Living Food

Angel had thought it through clearly.

Choosing White Coral Floating Island Academy would not necessarily give him the freedom he had imagined; choosing Sanders did not necessarily mean losing that freedom either. Besides, White Coral Floating Island Academy offered no "basic allowance," while Sanders had personally promised that if Angel achieved nothing after five years, he could extend Jon's life by another five years.

So in the end, Angel's choice of Sanders was perfectly understandable.

What Angel did not know was that it was not that White Coral Floating Island Academy was unwilling to offer him a "basic allowance." Rather, Heloline had been suppressed by Sanders so thoroughly that she could not even move, much less promise him any benefits.

At the same time, the pressure bearing down on Heloline vanished completely after Angel made his choice.

Heloline let out a long breath. In only a few short minutes, her entire body had already been soaked in sweat.

Angel joining Savage Cave was now a settled matter. She could only sigh inwardly, yet she did not dare show the slightest dissatisfaction toward Sanders. She merely gave a cold snort beside Moro's ear, then cast Angel one last deep look before sighing and returning to her seat.

"Oh ho ho ho, I never thought I would witness such a heartwarming scene in my restaurant." Gloria lumbered over in her massive body and stopped before Sanders, biting down particularly hard on the words "heartwarming."

They had broken the rules of her restaurant and destroyed more than half of her magical array patterns. If the person standing before her had not been Sanders, she would have long since stamped her feet and thrown them out.

Suddenly, Gloria withdrew her anger. She turned her face sideways, narrowed her little eyes, and leaned her head close to Sanders' ear as she asked in a low voice, "What exactly is that boy's talent? You actually destroyed my magic array just to come in and snatch him away?"

The gossip on Gloria's face was obvious. Though it looked like a private whisper between the two of them, she had not used any spell to block the sound, and everyone present clearly heard her question.

Ever since Sanders had burst into the hall solely to take a disciple, everyone's curiosity about Angel's talent had risen to its peak. Gloria's question scratched precisely where they itched. Though they all acted calm and went about their own business on the surface, every one of them had their ears pricked high, terrified of missing Sanders' answer.

Even Angel himself was exceedingly curious about the answer. What exactly had Sanders taken him as a disciple for?

Unfortunately, to their disappointment, Sanders merely raised an eyebrow and showed no intention of speaking.

Gloria rolled her eyes resentfully. "You turned my restaurant upside down, and you cannot even answer one tiny question of mine?"

Unhurriedly, Sanders picked up the cane resting on the dining table and motioned for Flora to leave.

"Hey, hey, hey! Then at least answer one question for me. Is that boy's talent connected to 'that place'?"

That place? What place was that? Explain it clearly! Everyone looked at one another.

Sanders gave Gloria an unfathomable look, then left the hall with Flora without saying a word. Naturally, he did not forget to take Angel along with him.

"You are taking Angel away too? Are you not planning to claim his customized Gold Card food?"

Sanders paused slightly and turned back to look at the still-bewildered Angel. "Send it over to my place later. By the way, what do you want to eat?"

Only when he was addressed did Angel come back to himself. "I do not know what is good. Um, M-Master... do you have any recommendations?"

It was the first time Angel had called anyone other than Jon "Master," and his face flushed bright red.

Sanders was quite pleased that his newly accepted student was so quick on the uptake.

"Decide for yourself. Pick anything you like." After a pause, Sanders added, "However, Gloria's living food is one of a kind throughout the entire wizarding world."

"Living food?" Angel felt a surge of resistance just from hearing the term.

Flora explained, "Living food refers to creatures Gloria creates with her original witchcraft, creatures that do not exist in this world. Each of those creatures has its own use. Fragment Mayflies, for example, are one kind of living food."

Angel thought for a moment, then looked toward the wizards in the hall, all eagerly awaiting his answer.

Heloline remained expressionless. She still could not let go of Angel being snatched away halfway through, and naturally had no appetite. Sabo, meanwhile, was lost in thought, glancing at Angel from time to time as though he were still pondering Angel's talent.

Jeral's expression was gloomy, but he no longer dared arrogantly order Angel to make a choice as he had before.

Angel looked at Jeral, then at Sanders, and a sudden realization rose within him.

This bargain-bin Master of his seemed rather decent after all.

"Lady Gloria, I have made my choice. I will have Fragment Mayflies."

Once Angel spoke, everyone present visibly let out a breath of relief. Jeral in particular had the gloom on his face ease considerably.

Fragment Mayflies were of great use to him. He had searched for them for years without finding any. If he missed this opportunity, he had no idea how much longer he would have to wait.

Thus, the instant Angel made this decision, Jeral's impression of him changed from "somewhat hostile" to "somewhat grateful."

If Angel had still been an ordinary mortal with no backing, Jeral naturally would not have undergone such a change. But with Sanders as his support, even Jeral would no longer look down on him.

After hesitating for a moment, Angel said awkwardly, "My lady, could you add a serving of Fragment Mayflies for Master and Flora as well?"

Flora froze for a moment, then a smile immediately blossomed across her face. "You really are quite good. No wonder even Master values you! Hee hee hee! From now on, in Savage Cave, I will look after you. I guarantee you can swagger around sideways!"

Though Sanders had no particular need for such a precious material as Fragment Mayflies, who did not like free things?

Gloria shrugged. "Fine. You are a Gold Card guest, so you call the shots."

Earlier, forced by reality's pressure, Gloria had chosen Sanders. Now that Sanders and Angel had become master and disciple, Gloria naturally leaned toward the holder of the Gold Card.

After leaving the Gold Card banquet hall, only the three of them remained. Angel was so awkward that even the air seemed thin.

Flora floated through the air in high spirits, humming an unknown tune.

Angel followed closely behind Sanders, feeling both unease and anticipation toward the unknown future.

"Jeral is an alchemist. His temperament is extreme and he is petty-minded, but his skill is formidable. His title is the Mithril Revolutionary. If you ever study anything related to alchemy, his name will be impossible to avoid. His contribution to improving mithril was one of the greatest pieces of news in the alchemy world a century ago. Maintaining a good relationship with him will benefit you."

Sanders' voice broke the awkward silence.

After hearing this, Angel nodded heavily. So that was why Sanders had handed the choice to me earlier. If I had not chosen Fragment Mayflies, I would certainly have offended Jeral.

Though Angel had become Sanders' disciple, there was still an immeasurable gulf between his status and Jeral's. Given wizards' cold and selfish nature, even if Jeral killed him, it would amount to nothing.

This state of maintaining a basic relationship was instead the best possible outcome.

The three arrived at the Bronze Card banquet room where Sanders had been earlier. It was temporarily empty, while Gloria was still in the Gold Card banquet hall preparing Fragment Mayflies for everyone.

Sanders closed his eyes and rested. The corners of his lips lifted faintly, and he appeared to be in an exceptionally good mood.

Flora took the opportunity to tell Angel various legends about Barbie Restaurant.

Compared with Soup Weasel's exaggerated and vague introduction to Barbie Restaurant, Flora's account better matched the public's direct impression of it.

After a while, Angel had gained a basic understanding of this mysterious restaurant rumored to wander from place to place.

"Those bizarre waiters are really nothing. If you have ever been to Fairy Tale Town, you would find even more oddities there. Compared with those tin men, scarecrows, and heartless princesses, Gloria's way of thinking is at least fairly normal." Flora concluded.