Chapter 226: The Seven-Star Chef
Chapter 226: The Seven-Star Chef
The sun had almost completely set.
The last traces of crimson on the horizon slowly disappeared behind the capital’s towering buildings and pointed spires as the streetlamps flickered to life one by one. Their golden glow cast wavering reflections across the stone roads covered in a thin layer of snow.
As we moved farther away from the crowded streets surrounding the Academy, the students in uniform were gradually replaced by workers returning home, shopkeepers preparing to close for the night, and families out for an evening stroll.
Iris held my hand as she searched for somewhere nice to have dinner, all while giving me a tour of the capital.
"That clock tower up ahead is supposedly one of the first structures built after the empire was founded. A little farther west is the old Senate Building. It isn’t used anymore, but they say the murals inside are beautiful. We should visit it together someday."
There was a cheerful, peaceful expression on her face.
Every now and then, she turned toward me as she spoke, her red hair swaying gently over her shoulders. Whenever the warm light from the streetlamps fell across her face, the faint blush on her cheeks became even more noticeable.
Instead of listening, I spent a few seconds wondering what it would feel like to pinch those cheeks.
They were probably soft.
Still, I managed to restrain myself.
Myra’s nonsensical rules about physical contact came to mind. According to her, even touching a girl’s cheek before marriage might be forbidden.
Human relationships were needlessly complicated.
"Cass?"
Iris suddenly stopped and turned toward me.
"Are you listening?"
"Yes."
She narrowed her eyes and studied my face. Even though I was looking directly at her, she seemed to realize that my thoughts had been somewhere else entirely.
After scrutinizing me suspiciously for a few seconds, she decided not to press the matter. She merely tightened her fingers around my hand and continued walking.
It wasn’t long before we arrived in front of a warmly lit shop with wide display windows.
All sorts of sweets were being sold inside. Small cakes decorated with cream, honey-glazed buns, chocolate-covered fruit, and pastries dusted with powdered sugar were neatly arranged behind the glass counter.
Iris’s steps slowed noticeably.
Her eyes were glued to the sweets in the window.
Was she planning to eat dessert for dinner?
I knew Iris liked sweets, but this seemed a little excessive even for her.
I was about to ask when she noticed me looking at her. She pursed her lips in embarrassment, then shook her head and tugged me along by the arm.
"We’ll stop here on the way back," she said quietly.
So we would eat a proper meal first, then have dessert.
That made more sense.
After walking a little farther, Iris stopped in front of an ordinary restaurant wedged between two large buildings.
It looked nothing like the extravagant establishments surrounding it. The paint on its wooden exterior had peeled away in places, and the small sign hanging above the door had faded with age. Aside from the warm light spilling from its windows, there was nothing particularly eye-catching about it.
I couldn’t understand why she had chosen this place.
She didn’t know I was wealthy. Perhaps she was worried about my wallet.
If that was the reason, her concern was unnecessary. The money inside my spatial ring would have been enough to purchase most of the expensive restaurants in the capital.
However, I had no desire to explain that, so I remained silent.
Iris pulled me toward the door, and we entered together.
Warm air struck my face the moment the door opened. The rich aromas of roasted meat, freshly baked bread, and various spices mingled in the air.
The restaurant wasn’t particularly crowded. Two merchants ate quietly beside the window, while an elderly couple spoke at another table. In the farthest corner, an old man sat alone with nearly his entire face hidden behind a newspaper.
A man standing behind the counter was drying a wet plate with a cloth.
The moment he saw us, his hands stopped.
Surprise spread across his face.
He appeared to be in his early thirties. He wasn’t particularly bulky, but his clothes concealed a body packed with lean, hardened muscle. He stood around one hundred and eighty-five centimeters tall, making him taller than me.
A dark burn scar covered the right side of his face. It began at his forehead, surrounded his eye completely, and stretched all the way down to his cheek. The wound pulled his right eyelid down slightly.
However, it wasn’t his appearance that caught my attention.
He possessed a Seven-Star mana core.
He was also extremely skilled at concealing his mana. An ordinary mage examining him would probably sense nothing at all. His breathing was controlled, his posture perfectly balanced, and the calluses on the hand holding the plate did not look like they had come from working in a kitchen.
Those hands had wielded weapons for years.
Why was a Seven-Star warrior working in such an ordinary restaurant?
Instead of heading toward one of the empty tables, Iris walked directly toward him.
"Good evening, Adam!"
The man finally recovered from his surprise and set the plate down on the counter.
"Iris?" he said.
The severity of his face softened into a sincere smile.
"You’ve been keeping yourself out of sight. How long has it been?"
"I’ve been a little busy since the Academy started." Iris scratched the back of her head as if she had been caught doing something wrong. "Classes on one side, Student Council work on the other..."
"I understand. Being a student is already difficult enough, yet you decided to carry the problems of the entire Academy on your shoulders as well."
As Adam spoke, his gaze suddenly shifted toward me.
His smile didn’t disappear entirely, but the warmth in his eyes was replaced by cautious curiosity.
"Your friend?"
Iris cheerfully wrapped her arm around mine and leaned slightly against me.
"My childhood friend."
Technically, it wasn’t a lie.
It was simply a remarkably inadequate description of our relationship.
Iris pointed at me, then at Adam.
"Cassian, this is Adam. Elara’s husband."
She then pointed at me.
"Adam, this is Cassian."
Adam’s eyes widened for an instant.
"Cassian..." he repeated.
His gaze wandered over my white hair and red eyes. From the look on his face, it wasn’t difficult to tell that he had heard my name before.
After staring at me in silence for several seconds, he stepped out from behind the counter and extended his hand.
"It’s good to meet you, Cassian."
I reached out and shook it.
"Likewise."
However, Adam didn’t release my hand.
His grip, ordinary at first, gradually tightened. As his fingers closed around my hand, the pressure he applied increased with every passing second.
So he was testing me.
Very well.
My mana core might have been weaker than his, but I hadn’t endured Toven’s experiments for nothing. My body had long since surpassed the limits of an ordinary human.
I tightened my fingers around Adam’s hand and returned the same amount of force.
His visible left eye twitched.
It was a tiny detail.
But I noticed it.
His grip grew even stronger.
This man...
Very well.
I squeezed harder.
Neither of us was using mana or aura. We were measuring each other with nothing but physical strength. Even so, faint cracks could be heard from between the bones of our fingers.
The friendly smile had completely disappeared from Adam’s face.
Mine had been expressionless from the beginning.
The old man reading the newspaper in the corner raised his head and looked at us over the pages. After watching our pointless contest of strength for a few seconds, he lifted an eyebrow and returned to his newspaper.
"What are you two doing?"
Iris’s voice cut through the tension between us.
She probably found it strange that we had been shaking hands without moving for so long.
Adam and I withdrew our hands at the same time.
"Nothing," we replied in unison.
Iris looked at me, then at Adam.
A deep sigh escaped her lips.
"Men..." she muttered.
Adam hid his hand behind his apron and flexed his fingers while I lowered my arm as though nothing had happened.
"Isn’t Elara here?" Iris asked.
"She’s at home," Adam replied. "It wasn’t very busy today, so she left early."
Iris’s eyes lit up.
"Great! Then we’ll be able to surprise her."
"Surprise her?"
"Yes. Cassian and Elara actually knew each other a long time ago."
Adam’s gaze returned to me.
"Yes," he said slowly. "I believe I had already figured that out."
Iris appeared not to notice the strangeness in his voice and smiled cheerfully.
"Anyway, we’ll sit over there." She pointed toward one of the empty tables. "Make us something filling, Chef."
"As you command, Young Lady."
"Don’t call me that!"
Iris took my hand again and dragged me after her.