Magical Cat

After everyone went inside and sat down, Li En and Elaine finally put down their bags.

After they sat down at the table, the old farmer poured each of them a bowl of water to moisten their throats. Then, the village chief, who had parked the carriage, went back inside.

"Old woman, give me a bowl of water too," the village chief called out.

"Okay, okay," the old farmer's wife said with a look of disdain, but she still quickly poured a glass of water and handed it to her, casually asking, "Was the journey smooth?"

"Smoothly, of course it went smoothly. Didn't you see I invited everyone over?" the village chief said proudly.

"Let me tell you, these three are not ordinary adventurers, but mages from the Royal Magic Academy," the village chief introduced.

"Oh dear, they are noble ladies!" The old peasant woman's originally kind and relaxed attitude vanished instantly, replaced by fear and trepidation, and she even knelt down to pay her respects.

Elaine quickly helped the old peasant woman up and said hurriedly, "Grandma, there's no need for that. We're just here to help, and I'm not some noblewoman. I'm a commoner, a student on scholarship from the academy."

Hearing this, the old peasant woman couldn't help but ask doubtfully, "Isn't it said that the academy is all for nobles? Anything with 'royal' in its name deserves our utmost respect..."

The old peasant woman looked at her husband, then at Elaine and the others, still at a loss.

At this moment, the village chief spoke up: "Old woman, what are you doing? Just do what they tell you to do. Go and prepare some food. The magicians and I have been traveling all night and are starving."

"Oh, oh." The old peasant woman felt as if she had been granted a pardon and hurried to the kitchen.

"My wife is rather timid and hasn't seen much of the world, so please don't take offense, great magicians," the village chief said with a smile, his tone somewhat humble, after the old peasant woman left.

"Village chief, there's no need for that. Just treat us like ordinary adventurers. This quest was posted by the Adventurers' Guild anyway," Melina said.

Melina also stumbled upon this incident by accident.

She originally went to the Adventurers' Guild to find some quests that suited her abilities as a student, but unexpectedly bumped into the village chief of Yellowstone Village who came to the guild for help.

Melina contacted the guild directly, accepted the task, and also applied for two temporary magic follower slots.

For Melina, an elite adventurer, this kind of task was a piece of cake; she only accepted it for teaching purposes.

The guild was happy to assign such tasks to Melina, since the rewards offered by Yellowstone Village were not particularly attractive, and it was difficult to find adventurers willing to take on the task.

Melina's actions can be seen as relieving the guild's worries.

"Village chief, why don't you tell us about the wolves first?" Melina got straight to the point.

"Oh, that's fine." The village chief began to reminisce.

"About a week ago, there were rumors of wolves attacking people in the surrounding area. Three days ago, someone encountered a pack of wolves while chopping wood on the mountain. He escaped with his life but lost an arm."

"There are several hills near our Huangshi Village. I was afraid that wolves would settle there, so after discussing it with the villagers, I took the money we had collected and posted the mission. That's how I met you."

The village chief looked at Melina with a smile.

To be honest, if it weren't for Melina, things would have been much more difficult for him.

When the Adventurers' Guild posted the quest, the receptionist reminded him that the reward was a bit low and that he might have to wait a while before someone would accept the quest.

Just when the village chief was in a dilemma, Melina happened to take on the task, which not only gave the village chief a job, but also prevented him from lingering in the capital for too long.

For villagers, a trip to the city is a huge expense.

Money had to be spent, and the village chief and the horse-drawn cart were also delayed in their work.

The village chief himself was well aware that he had hit the jackpot this time.

According to the receptionist at the Adventurers' Guild, Melina is a very skilled adventurer; wolves are no match for her.

"Does the village chief know the size of the wolf pack?" Melina continued to ask.

If she were to take action herself, there would be no need to know such detailed information.

But this time it was Elaine and Safina who made the move, so this prior intelligence was extremely important.

"The villagers who were attacked saw five or six wolves, and there were also wolf howls in the distance. According to rumors from other places, some said there were dozens, some said there were hundreds, and some even said there was a wolf alpha among the pack." The village chief frowned as he said this.

Such threats linger near Huangshi Village, making it impossible for the villagers to live in peace.

If a pack of wolves were to come down from the mountain and attack, it would be a terrible disaster.

"Such a large pack of wolves couldn't have appeared out of nowhere, could it?" Elaine asked.

"Yes, I heard they migrated down from the Shadow Mountains further north. Wolf packs usually migrate when there isn't enough prey or their territory has been taken over." The village chief was also experienced.

After chatting for a long time and finding out the wolf pack's activity area and the surrounding terrain, the old farmer brought out the prepared meal.

A few pieces of dark bread and a large bowl of vegetable soup.

This is considered a very lavish meal in Huangshi Village.

If it weren't for the guests, the old village chief's family wouldn't have been willing to eat like this.

"Please, gentlemen, have some food. Our Huangshi Village is a small place, and we can't offer you anything of great value. We hope you won't find it offensive," the village chief and his wife said sincerely.

"Not at all, thank you both."

After politely thanking them, the three began their meal.

Li En watched from the side, showing no intention of eating.

He is a magical creature and does not need to eat or drink; he only eats to satisfy his cravings.

Looking at the food at the village chief's house, I couldn't help but feel a little sad.

Li En had been at the Royal Magic Academy since he woke up, and even though he was with Elaine, a poor little penniless girl, he hadn't seen much of the suffering in the world.

On the contrary, the college cafeteria has a huge amount of extravagance and waste every day.

Even those leftovers would probably be considered delicacies by the villagers of Huangshi Village.

After all, Li En had never seen black bread in the academy before.

The bread in the college was either as white as snow or as yellow as gold.

Such an ugly color, the cafeteria would never even consider adding it to the menu.

"Don't kittens need to eat?"

Seeing Li En just sitting there in a daze, the old farmer's wife couldn't help but ask a question.

Elaine shook her head; she knew how precious the village's food was.

"Li En is a magical creature; he doesn't need to eat," Elaine explained.

"Magical creatures?" The old peasant woman didn't understand, and just gave a forced smile, feeling that she had been meddling in other people's business.

Seeing the old peasant woman's reaction, Elaine felt a pang of pity, so she broke off a small piece of dark bread and offered it to Li En's mouth.

"Would you like to try some?"

Li En thought for a moment, glanced at the old peasant woman, and opened his mouth to accept the answer.

He took a bite and immediately regretted it.

"Wow, it's so hard!"

Li En dared not bite down too hard anymore, so she held it in her mouth for a while and then slowly ground it with her teeth.

Seeing that Li En had also started eating, the old peasant woman finally smiled and looked at them happily, saying:

"Eat more, there's more if you're still hungry."