As the group moved forward, Shun continued to look around. After all, he hadn't been in this world for long, and besides the 18 elves with him, this was the first time he had seen humans and the city. Although most were human, there were quite a few people from other races. For example, there were elves, half-animal races, lizard-men, fish-headed and fin-wielding creatures—countless races.
From what he had read in novels, Shun knew about many races, but reading and seeing were completely different things. He couldn't help but be surprised to see these half-races. At that moment, a wonderful smell wafted into his nose, and his mouth began to water. What a delicious smell! He turned his head in the direction of the smell and saw a small stall. Behind the stall was a man, and to his right was a cylindrical piece of meat, which he was constantly turning and cutting into cooked parts. The smell was coming from that meat!
Seeing Shun looking at the meat, Esna immediately began to explain, "This dish is called döner. It can be made from different types of meat, but chicken and beef are usually used." Centuries ago, a person from another world spread the recipes for this döner kebab, which was a popular dish in their homeland. This way, people wanted to eat the dishes from their old world wherever they went to eat. When chefs and cooks saw these recipes, they tried a few and realized they were really good, so these dishes became commonplace in many inns and small shops.
Esna told him everything she knew without skipping anything, and noticing that Shun was still looking at the meat, she asked, "Master Shun, would you like to eat?"
"Ah, *cough cough*, well, I... uh..." Shun couldn't say he didn't have any money with him; after all, he had only recently arrived in this world, and this city was his first stop. Where could he possibly find money?
Esna realized something was wrong, but then understood and smiled, "Ah, Master Shun, actually, we haven't eaten in a long time either. How about we sit down and have something to eat together?" "Also, if you'd like to see it, we can show you around the city?"
The others were initially surprised to hear Esna, but they quickly understood why she was acting this way and tried to persuade Shun with a smile. When Shun realized he'd understood, he blushed slightly and coughed softly, "Ahem, well, if you'd like, it's fine, but isn't the king already expecting you to bring me here? Is that okay?"
"It's fine, it's fine, you're our king's esteemed guest. If we say we're showing you around the city, there won't be any problem." Esna and the others said this hastily. After all, this was an opportunity to win Shun's favor. If they missed this opportunity and went straight to the royal palace, and the king acted threateningly, it would truly be the end of the kingdom.So how could they possibly let go now that they had the chance to establish a good-faith relationship with this man?
Shun paused for a moment, seemingly deep in thought, then smiled and said, "Okay then, let's have something to eat and explore the city."
The elves nodded in agreement and headed towards the kebab shop. Standing at one side of the counter, they ordered 18 kebabs, which the kebab vendor immediately began preparing. There were a few tables nearby, and they joined two together to sit down. Soon, 18 kebabs arrived, filled with meat and various vegetables. When the kebabs arrived, Shun couldn't help but take a deep breath; it was truly a delicious aroma! If he could, he could spend the whole day smelling it. Hoping the taste would be as good as the smell, he lifted his kebab and took a bite.
'Hmm. Actually, the meat and various spices are good, but the other vegetables just mask the taste of the meat! What a waste. Next time I eat it, I'll ask them not to put those vegetables in.' Even though he thought this, the taste was really good, and he continued eating. The other elves also started eating their kebabs, but they seemed to be struggling to take a bite.
Shun was surprised to see this and asked, "What's wrong? Doesn't it taste good?"
Esna hesitated and said softly, "Well, we've always eaten at the royal palace before, and the food we're having now is really bad compared to the royal palace food, so, well..."
Shun sighed softly as he spoke, "Ah, after eating luxurious food for so long, of course something like this leaves a bad taste in your mouth. If you don't want to eat it, don't, I'll find a way to use them later."
After a moment of surprise, the elves chose not to eat and put the kebabs back in front of them. Shun quickly finished his own bread and put the kebabs the elves hadn't eaten into a paper bag, then Esna paid the bill, and they left. The kebab shop owner waited for them to leave for a while, then looked at the man at the next counter excitedly and arrogantly, "Hey, old man, did you see? Someone from the royal family came to my shop and ate my kebabs! How's your business going?" "Have you even sold half of it yet?"
A middle-aged man was preparing a dish at the stall next to him. After hearing the kebab seller, he said somewhat angrily, "Get out of here! How do you know they're from royalty? Maybe they're just a few imposters! What royalty would come and eat from these little stalls?!"
The kebab seller initially thought it was ridiculous, but seeing the elves' reaction to his food, he realized they really were royalty. The only person who ate his food was a handsome young man, but since he didn't have the king's special emblem or anything, he hadn't paid much attention.
"Hmph! You're just talking nonsense! If they were imposters, the guards or royalty would have already come to arrest them!"Have you forgotten that the royal family has eyes everywhere, you fool?!
The old man, called Salmon, said nothing this time because he was right, and stopped paying attention to him.
Meanwhile, Shun and the other elves were slowly walking around, and Esna or others were showing Shun the places they saw. Every now and then they would ask Shun a few questions, such as 'What will you do next?' or 'Isn't this city quite nice?' They probably wanted to know what they would do after meeting with the king and wanted them to stay in this city if they had nowhere else to go, so they kept praising the city. Shun was aware of this but didn't pay much attention and continued to answer their questions.
After a while, Shun entered an alley and began to move towards the dark parts of the city. The elves were initially scared because they didn't know what he wanted to do, but they continued to follow him. After a while, a few people could be seen sitting around; these were homeless and familyless people forced to live on the streets. When the elves saw them, they looked at them with a little pity, after all, there was nothing they could do. They could have helped one or two people, but almost the entire city was filled with beggars and homeless people like that, how could they possibly help? They seemed to understand a little why Shun was here, so their fear subsided and they continued to follow him.
After a while, a black figure suddenly emerged from one of the small alleyways and, without noticing, bumped into Shun, who was walking ahead, causing him to fall.
Shun and the elves stared at the black figure in astonishment. It had a face barely visible due to the dirt, long, grimy hair, wrapped in something like a torn black cloth, and wearing a few tattered clothes underneath. After falling, it began to breathe rapidly and looked at Shun with a desperate look in its eyes, "Please, please help..."
Its words, like its eyes, were filled with despair, as if it had anticipated that he wouldn't help, and it had only said it with a tiny glimmer of hope. But who would have thought that tiny glimmer of hope would come true?
Shun couldn't help but feel sad when he saw this little dirty thing, and slowly approached her and asked, "What's wrong?"
From her rough features, it was clear that this dirty thing was a little girl of 13 or 14, but instead of playing and having fun with her friends, she was struggling to survive in this small dump, covered in filth. The more Shun thought about it, the more he felt sorry for the little girl, and reaching out, he gently stroked her hair and said, "What happened? Tell me, what are you running away from?"
The little girl had initially asked her question only for a tiny glimmer of hope amidst her despair, and she hadn't expected an answer, but she was surprised when he did, and for a moment she didn't know what to do. Then the man slowly approached and, stroking her hair, asked her question again. The little girl was frightened at first, but hearing his voice and feeling his hand stroking her hair filled her heart with warmth, she trembled slightly, and tears began to well up in her eyes. In her short life, who had ever been so kind to her? Her mother? Her father? She had never even known them, but she could feel the kindness of this man deep in her heart. For the first time, someone had been so kind to her! Her body began to tremble slightly, and tears started to flow, then in a trembling voice, she said, "I-I... a few men were chasing me, I heard they wanted to make me a slave, so I ran away, and now, now they're after me..."
Shun reached out and gently wiped away her tears and spoke softly, "I understand." "Don't worry, no one can touch you now."
Hearing this, the little girl's tears started flowing again, her body trembled slightly, and her eyes closed; she fainted. Shun was surprised when she fainted, but he quickly caught her and lifted her into his arms. Meanwhile, Esna, who was standing nearby, spoke, "She's probably been struggling to escape for a long time, and now that she's relaxed, she's released all her fatigue and finally couldn't take it
anymore and fainted." Shun nodded in agreement and said nothing more. At that moment, two people emerged from where the girl had come from; one was a middle-aged man of average build with a spider tattoo on his cheek, and the other was a thin, frail, short, and ugly-looking person. Immediately after arriving, they looked around and, seeing the girl in Shun's arms, shouted, "There!"
But just as they were about to leave, they saw the 18 elves beside and behind Shun and the emblem on his chest, and their whole bodies began to tremble. 'Damn it! Out of everyone we could possibly encounter, we've found the only targets we can't resist?! Does God want us to die today?!'
The man on the left, with the spider tattoo on his face, forced a smile and said, "Sir, there's been a misunderstanding, I hope you can forgive us?" Then he grabbed the skinny man's arm and tried to quickly leave.
Shun smiled slightly at this and wagged his finger.
The wave of Shun's finger created a powerful gust of wind that enveloped the skinny man's body, tearing him to pieces. In a short time, both his body and blood were completely swept away by the wind. He didn't even realize what had happened, let alone scream. Seeing this, the 18 elves, the man with the spider tattoo, and a few other beggars nearby began to tremble with fear.
Perhaps the beggars didn't understand what was happening, but how could the elves, experienced fighters, and the tattooed man not realize it? Shun's finger movement just moments ago contained no energy; it was pure body power, creating a whirlwind of pressure that had completely erased the skinny man from existence! If it weren't for Shun's finger still in the air and the gentle breeze blowing around, they would have thought it was just a dream!
The middle-aged man was about to lose his mind with fear. He had only wanted to take a street girl to the center, enslave her, and sell her, just like he always did. Who would have thought he'd mess with a god this time?
While still trembling, Shun vanished and reappeared in front of the middle-aged man, reaching out and grabbing him by the throat, asking in a calm tone, "What is the name of your group?"
The middle-aged man, still trembling, couldn't speak. Seeing this, Shun calmly said, "I'm asking one last time, what is the name of your group?"
This time, the middle-aged man forced himself to calm down slightly and said in a trembling voice, "S-S-Spider Alliance." "
I understand. You will be the second person I've killed since I came into this world, and your alliance will be the first group I've destroyed; you should be honored."
The middle-aged man was filled with despair upon hearing this. At that moment, Shun gently sent energy from his hand, and the field began to warp. The man, noticing the strangeness around him, didn't know what to do and began to scream, but quickly, due to the warping dimension, his entire body was torn apart, and the fragments of his body slowly vanished in the irregular dimension. Just like the skinny man from before, if it weren't for Shun's outstretched hand, they would have thought that man was merely a dream, erased from existence.
Hearing Shun's words and seeing this, the bodies of the 18 elves began to tremble uncontrollably. If the king really angered this man… they didn't dare think about it!
At that moment, Shun settled the girl into a comfortable position in his arms and spoke, "One of you can go to the king and tell him I will be there soon. Have a good meal prepared and a bath arranged, and as Sister Esna said, he should prepare a great reward for me. If your king acts wisely, I will leave without doing anything."
Hearing this, the 18 elves were filled not with anger, but with great joy! No matter how much he threatened them, their kingdom had finally been saved from the fate of destruction! And they knew that the reason for this was only the girl in Shun's arms, so they began to look at her with gratitude. One of them quickly left and began to walk towards the royal palace. Whatever happened, she had to convince the king not to anger this monster, or it wouldn't be just the royal family that would perish.
Shun took the paper bag an elf was holding and threw it to a beggar standing nearby, still trembling with fear. "There's some food inside, you can eat it yourself or share it, it doesn't matter," he said, then turned and walked out of the alleys with the elves.
Meanwhile, the beggar holding the bag was still in shock. When he came to his senses, he looked inside the bag, then jumped up happily and shouted, "Hahahaha! Finally, some food! Food!!"
A few other beggars around him heard him and angrily shouted, "Damn it! You have to share it with us! That man said you have to share it with us, didn't you hear?!"
The man holding the bag was reluctant, but luckily there weren't many beggars around and there was a good amount inside, so he shared it equally among everyone. After all, if he didn't share, these men wouldn't hesitate to attack him, and he wouldn't be able to eat and could get injured. So there was no need to act foolishly and risk getting beaten up and having his food stolen.