Chapter 31: The Witch Has Been Saved By You

The girl gripped the small knife tightly; it was her only source of security. Her deep green, oversized trousers, which were so long that the cuffs dragged on the ground, rustled as her legs trembled continuously.

She was supposed to be a robber.

But that unease, that fear, made her look more like a tormented victim, appearing completely non-threatening.

"Stop… Give me the bread!"

The girl realized her own shortcomings.

She tried hard to put on a fierce expression, pointing the sharp knife tip at Xu Xi like a young beast baring its new teeth, while screaming hysterically for Xu Xi to stop approaching her.

Her gaze was filled with longing, locked firmly onto the half-eaten white bread in Xu Xi's hand, which was covered in tooth marks.

Involuntarily.

Her throat, already parched and dry,

swallowed with difficulty.

To be honest, the atmosphere on the scene was very strange, perhaps even dramatically grotesque and ridiculous.

In the early morning, the large steam engines of Alenson City were roaring and running. The massive, billowing steam covered the sky like a miracle, and the figures of Mages flew through it from time to time.

In a secluded alley that no one noticed, a half-Demon Race girl, a human-demon hybrid, held a ridiculously small knife, attempting to rob a prominent figure of Alenson City.

Xu Xi, who claimed to be an Official Mage to the outside world but was actually an Elite Mage.

Such a thing.

Was even more illogical than the mythical epics sung by bards.

Even setting aside Xu Xi's identity as a Mage, his physical fitness as an adult male alone could easily subdue this frail Demon Race girl.

However, Xu Xi did not do so.

"Hungry?", without casting a Spell to punish this disrespectful Demon Race girl, and without issuing any stern reprimand, Xu Xi simply looked at her calmly and asked.

The girl paused slightly and nodded gently.

"Here."

Xu Xi tore off the top part he had bitten and handed the remaining bread to the girl. The girl did not take it immediately, instead watching Xu Xi vigilantly from a distance.

A flash of bewilderment and confusion crossed her eyes.

She seemed to have never imagined that she would get food so easily.

One step.

Two steps.

The girl moved her feet cautiously, holding the knife in one hand and reaching for the bread with the other, approaching Xu Xi bit by bit with an extremely cautious posture.

After grabbing the bread, she quickly fled back to the depths of the alley.

She curled up on a rotten wooden crate in the corner of the alley.

Her feet stepped into a greasy, yellowish puddle of mud.

Under Xu Xi's gaze, she first tasted it in small bites, and after confirming there were no issues, immediately began to devour it.

"I heard that true pure-blooded Demon Race have exceptionally resilient organs and can endure hunger for up to a year, surviving on magic power alone during that time."

"Looking at it this way, a half-Demon Race, a human-demon hybrid, should also inherit some ability to endure hunger."

Watching the girl wolfing down the food, Xu Xi shook his head.

He could not imagine how long this girl had been in exile, or what kind of experiences she had gone through to become this filthy, scarred, and miserable mess.

After a while, the Demon Race girl finished the white bread in her hand.

She looked at Xu Xi again, or more accurately, stared with those hollow, lifeless eyes at the piece of breadcrumb Xu Xi had torn off earlier, which was stained with his bite marks.

Only at this moment, when she saw food, would a glimmer of longing appear in her eyes.

"Ca… can… you… give… it… to… me…"

Perhaps it was Xu Xi's act of giving food that increased her favorability, as the girl did not threaten him with the knife this time, but asked stutteringly.

Unconsciously,

she added a hint of fawning and pleading.

Her emaciated body stood up from the rotten wooden crate, and her bare feet stepped on the mud and sand as she staggered toward Xu Xi.

She wanted to grab the piece of breadcrumb in Xu Xi's hand.

However—Xu Xi ignored the girl completely, tossed the breadcrumb into his mouth, and then walked away from the alley without looking back, leaving the girl with his receding figure.

"Wh… why…"

The girl was stunned. The eyes that had lit up a little returned to being lifeless and dim.

Losing her balance, she fell to the ground, hitting the slippery, foul-smelling alleyway. Pain washed over her, and bright red blood flowed from her forehead.

The girl did not wail, because she was already used to it.

She did not stand up either, remaining in the fallen position, lost and despondent in the muddy water.

"Mommy… did I do something wrong again…"

"Mommy…"

"Why is it like this… I'm so hungry… I'm so hungry, Mommy…"

The feeling of hunger struck again, and the deadly cramps twisting her abdomen were far more intense than the pain of the bleeding forehead, causing the girl to wail suddenly.

She curled up, clutching her abdomen tightly with both hands, rolling back and forth in the mud.

As if doing so could reduce the pain.

She wanted to cry, but that emotion had long been lost, completely destroyed in the repeated despairs.

In the end, she could only lie there in a broken state, eyes vacant, staring blankly at the sky from the mud, quietly waiting for death to arrive.

If I die, I won't be hungry anymore… Such a simple thought flashed through her mind.

But just then, a sound of footsteps came from not far away, getting closer and closer, until it stopped in front of the Demon Race girl.

A warm, strong hand pulled the girl up. She saw that the owner of the hand was the young man from before; he had not only returned but also brought back fresh bread.

"Eat."

"I bit the previous bread, it wasn't very clean. You eat these new ones."

Xu Xi said. He didn't mind the stench on the girl, or the mud dripping from her entire body.

He extended his palm and cast a Level 5 Life Magic, using the massive Life Magic power to heal the girl's wounds.

Then, he helped the girl up from the ground and let her sit in a cleaner spot to eat the bread.

"…", the girl was bewildered throughout, seemingly unable to understand the development of the situation.

Until Xu Xi handed the bread to her. She then reacted, taking bite after bite, mechanically chewing the bread to eat.

A bag of bread was quickly finished.

Xu Xi then used Water Magic to summon a large water orb to replenish the girl's hydration and wash away the filth on her body.

Finally, Xu Xi crouched down halfway, bringing his eyes level with the girl's. He tried his best to appear gentle.

In the foul-smelling alleyway filled with filth and chaos, where even rats didn't want to live, he extended his palm toward that girl who was also flesh and blood, existing truly and tangibly.

He issued this simple invitation: "Come with me."

The girl, who had been as quiet as a doll, looked at Xu Xi with lifeless eyes, like a Puppet being controlled, with no trace of self visible on her face.

She still did not understand what had happened, but there was an impulse in her heart that drove her, telling her.

Thus, she followed suit. She slowly grasped the man's palm in front of her with both hands.

"Okay…" Her voice trembled.