Milk

The earth dragon slowly pulled the carriage into motion.

"I've already asked around. If we want to buy milk, we should head to the nearby village. Their milk is both cheap and fresh..." Liyana said to Xia Lun.

"Then let's go," Xia Lun replied indifferently. A detour didn’t matter—what was important was the scenery along the way.

Their current destination was Abandes, the central city of the Goddess Church, known as the Holy City, with the Sacred Cathedral at its heart. Olie City had merely been a convenient stop along the route to Abandes, where they had rested for a few days.

"Liyana... do you really like drinking milk that much?" Mo Lini asked curiously.

"Mo Lini, you should know that during travels, maintaining a steady intake of meat, eggs, and milk is crucial... Not only does it keep you healthy and in good spirits, but a daily glass of milk also helps with growing taller..." Liyana swiftly patted Mo Lini’s head. "Experienced adventurers always prepare some easily portable and preserved dairy products before setting out... But since we have a spatial ring now, we can store as many barrels of fresh milk as we want."

"Wow," Mo Lini gasped, impressed by Liyana’s reasoning.

These small details showcased Liyana’s extensive experience as an adventurer...

"Cut the act," Xia Lun scoffed. "Liyana just loves drinking milk, especially sweet milk with sugar cubes... But she thinks it’s too childish, so she’s too embarrassed to admit it."

Mo Lini shot Liyana a disdainful look.

Liyana’s face flushed slightly. "Xia Lun! Why do you always expose me like that? It’s not just me—Aina loves it too!"

Aina licked her lips. She did enjoy milk quite a bit.

Especially when drinking in front of Xia Lun... Sometimes, she would deliberately drink too fast, letting a trickle of milk escape the corner of her lips, trailing down her fair swan-like neck and delicate collarbone before dripping down her front... She would then forbid Xia Lun from using his hands to wipe it clean for her.

"I used to like it too when I was human," Musen chuckled. "Good for building muscle."

Now, he couldn’t drink anymore—Musen didn’t even need to eat in his current state. Pouring milk onto his pages wouldn’t do much good.

Liyana asked thoughtlessly, "By the way... Musen, are you still working out now?"

"Of course not," Musen sighed. "I’m just a book. How could I exercise? By flipping my pages constantly? That would only wear me out faster."

Suddenly, the earth dragon came to a halt.

"What’s wrong?" Liyana poked her head out.

Ahead, a carriage was parked by the roadside.

A young nun, Kasha, stood in the middle of the path, looking rather troubled.

A thick tree—wide enough that it would take a person’s full embrace to encircle—had fallen across the road, completely blocking the way. The wheels of the carriage couldn’t possibly pass over it.

Spotting the newcomers behind her, Kasha brightened slightly. "Could you please help move this tree aside? Otherwise, none of our carriages can get through!"

"Of course, Sister Kasha," Xia Lun replied, immediately hopping down from the carriage.

"Ah, it’s the nun who opened the church doors for us this morning," Liyana remarked in surprise. "What a coincidence... She has the best figure among all the young nuns."

Mo Lini: "..."

Why were her observations always so bizarre?

"Perhaps it was the storm a few days ago that knocked this tree over," Kasha mused, cautiously eyeing Xia Lun as he approached. He didn’t seem like a bad person, which eased her nerves slightly.

"That’s quite unfortunate. It must have delayed you for quite a while, Sister Kasha," Xia Lun said with a gentle smile.

"N-not at all! I just arrived here myself..." Kasha felt her cheeks warm. This man was incredibly handsome, and his voice was so soothing...

"Sir... this tree is really thick. Could you ask your companions to help lift it together—"

Then, under Kasha’s stunned gaze, Xia Lun dug his fingers deep into the bark and effortlessly lifted the tree with one hand before casually tossing it aside.

All of Kasha’s romantic notions instantly transformed into sheer awe and shock.

"That should do it," Xia Lun said, dusting off his hands.

"Ah? Oh, um..." Kasha stammered in response.

"Sister Kasha, are you also heading to the village up ahead?" Xia Lun asked casually.

"Y-yes, sir. My name is Kasha. My family runs a dairy farm in the village."

Her gaze involuntarily drifted from Xia Lun’s face to his arms, still marveling at his strength.

"I’m Xia Lun, a traveling adventurer. We were planning to buy some milk in your village—I hear it’s the best around."

Kasha: "Absolutely! No problem at all! Mr. Xia Lun, thank you for your help. Please follow me—I’ll make sure you get the best price..."

Kasha urged her carriage forward again, while the earth dragon leisurely trailed behind.

He must be from one of the top-tier adventurer groups, Kasha thought to herself. Even in Olie City, earth dragon-drawn carriages were a rare sight.

"Sister Kasha!"

Liyana, ever the social butterfly, climbed down from their carriage and onto Kasha’s, striking up a lively conversation.

Kasha naturally remembered the elven girl who had attended morning prayers at the church.

A believer of the Goddess couldn’t possibly be a bad person.

"This must be the Goddess’s guidance, sending help to resolve my troubles," Kasha thought, finally letting her guard down completely.

Meanwhile, Aina nestled against Xia Lun, engaging in some subtle, secretive gestures.

Up ahead, a peaceful village came into view.

Surrounding the rural settlement were vast fields of wheat and lush pastures, where shepherds swung their oak staffs to guide flocks of sheep.

Scattered stone cottages dotted the village, with wisps of smoke curling from their chimneys.

As the carriages passed along the narrow path, farmers in the wheat fields glanced up briefly before returning to their labor.

Kasha led Xia Lun’s group straight to the dairy farm with practiced ease.

"Father, Mother, I’m back!"

After Liyana explained their purpose, Kasha’s parents warmly offered to give them a few barrels of milk for free. However, Liyana politely declined the favor and paid the proper price.

Xia Lun and Aina took a stroll through the village.

It wasn’t aimless—they had noticed something interesting.

Upon entering the village, they had sensed a formidable presence, like a sword about to be unsheathed.

For such a remote rural area to house such a powerful individual piqued Xia Lun’s curiosity.

"Hmm... quite impressive. Probably even stronger than Wolund," Aina assessed.

"How about compared to Mida?" Xia Lun hadn’t seen Wolund in action yet, so he wasn’t entirely sure of his strength.

"This person is about one and a half Wolunds, while Mida is roughly two Wolunds," Aina said seriously. "After all, I’ve fed her plenty of good stuff."

Xia Lun nodded.

And thus, a certain magic academy’s headmaster was unfortunately reduced to a unit of measurement.