The shop Mia was talking about was not far from the Sol mansion.
With the two hand in hand, it didn’t take long for them to reach their destination.
Less than a quarter of an hour later, Aurelius was seated opposite Mia, with a cup of steaming coffee on either side of their table.
Yet the coffee was far from the only item in their order.
Besides the two cups were dozens of white plates, each containing a sweet.
Chocolate. Cakes. Treats.
Things Aurelius could recognize and things he could not were all laid out in front of him as though they were having a banquet.
As for Mia, who had seemingly invited him to help him cheer up...
"Mhm~ Mmhm. Mm..."
The sound of her chewing echoed between the clanging of her fork, her "sharp weapon" aiming at a new sweet every other second.
Combined with her bulging cheeks that contracted and expanded as she chewed, she looked as though she had walked out of a cartoon.
Aurelius had trouble holding back his laughter.
His gloomy mood unknowingly relaxed. The complicated thoughts about Elena and the Sol family were subconsciously pushed to the back of his mind.
With a faint smile on his face, he picked up his fork and was about to try one of the colorful cakes.
But just then.
Click!
A fork met his own, pushing it away like a sword.
Then, in a sudden movement, Mia grabbed the plate containing the cake and brought it to her chest.
She chewed for several seconds, emptying her cheeks, all while looking at him with annoyance.
"What are you doing? These are mine! I ordered these!"
"If you want some, buy your own!" she complained loudly, her voice filled with dissatisfaction.
Aurelius was not angered by her antics.
He was merely speechless.
He looked at the many sweets, which must have contained thousands of calories, and then at Mia’s slim figure.
He couldn’t help but wonder where all that food went.
Could it be that her stomach was actually a black hole, swallowing everything that fell into it?
It took some time before Aurelius snapped out of these bizarre thoughts.
Although it only took him a few seconds, by the time he woke up, Mia had already finished everything on the table.
She leaned back in her chair with a content expression, as though her goal had been achieved.
Only after taking several deep breaths did she finally take the initiative to start a conversation.
"So... What’s going on? Why were you looking so down before?"
"Come on. Tell me. I might be able to offer some help."
Aurelius paused at these words.
Given Homer’s mysterious identity and unknown strength, he was indeed one of the few people who could help him solve his current predicament.
Yet looking at Mia, who seemed casual but whose expression betrayed her concern, Aurelius shook his head.
"It’s nothing."
"I just have to leave the city in a little while. I was thinking about how I was going to miss some people."
"Especially you," Aurelius teased her after a brief pause, "I’m going to miss you."
Mia’s cheeks turned crimson at the final sentence.
However, she quickly regained her composure.
She puffed out her cheeks, sticking out her tongue.
"You don’t have to worry. My father and I will also be leaving in the near future."
"My father recently got a huge order from a Chamber of Commerce in the Imperial City. We’re planning to spend a few weeks there."
Originally, Aurelius did not show any surprise when he heard that Mia and Homer would be leaving.
After all, they had just recently gone on a "vacation"—though under a pretext.
In his opinion, a mysterious Awakener like Homer was bound to wander Nova Roma. It made sense that they would leave.
Yet when he listened to the latter part of her words, Aurelius subconsciously raised his eyebrows.
He frowned inwardly.
Such a coincidence...?
It couldn’t be...
"When are you leaving?" he asked, doing his best to hide his inner doubts.
Mia thought for a brief moment.
"We’re supposed to arrive at the capital by the end of the month. So... at most, we’re going to depart in a few weeks."
’Sure enough!’ Aurelius thought.
His guess had all but been confirmed.
Mia’s journey to the capital. The Sol family’s invitation.
If he was not wrong, the two were directly related!
Or rather, they were both brought by their respective parents to the capital for the same reason.
Aurelius’ eyes narrowed.
He recalled Arthur’s claim about how important this event was to his father. His curiosity deepened.
Unfortunately, he knew that Mia was unlikely to know anything.
This poor girl still believed that her father was an ordinary shopkeeper, after all. Not only did she know nothing about his true identity or goals, but she didn’t even know that he was an Awakener.
Remembering Mia’s messy appearance back in the Alchemy Shop, hidden beneath mountains of trash and dust, Aurelius couldn’t help but wonder if Homer hid his true identity to torture this girl.
Aurelius sighed inwardly. It seemed that he was not the only one with an evil father.
Although the chances of success were low, he still tried to get some information from Mia.
Unfortunately, things went as expected.
She knew nothing.
If anything, she was even more puzzled than him about her father’s true goal.
’It seems that I can only look for other sources of information.’ Aurelius judged.
For example, Professor Anna. Or even Selene.
The former was suspected of being related to the Sun Church.
The latter had the mysterious Blood Temple standing behind her.
They were both likely to know something.
With that thought, Aurelius was no longer in the mood to waste any more time.
Raising his hand, he intended to call the waiter and pay the bill.
But just then, Mia grabbed his hand abruptly.
She looked at the empty plates before meeting his eyes.
In the end, an embarrassed look flashed across her face.
"How... How about another round?"
Accompanying her plea was the sound of her stomach rumbling, as though she hadn’t eaten for months.
As if to reinforce that notion, a gap appeared in her pockets.
A lone copper coin dropped out. Her last money for lunch.
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