Su Cheng stared at him blankly, feeling her heart skip a beat.
His tone was calm yet serious; without any deliberate sentimentality, it felt all the more sincere.
"...Alright," she said softly. "I just want you to know that I am always willing to help you, if the opportunity ever arises."
"Mm," the dark-haired man nodded slowly. "I understand. Thank you."
Su Cheng couldn't help but smile. "I should be the one saying that—"
It was already early morning. Footsteps sounded outside the door; the servants had come to deliver breakfast.
"I'll go get the door," Su Cheng jumped up abruptly. "You should eat here with me!"
The servants brought in a large tray laden with food and a pitcher of cold milk. Seeing that there was a guest in the study, they couldn't help but look a bit surprised.
After all, it was still very early; most people wouldn't choose to visit at this hour.
However, they knew this had nothing to do with them, so they absolutely wouldn't ask questions or show any further reaction.
"Could you please go fetch—" Su Cheng thought for a moment. "Five more portions of breakfast. Hmm, do you think that's enough?"
She directed the last question to the mercenary commander.
Kai glanced at the tray that had been brought in. "...That should be about right. Could you also bring some wine?"
The chefs in the Lin family mansion worked quickly, and the servants soon brought in several more large trays.
A stack of crispy bread slices and oatcakes, accompanied by maple syrup and a jar of honey.
The fried bacon was glossy and fragrant, its edges slightly curled. The sausages were plump and juicy, bearing a fine grid pattern from the grill. Pickled fish soaked in vinegar and spices offered a tart, savory, and appetizing bite.
There were also creamy baked eggs dusted with cinnamon sugar, freshly cut fruit cubes, and cheese.
The taste wasn't absolutely exquisite, but it was at least decent, no worse than an ordinary tavern.
"The best meal I've ever had," Su Cheng said while spreading jam on her bread, "was probably the dinner I managed to scrounge up at the temple."
"Oh?" Kai sat opposite her. Instead of cutting the meat, he just used his fork to send it straight into his mouth. "How good was it?"
"...You're making me realize how poor my vocabulary is," Su Cheng paused for a moment. "Anyway, the texture was great, it smelled delicious, and the drinks were especially good."
He raised an eyebrow slightly, his bright golden eyes fixing on her. "Was it wine?"
"Juice," Su Cheng thought about it. "But I think there was wine on the dining cart too—"
The dark-haired man nodded calmly and stuffed another sausage into his mouth. "...Next time I get the chance, I'll sneak into the temple to try it."
Su Cheng felt a drop of sweat form. "Maybe I shouldn't be surprised by your idea, but rather surprised that you haven't actually done it before?"
"Because you're the first person to ever praise the temple chefs' cooking to me."
"Wait, if you mess up in the temple—ahem, like getting caught—would that be my fault then?"
"Let me think," Kai couldn't help but laugh. "If I say yes, will you come bail me out?"
"Even if it wasn't," Su Cheng said in mock exasperation, "I still would."
"Good," the corners of his lips curled up slightly. "But I promise I'll try to avoid letting that happen, so I don't cause you any trouble—"
Then he brought up their upcoming itinerary.
Another member of their party was still in the Shadowwood Forest and probably wouldn't be out anytime soon. They had just received a message from him telling them to head to the imperial capital first.
So everyone needed to get ready to set off.
Despite having cultivated all night, Su Cheng wasn't the least bit tired; she was full of energy. After eating, she enthusiastically studied her spatial bracelet.
After dripping blood onto it, she felt a certain connection form between herself and the bracelet.
Because of this, she could sense the invisible space existing within it—
She could even reach her hand inside.
It was as if there were an unseen hole there.
She tested it with her hand and found she could reach in about half an arm's length. The height was about the same, making it a cubic space of roughly forty centimeters.
Storing gold coins and magic crystal cards would be no problem. She could also fit some light clothing, as well as a small amount of food and water.
These kinds of items all had restrictions: living creatures could not be placed inside. Aside from that, there were no other limitations.
"So, how are we getting to the imperial capital?"
She quickly packed her things, went to say goodbye to her cheap uncle, and then headed to the Magic Guild to find the academy folks, informing them that she would be setting out on her own and not traveling with them.
Then she went to the Mercenary Guild.
Her three teammates were already waiting for her.
The clutter that had previously filled the meeting room, from crucible materials to scrolls and books, had all been packed away.
"Oh, you've got battle aura now," Sasha observed her with interest. "Not bad talent—of course we're flying there."
While the recruitment teams from various academies usually traveled in carriages drawn by magical beasts, mercenaries generally preferred to ride magical beasts directly for long-distance travel.
It was naturally convenient if one had their own tamed or contracted magical beast.
But some people's magical beasts were too small to carry a rider, and others didn't have one at all. In those cases, they would choose to rent from a guild or merchant chamber.
The Mercenary Guild, Magic Guild, and Warrior Guild all provided similar services.
Because they had branches in every city and even most towns, it was very easy to return the mounts in a different location.
There were also large merchant chambers and specialized relay stations, but these only covered major cities and trade hubs, making them unsuitable for people traveling to remote areas.
Private rental spots could also be found in the black market.
Those beast tamers usually had multiple magical beasts under their command and made money by renting them out. Such beasts generally recognized their masters and possessed a strong sense of direction; they would return on their own after reaching the destination. People who took this route usually did so to save money and avoid hefty deposits, though there were risks involved.
For instance, rented beasts might have various issues—being incompletely tamed, having poor obedience, or even potentially dropping a rider from the sky to their death.
Similar accidents had happened many times.
"Don't worry, we'll definitely reach the imperial capital before your school starts. In fact, we should be a few days early—"
Sasha leaned down and whispered in her ear as they signed the rental contracts in the office.
Su Cheng had long since realized that this group was not short on money.
So they didn't seem to mind choosing the more expensive options.
However, the Mercenary Guild rented out a vast variety of magical beasts—all captured by mercenaries from all corners of the world.
Renting did come with certain requirements, though. For example, some of the relatively rare magical beasts couldn't be rented by just anyone; one needed either a noble status or a ranked mercenary standing.
But as the commander of a B-rank mercenary group, Kai could rent almost any magical beast here, except for dragonkin.
Sub-dragons possessed stamina and intelligence that could crush the vast majority of magical beasts. However, sub-dragons were still of the dragon race, and they generally only served their contracted partners.
Yet, factions like the Mercenary Guild would privately breed sub-dragons, raising them from eggs so the resulting dragonkin might be more obedient.
It was just that sub-dragons were inherently precious—even in a nation dominating the northern continent like the Silvermoon Empire, the highest military unit of sub-dragon knights was merely a battalion.
As for the rest of the major and minor kingdoms, being able to scrape together a squadron of wyvern knights was already quite rare.
Therefore, the Mercenary Guild wouldn't lend out their wyverns casually; very few people could obtain the qualifications to rent them.
"What do you think?"
Kai actually made it a point to ask for her opinion.
"I don't have any thoughts on it, nor do I know much," Su Cheng paused slightly. "Let's just go with your usual habits. Since I'm a member of Black Flame, I'll listen to you."
In this kind of situation, the original male lead would always seize the opportunity to stick close to them, claiming he didn't know how to do this or that, insisting on sharing a ride.
Su Cheng really had no mind to take advantage of anyone.
She also wanted to take the opportunity to train and accumulate more experience. After all, there would probably be plenty of times she would need to ride magical beasts in the future.
Kai nodded slightly and conversed with the guild staff member again.
"Then the most suitable option should be the Windfeather Dragon Eagles."
The staff member flipped through the logbook. "A few were reserved earlier, but we still have four mature ones available for rent..."
She made the recommendation based on the renters' needs and the number of people.
Windfeather Dragon Eagles were not wyverns, but rather the crossbred offspring of wyverns and eagle-type magical beasts.
In terms of combat power, they were far inferior to the eagle-dragons among the wyvern species. However, they inherited immense stamina and endurance, capable of flying continuously for several days.
During this time, they might only need brief landing periods to drink water and replenish food.
Even if the rider was capable, they could be fed mid-air.
"It's simple," Sasha raised a hand and gestured. "You take out the food. Once they smell the blood, they'll start to slow down and glide. You throw it out at the right moment. Of course, you can't throw it too lightly, or it'll be swept away by the wind currents, nor too heavily. The angle must also be right. Otherwise, if you hit their eyes, they will get angry."
Su Cheng: "?"
After Mr. Commander signed the contract and paid a hefty deposit, they headed to the top floor of the guild under the staff member's guidance.
The four dragon eagles summoned by the beast tamers quickly arrived.
Amidst continuous shrieks, these barely-adult magical beasts swooped down, their broad wings kicking up fierce wind currents.
These four were all males, slightly smaller than females of the same age, but their body length was still nearly six meters, and their wingspan had to be at least ten meters.
Their feathers were silver-gray, shimmering with a faint blue in the dawn light. Their heads resembled eagles, and their slender necks were covered with steel-needle-like manes that fluttered in the wind like banners.
Their tail feathers, entwined with lightning, swayed as tiny electric arcs popped from time to time.
This kind of magical beast had a proud temperament. Even if tamed from a young age, they wouldn't immediately accept strangers and usually required a bit of time to adjust.
The Mercenary Guild was highly experienced and had a complete set of procedures. Right now, they had already separated the four magical beasts, allowing them to interact with their four respective riders.
Su Cheng looked up at the magical beast, which was as tall as a two-story building, and said, "Hello."
The dragon eagle gave her a sidelong glance without any reaction.
A guild staff member came over carrying a large bucket, and the air was immediately filled with a strong, bloody stench.
Su Cheng fished out a piece of meat on the bone from the bucket full of bloody water.
She didn't know what magical beast the bone belonged to, but it was heavy and hard, two sizes thicker than her arm, and the meat attached to it was larger than a human head.
It took both of her hands to lift it, and she held it up shakily.
The dragon eagle lowered its head and snapped it up in one bite.
Su Cheng hadn't expected it to move so fast. She didn't let go in time, and her whole body was lifted off the ground.
She quickly let go and dropped back to the ground, watching with lingering fear as the magical beast tore into the meat.
Only then did Su Cheng have the time to examine the saddle on its back.
Windfeather Dragon Eagles did not like too much restraint, so it was impossible to install numerous buckles and locks on them.
The saddle was lightweight and shock-resistant, yet incredibly simple. It was barely secured by two leather straps at the front and back, with no stirrups or armrests, just two very short pommels.
As well as a so-called safety harness rein, which could only prevent the rider from being completely thrown off and couldn't secure a person any better than that.
Su Cheng: "...How high did you say they can fly again?"
The answer was also utterly despair-inducing.
It was undoubtedly a number where falling would mean being smashed to pieces.
Although for a wind-elemental mage, they could rely on magic to deal with some fatal situations.
But a low-tier mage's abilities were inherently limited.
Moreover, some magic had requirements regarding the caster's state.
"This is already pretty good," the vampire said, gloating. "If it weren't a Windfeather Dragon Eagle trained from a young age, let alone carrying a seat, even tying a rope to it would be impossible."
Su Cheng took a difficult breath. "So this rope—"
"If you fall off the seat and can't immediately get back on," Sasha raised his voice from the side, "you'll be whipped around like a kite until that rope snaps. But don't worry, with your weight, it'll still take a while of whipping before it completely breaks."
Su Cheng: "???"
Kai walked over. Evidently, he had already come to an understanding with his mount and was just coming to check on the team members, or primarily the newcomer's condition.
"How does it feel?"
He patted her shoulder, a smile hanging on his excessively handsome face. The animal skin cape behind him billowed, casting a large, swaying shadow.
Su Cheng blinked. "Pretty good. If I die, please do me the favor of scattering my ashes into the sea."
