"Sigh..." Eina let out a soft sigh, about to say something. But when she saw Su Mo's face, she found herself speechless. "Looking this good, whatever you say must be right."
"Well then, when do you plan to head to the dungeon? I'll prepare the manuals for you and go over some important things you need to watch out for," Eina said, surrendering to Su Mo's charm.
"Tomorrow!" Su Mo thought for a moment and answered. He could have closed shop now, but since there were still customers waiting in line, he figured it was better to see things through properly. No rush anyway.
"I'll come find you tomorrow morning! Is that okay?"
"Yeah, no problem," Eina nodded.
"Thanks a lot, Eina!" Su Mo said sincerely.
"No need to thank me, it's just my job," Eina smiled, feeling much better after Su Mo's gratitude.
Thinking about possibly working with him more in the future gave her a little thrill.
"Go ahead and get busy — the customers over there are getting impatient. Don't forget to be on time tomorrow!"
"No problem, I'll be there. See you tomorrow!" Su Mo nodded and glanced back — sure enough, someone was hurrying him along.
He quickened his pace and returned to his little stall.
In the blink of an eye, Su Mo's figure blurred, a speed so fast he seemed like a shadow as he arrived back at his stall.
Eina blinked in disbelief, "That speed... even a senior adventurer couldn't keep up, right? Am I seeing things?"
Su Mo had only registered as an adventurer a month ago, so his level should still be just LV1. There's no way he could move that fast naturally.
Could he have some special skill or magic that speeds him up?
If so, Eina didn't need to worry so much about him. With that kind of speed, he'd be able to escape danger easily.
She kept this observation to herself — professionalism required her to keep any knowledge of an adventurer's abilities confidential.
What Eina didn't know was that Su Mo was deliberately showing off his speed. His strength and talent were impossible to hide. Rather than try to stay hidden, he preferred to reveal it gradually.
With his invincible power, being in the spotlight was a better way to intimidate the riffraff. Besides, letting Eina know a little wouldn't make her treat him like a total newbie. That would save him a lot of trouble.
...….
...….
After Eina left, Su Mo resumed frying rice. As he heated the wok, tossed in oil, and stir-fried over high heat, he chatted with the customers waiting in line, explaining today was the last day for his special fried rice.
Though disappointed, the customers wished him well.
This was Orario, the city of adventurers. Leaving behind a stable life to seek adventure was common here. In fact, it was part of the adventurer's romance.
By evening, Su Mo was ready to close shop. Just as he was about to turn off the stove and head home to find Hestia and update his divine blessings, a slender, doll-like blonde girl — breathtakingly beautiful, almost godlike — paused in front of his stall.
Her expression was as blank as a puppet's, her golden eyes locked on the frying pan before Su Mo.
"Ms. Ais, what's wrong? Is there something special about this shop?" Behind the blonde girl, a younger girl dressed like a mage—with elf-like pointed ears, looking no older than fourteen or fifteen but with a surprisingly well-developed figure—asked timidly.
Seeing the two girls together, along with their distinctive beauty, Su Mo immediately recognized who they were. They were the leading adventurers of the Loki Familia, famous throughout Orario—the renowned "Sword Princess," Ais Wallenstein, and her junior from the same familia, a promising but less-known support mage named Lefiya Viridis.
Su Mo knew about Ais from the original stories, and in real life, he also had some impression of her. He recalled that about a week after opening his shop, the "Sword Princess" had been drawn in by the aroma of his fried rice and had bought two servings. At that time, Su Mo was following his "lay low" principle and didn't want to get involved with such dangerous figures, so they hadn't spoken.
As for Lefiya, she had no prior interaction with him at all.
Noticing that Ais's gaze was fixed on the frying pan, Su Mo immediately understood what she meant. "Want some fried rice?" he asked. "Mm." Ais nodded seriously, then glanced back at Lefiya before adding, "Two servings."
"Huh?" Lefiya was surprised that Ais would treat her to food and suddenly felt very excited.
"This is the first time Ms. Ais has treated me to a meal... hehe~" she said, lost in bliss.
"This shop's fried rice is really delicious," Ais said briefly, then fell silent. She looked at Su Mo with a hopeful expression, clearly having noticed he was about to close up shop.
Seeing the pure, childlike look in her eyes, Su Mo smiled. "Two servings of fried rice, that'll be four hundred valis." With that, he added more oil to the pan and began frying the rice again, preparing to finish these last orders before returning to the familia.
Ais promptly dropped the money into the cash box. "Thank you, boss!" Lefiya politely thanked him as well.
Then, Ais stood there, staring fixedly at Su Mo's skillful flipping of the frying pan. A few seconds later, her pupils suddenly contracted as if she had seen something unbelievable. She staggered slightly, like she'd been struck by lightning. Her gaze toward Su Mo then grew intense, burning with a fiery passion.