Foods tailored to the dietary habits of the Demon Clan.
Well, that makes sense. After all, this is the Demon Clan’s royal capital — Yabadawi.
“Would you like some, ladies? My yogurt and fruit are guaranteed fresh.”
The vendor was a Youthful Female Vendor with flaxen hair, wearing a pale white headscarf.
She smiled gently as she spoke.
“How much for one serving?”
“The small one comes in this little wooden cup, 30 small copper coins.” The Youthful Female Vendor answered, raising her hand to indicate the two differently sized wooden cups in front of the stall.
“The large one is in this big wooden cup, 40 small copper coins.”
Upon hearing this, Finihiya lowered her gaze, looking down at the two wooden cups in front of her.
Judging by sight, the small wooden cup held only two-thirds the amount of the large one.
With that thought, she slanted her gaze toward the silent Darlian.
“Darlian, do you want one?”
“Mm… I’ll have a small cup.”
“I’ll take the large one then.”
Hearing the two of them, the vendor immediately smiled and, repeating their order, picked up a ladle and opened the wooden barrel, scooping yogurt into the two cups.
“One small cup, one large cup, right?”
“Yes.”
“All right, it’ll be ready in just a moment.”
As they quietly waited for the vendor to prepare the fruit yogurt, Darlian asked her in a calm tone.
“Can you really finish that much?”
“I think it’ll be fine…”
After their brief conversation, the vendor finished preparing the fruit yogurt.
Noticing that Darlian was about to take out her coin pouch, Finihiya hurriedly raised her hand to stop her.
“Let me treat you.”
“Hmm?”
Seeing Darlian’s puzzled look, she awkwardly averted her eyes and then spoke in a hushed, dry voice.
“Even though… um… I’ve been taken care of a lot by you since coming here, so I want to treat you.”
“Hehe~” Darlian smiled brightly. “Then I’ll gladly accept.”
Finihiya counted out one large copper coin and two copper coins from her pouch, then handed them to the Youthful Female Vendor in front of her.
“Take care, ladies.”
With the vendor’s polite farewell, the two of them continued to walk slowly down the Capital Street, each holding their wooden cup.
Finihiya used a sharpened wooden skewer to spear an apple soaked in yogurt and put it in her mouth to chew.
The sourness of fermented milk mingled with the sweetness of apple, swirling around her tongue and stimulating her taste buds, bringing a subtle sense of joy and comfort to Finihiya’s heart.
“This is delicious.”
“Is it?”
“Mm.”
A gentle expression softened Finihiya’s delicate profile.
Then, noticing something, Finihiya tilted her head and looked at Darlian, who was smiling with a somewhat enigmatic look.
“What is it?”
“It’s nothing.” Darlian’s smile deepened. “It’s just that your smile now is so much more relaxed and natural compared to when we first met.”
“Is that so.”
“Back then, you always had a stiff, awkward smile on your face.”
“Isn’t it a bit much to call it ‘awkward’…”
“Hehe~” Darlian chuckled. “Anyway, what I want to say is, your smile now is especially cute—like a full moon in the night sky, so beautiful.”
Darlian’s straightforward words made Finihiya turn away.
“What is it?” Darlian leaned closer, gazing directly at Finihiya’s now flushed cheeks and feigning confusion. “Your face is so red~”
“That’s… that’s because you’re saying such embarrassing things so seriously.”
Perhaps out of excessive shyness, Finihiya puffed her cheeks and answered in a huff.
And seeing Finihiya’s reaction, the smile in Darlian’s eyes deepened even more, and she covered her lips, grinning.
“Finihiya really does get embarrassed easily.”
Even though Darlian teased her like that, Finihiya’s mood could quickly bounce back, and before long, she was already blending right back into the festival’s atmosphere, carefree as ever.
As for Darlian’s teasing, she’d already left it behind.
The crowd in the small market seemed to grow denser, and gradually, she needed to stick closer to Darlian.
Finihiya’s gaze remained curious as she looked at the stalls on both sides.
Before long, she spotted a dessert at a nearby stall that sparked a bit of nostalgia.
“These candied apples are sweet and delicious, miss. Would you like one? Only 10 small copper coins.”
Though these apples were also coated in syrup, unlike the red candy coating she remembered, the ones here gleamed with a golden hue.
It seemed the coating was probably honey or something similar.
With that in mind, Finihiya tilted her head toward the side.
“Darlian, do you want one?”
“No, thanks.”
Seeing that Darlian didn’t seem interested, she shifted her gaze back to the vendor.
“Then, I’ll have one, please.”
“Certainly, miss.”
Undoing her coin pouch, Finihiya took out a copper coin and placed it in the vendor’s palm, then took the wooden skewer with the candied apple and left the stall.
She gently licked the candy coating on the apple.
The flavor that spread from the tip of her tongue was indeed honey, not the sweetness of cane sugar.
“Buying candied apples again—can you finish it all?”
“I haven’t had dinner yet.” The sweet honey made Finihiya’s expression soften considerably. “Darlian, you really don’t want one? If you do, I can let you have a bite.”
“Thank you for your kindness, Miss Finihiya.” Darlian stepped ahead with her hands behind her back. “But I’m already tired of candied apples.”
“I see.”
After hearing Darlian’s reply, Finihiya relaxed and continued enjoying the sweet candy coating.
She quietly licked it for a while, then suddenly noticed Darlian’s gaze quietly fixed on her.
Based on experience, when Darlian looked at her with that subtly amused expression, it rarely ended well.
Even though she wanted to ignore Darlian, the constant attention made her discomfort grow until, in the end, she could only look back at Darlian helplessly.
“What is it now?”
“Nothing.”
Darlian intentionally didn’t say anything, just flashed a sly smile.
“Seriously, what is it?”
“It’s just that…” Darlian pinched her fingertips together with her right hand. “It seems a little… suggestive.”
“Hmph.”
Even if Darlian left her sentence unfinished, Finihiya knew exactly what she was teasing about, so she snorted in annoyance.
As Finihiya turned away, puffing out her cheeks, her beautiful golden hair—like a golden veil cascading to her feet—shimmered with the slight movement of her head.
Her lush hair reflected the moonlight, turning into a silvery sheen in the night, like a dream.
The passersby who walked by couldn’t help but cast looks of wonder their way.
Even in the bustling, lively market, it was as if the place around the two of them alone shone with the fantastical glow of a midnight dream.
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