Chapter 77: Defeated by Bread

Elinox’s head turned.

Zishan continued before she could answer. "It’s usually the high and mighty girls who secretly have a boyfriend nobody knows about. That’s actually a very interesting concept, no?"

"I don’t have a boyfriend," she said, her voice stiffer than before.

He barely registered the answer and continued, "Damn, imagine if your boyfriend was some commoner and then he turned out to be a genius. Your family would say he doesn’t deserve you because he’s not a noble, then he’d have to prove himself while you secretly meet somewhere at night."

Elinox stared at him.

Zishan was already building the story in his head.

"Yeah, yeah. Classic trope. Then, somebody arranges your marriage to some arrogant nobleman who thinks he owns you, except your secret boyfriend crashes the engagement and humiliates him in front of everyone. Maybe there’s a duel. There should definitely be a duel."

"I said I don’t have a boyfriend."

Zishan finally looked at her. "I heard you."

"Then why are you continuing?"

"Because the imaginary version is getting interesting, you know? I probably would’ve become a best-selling author if I’d gone this route..."

Elinox’s lips parted before closing again. She was used to officers, nobles, and politicians choosing their words carefully around her. Zishan, meanwhile, had spent the last few minutes inventing a secret romance for her because he was bored.

She had no training for a man inventing an entire forbidden romance for her because he had become bored during a flight. "My family is not currently arranging my marriage."

"Good. That would’ve complicated the plot."

"There is no plot." Her brows furrowed once more. "What do you mean?"

"That’s exactly what someone inside the plot would say, though..."

Elinox turned toward the window.

Zishan caught the tiny movement near her mouth before she looked away, but he decided not to mention it.

Ollie shifted across his lap and murmured something too quiet to understand. Zishan placed one hand against the boy’s shoulder until he settled again, and when he looked up, Elinox was watching them.

"What?" he asked.

She shook her head. "You became attached to him rather fast."

Zishan glanced down at Ollie. "He’s easy to like. Such a lovely little boy. I also don’t have a little brother, so I want to have one right now..."

Elinox did not answer, though her gaze remained on the sleeping boy for another moment.

Zishan eventually returned to the subject he had been curious about since learning her Level. "By the way, when did you start learning magic?"

This time Elinox had to think. "I actually don’t know, now that I think about it..."

Zishan frowned. "What do you mean, you don’t know?"

"My parents said Mana was already gathering around me before I was born. About a month before my birth, the ambient Mana around my mother began behaving strangely whenever I moved."

Zishan slowly straightened.

Elinox continued as though she were describing an ordinary family story. "Healers examined her several times because they thought something was wrong. There wasn’t. The Mana was simply being drawn toward me."

"And when you were born?"

"I was Level 50."

Zishan stared at her, mouth agape.

Elinox waited.

"Damn," he said, cursing her inside his head. ’It must be quite nice to be born so strong, right? But I get it now! She must be the main character if this were a novel! That must be it!’

That one word carried enough disbelief that Elinox almost laughed.

"You were born stronger than I was when I fought that entire fucking horde," Zishan finally said after a long while.

"Level alone does not determine combat ability," she reminded him.

"You were a baby! What combat ability did you need? Were you fighting the midwife or the doctor?" Zishan said, crashing out.

Ollie remained sound asleep on his lap

"No."

"Did you come out using Gravity Magic? Like you pushed yourself out with Gravity Magic or something?"

She looked at him strangely and replied, "No..."

"Did the doctor appraise you and retire?"

Elinox pressed two fingers against her temple. "I did not personally interview everyone present at my birth. Why are you asking me these strange questions?"

Zishan lowered his voice when Ollie moved again. "Level 50 at birth. That’s ridiculous."

"You reached Level 86 in a period that has made multiple military officers investigate you."

"Different situation."

"Of course."

"Mine is protagonist behavior," he said without thinking, and thought about it again. "Well, yours is actually like a God overseeing a protagonist or something..."

Elinox looked at him.

Zishan realized what he had said.

He slowly turned toward the window. ’You know what I technically mean. Don’t look at me like that.’

Their conversation drifted from there without much direction.

He asked whether the capital had bakeries.

Elinox said there were entire streets where several could be found within walking distance of one another.

When he heard that, he almost wanted to jump but remembered that Ollie was sleeping on his lap. It mattered to him more than anything.

He then asked whether Beastfolk needed special uniforms because of tails, which led Elinox into an explanation about military equipment being modified according to anatomy rather than forcing every race into the same design.

Afterward, he wondered how Orc armorers measured helmets. He asked whether Dark Elves hated being called Dark Elves, only for Elinox to explain that the answer depended heavily on the individual, region, language, and culture involved.

He asked whether the capital had public libraries.

It did.

He asked whether he had to pay every time.

Some required fees. Others were maintained by institutions, guilds, noble houses, religious organizations, or royal institutions.

He asked whether the food was expensive.

Elinox told him that it depended entirely on where he ate or what he wanted to eat.

Zishan narrowed his eyes. "That’s rich-person language."

"It’s accurate, regardless," she said.

"How much does... like ordinary bread cost?"

Elinox went quiet.

Zishan’s suspicion grew. "You don’t know."

"I have bought bread before," she argued.

"How much?"

She remained silent for another second.

Zishan leaned back with vindication written across his face. "Again, you don’t know."

"I don’t personally inspect every transaction..."

"High General Holmes has been defeated by bread."

Elinox’s stare warned him against continuing.

He continued internally.

The Skyforge Vessel moved above the clouds for part of the journey, and the view beyond the windows became an endless field of white broken only by distant mountain peaks. The cabin remained so stable that Ollie slept through every course adjustment, occasionally moving his head across Zishan’s lap before settling again.

Zishan stopped asking questions for a while. He watched the clouds as Skyforge passed through them and let the boy sleep.

For the first time in what felt like weeks, nobody around him was bleeding, screaming, attacking a defensive line, demanding treatment, or explaining that another enemy force was approaching.

His body sank deeper into the sofa.

’Maybe the trip to the capital would actually be peaceful—what the fuck!’

A violent impact struck the side of Skyforge.

The entire cabin lurched.

Zishan’s arm wrapped around Ollie before his mind had fully caught up, holding the sleeping boy against him as the vessel tilted hard enough for several loose objects to slide across the nearest table.

Ollie’s eyes flew open. "What—?!"

Another impact slammed into the hull.

The transparent Mana channels beneath the floor flashed sharply as a deep warning tone rolled through the vessel.

Elinox’s expression changed at once. "We’re under attack."

"Well, obviously!" Zishan twisted toward the window.

Shapes moved through the clouds.

Large wings tore through the white cover before several scaled bodies emerged alongside the vessel. Wyverns surrounded Skyforge from different angles, banking through the air before another one crashed against the defensive barrier hard enough to send a ripple of Mana across the entire hull.

Elinox had already risen from her seat.

She turned toward the nearest window just as one of the wyverns released a concentrated blast against Skyforge’s side.

The vessel jerked sideways.

For one brief instant, the floor beneath them seemed to move in the wrong direction.

Elinox lost her footing.

Zishan barely had time to raise his free arm before she fell toward him.

Her body struck his chest, one arm passing around his shoulder as he caught her by instinct. The force pushed him deeper into the sofa, Ollie still secured against his other side, while Elinox ended up pressed against him closely enough that her silver-blue hair spilled across his neck and face.

Zishan went rigid as Elinox remained pressed against him, neither of them moving for a second.

Ollie, now fully awake, slowly looked between them.

A green panel appeared directly in front of Zishan.

[DING!]

[EMERGENCY QUEST]