Ace's hand, gripping Luffy's ear, froze in mid-air.
Sabo's hand, covering his face, slowly lowered.
"You're… treating us?"
The pain in Luffy's ear vanished instantly.
He abruptly lifted his head, and two blazing flames reignited in his once dull eyes!
He pointed at himself in disbelief, then at the steaming roasted meat in the restaurant.
"Really? Red Big Sister!"
"Of course!" Amber patted her chest, her smile so bright it could melt winter snow, "I'm a Scout Knight of the Knights of Favonius! It's my duty to help friends who have traveled a long way!"
"That's great! Amber, you're the best!" Paimon did a somersault in the air, screaming excitedly, "Paimon wants honey-glazed carrot stew! And Sweet Madame!"
"Meat! Meat! Meat!!!"
Luffy instantly let go of the lamppost, transforming into an afterimage, and was the first to rush to an empty seat at the Good Hunter restaurant, picking up a knife and fork and banging them loudly on the table!
"Boss! Serve the food! Bring me all the best meat you have here!"
Ace and Sabo exchanged glances, both seeing a deep sense of powerlessness in each other's eyes.
"This idiot…" A moment later.
The table at Good Hunter restaurant was filled with a dazzling array of Mondstadt's specialty dishes.
Golden crispy Mondstadt Grilled Fish, honey-glazed carrot stew drenched in rich sauce, and skewers of sizzling, oily grilled meat.
The aroma soared to the heavens!
"I'm eating!"
Luffy and Paimon roared in unison, their voices shaking the sky!
The next second!
They devoured everything like a whirlwind!
Luffy opened his exaggerated mouth and swallowed an entire skewer of grilled meat in one bite, not even spitting out the stick, chewing with a crunching sound, and then swallowing it whole!
"Woah! Delicious!"
"Hmph! You're too slow!"
Paimon, floating in mid-air, was not to be outdone; she picked up an entire plate of honey-glazed carrot stew, larger than herself, and buried her face in it directly!
Her cheeks instantly puffed out, making her look exactly like a greedy little hamster!
"Another serving!"
"Boss! Another twenty skewers of grilled meat!"
"Paimon wants fifty servings of Sweet Madame!"
The two of them—no, one person and one floating little one—thus began a fiercely competitive food battle!
The empty plates in front of them piled up rapidly, at a speed visible to the naked eye!
One!
Two!
Soon, two towering stacks of plates rose from both ends of the table, and they continued to grow taller!
The surrounding diners were all dumbfounded.
Ace painfully propped his forehead with his hand; he felt his temples throbbing.
He lowered his voice and growled at Sabo beside him.
"This idiot… is he going to eat them out of business?!"
Sabo also had a wry smile on his face.
He picked up a napkin, wiped his mouth, and then gave Amber an apologetic smile.
"I'm very sorry, Amber… Luffy, he… he's just like this."
"Hahahaha! It's fine, it's fine!"
Amber's eyes sparkled; she looked at the two gorging themselves, not angry at all, but instead found it extremely amusing!
"So amazing! I've never seen anyone eat so much!"
She then looked at the golden-haired young man next to her, who had been silent all this time, merely quietly sipping juice.
"Traveler, look, they can eat even more than you!"
The golden-haired young man, the Traveler, merely smiled and nodded, then silently pushed the plate of grilled fish in front of him, which he hadn't even touched yet, to the center of the table.
Instantly, a pair of chopsticks and a small hand simultaneously reached for the plate of fish.
"It's mine!"
"Paimon's!"
Bang!
Luffy and Paimon's heads crashed together fiercely.
Luffy's head dented in, then bounced back.
Paimon, meanwhile, clutched her head, teary-eyed and spinning in the air.
"Waaah… you rubber-head!"
"Hehehe! The fish is mine!" Luffy laughed triumphantly, his mouth full of fish, announcing indistinctly.
Ace finally couldn't bear it anymore.
He felt that if this idiotic brother continued to embarrass himself, he would lose all his face!
He suddenly stood up, grabbed Luffy's head, and pressed him firmly onto the table.
"You stop it right now! You bastard!"
"Waaah… my meat… my meat…"
Watching the chaotic scene, Sabo sighed helplessly, yet he felt a certain place in his heart filled with something warm.
He looked at the azure sky of Mondstadt City, at the relaxed smiles on the faces of the people around him, and at his bickering brothers and new friends beside him.
Freedom.
This, perhaps, was the taste of freedom.
"Burp—!"
Luffy let out an earth-shattering burp, patting his round belly contentedly.
In front of him, the towering stack of empty plates was already teetering.
On the other side, Paimon also lay sprawled in mid-air, clutching her little belly, a look of pure happiness on her face.
"I can't… Paimon can't eat anymore…"
Ace and Sabo looked at the mess on the table, and the expressions on both their faces were utterly priceless.
One was so embarrassed he wanted to dig a Mondstadt City with his toes.
The other had a dark face, wishing he could hang up and beat that idiotic brother who had eaten the restaurant dry right now!
"Um… Amber." Sabo's face was filled with apology, "Really… I'm really, really sorry!"
"It's fine, it's fine!" Amber was still putting on a brave face, waving her hand, though her smile was a little stiff, "As long as everyone enjoyed their meal! Hahahaha!"
Just then.
Sara, the owner of Good Hunter restaurant, walked over with elegant steps and a smile.
In her hand, she held an… absurdly long bill.
"That will be eighty-nine thousand six hundred Mora."
Sara's voice was gentle and sweet.
But that number instantly froze the air in the room.
"Eigh… eighty thousand…"
The smile on Amber's face completely shattered.
She tremblingly took the long bill, her eyes scanning it carefully from top to bottom.
Honey-glazed carrot stew, thirty servings.
Mondstadt Grilled Fish, twenty servings.
Sweet Madame, fifty servings!
Grilled meat skewers, one hundred and twenty skewers!!!
Amber's pupils contracted violently.
She felt her heart bleeding!
Her one month's… no, her entire two months' salary!
Just like that… gone!
The new glider skin she had her eye on! Gone!
The limited edition Dandelion Wine she promised to bring Eula! Gone!
Her food expenses for next month! Also gone!
"Waaah…"
A crystal-clear tear, brimming with poverty and regret, silently slid from Amber's eye.
"Wow! Red Big Sister, why are you crying?" Luffy tilted his head, looking at her curiously.
Bang!
Ace's fist landed squarely on Luffy's head!
"It's all your fault, you bastard!" Ace growled, his voice low, squeezing the words through his teeth, "Look at the mess you've made!"
"Ow! Ace, you hit me again!" Luffy clutched his head, looking wronged.
"I'm very sorry!" Sabo suddenly stood up and bowed ninety degrees to Amber, "This money… we'll find a way to pay you back!"
As he spoke, he reached to unfasten the vision at his waist.
In his opinion, this item should be valuable.
"No! No need!"
Amber pressed Sabo's hand down.
She took a deep breath, using all her strength to force out a smile that was uglier than a cry.
"I said I'd treat… so I will!"
She turned around, her steps heavy, like walking to the execution ground, and went to the counter.
She pulled out her shriveled wallet, emblazoned with the Baron Bunny design.
"Sara… I… I'll pay…"
Her voice was tearful… Ten minutes later.
The group walked through the streets of Mondstadt City again.
However, the atmosphere was a little strange.
Luffy, full and satisfied, was still savoring the taste of the grilled meat.
Ace glared at his idiotic brother with murderous eyes the entire way.
Sabo, full of guilt, followed behind Amber, wanting to speak but hesitating.
And our Miss Amber, the Scout Knight, had completely turned gray.
Her eyes were vacant, her steps unsteady, and she kept muttering something.
"My Mora… my Baron Bunny…"
"Paimon is sorry…" Paimon flew to Amber's side and carefully poked her shoulder, "Paimon shouldn't have eaten so much…"
"It's not your fault." Amber replied hollowly, "It's me… I underestimated the stomachs of a rubber man and emergency food…"
"I told you I'm not emergency food!"
"Alright!" Amber slapped her face suddenly, forcing herself to cheer up!
"Now that we're full! It's time for serious business!"
She pointed at the magnificent building ahead and announced loudly.
"That's the headquarters of the Knights of Favonius! I'm taking you to see our Acting Grand Master, Jean, right now!"
"Jean?" Sabo was startled.
"That's right!" Amber's face rekindled with the glory of a Scout Knight, "Jean is the most reliable person in Mondstadt! She needs to understand your situation!"
Her gaze fell on Sabo's waist.
"Especially… your appearance!"
"A brand new vision wielder of unknown origin, that's a huge deal in Mondstadt!"
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