The young dragon tries to conquer the world

　"My Lord Earl?"

　The room was somewhat dark, and the people who appeared in the light along with the sound were the same ones from last time. They called out this name to the lonely, flickering light in the dark space.

　"I find it hard to believe that those ugly demons would suddenly come to negotiate. They really have wolves in sheep's clothing, trying to lower our guard under the guise of peace talks. But there's still one thing: what exactly do the demons want? It seems necessary to send someone to investigate. Is it alright to hand it over to you?"

　"No problem, I'll try to contact my companions right away."

　"Well, I'm really sorry to trouble you, always making you do these shady jobs." Count Granat said, slowly exhaling a puff of smoke.

　"Please don't say that."

　Count Guranat smiled quietly, but it was completely different from the friendly smiles he usually wore on the streets and in the military camps. The light emanating from his eyes was as cold and piercing as ice. Then, Count Guranat walked out of the hidden meeting room, but strangely, his legs, which swung back and forth, made no sound, as if they had become one with the dark night.

　When they left last time, the last Meralu who returned with the supplies also gained access to Eleanor's restaurant kitchen. Now that they no longer live outside the city, the Meralu rarely have the opportunity to cook for the little girl. However, the Meralu believe that their purpose is to cook for the little girl, so after purchasing the appropriate supplies, the Meralu immediately set about preparing a hunter-style feast for her.

　The inspiration for this dish came from the square frying pan unique to the Eleanor family. The Melalus skillfully poured large chunks of lard into the frying pan, then quickly poured in the beaten egg mixture. The bright yellow egg mixture quickly became fluffy in the hot oil. The Melalus then quickly added fish and shrimp to the egg mixture, placed a whole squid in the middle of the egg mixture, quickly rolled it up, piled it to the side of the pan, and then poured in a second layer of egg mixture.

　After repeating this process ten or more times, the egg roll became as thick as a young girl's arm. However, the original recipe calls for cutting the egg roll into small pieces before eating.

　But the little girl, with an OVO-like expression, couldn't wait any longer. Her chubby little hands firmly grasped the still steaming egg roll and took a big, satisfying bite. "Mmm!" Inside the hot egg roll were tender fish and chewy squid, and the outer skin was incredibly crispy because it had been cooked for a while.

　Lanmei prefers to sprinkle some lemon juice on top. The lemon juice not only neutralizes the greasiness of the oil, but also brings out the delicious flavor of the fish and squid.

　Another dish brought by Melalu is called Baoshan Flying Dragon Pot. First, pork ribs and pork bones are used as a base to make a rich broth, which is then cooked to extract all the nutrients from the bones and meat. Next, the mountain products that Melalu and her friends have picked in the mountains are added, such as whale tongue flowers, tiger pufferfish mushrooms, monster truffles, and mineral onions. Of course, the most important ingredient is the giant lobster that the young girl caught earlier, after all, this dish is called Baoshan Flying Dragon Pot.

　After cleaning the mountain produce, slice it and put it into the pre-cooked bone broth. Once the mushrooms softened, add the lobster and continue simmering. As the lobster shells gradually turned red, the little girl's mouth watered. Fortunately, there were plenty of egg rolls prepared, and the little girl ate them while waiting for the Baoshan Flying Dragon Hot Pot. Soon, the lobsters turned completely red. Finally, add the whale tongue flower and mineral onion to the pot. These vegetables cook very quickly, so they cannot be added in advance.

　Soon, a pot of rich and delicious Baoshan Flying Dragon Hot Pot was ready. Of course, in addition to this, the Meralu also made several other dishes, such as roasted pork bones, roasted wild boar ribs, and fried meat. This made Eleanor even more determined to get along with the young girl and Lanmei. If the Meralu hadn't said that they wouldn't leave the young girl, Eleanor would definitely have kept them.

　"It's delicious!" The little girl, who was already quite full, was the first to remember Eleanor's promise, so she reached out her hand to Eleanor. Eleanor was taken aback before she remembered that she had promised to prepare local specialties for the little girl.

　"Um, I'm sorry, Hikari. I was so engrossed in watching the Melalus cook that I forgot to prepare something for you. How about tomorrow? Please forgive me this time."

　As Eleanor spoke, she glanced at Lanmei. However, Lanmei always respected the young girl's choices, so the young girl shrugged at Eleanor. Eleanor gritted her teeth, told the young girl and Lanmei to wait there for a moment, and then went into the kitchen. Soon, or rather, not very soon, Eleanor came out of the kitchen carrying two large servings of milky white drinks. But for some reason, Eleanor's face was flushed, and her shirt was damp in some places.

　Volume 1: 411 - I hope you know what you're doing

　"Glug~ Glug~ Pfft~ Ha~" The little girl put down the cup in her hand, with a ring of white milk stains still around her mouth. The drink that Eleanor brought out looked very delicious, and the little girl looked very satisfied with her OVO expression.

　Seeing the little girl's expression, Eleanor finally breathed a sigh of relief. This drink was originally something she had spontaneously created, and what she served to the little girl this time was a masterpiece. The Minotaur were very sensitive to the quality of milk, and this drink was made with the highest quality milk, flavored with honey, fruit pieces, and cooked sweet red beans. However, Eleanor wasn't sure whether what she had made was a drink or a dish, but now, Eleanor was certain that this dish would become a sensation across the continent.

　The demon envoys were housed in guest rooms in the city lord's mansion by Count Granat. Even though there were only three of them, Count Granat still left two squads of guards outside the guest rooms. Although Dorat was somewhat dissatisfied, Luguna felt that this arrangement was very appropriate. At least in the current situation, as the passive party, Count Granat needed to quickly formulate the next countermeasures and how to deal with these demon envoys. It would obviously be very unwise to detain the three of them with ropes or shackles.

　After all, apart from Count Granat, no country or federation had ever received a peace request from the demons. Therefore, those in power generally believed that it was better to avoid escalating the conflict as much as possible, so the atmosphere in the city lord's mansion was not very tense.

　Nevertheless, Count Guranat did not have much time left, but he had clearly made his decision.

　"I'm sorry, but we cannot accept your demands. Of course, we can consider setting a boundary for us to acknowledge your terms. However, if you insist on using co-governance as the basis for negotiations, then I regret to inform you that I cannot accept it."

　As Count Guranat spoke, several full glasses of wine were brought to him.

　Before them, Luguna accepted a glass of wine. He could not see any deceitful expression on Count Granat's face. It seemed that Count Granat really wanted to negotiate with the demons. Luguna took a sip of wine, but the sour taste of the wine made him grimac.

　"This tastes definitely not as good as human blood."

　“That mage,” Dorat, who had been staring blankly at his wine glass since the beginning, suddenly spoke up, sitting opposite Count Granat. “What do you plan to do with them?”

　"Hmm, oh, that elf, I had someone investigate. She just didn't know what happened, so she was fined and detained for a while before it was over."

　Don't you think...?

　Before Dorat could say anything more, Lucuna raised his hand to stop him. "Count Guranat has his reasons for saying this, and we cannot interfere. Furthermore, since Count Guranat thinks this way, I will convey this answer to Lord Aura after leaving the Guranat territory. However, I also sincerely hope that we can complete a perfect negotiation."

　Count Granat's hand holding the wine glass suddenly tightened, turning a ghastly white. "Hmm, if possible."

　Since they couldn't achieve the desired outcome, Luguna, Linne, and Dorat decided to leave. Count Granat kept a close eye on their steps. He had no intention of sending them away. Since they were already here, even if there was only one of them, Count Granat would kill them anyway. If he missed this opportunity to reward his son, he didn't know when he would get another chance.

　"Do it!"

　As soon as Lucuna stepped out of the room, he heard a majestic voice. The soldiers standing on both sides of the corridor immediately drew their swords and slashed at Lucuna. Count Guranat also drew the precious sword that the emperor had given to his son and thrust it into Lucuna's heart. But before the soldiers' swords could strike Lucuna, a tooth-grinding metallic scraping sound rang out. The soldiers who had been waiting for the opportunity to assassinate him were surprised to find that their joints were completely immobile, and they felt an excruciating pain in their limbs. Blood gushed out instantly.

　"What have you done!" Count Granat shouted, forcefully breaking free of his grip and slashing at Luguna again. Instantly, a dull thud rang out, and a sharp pain spread from his temples. Count Granat then realized that he had done something foolish. His knees suddenly went weak, making it difficult for him to even stand. He then collapsed to the ground with a thud.

　"Blood Magic!"

　Even though Count Granat's vision was blurry, he knew what had happened. Luguna bit his own palm, and the blood that spilled out instantly turned into arrows that pierced the guards' chests almost instantly. Seeing the guards who had followed him for so long fall, Count Granat angrily tried to get up from the ground, but he only saw the pink-haired demon walk over and kick him again. His vision went black and he lost consciousness.

　When Count Granat woke up, the guest room reception area was empty. Count Granat raised his hand and touched his temple, which was still throbbing. He found that a large lump had swollen up there. Fortunately, it was only a pain on the surface and there was nothing wrong with the inside of his head.

　"Ah, he's awake."

　"As expected of someone from the original army. Alright, don't make that face. Magic is truly an incredible thing. This defensive magic of the great mage Vlame, which has prevented the demons from invading and has been protecting this town, is the magic cast by a genius a thousand years ago. It still surpasses the current magic system. Meanwhile, we demons spend our entire lives researching a single type of magic. This kind of magic lacks the beauty of accumulating achievements, which is why I hate geniuses."

　"Pah, ha, you're all just stupid." Count Granat spat out a mouthful of blood without any politeness.

　"Well, let's say that's true. Your Granat family has always been in charge of managing the barrier. Since we were able to enter, it proves that there is a way to manipulate the barrier magic. Hand it over."

　As soon as Lucuna finished speaking, a surge of anger erupted from Count Granat's body. Despite knowing that the target of his anger was himself, Lucuna's expression did not change. Looking at the resolute Count Granat, Lucuna chuckled, "Then I'll give you some time. Think it over carefully. This is a common tactic used by you humans, isn't it? If you refuse to talk, we'll start by killing the residents here."

　Dinner was as plentiful as ever. It's worth mentioning that, in order to cater to the young girl's tastes, the Melalus even learned how to bake bread. However, neither the young girl nor Arashi liked starchy foods. Well, the Melalus were going to use this bread to make breadcrumbs. The young girl and Arashi didn't like starchy foods, but if it was used as an ingredient, the young girl wouldn't mind so much.

　Melaloo skillfully added egg liquid, chopped onion, starch and pepper to the bowl, then vigorously stirred until it became thick. She added some ice cubes to cool the batter. In Melaloo's experience, this made the fried meat crispier.

　Soon, three-finger-thick pork chops were tossed one by one into the oil by Melalu. A delightful sizzling sound instantly filled the air, and numerous bubbles rose to the surface of the pork chops. Melalu and her companions carefully controlled the oil...

　The heat and the position of the pork chop are crucial. Once the pork chop floats to the surface, turn the heat to high, and the pork chop will quickly turn into an enticing golden brown.

　Before the fried pork cutlet could cool down, the young girl had already grabbed the first one out of the fryer. "Aww~" she took a bite, and judging from her O~O expression, Melalu knew it tasted pretty good. While the next batch was still preheating, Melalu quickly cut a plate and placed it in front of Lanmei. Lanmei picked up her chopsticks, took a piece, and put it in her mouth. The outer skin was crispy while the inside was soft and juicy.

　"Hmm, the cooking time is very good. As for the taste, the ratio of salt and pepper is a little too low, but everything else is fine."

　Lanmei covered her mouth and whispered her thoughts. Melalu thought for a moment, then nodded and sprinkled some seasoning into the batter. The fried pork cutlet, the appetizer, was ready. Next came a huge portion of roast beef and a platter of roast meats topped with plenty of cheese. These foods, which would make anyone full just by looking at them, quickly disappeared into the little girl's stomach. Eleanor looked at the little girl's stomach with concern. Her abdomen was still as flat as ever. She couldn't help but wonder where all the food had gone.

　Soup dishes were naturally indispensable. Melalu stood in front of a copper pot large enough to cook young girls. It is worth mentioning that Melalu was standing on a chair, otherwise she would not have been able to see what was inside the pot. The pot was full of mixed cream soup. In addition to the seafood and various animal meats that the young girls had caught, there were also soft-cooked carrots and potatoes. Melalu was adding the last of the chopped onions and lily flowers.

　Then the little girl poured the bowl of hot soup, which was enough to let Eleanor know what raw beef tongue tasted like, directly into her mouth. Eleanor, her face flushed, chewed on the leftover ice cubes from the dish, watching the little girl and Lan Mei drink bowl after bowl of cream soup, and couldn't help but wonder if she was too weak.

　After a busy day, Luguna left the city lord's mansion with Line and Dorat. Count Granat still hadn't told them where the magic book that controlled the defensive barrier magic was, so they decided to take some evidence back to force Count Granat to confess. As soon as they stepped out of the city lord's mansion and onto the street, they saw a young girl feasting.

　"Fatty and that good-for-nothing, come to think of it, is she really a demon?"

　"I don't know, why not just kill them all?"

　"Alright, you two, we'll definitely have to take action, but we'll do it in different ways. At the very least, we should announce our arrival to the residents here. Perhaps then, Count Granat will be more willing to tell us how to activate the defensive barrier magic, won't he?"

　Although Linne and Dorat didn't particularly like Lucuna's idea, as the smartest of the three, Lucuna's idea was still worth implementing.

　"Good evening, little one. It's so late and you're still out. Where are your parents?"

　Following what he had learned, Lucuna greeted the little girl with what he thought was a kind expression. However, the next second, the little girl pinched her nose and ran to the other side of the table, ignoring Lucuna's behavior and continuing to eat heartily from the plate in front of her. Lina couldn't understand why the little girl would do this, and of course, she didn't understand why Lucuna had to greet her in a human way. Why not just kill her directly?

　Dorat's idea was even simpler: he just wanted to kill the little girl. Luguna hadn't expected the little girl to react this way, so she could only continue, "Little girl, we are demons. Aren't you scared being here with your sister so late? You know we eat people."

　Lanmei had just poured herself a full glass of cider. Usually, she would watch the little girl eat and then have a drink at this time. Lanmei thought the three guys would leave after making a fool of themselves, but she didn't expect the leader to stick to her. Before Lanmei could react, the little girl pinched her nose and ran away again.

　"You guys smell terrible, and you're still eating!"

　Seeing the little girl's tail retract to her side, Lanmei couldn't help but cover her mouth and laugh. However, although Lanmei covered her mouth in time, the laughter was still heard by Liuguna and the others. Even though they were demons, they knew what the little girl and Lanmei's reactions meant. The youngest, Dorat, was the first to burst out laughing. Moreover, he was very confident in his magic, the magic threads, even though he had no practical experience or ability to judge.

　"You bunch of inferior goods!"

　A gust of wind blew by, instantly cutting the table in front of the little girl and Lanmei into pieces. This caused the creamy stew and cold cuts of braised meat in front of the little girl to fall to the ground. How could the little girl, who was happily eating, accept this? Looking at the food on the ground, the little girl's eyes reddened, and she burst into tears with a "waaaah" sound.

　Seeing this, Dorat laughed and created more magic threads. In his opinion, he had proven himself to be a very capable demon. However, he did not notice that although the magic threads he had just cast enveloped the little girl and Lan Mei, they showed no signs of injury. Eleanor, hearing the noise outside, immediately ran out to see what was happening. After seeing the little girl and Lan Mei being bullied, Eleanor rushed forward without thinking to shield the little girl behind her. But at that moment, the little girl's crying stopped, and instead, a childish roar was heard.

　"Woo~"

　The dragon's eyes, red from crying, were fixed on Dorat. "Thud!" A series of platinum dragon scales immediately appeared on the little girl's body, and her hands instantly transformed into thick dragon claws with platinum patterns. After her slender dragon tail dragged on the ground, leaving sparks, the little girl pounced on Dorat head-on.

　"Bang!" Due to the impact, Dorat was sent flying. The terrifying impact slammed Dorat into the opposite window, shattering half of his ribs and arm bones. The intense pain prevented Dorat from swinging his magic threads in time, while the little girl had already jumped to the other side and pounced down without thinking. What followed was the sound of claws piercing flesh and bones breaking, mixed with the roar of some kind of immature beast and the muffled thud of a heavy object hitting the ground.

　In the end, Dorat turned into magical particles and disappeared into the night. Only then did Linne react, raising her axe and rushing to the little girl's side to strike. Lucuna, seeing Linne a beat slower, thought to himself, "So it really is a problem of not having magic power. He actually managed to evade Linne's magic detection and kill Dorat."

　Before Lucuna could react, the little girl's tail whip tore through Linne's entire body. Seeing Linne reduced to particles, Lucuna finally realized that this little one was no ordinary person. Eleanor

　Pointing tremblingly at the young girl, he asked Lanmei, "You, you people are...?"

　"Hmm, oh, race? As you can see, dragons, or in the naming conventions of your world, we'd be considered something like True Dragon Kings. In fact, we're even stronger than True Dragon Kings."

　"True Dragon King, you're not joking, are you? My goddess Selene! The True Dragon King disappeared a long time ago, and you are even stronger than him!"

　On the other side, Luguna discovered that his blood magic couldn't penetrate the platinum dragon scales on the little girl's body, but the little girl herself didn't have any magical fluctuations. Luguna could only attribute the problem to the little girl being equipped with defensive items. If that was the case, the first thing to consider was the upper limit of the magical items and the mechanism of defense. But judging from the little girl's reckless behavior, it seemed that the magical items did not operate based on the number of defenses.

　So it seems there's a defense cap. In that case, we can keep attacking until the defense cap is lifted. After all, the little girl has no magic power, so this little thing is nothing to worry about!

　If we follow the native mage's line of thinking, then it's true that unlimited defensive items are indeed a bit overpowered. But the little girl herself is overpowered. When facing magic of this level, even if the little girl stands there and lets him beat her to death, he still can't break through her defense. Moreover, dragons are creatures with extremely high magic resistance, let alone a little girl of this level, an ancient dragon that is about to enter the forbidden realm.

　The young girl also disliked the buzzing bug in her ear, which was disturbing her eating. Her eyes flickered, her crimson-gold pupils narrowed slightly, and she took out the Berserker Giant Blade that she hadn't used in a long time. As Ryuguna looked at the giant blade reflecting the moonlight and was still thinking about whether to defend or run away, the giant blade was already in front of him.

　"Oops!"

　As he watched his body gradually turn into particles, Lucuna finally realized that when facing such an enemy, it was best not to hesitate about what methods to use. He had always thought he could handle everything, but his pride and arrogance had ruined him. Lucuna was about to say something, but when he saw the little girl turn away from him without caring at all, Lucuna was speechless.

　Meanwhile, in the Black Forest Swamp area a dozen kilometers away, the horned, purple-haired demon Aura noticed the news of the deaths of three of her subordinates. Although she didn't care much about their lives, it was still part of her plan, so Aura decided to come and see for herself, bringing her army with her.

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　Volume 1: 412 - Obedience Magic? No, Fear Magic!

　It is known that Frilian is a mage who has lived for over a thousand years and once teamed up with a hero to defeat the Demon King; Philon is Frilian's personally trained apprentice, and has gained Frilian's recognition, especially in terms of magical comprehension and magical literacy; Shutark is the apprentice of the warrior Aize, and Aize even admitted that Shutark is stronger than him in terms of combat awareness.

　This leads to the conclusion that the iron bars of the cell were completely useless to the three of them. If Frilian wanted to, they could leave at any time. And now that all the dungeon guards had left, Frilian was happy to leave.

　"What do you mean?" As soon as Hughtark finished speaking, he was met with a burst of laughter from the girl. Frilian turned her head and looked at Hughtark as if he were a fool.

　"What? You don't know?"

　"what are you talking about?"

　"Seriously, I can't believe someone doesn't even know this! Didn't Aize teach you?"

　"what!"

　Shutalk couldn't stand Philen's cold gaze, so he took a few steps back and leaned against the wall. "Listen carefully, let me, as your senior, teach you." Frilian stood up, looked at Shutalk's nose, and said, "Generally speaking, the gates in these places are cast in place and then placed here, rather than being cast into the stone wall. In this case, warriors can use combat skills to destroy the mechanism and leave, while mages have special magic, such as instant disintegration and shattering, like this."

　After speaking, Frilian took out her staff and gently tapped it against the iron gate. The iron gate shattered into several pieces as if cut by a hot knife through butter, and fell to the ground. Under Hughtark's shocked gaze, Philon lightly skipped away from the cell. Frilian followed, staff in hand, and seeing Hughtark still staring at the wreckage, asked curiously, "Aren't you leaving?"

　"No, so you're saying that from the beginning we could have escaped anytime we wanted? Then why have we stayed here for so long?"

　“You can’t just break out in front of the guards, can you? I think we should at least show them some respect. Besides, we’re not going to fight the knights. If those guys want to kill us, that’s another story. But so far, they’ve just kept us locked up here. And those demon envoys don’t seem to be focusing on us.”

　"How did you know?" Shutark straightened up and leaned closer to the wall, cautiously observing the people passing by.

　Philon shook his head helplessly. "If those demons wanted to use us as a scapegoat, they would have taken advantage of Lady Frilian's defeat and made their demands. Besides, our arrival in the Granat territory coincided with the demon envoys' peace talks, so even if it was a coincidence, that possibility can be ruled out. As for the purpose of the demon envoys' peace talks..."

　Frilian looked up at the magical barrier in the sky and continued, picking up where Philon left off: "It must be this defensive barrier magic. The reason why the demons sent envoys to negotiate with Count Granat is that they could not remove or break this defensive barrier magic. After all, this is a defensive barrier magic left behind by the great mage Vlame a thousand years ago. If you can't destroy the magic from the outside, you can only try to destroy it from the inside."

　"Really?" Hughtar looked at Frilian in disbelief. He hadn't expected that Frilian had figured out the reasons and purpose of the demon invasion in such a short time. Philon nodded heavily, and Hughtar immediately said, "In that case, we should help Count Granat even more. If we let the demons in, wouldn't that be..."

　“If Count Granat were a proper nobleman, he wouldn’t have allowed the demons to invade. Of course, if he trusts the demons, then we’d better leave this place as soon as possible.”

　"Someone's coming!" Philen immediately pulled Frilian and Shutark to hide in a corner of the wall, using the darkness of the night to conceal their figures. From the footsteps and the clanging of metal that came with them, Shutark judged that they were probably patrolling guards.

　"Where do you think the Earl will go?"

　"Who knows? I told you long ago that those demons were no good. Now those demons are gone, and the Earl is gone too. What if the demons attack now?"

　"What should we do? If the demons are coming, we'll fight them. We'll just take them down."

　Upon hearing these words, Philon immediately turned to look at Frilian, then at Shutark. Unexpectedly, Shutark also looked at them. Clearly, neither of them had expected that Count Granat had disappeared with the demons. Had the demons taken Count Granat hostage, or had Count Granat perished together with the demons? The matter had become increasingly confusing. However, given the current situation, Frilian and the others had no choice but to find a place to rest in Shutark and then investigate further the next day before making a decision.

　On the other side, Eleanor watched as the demon turned into particles and the crater the little girl had smashed into the ground. Yes, simply killing Luguna was not enough to satisfy the little girl. The little girl raised the berserk giant beast and smashed it several times at the spot where Luguna had died before putting down the giant blade in her hand.

　Eleanor watched in horror as the little girl returned to the shop. Lanmei and Melalu were already used to it. Why did those three have to provoke the little girl when she was eating? Didn't they know that the little girl disliked having her food taken away at this time? To be fair, the little girl wasn't the kind of narrow-minded dragon. You could tell from how Melalu interacted with her. Besides, flipping the table while someone was eating would get you beaten up no matter what race you were in, right?

　However, looking at the little girl with an O︿O expression, Eleanor suddenly felt that everything the little girl did was right. In the end, it was those demons who attacked first, and the little girl was just acting in self-defense. Judging from the extent of the damage to the tables and chairs on the ground, the little girl's actions could not be considered excessive. Besides, those were demons, so wouldn't it be better if they died? As for peace talks, the big shots above would handle that.

　"Don't worry, Xiao Guang, Miss A Lan, I will keep my mouth shut. Even if they arrest me and torture me, I will not say that you did this!"

　Eleanor gave the young girl a resolute look.

　The little girl tilted her head cutely, clearly not understanding what Eleanor was talking about. Lanmei took the steamer that Melalu handed over. What had just happened did not delay Melalu from making the dish in the back. What Melalu carefully made was a dish called Eight Treasure Seafood Buns.

　The reason this dish takes so long to prepare is mainly because it requires fresh bamboo to make the steamer basket, allowing one to taste the fresh flavor of bamboo. When the steamer is opened, hidden under the white mist are buns in four colors: green, white, red, and yellow. The bun skin is made by the Meralu people using a special method, which not only makes it taste excellent but also makes it soft and fluffy like cotton when you bite into it. The fillings are even better, including not only the common crab roe, crab meat, shrimp, and fish, but also seafood such as sea cucumber, shark fin, abalone, and scallops.

　One bite reveals a rich broth, tender and refreshing seafood, and the aroma of freshly cut bamboo. After a few bites, the little girl's resentment gradually dissipates as the buns diminish. The little girl's life is so simple; eating and playing occupy most of her time.

　Perhaps sensing that things weren't so simple, Frilian and her companions didn't go to the new hotel but instead went back to the old one. Fortunately, the hotel owner didn't know they had been arrested, and Frilian and her companions were able to enter the hotel smoothly. Otherwise, they would have had to sleep on the street. Sure enough, the next day someone came to their door—it was the defense captain.

　"Frilian!" the defense captain shouted, then walked toward the bed. Hughtark thought that Frilian, who was eating, would be startled by the question, but she did not waver at all. She just glanced at the defense captain out of the corner of her eye, and then casually put the food in front of her into her mouth without making a sound.

　“First-class criminal Frilian, since we’ve found you here, it means you’ve escaped from prison, right? I’m sure you know something about the Count’s disappearance. Come with us.”

　Hughtark felt inexplicably annoyed by the defense captain's words. Philon said nothing, but simply patted Hughtark on the shoulder, telling him to wait.

　"If I was responsible for the Count's disappearance, you wouldn't be able to find me now, and even if you did, you would only end up as corpses. By the way, those demons have disappeared, haven't they?"