Chapter 40: I still couldn’t resist

Night had fallen.

The members of Dawn’s Edge straightened their attire, ready to attend the banquet organized by the Gilded Chamber of Commerce.

Letia didn’t really want to go, but there was no helping it—this was part of her job, whether she liked it or not.

At this moment, she had changed into a delicate blue dress, a large, beautiful silver-white bow clipped into her silky hair.

Even though she had dressed as modestly as possible, there was still an irresistible, exquisite charm about her.

Combined with her petite and dainty figure, she looked just like a porcelain doll, making people want to scoop her up into their arms.

She was nearly twenty already, yet she still looked so small.

Lolicon enthusiasts would be overjoyed at this sight.

But no matter how pretty the packaging, it couldn’t hide the fact that she was just an old, salty layabout.

The Gilded Chamber of Commerce had booked out an entire venue for the banquet.

Inside the splendid, gold-adorned hall, the tables were covered with fine wines and delicacies.

They’d even invited so many teams of heroes to promote their event—clearly, the Gilded Chamber of Commerce was going all out.

No one knew yet what Magical Device they were trying to push.

But Letia had no interest in any of that; she only cared about the food on the tables.

She hadn’t sought out Red all day and had only eaten the Pig Bran cooked by Dawn’s Edge…

Forget it—using the term Pig Bran here was an insult to the word itself.

That bread, harder than a French Armor-Piercing Shell, tougher than a Russian Anti-Explosion Shield—could that even be considered food?

“I’m going to look around nearby.”

After greeting Liz, Letia slipped away from the group.

Without a shred of restraint, she began stuffing food from the table into her mouth.

It wasn’t as good as what Red or she herself could make, but at this point, could she really afford to be picky?

When a person stops caring about appearances, their shamelessness knows no bounds.

Since everyone here already thought she was just a child, why not make the most of it?

But as she ate, Letia suddenly lifted her head.

Her intuition told her someone was watching.

Following that gaze, she spotted Red standing not far away, looking right in her direction.

He was wearing the outfit she’d picked out for him before.

The moment he put it on, it toned down his adventurer vibe quite a bit, making him seem… almost respectable.

Of course, he looked handsome—no doubt about it.

Clearly, her eye for fashion was reliable.

But why was Red here?

Even if Dawn’s Edge had received an invitation with Red’s name on it, there was no way he should have known about it.

Did someone tip him off?

Or did the Gilded Chamber of Commerce send him a separate invitation?

Emmm…

No point worrying about it now.

Time to eat.

Letia stuffed two more cakes into her mouth, grabbing a few more and slipping them into her bag.

The staff nearby could only stare in shock.

Weren’t all the guests supposed to be elite hero teams?

Where had this starving child come from all of a sudden?

“Hmm?”

Cheeks bulging, Letia looked up at the staffer, moving her plate of cakes away like a wary hamster sensing danger.

No one’s going to steal from you!

The staff was at a loss.

But as the saying went, if you can be shameless, be shameless.

All the money she made here went into Dawn’s Edge’s public funds—she didn’t get a single coin herself.

She might as well eat her fill while she could.

***

Elsewhere, Red finally tore his gaze away.

He’d expected that Dawn’s Edge would show up, but seeing them in person still made him want to turn and run.

At least it was Letia.

If it had been Liz…

He couldn’t even imagine.

“Red?”

While Red was deep in thought, a burly man clapped a hand on his shoulder.

“You showed up and didn’t even tell me?”

The one slapping his shoulder was none other than the Blood Legion’s leader—Brian.

Seeing Red frozen in place, Brian thought he wasn’t used to this sort of event and burst out laughing.

“What’s with the dazed look? Don’t tell me you’re nervous? That’s not like you.”

Truth was, this was Red’s first time attending a banquet like this.

Back with Dawn’s Edge, he never had the time—there was always so much going on he could barely catch his breath.

He vaguely remembered there’d once been a Royalty banquet, but he’d been too busy repairing Liz’s armor and restoring Magic Inscriptions to attend.

Looking back now, it felt like a bit of a pity…

According to Tos, the Princess’s white stockings were quite the sight.

Brian kept joking.

“Compared to the monsters in the dungeons, a banquet like this is nothing,” Brian said, then lowered his voice as he noticed Letia stuffing her face across the room.

“Are you worried the folks from Dawn’s Edge will give you a hard time?”

“Not really.”

Red shook his head.

“I’m just not used to this kind of occasion. I didn’t have any time to prepare—it all came up too suddenly.”

That morning, right after Litt had gone out, an invitation arrived in Red’s hands.

It was from the Gilded Chamber of Commerce.

Originally, Red hadn’t planned on coming, but apparently, the Chamber was brought in by Otto to promote the Blood Spider Hunter, and Red was supposed to be the star of the event—so they asked him to show his face if possible.

But now, it seemed better not to stand out.

“So that’s how it is…”

Brian nodded.

“But Letia is already heading this way.”

“Hmm?”

Red immediately turned to look.

Letia had already walked up to him.

Though this priest was so much younger than he was, Red always felt that she was somehow much older.

That mature air and utterly un-cute personality made her difficult to approach.

Red spoke first.

“What is it?”

“Can you come over here for a moment?”

Letia wiped the cake from the corner of her mouth and pointed to a quiet spot nearby.

She’d gotten so caught up in eating, she almost forgot about the five-thousand-coin task.

“Is this something we can’t talk about here?”

Letia fidgeted, cheeks flushed.

“It really isn’t convenient…”

Brian, seeing the situation, patted Red on the shoulder and said,

“I’ll go have a drink over there. See you.”

“Hey…”

Red wanted to say something, but Brian was already gone.

With no choice, he turned to Letia and sighed.

“If you’re here to invite me back, don’t bother.”

“I give you my word, I am absolutely not here to ask you back to Dawn’s Edge.”

“Alright then.”

Red still didn’t know what Letia wanted, but he followed her into the corner.

“So, what is it?”

After being tricked by this priest before, Red was extra cautious this time.

Even if she really did take off her stockings, he swore he wouldn’t sneak a glance.

With Red on high alert, Letia took a deep breath, and then gave a perfect ninety-degree bow, both hands held high—a thick, neatly stacked pile of bills in her grasp.

“If… if you would…”

The girl lifted her face, tears glistening in her eyes, her lips trembling.

She looked so pitiful, it was as if Red had committed some unforgivable crime against her.

“Please… please don’t tell Liz about this…”

She just couldn’t resist messing with him.