"Give this lady the exact same order as before," Kenley said, gesturing toward Sylph.

  He turned to glance at her, puzzled.

  "Strange..."

  The moment he called for the server, she suddenly quieted down. Instead of arguing, she lowered her head, pulling her cloak up to hide her face, making it impossible to read her expression.

  Meanwhile, Tia's eyes lit up again.

  Her enigmatic master was like a multifaceted gem, revealing a new color with each action.

  At this moment, she found herself gradually acknowledging Kenley.

  His outward coarseness concealed a heart of gold.

  And after witnessing how he had shielded her from the Holy Knight earlier that day, Tia finally lowered her guard toward him—though now, she felt a deep sense of guilt for having doubted him before.

  Soon, Kenley was greeted with an unexpected sight—

  A beautiful elven princess, devouring her meal ravenously, with no regard for image or grace, eating at breakneck speed, using both hands and mouth in unison.

  "Has she not eaten for days?"

  Seeing her desperate hunger, Kenley lost the urge to tease her further.

  Instead, he asked,"Do you want more?"

  Sylph slowly lifted her head, looking at Kenley with a complicated expression.

  "No... I'm already full."

  "Alright then. Time for bed. You have a place to stay, right? Well, this is where we part ways."

  Kenley stood up and gave Tia a subtle look.

  Tia gently shook her head at Sylph.

  She had already pleaded with her master too many times today.

  If she continued, even she would have to admit there was a limit to how thick-skinned she could be.

  Besides, she wasn't a free person anymore—her choices were dictated by her master alone.

  Kenley turned to the server.

  "How much?"

  "Esteemed guest, that will be two gold coins," the server replied.

  "Wait a second, don't I have a 30% discount?"

  Kenley picked up the menu and flipped through it.

  What he saw left him utterly dumbfounded.

  Since he never needed to eat in the game, he had never bothered checking restaurant prices before.

  He hadn't expected the food at Greenleaf Tavern to be this expensive.

  Then, something else caught his eye.

  Human food wasn't that pricey.

  But elven cuisine?

  Outrageous.

  A single loaf of berry bread cost 50 silver coins!

  "This is daylight robbery!"

  This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

  A farmer working an entire year for a lord would only earn 80 silver coins—yet one meal here could wipe out most of that!

  "These merchants are practically thieves!"

  Then again, rarity drives up value.

  Scanning the room, Kenley noticed most of the patrons were nobles, likely seeking novelty and extravagance.

  That probably explained why elven food was priced so absurdly high.

  "Forget it. Let's just pay and move on."

  With a dark expression, Kenley handed over the money.

  Saying nothing, he turned and strode toward the exit.

  Tia immediately followed after him.

  And to no one's surprise, Sylph quickly got up and trailed after them.

  The moment they stepped outside, Kenley abruptly spun around.

  "Sylph, why are you still following me?"

  "Do you not have a place to stay?"

  But Sylph clung to him like glue.

  "Can you lend me some money first?" she asked, her tone unusually meek.

  "I swear, I'll pay you back in the future."

  Kenley was stunned.

  "This Sylph... is she really this broke?"

  "She's a princess, for god's sake! And she left home without a single coin?!"

  He frowned, not responding immediately.

  For starters, it was already dark.

  Nighttime was not ideal for taking on quests.

  Even in the royal capital, once the sun set, certain shady professions came out to cause trouble—

  Groups like the Dragon Blasphemers or the Black Sheep Society.

  These dreadful individuals were scattered across the continent of Aude, much like slave traders.

  Kenley had no clue where these sinister factions had emerged from. The officials had never provided an explanation, only telling players to investigate on their own, maintaining the mystery of this hidden side quest.

  There had even been a past incident where a player was kidnapped by the Black Sheep Society late at night within the imperial capital. The event had caused an uproar in the Sanctum Guild (a major player guild).

  Determined to uncover this hidden quest, the guild searched the entire capital for three days and three nights.

  Ironically, the kidnapped player only managed to escape because of sheer dumb luck—the Black Sheep Society's ritual malfunctioned, granting him an opportunity to flee.

  And now, there was Sylph, a young elf girl who had just recently completed her coming-of-age ceremony—na?ve and inexperienced.

  Her lack of caution was evident from her careless speech earlier.

  Her elders were surely panicking right now.

  The Elven King himself was probably going mad, searching frantically for his missing daughter.

  Kenley couldn't help but feel curious about the reason behind her escape.

  Turning back to her, he asked,"Let's set aside the money issue for now. How many days have you been away from home?"

  Sylph blinked, then began counting on her fingers.

  "About three days, I think."

  "Three days?"

  Kenley frowned deeply.

  To travel from the Elven Forest to Marlen Imperial City, one would have to cross the Rides Mountain Range, the Kingdom of Cepro, and the Musa Fortress.

  Not to mention the treacherous Bilak Swamp, a notoriously difficult region to navigate.

  It was absolutely impossible for her to have made the journey in just three days.

  Unless...

  Had she secretly activated an ancient elven teleportation gate and sneaked out?

  Damn.

  That actually seemed very likely.

  Kenley suddenly recalled an important mechanic—

  In Aude Continent, teleportation was primarily a privilege reserved for players.

  After all, it was a game—players couldn't be expected to waste countless hours running across the map just to reach a quest location.

  However, in-game NPCs could only teleport through specific methods—

  Such as ancient teleportation gates or spatial crystals.

  According to the official lore, the game world wasn't just governed by the six primary elements—Light, Darkness, Wind, Fire, Water, and Earth—

  There were also higher-order laws that only appeared in the game's main storyline—

  Laws of Time, Space, and Life.

  These laws maintained the fundamental balance of Aude Continent.

  Although the developers had never explicitly stated whether players could control these laws in the later stages of the game, eagle-eyed players had long picked up on the hints.

  For NPCs to travel long distances instantly, they had to use one of these special teleportation methods.

  And the restrictions were insanely strict—

  Some teleportation gates required royal blood to activate.

  Others depended on massive teleportation arrays tied directly to the Laws of Space.

  "...W-What's wrong?"

  Tia stammered nervously.

  The mysterious human warrior had helped her multiple times, yet Sylph no longer carried the arrogance she had displayed earlier.

  Though still wary of Kenley, she was clearly less hostile now.

  Kenley sighed.

  "How about staying at an inn with us tonight?"

  He mentally calculated—one gold coin would be enough to book three separate rooms.

  Leaving this reckless elf princess to roam the streets at night was too dangerous.

  With the Black Sheep Society and the Dragon Blasphemers lurking around, Kenley felt obligated to ensure the Elven King's daughter didn't end up in their hands.

  The last thing he needed was for the elven race to discover that he had a chance to save their princess but chose not to.

  Even if they couldn't hold him accountable, such an act would surely earn their resentment.

  Sylph froze, visibly startled by Kenley's offer.

  She didn't answer immediately but instead carefully weighed the risks in her mind.

  So far, Kenley had shown himself to be decent.

  He had instantly recognized her royal status—

  Yet, despite knowing she was an elven princess, he had no ill intentions and even let her go freely.

  At the very least, that meant Kenley was not some perverted lunatic.