Chapter 349: Chapter 349: City Folks Really Know How to Play_1
The next morning, in the outskirts of Silvertown, within a village, the owner of a private restaurant who sported a handlebar mustache was cleaning the outdoor tables. He set up and opened a large parasol, then lifted his head to look at the blue sky dotted with a few thin clouds.
The weather is pretty good, but itās still going to be very hot at noon, and it will be a few months before it starts to cool down. He thought aimlessly.
Since there was still time before the midday rush, he cleaned in a rather lax manner. When he came to his senses, he suddenly heard someone calling him from behind, "...Boss? Donāt ignore me."
"Huh?"
He turned around in surprise and saw that a young lady had already taken a seat at a round table behind him, waving at him, "Could I have a menu, please?"
When did this person sit down?
The owner couldnāt help but feel surprised, but he quickly responded, "Oh, Iām sorry, maāam, I was just thinking about something..."
He hurriedly took a menu to the guest and took a notepad out of his pocket, sizing up the customer before him.
A fashionable ribbon sun hat, a tight-fitting deep V-neck dress dyed a striking red, a ruby necklace clinging to her collarbone, and a long skirt that went well past her knees, but with a split design on the right leg, boldly exposing a snowy white thigh.
This outfit is too eye-catching even for the city center streets, let alone this suburban village.
Is this city fashion?
The owner glanced again at the womanās delicately made-up faceāit was a pretty face, but for some reason, he felt that as soon as he looked away, the impression would instantly fade.
"Cottage cheese pancake, a cup of black coffee, thank you." The woman placed her order.
"Sure, sure." The owner nodded and quickly went inside.
The woman sat idly in her seat, casually picking up the newspaper on the table to scan a bit. When she saw an article titled "Sophie Carter Terminates Contract with Dawn Theatre, No Comeback Date Announced," she frowned slightly and snorted softly through her nose.
"Sorry to keep you waiting."
A deep male voice made the woman put down the newspaper and look up.
"Warden." The woman looked up, a smile spreading across her face, "Oh my, you look a bit sallow, didnāt you sleep well?"
Aiden sat down across from Qiqimora, heaving a sigh, "Bodyguard work is no fun, glad youāre here to take over."
"I also drove through the night to get here, planning to rest up a bit first."
"Taking a break is fine, but just in case, youāll still need to head over this afternoon," Aiden replied.
"And here I thought you were going to say that we need to watch that ābig starā around the clock," Qiqimora said, slightly surprised.
"Itās not necessary. Thereās a gardener and a maid in the house during the day, and the butler will come out from the surveillance room as well. If the stalker sorcerer chooses to come during the day, heād probably have to kill twice as many people, and thereās also quite a few people moving around the village during the day. If it were me, Iād definitely choose to act at night; the likelihood of an attack during the day is not high," Aiden analyzed.
"If guarding at night is all it takes, then itās quite relaxing."
"But that doesnāt mean there wonāt be any problems. To be safe, you should still go there in the afternoon."
"Protecting such a big star really suits someone like me who can only work behind the scenes," Qiqimora said with a self-deprecating tone.
Aiden heard her say that and immediately remembered that she seemed to care a lot about how his presence had become so faint because he was adapting to the "Void" authority.
"Hey, the other party is just a maid acting as a substitute; donāt slack off at work, or you wonāt get paid if the mission fails," Aiden reminded.
"Iām just feeling a bit sentimental, I still know my limits," Qiqimora responded, "So while Iām in charge here, what are you going to do?"
"Go back to sleep, then deal with some work," Aiden sighed. "Today is not a workday, after all."
"So youāre just going to dump this on me? What if they suddenly attack from over there?"
"I trust you can handle it on your own. You should be closer to the authority anyway; your power should be able to suppress the opponent." As the topic touched upon authority, Aiden lowered his voice.
"Self-preservation is definitely no problem, but resolving the opponent is a bit difficult. The powers I currently have donāt possess much offensive capability," Qiqimora also lowered her voice, and to make it easier to hear each other, she pulled her seat up close to Aiden and sat shoulder-to-shoulder next to him at the round table, "Compared to the āMaterialā authorityās āAll Thingsā power, itās just so suitable for head-on battles. If I had mastered the āVoidās āAnnihilationā power, then it would be a different story, ah, itās really too bad..."
"Too bad about what?" Aiden asked.
"Actually, Iāve been taught the divine word of āAnnihilationā, I just lack the divinity to assimilate it," Qiqimora finished speaking and stared intently at Aiden.
"What do you want?" Aiden immediately sensed her intention and frowned apprehensively.
"Donāt be such a spoilsport, you surely understand what I mean..." Qiqimora smiled and moved her face a little closer, about to say something when she suddenly caught sight of a figure standing beside the table.
She turned her head and saw the owner standing beside them somewhat awkwardly, holding the tray with the meal he had just ordered.
Clearing his throat, the owner placed the items on the table: "Madam, hereās your fresh cheese baked crĆŖpe and black coffee."
"Thank you..." Qiqimora noticed the change in how she was addressed and corrected it, "Iām not married yet, though."
"Ah, Iām sorry, I didnāt know the two of you werenāt married," the owner apologized with a forced smile.
"Weāre not lovers either," Aiden clarified in time.
The owner thought to himself, good Lord, with the way you two were whispering closely together, and with the lady suddenly flirting like that, youāre now telling me youāre neither spouses nor proper lovers; doesnāt that mean... lovers in another sense?
Bringing a lover on an outing to the outskirts of the city, and you can be so openly candid about it?
City folks sure know how to live it up!
But he quickly regained his composure and resumed his salesman smile, turning his attention to Aiden: "So, what would the gentleman like to order?"
"I didnāt even have breakfast yet..." Aiden glanced at the menu, "Do you have any recommendations?"
"No," the owner answered instantly.
"Huh?" Aiden looked up in surprise.
"Ah, what I meant was..." realizing his slip-up, the owner quickly corrected himself, "My wifeās cooking is quite good; everything on the menu is decent. Just order whatever looks good to you."
"Then Iāll have... ham and fried eggs with hot sauce, vegetable soup, a portion of white bread, black coffee, thanks."
"Alright, alright." As the owner turned away, the smile on his face immediately carried a trace of disgust, and he shook his head slightly.