The excruciating headache had vanished completely. I walked back towards the main gate of Eldoria Academy, where I noticed three gatekeepers on patrol. If I were to pass through the front gate and be caught, I would be interrogated as if I were a thief. So, I decided to find another way.
I wandered around and discovered a towering tree near the academy's fence. I climbed the tree and leaped over the fence. Outside the fence, there seemed to be no suitable platform for me to land on. If I were to jump directly down, I would surely break my legs. Therefore, I decided to walk slowly along the academy's fence until I found a higher platform to jump from.
Once I found what I deemed to be a sufficient platform, I promptly leaped and landed safely. I walked along the dark streets until I reached Eldoria's main road, illuminated by streetlights.
"Hey, Oliver! Where have you been?" I heard someone call my name. I turned around and realized it was Reid, holding a large bag filled with steamed sweet potatoes.
"Do you want some?" Reid asked, offering me a warm boiled sweet potato.
Being hungry, I didn't hesitate to accept Reid's offer. I immediately took the sweet potato and devoured it as if I were afraid someone would take it away.
"Aren't you afraid of Jenny's scolding? It's already quite late," Reid asked me.
"What time is it now?" I inquired.
"It's 11:30 PM. You know how cold it gets here at night. That's why I went out briefly to buy boiled sweet potatoes," Reid explained, munching on his own.
"Well, if I'm going to be scolded, I'm resigned to it. I actually don't know why I fainted for so long," I replied to Reid.
"What? You fainted?" Reid asked, surprised.
"Yes, I actually went home since noon, but I took a brief stroll around the academy and encountered something strange. I think I fainted at that moment, and when I woke up, it was already nighttime. And here I am, coming to the bar and eating sweet potatoes with you," I explained to Reid.
"Something strange? What exactly was strange?" Reid inquired.
"To be honest, I don't know either. I just saw a dark figure during the day, and the more I observed it, the larger it became. Then suddenly, my body grew weak, and I lost consciousness."
"Maybe it was because you were hungry. I heard you didn't have breakfast this morning," Reid suggested.
"Well, I suppose that could be it," I responded.
The two of us conversed about various things along the way, most of which were trivial matters. We were so engrossed in our conversation that we didn't realize we had arrived at the bar.
There seemed to be some commotion inside the bar, and as I opened the door, it appeared to match the noise. The labor union workers here were accustomed to making a fuss over insignificant matters, to the point where even trivial things could cause a commotion.
I walked through the crowd, and it seemed like Max and Ava were the ones causing the mischief. They are members of the workers' union here, and it's not uncommon for commotion to happen in this bar since it's a gathering place for people from different backgrounds.
"Hey, Jen, what's all the fuss about?" I asked Jenny.
"Hufftt, Max tried to borrow money from Ava again today, but Ava got angry because Max hadn't paid back the money he borrowed before. They argued, and it turned into a fight," Jenny explained to me.
"Ohh, that's just Max. He spends the whole day lazing around with me HAHAHA," Reid replied while munching on boiled yams.
"Yeah, they're used to it. And where did YOU come from?!" Jenny yelled at me.
"Sorry, sorry. I'll explain tomorrow. I just want to take a shower and go to sleep," I replied to Jenny.
"Alright then, I've prepared the water for you to shower. Go inside," Jenny replied.
I walked up the stairs to my room, quickly took off all my clothes, wrapped a towel around me, and headed to the bathroom to clean myself. After everything was done, I immediately lay down on my bed.
For the next day, it seemed like I didn't have to go to the Academy again because Mr. Victor had asked me to meet him at the empty field south of the kingdom's walls at 3:30 PM.
A lot had happened today, and my body felt tired from all the activities. It didn't take long for me to fall asleep amidst the commotion of the night.
### THE NEXT MORNING ###
I slowly opened my eyes and saw the dazzling morning sun piercing through my bedroom window. It seemed like I forgot to close the window.
I quickly got up from my bed, walked to the bathroom to wash my face, and then walked out of my room. From the second floor, I could see a little mess on the first floor, with chairs and tables scattered everywhere. I saw only Reid and Max sleeping on the long bench at the corner of the room.
I walked down the stairs and glanced at the clock behind Jenny's drink counter. It showed 6:17 AM. It was quite early, and it seemed like no one else was awake except for me. Even Jennifer, who always woke me up, usually got up at 7 AM.
Then I took the initiative to gather all the dirty glasses and plates. I brought them to the back and washed them until they were clean. After that, I put everything back on Jenny's table as before.
Then I tidied up the scattered tables and chairs. Apparently, my activities in the early morning were quite noisy as it woke up Max, who was sleeping at the far end of the room. He woke up and could only watch me tidy up. I noticed that he was still half-awake.
"If you have so much free time to just watch, you might as well go to the back and wash your face to help me," I said to Max with a slightly teasing tone.
After finishing tidying up, I took a broom from beside Jenny's table and started sweeping. I noticed Max standing up and walking to the back. It seemed like he was fully awake now.
Once everything was clean, I grabbed a glass and a box of milk from Jenny's table. I poured the milk into the glass, sat down, and started drinking.
Just as I was about to enjoy a glass of milk in the morning, Max walked over and sat in front of me.
"Oliv, can you make me a cup of coffee?" Max asked.
"Of course, just wait a moment," I replied.
Then I stood up, took a teapot, turned on the stove, and boiled water to use for brewing coffee for Max and Jenny.
"Hey, I'm sorry about the commotion last night," Max suddenly said.
"It's alright, don't worry about it. Isn't it always like that? HAHAHA," I replied casually.
"Actually, I was really confused last night. I have no money at all, and on top of that, I still owe Ava, which is why she got so mad at me last night because she also has a family to support," Max confided in me.
"Then why did you start the fight?" I asked.
"I don't know, maybe it's because my emotions were unstable after being deceived by a woman I just met a few days ago. Two days ago, she tricked me and made me faint. After that, she took all my money. Yesterday, I searched the whole area, but there was no trace of her," Max explained.
"Completely vanished?" I asked.
"Completely, she disappeared like ashes blown away by the wind, without a trace," Max replied.
"What are you going to do then? I also haven't seen any new job postings on the mission board," I said while brewing the coffee.
"That's why yesterday I borrowed money from Ava again because I saw that the mission board was still empty. I can't even pay for this cup of coffee," Max explained.
"Well, don't worry about it. Consider it a treat from me," I said.
"IF THAT'S THE CASE, I WANT A TREAT TOO," Reid said.
I saw Reid had also woken up and overheard my conversation with Max. Well, I didn't have any other choice but to brew another cup of coffee for Reid as a thank you for the boiled yams he gave me last night.
"Yes, yes, this is a cup of coffee for Sir Reid, the seventh-level warrior of the Kingdom of Eldoria," I replied to Reid.
I saw Reid walking closer and then dragging a chair next to him, sitting beside Max.
I noticed Reid seemed to be searching for something in his pocket, and he took out a cigarette from his pocket. He lit it up and took a puff, then offered it to Max. Max accepted the offer and took one of Reid's cigarettes without saying a word, and they both started smoking together.