The Gamer's POV

Cedric was flabbergasted.

And to think that just a few minutes ago, he had thanked the heavens that he had a Kushala who did not give him headaches.

"Wait... I can explain..." Athena raised both hands in a placating gesture. Her eyes darted around nervously, looking for any possible escape route.

"So the thing is, uh..." she stammered, looking up at him helplessly. Then the words suddenly spilled out incredibly fast. "The mistress said that I could treat myself to whatever I wanted today, and she specifically noted that paying was completely optional if I didn’t get caught. She said since I’m so fast, everything in the market is technically free for me. So, I was really just following orders..."

’...?’

Cedric blinked.

’So... Aika is the culprit? What the... Is she trying to corrupt my Kushala?’

He sighed and palmed his face, dragging his hand down his skin exasperatedly.

Looking back down at the blinking woman who was now flushed completely red, he shook his head, took his leg off her chest, and then extended a hand to help her up.

Athena swallowed loudly as she contemplated whether to take that hand. But when she saw Cedric smile warmly, she exhaled, thinking that she was off the hook. She smiled back and slowly reached up to take his hand.

Cedric pulled her up effortlessly, and once she was back on her feet, she quickly pulled her hood lower over her face to hide her ears.

But before she could even relax, Cedric hooked his arm right around her neck, pulling her close into a firm headlock.

"Ow, ow, ow!" she cried out, tapping his arm rapidly.

Cedric completely ignored her protests, freed his other hand, and flicked her forehead with his finger hard. "Stealing is not for you, miss. You hear me?"

"Ouch! Yes, my lord!" Athena whimpered, rubbing her forehead the moment he finally let her go.

At that instant, a vendor finally caught up to them, panting heavily. He was most likely the one that had been stolen from, seeing as he was clutching his knees and looking completely breathless.

"...You!" the man gasped out, pointing a trembling, accusatory finger at Athena while trying to catch his breath. "How dare you try to..."

But Cedric stepped directly between them, completely blocking the vendor’s line of sight and causing the man to stumble back a step in surprise.

"W-who are you?" the vendor wheezed angrily.

Cedric smiled, gave a polite bow and decided to tease the man.

"I’m her father."

The man blinked.

He peered past Cedric to look at the beautiful blonde woman behind him who clearly looked to be in her twenties, then he looked back at Cedric, who looked barely even eighteen.

"F-father?" the vendor asked, his voice cracking with utter disbelief.

Cedric smiled even wider and nodded. "Yes. Forgive my daughter, she inherits all her worst traits from her mother’s side of the family apparently."

Just then, an expression of ’do you think I’m stupid?’ settled heavily on the vendor’s face. Because unless Cedric was a really powerful noble, how was that even biologically possible?

"Don’t you look a bit too young to have a daughter this grown?"

Cedric turned to Athena, then back to the man and shrugged. "Thank you for the compliment, sir."

"..."

The vendor was left completely speechless. While he was still trying to process the sheer audacity of the answer, Cedric extended his hand and opened his fist, revealing a gold coin resting on his palm.

"Here. This should be enough to cover what she took, right?"

"...!!!"

Seeing the gold piece, the man’s eyes bulged, and his mouth snapped shut instantly as all his righteous anger evaporated into thin air. After glancing rapidly between Cedric and the coin, he quickly snatched it off his palm before the young ’father’ could change his mind.

"Yes! Yes, of course! This is more than enough!"

The vendor still tried to maintain his professional composure, even though he now had a completely sycophantic smile on his face. He cleared his throat and adjusted his apron.

"Uhk... I guess I can let it slide this time. I mean she didn’t take much anyway. Yes, mistakes do happen." He turned around, and as he waved over the small boy who had finally caught up to him, he added, "Happy revelry, by the way!" Then to the boy, he muttered, "Come on, Toby. Let’s get back to the stall."

Both of them quickly scurried away into the bustling crowd, eager to get back to business with a gold coin in their pocket.

Cedric then turned to look at Athena, who sheepishly avoided his gaze. He smiled and shook his head, "Come on, miss."

Seeing that, Athena smiled. She clasped both hands behind her back as she jogged to catch up with him, then leaned closer to his side.

"Where are we going now, Father?"

"Don’t call me that," Cedric grumbled, as it suddenly made him feel old.

Athena chuckled.

"Since you are hungry and out here, I might as well treat you to a proper meal," he continued, looking around for the next stall he wanted to visit.

Athena’s eyes lit up instantly. "Really? You’re the best!"

She then grabbed his hand. "Then follow me! I really wanted to try the honey-glazed pastries, and I think I saw a stall with a huge crowd somewhere over there!"

"Huh?" Before Cedric could even register the sudden change in her direction, she pulled him forward into the thick of the market.

***

By the time the eleven bells rang from the cathedral, a satisfied Cedric could be seen walking down the cobblestone street, while piggybacking an overfed Athena.

"Ugh, I don’t think I’ve ever eaten that much in my entire life," she groaned softly, resting her chin right on top of his head.

’Well, you’ve only been alive for just a few months.’

Cedric’s eyes rolled up toward her. "I told you to stop three stalls ago, but you just kept going."

Athena let out a weak, contented chuckle. "I couldn’t help it. Everything was just so good, and there were so many different things to try!"

True.

’Is it just me, or does street food always taste better than whatever they cook up on the noble side of town?’ Cedric thought to himself. ’Rich people really don’t know what they are missing...’

They had both thoroughly enjoyed themselves, indulging in almost everything the lively festival market had to offer.

After a moment of peaceful silence, Athena murmured, "I wonder how Redd is doing?"

Cedric looked back over his shoulder as best as he could. "What about him?"

Athena sighed softly. "Oh... it’s just... today is his duel with the Mad Butcher. I don’t think he’s going to win that. In fact, I’m pretty sure I’m going to have to expend a great deal of mana just to piece him back together afterward."

"The Mad Butcher?" Cedric arched a brow.

While wandering through the food market earlier, he had overheard a few rowdy people talk about a famous Dominant who was given the name the Mad Butcher due to how this person completely dominated their opponents in the ring, leaving them butchered beyond recognition.

The Grand Royal Arena hosted several tournaments and this person was said to have participated in many. The crazy thing is that she had never lost a duel. That, and coupled with her notoriously sadistic fighting style, she really was a Mad Butcher.

Well, Cedric wasn’t really worried for Redd. As long as he was not killed, Athena would patch him up. But he was curious though as to who this Mad Butcher was.

"Mm-hm..." Athena murmured, lazily tightening her arms around his neck and nuzzling her face into the crook of his shoulder. After a slow blink, she casually added, "Oh, I think you know her. She’s part of your subjects of influence. You know the lady who uses blood and fights with a Kama?"

Cedric halted. Then his eyes widened as it clicked.

"Evelyn?"

"Is that her name?" Athena yawned softly. Then she closed her emerald eyes and exhaled hard, before adding in a sleepy voice, "No one knows who she is as she wears a mask, but when I first saw her, I could immediately feel that she’s a part of you. Ah, I admire her a lot, you know. I really wanted to fight her too. I was really disappointed when I heard that today is going to be her last duel in a long while."

Cedric resumed walking, and an amused smile played on his lips.

While he was still lost in his thoughts, the rhythmic sway of his pace did its work, and Athena fell fast asleep on his back.