"The smell alone is delicious," Raff said as he entered the food stall area behind the library.

There were several small stalls lined up neatly, and in the large area there were chairs and tables shaded by leafy trees. First year students could also be seen eating there, but the emblems they wore indicated only F, E, and D rank students. There were no students above rank D.

"Come here, young man!" some vendors called to Raff as they offered their wares.

"What's good to eat?" muttered Raff as he looked at the stalls one by one.

"Eat here, Raff!" some F-rank students shouted.

"Yeah. Go ahead," Raff said as he walked up to a stall.

"What would you like to order, son?" the vendor asked as Raff approached him.

"This and that, just add that, sir," Raff said as he pointed to some food.

"All right, you can wait at the table. We'll deliver it later," the merchant replied with a smile.

"It's not expensive here, is it?" asked Raff in a half-whisper.

"Hahaha... don't worry young man, the food here is suitable for an F rank like you. The most expensive is only fifty silver coins, nothing more," the merchant replied with a laugh.

"Hehehe... that's good. Then add this and this," Raff said, pointing at other foods.

"Woah, I like young people who like to eat. I'll give you an extra portion as a welcome for a first year like you," the merchant said.

"It's my pleasure, sir. May I know your name? I'll remember it as a thank you," Raff asked.

"Just call me Toron," the merchant replied.

"Alright sir, I'll be over there," Raff said, pointing to an empty table.

Toron just nodded his understanding as Raff walked over to the table he was referring to, he caught a glimpse of a teenage girl washing a huge amount of dirty dishes. All the dirty dishes from all the shops there seemed to be in the same place.

"Mei! Please help me deliver this food to Mr. Rank F's first year," Toron called to the dark-haired teenage girl who was washing the dishes.

"Yes, sir," the girl named Mei said as she approached.

"My name is Raff, sir! Raff Lostfield!" Raff shouted from a distance when he heard that Toron didn't know his name.

"All right, boy! You have good hearing too!" shouted Toron with a laugh.

"That much?" asked Mei, a little surprised by Raff's order.

"Yes. He seems to be a good customer here," Toron replied with a laugh.

Mei could only carry part of Raff's order, Toron himself would carry the rest later. Raff watched the way Mei walked with his order. Although she was a girl, her body looked well-built and her gaze was sharp.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

Her face was pleasing to the eye, her long hair was tied back, but there was a little left on either side of her ears. Her slightly slanted eyes with lustrous lashes seemed to add elegance to her appearance. But there was something that surprised Raff after Mei was near him, Raff did not feel the slightest emanation of mana from Mei's body.

"Here you go, sir," Mei said with a sweet smile as she set Raff's food down.

"Are you an adventurer?" asked Raff.

"Huh?" Mei said, surprised by Raff's question. "Why would you think that?" asked Mei as she put the food on the table.

"Your body looks very toned, and your eyes are sharp," Raff replied as he helped Mei.

"Sir, I'm not an adventurer or anything like that. My body is like this because I work here every day," Mei replied with a smile.

"Hehehe... I still can't believe it. You can even hide your mana perfectly, I'm sure you're very good. Usually, no matter how little someone's mana is hidden, I can still feel it from this close," Raff said with a smile.

Mei just smiled without answering Raff's question. Then she bowed her head before leaving Raff, and it was Toron's turn to put down the food he had brought.

"Eat to your heart's content, young man," Toron said with a laugh.

"Excuse me, Mr. Toron, was that your daughter?" asked Raff, pointing at Mei.

"Oh, her name is Mei Li. She's not my daughter, but she's a kid who failed the Elexia Academy entrance test twice, she started working a year ago after failing the first time. She tried again this year, but still failed," Toron explained. "It's a shame, because she's very good at practicing and studying. She's also a kid who never gives up, she said she'd try again next year," Toron continued.

"How did she fail? I thought she was highly trained," Raff asked with a shocked look on his face.

"Don't tell anyone," Toron whispered quietly “she has no mana.”

Suddenly, Raff was surprised to hear this. But he immediately nodded his understanding to Toron. After putting Raff's food away, Toron returned to his shop. Raff started to enjoy his meal, but his eyes fell on Mei, who was washing the dishes again.

"This is the second time in my life I've met someone without mana," Raff muttered with a smile as a glimpse of Lou Xi crossed Raff's mind.

Raff ate the food he ordered voraciously until it was gone. He spent only eighty silver coins on everything, after which Raff immediately set off to find Hayato's whereabouts.

Raff searched several places until he finally saw Hayato standing in an alley with a blank stare. Raff approached him but Hayato didn't react at all, Raff looked into Hayato's face but Hayato still didn't move his eyes.

"Hey freak, your behavior is stranger than usual right now," Raff said.

"Raff? Why are we still here? Aren't we going to the shop?" asked Hayato with a shocked look on his face, now his look seemed to have returned to normal.

"Hahaha... it turns out you just realized again after being affected by that woman's elixir that you suck," Raff mocked with a chuckle.

"What do you mean, huh? You think a main character like me would fall for such a low trick?" grumbled Hayato.

"Wait a minute," Raff said as he noticed an ink stain on Hayato's hand that was covered by his shirt.

"Fart," Raff said as he read the writing on Hayato's sleeve. "Hahaha... did you write that yourself?" asked Raff with a laugh.

"Tch. What's this all about huh! You wrote it, didn't you?" grumbled Hayato as he took off his shirt. "What happened to me!" Hayato shouted in shock as he saw his whole body covered in ink.

Raff immediately laughed with satisfaction while holding his stomach, there were so many writings insulting Hayato, there were also writings insulting the F-rank class, there were even writings insulting Raff.

"You're like a walking blackboard," Raff taunted.

"Damn it, who did this to me, huh?" grumbled Hayato, giving Raff a sharp look.

"Who else, you went after that woman named Lola. I think she did it," Raff replied with a laugh.

"Son of a bitch. That damn woman, just because she has a pretty face! I'll pay her back later for sure," Hayato grumbled while clenching his fists.

"Eh, look, that fart boy is getting crazy," said a first year B-rank girl who happened to pass by Raff and Hayato.

"Don't look at him, he'll come after you just like he did Ms. Lola," the girl's friend said as she quickened her pace.

"What exactly did I just go through?" asked Hayato as he put his shirt back on, his face starting to turn red with a mixture of embarrassment and anger.

Continued...