The owner of the cold noodle shop was named Old Tom, and he had been running this little shop on this street for over twenty years.
Although some unrest had recently occurred in the Imperial Capital, perhaps because he prayed every day, he had not been affected by the chaos.
Thus, he still woke up at four in the morning every day to knead dough, simmer broth, chop side dishes, and then open the shop for business until wrapping up around eight or nine in the evening.
His days were plain yet fulfilling, and he was quite content with this kind of life.
It was just that in the past few days, the shop had seen more customers from the magic academy.
This had made him a bit nervous at first; after all, in his mind, anyone associated with magic was an extraordinary figure.
But later, he discovered that most of the students coming to his shop were from commoner backgrounds. They spoke very amiably and would politely say thank you when ordering, which slowly eased his lingering anxiety.
He knew these students had contributed a lot during the recent disaster in the Imperial Capital.
Therefore, Old Tom put extra care into hosting every group of customers. He would boil the noodles a bit longer to make them springier, scoop an extra spoonful of minced meat into the broth, and arrange the side dishes in neat, orderly rows.
This was his way, as an ordinary commoner, of showing respect to the children who had helped the Imperial Capital.
It was currently evening, and five or six tables were occupied in the shop, four of which were filled with students from the magic academy.
They slurped down their cold noodles while passionately discussing something.
“I think those phantom enemies should be considered a type of Undead, right? Look at how they can disperse and then reform. Isn't that a classic trait of the Undead?” a boy wearing glasses said.
The girl sitting across from him shook her head.
“Not necessarily. It could just be simple mana constructs or something.”
“But how did they suddenly appear in the Imperial Capital like that? Why did absolutely no one notice their existence before?”
“Who knows... But what caught my attention the most was that mysterious person who conjured the black sun.”
Another boy chimed in, his eyes gleaming with excitement.
“You guys must have seen it too, right? That black sun, and that overwhelming pressure... My legs felt weak even from far away. Plus, he claimed to be the Messenger of the Goddess of Night, Nightmare. But what kind of entity is the Goddess of Night anyway? I've never heard of her before.”
“I haven't heard of her either. But since His Majesty the Emperor has allowed the Dark Night Order to operate, she probably isn't some evil god, right?”
Old Tom listened idly to the students' discussion while wiping down the counter.
Undead, the black sun, the Goddess of Night—these terms were far too distant for him.
He only knew that something truly terrifying had indeed happened that night. He had hidden in the cellar with his wife and children, listening to the explosions and shouting outside, too frightened to sleep a wink all night.
Fortunately, by dawn the next day, everything had passed.
Ding-ling~
Just then, the shop door was pushed open again.
“Welcome—”
Old Tom habitually raised his head, putting on his professional smile, only for his grin to freeze right on his face.
A group of five walked in.
Walking at the very front was a young man wearing dust-covered work clothes. Though his attire was simple, his face was incredibly handsome.
As for the four girls behind him, they all radiated an aura of nobility.
The appearance and temperament of these five made Old Tom, a shop owner well-accustomed to all walks of life, conclude in a single glance—these were absolutely nobles! And they definitely weren't just minor nobles either!
“As expected, with this lineup, it's absolutely impossible not to attract attention.”
The moment Greg stepped into the shop, he noticed that everyone's eyes immediately locked onto them.
The chatting students gaped, forgetting to even swallow the noodles in their mouths.
The entire shop fell silent for two or three seconds, with only the broth in the pot still bubbling away.
Old Tom hurriedly came out from behind the counter, wiping his hands on his apron, and said rather nervously:
“M-My lords... My shop is humble and only serves cold noodles. I fear it might not suit your tastes...”
His tone carried a trace of caution, deeply afraid of offending these guests who clearly possessed extraordinary backgrounds.
Greg waved his hand and said casually, “It's fine. We're just here to eat cold noodles.”
Old Tom was stunned, unable to believe his ears. “Th-This... My lord... You aren't joking?”
“Of course not. We heard your cold noodles are excellent, so we came specifically to try them.”
As Greg spoke, he glanced back at the four behind him. “Right?”
Victoria: “Yeah, both of my roommates said the food here is pretty good.”
Vivian nodded gently.
Yelena smiled sweetly and said, “Mhm, I've been looking forward to this for a long time.”
Lilith still held her chin high, but she didn't say anything disparaging either.
Seeing that they really were just here to eat noodles, Old Tom relaxed slightly.
“Then... how many portions would you lords like to order?”
Greg was about to say five, but the words caught in his throat.
He turned his head to look at Victoria, a flattering smile plastered on his face. “Good Junior Sister, can I get a few extra portions?”
Victoria's eyes instantly widened. “You're incredibly thick-skinned! Besides, I'm really broke right now too!”
Just then, a fair hand stretched out in front of Old Tom. Resting in the center of her palm was a glittering gold coin.
“My treat.”
Vivian's voice was calm and indifferent.
“You may eat as much as you like. If there is change, you can keep it. If it isn't enough, I can add more.”
Old Tom stared at the gold coin, completely dumbfounded.
A bowl of cold noodles cost only two copper coins, and one gold coin was worth a hundred copper coins—meaning this single gold coin was enough to buy fifty bowls of cold noodles!
In his twenty years of running the shop, this was the first time he had ever received a gold coin as payment!
Cradling the gold coin, his hands trembled slightly. “Th-This... young lady... This is too much, truly too much...”
“It is fine.”
Vivian's tone remained flat. “The royal family has never been stingy in rewarding what pleases them. Keep the change as a tip.”
She was royalty?!
Although he had known her background wasn't ordinary, he hadn't expected her to be a princess of the neighboring kingdom.
Old Tom was so frightened that his knees felt weak enough to give way.
Watching this play out from the side, Greg couldn't help but feel a strange sensation—was this the joy of being pampered by a wealthy woman?
Although he wasn't actually being kept, the feeling of ordering whatever he wanted while someone else picked up the tab was indeed delightful.
Meanwhile, after seeing Vivian pull out a gold coin to treat them, Victoria looked at her with a touch more favor.
After all, as a miser, she naturally had a built-in favorable impression of generous people.
Old Tom carefully tucked the gold coin away, then eagerly cleared the best table in the shop for the five of them. He even used his sleeve to meticulously wipe down the tabletop and chairs, terrified that any speck of dirt might neglect these distinguished guests.
Once Greg sat down at the table with the four girls, he immediately felt the gazes of the surrounding customers grow much sharper.
In particular, the stares of the boys were practically like knives, wishing they could pierce a few holes in him.
But on second thought, Greg could understand.
To an ordinary person, beautiful girls of this caliber should be taken to high-end restaurants, no matter what.
After all, only an environment with crystal chandeliers, silver tableware, and tailcoat-clad waiters would be worthy of their looks and elegance.
Yet, he had brought them to such an incredibly ordinary little shop, and he wasn't even the one paying...
In the eyes of the other boys, he really did seem quite deserving of death.
But Greg simply loved those looks of envy and jealousy from people who couldn't do a single thing about it.
Yet, just as Greg was raising his eyebrows at the other boys, Senior Yelena suddenly asked a question that nearly stopped his heart:
“By the way, Junior Greg, what exactly is your relationship with Junior Victoria? I always get the feeling that you two are really close.”
Rate on N.U.
