◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)