-----
-----
"Interdimensional Mercenary Guild? What even is that?" Hearing this, Wu Liuqi couldn't help looking around.
"Whoa, this sofa looks super fancy. How much does it cost?"
As he spoke, he jumped straight onto the couch.
"...Is he always this hyper?"
Do comedy anime characters all just ignore common sense?
Sam was seriously speechless.
"Who are you?"
Wu Liuqi's antics snapped Feng Baobao out of it. She looked at the guy bouncing on the sofa, scratched her cheek, realized she didn't know him, and asked.
She wasn't like Kurama. She experienced things the manga-reader way.
Assassin Wu Liuqi: "Name's Wu Liuqi. Hi there, beautiful. Hungry? Wanna buy some beef offal?"
"Beef offal?"
Sam's eyes lit up.
Perfect timing. I didn't even eat breakfast.
"Yes, boss!"
Grinning, Sam walked over to Wu Liuqi.
"I'll take five servings. No, make it ten! Mild spice, no scallions or cilantro. Extra ingredients, and please add more meat if you can."
He didn't know why, but his appetite had gotten huge lately. Just last night, he ate what used to last him three whole days.
Elsa: "The way you said that… why do you sound so experienced?"
Sam: "I used to eat beef offal all the time. Haven't had it in five years though."
The moment Wu Liuqi heard that, his eyes practically started glowing.
Jackpot! First day setting up a stall and I hit it big!
Ten servings! How much pocket money was that gonna make?
Even though he still had no idea where this place was, as a professional snack vendor, Wu Liuqi believed one thing: when customers order, you make it fast.
Setting up a stall? A stall is a stall anywhere!
"No problem at all! I'll even throw in two extra chunks of meat!"
Feng Baobao closed her Under One Person manga. "Is it good?"
"Of course it's good," Wu Liuqi said confidently. "I'm—"
"Hey, hurry up," Sam cut him off, rubbing his stomach. "I'm starving to death here."
"Alright boss, coming right up!"
Wu Liuqi instantly shut up, smiling as he pushed over his beef offal cart.
For some reason, it felt like the real protagonist of the Mercenary Guild was the food cart.
(–.–)~
"Watch this! Scissors, move with my qi!"
Under everyone's expectant gazes…
Nothing happened.
Wu Liuqi: "???"
What the heck?
Then again.
"Scissors, move with my qi!"
"Scissors, move with my qi!"
Still nothing.
Seeing this, Sam quietly told Robin to temporarily turn off the anti-magic restriction on Wu Liuqi.
"How is this possible?"Wu Liuqi scratched his head in confusion. "Why isn't it working?"
As he spoke, he struck several cringey, overly dramatic poses with the scissors.
Elsa: "..."
Sam: "..."
Feng Baobao: "Looks amazing!"
(σ??? )σ …
Wu Liuqi: "Again!"
He focused hard.Scissors, move with my qi!
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!Swish! Swish! Swish!
This time, it worked!
It really worked!
Wiping the sweat off his forehead, Wu Liuqi started chopping the beef offal.
For the sake of pocket money, his mind was completely focused. His blade work was impressively smooth.
Not only that, at some point, ten paper bowls had already been neatly lined up on the cart.
With a flick of his wrist, the offal flew. In a blink, it dropped straight into the broth.
Offal and soup splashed through the air. Wu Liuqi moved both hands at once, scooping everything out together. Each portion landed perfectly into its bowl.
After that flashy sequence, Feng Baobao and Elsa were both stunned, staring in awe and blurting out how awesome it was.
Feng Baobao's eyes were practically sparkling with stars.
"Heh."
Wu Liuqi smugly rubbed his nose with his thumb. "Done!"
Sam: "Tch, showing off so much. In the end, it's just a regular bowl of beef offal."
Wu Liuqi: "..."
But once the steaming-hot bowls were ready, Sam didn't say anything else. He grabbed one and started eating right away.
Seeing how happily Sam was eating, Feng Baobao got tempted too and asked Wu Liuqi for a serving.
You might say Xu San once told her not to eat things given by strangers.
Yeah, right.
If I eat it and don't pay, then it's not something someone gave me, right?!
Baobao silently praised herself for her genius.
So in the entire Interdimensional Mercenary Guild, Elsa was the only one who didn't eat.
Seeing that, Sam asked Wu Liuqi to make her a bowl too.
Elsa's was non-spicy, since he didn't know if she could handle heat.
Or maybe he should've ordered it spicy, and if it was too hot, she could just use ice magic to cool it down?
Hmm… honestly, that mental image was kind of great.
"So, uh… boss," Wu Liuqi said, rubbing his fingers together in the universal money gesture. "What about the payment?"
"Payment?"
Sam looked at the last bowl in his hand. There was only half left. With a slurp, he finished it all.
Then he wiped his mouth, completely satisfied.
"Little Sven, let's put this on the tab. I'll pay you another day."
Wu Liuqi: "???"
What?
Another day?
Isn't that just straight-up eating for free?!
No money means all that work was for nothing!!!
In that instant, Wu Liuqi felt like his entire life had gone gray.
Sam: "Baobao, didn't you say Xu San told you not to eat things given by others?"
Hmph.I invited you to eat and you refused, but you're totally fine eating Wu Liuqi's beef offal?
Are you looking down on me, Sam?!
"Xu San did say not to casually eat things other people give you," Feng Baobao nodded seriously.
"So I decided to eat it and not pay. That way, it's not something someone gave me!"
Hiss—
That logic was airtight. I couldn't even argue with it.
"You're really smart," Sam said, giving her a thumbs-up."As expected of a little genius with crystal-clear logic."
"....."