Mylanne City.
As the sun sank toward the horizon, the fading light dyed Mylanne City in a layer of gold.
On the streets,
a shady bread peddler was weaving through the alleys, hawking the black bread in his hands.
Black bread that normally cost ten copper coins in regular shops was selling here for less than six.
However, the city-state's watchmen often had eyes as sharp as eagles. They showed no mercy in hunting down these black-market traders.
Without the city lord's permission, such merchants were forbidden to do business.
Yet in the face of enormous profits, there would always be people willing to take the risk.
Caelan walked through the ancient streets. He had originally planned to stop by the Violet Tavern for a drink, but then he shook his head and dismissed the idea.
Being this poor, it was better not to indulge in such luxuries.
And that useless cousin of his—she said she was on a business trip, but who knew which pretty boy's place she was freeloading at, eating and drinking for free?
Though his cousin was useless, she had an extraordinary talent when it came to mooching.
Caelan shook his head. His relationship with his cousin was extremely complicated—there was dependence, but also mutual disdain. The only reason they lived together was because of his parents' arrangements.
As for his parents, whether they were alive or dead was still unknown.
But they did show some concern for Caelan.
That was why they had arranged for his cousin, Talia, to take care of his daily life—and supposedly gave her a large sum of money as well.
As for how this cousin performed…
All Caelan could say was that she had truly broadened his horizons.
After passing through several blocks, Caelan arrived in the luxurious Upper District.
With a click, he opened the door to the villa.
But when he saw the camisole casually tossed on the floor, a bitter smile unconsciously appeared on his face.
Looks like my peaceful days are over.
The sloppy cousin Talia—back from her "business trip"!
"Talia, why are you back so early?"
Caelan asked as he bent down out of habit, picking up the camisole from the floor and walking toward the laundry basket.
The pink camisole was quite cute, with an adorable Barbie printed on it.
Feeling the lingering warmth at his fingertips, Caelan knew very well—it had just been taken off by Talia.
At the same time, Talia on the sofa paid no attention to her appearance at all. She was just as indifferent to Caelan's return.
Right now, she looked like a puddle of melted mud, hugging a huge bucket of popcorn and staring intently at the soap opera on the TV.
From time to time, she even wiped at the corners of her eyes—where there were no tears at all.
"Waaah, I knew it! The mistress is the true love! For the sake of getting the protagonist, she's even willing to destroy the world—what a great love!"
Caelan turned his head slightly and swept a cold glance at Talia.
"So the mistress killed the protagonist's entire family, right?"
"Caelan, you're just a kid—what do you know about love?!"
Talia snapped angrily, grabbing a piece of popcorn and throwing it at Caelan.
Caelan shifted his body and easily dodged the "dangerous" attack, then said helplessly,
"Talia, if I remember correctly, you're only two hours older than me."
Talia brushed her chestnut-colored long hair aside, her tone lazy.
"So what? I'm still older than you, aren't I?"
Caelan shook his head helplessly and casually tossed the pink camisole into the laundry basket. He truly couldn't understand how, despite not looking fat at all, his cousin had developed so well.
"Oh, right. I awakened my class."
Talia didn't even turn her head, her attitude extremely perfunctory.
"Mhm, that's nice."
"I'm a bit hungry. Go make dinner."
"I want buttered toast with bacon fried in olive oil—crispy and fragrant. That'd be perfect!"
Caelan curled his lips, then walked over to the sofa and held out his hand.
"If I remember right, you should've gotten paid today, huh?"
At the mention of her salary, Talia stopped watching the soap opera. Her eyes darted around like a child who had done something wrong.
"Well… I quit my job. You don't know—our boss was a total pervert."
"My dear cousin, you wouldn't want your sister to be lusted after by some pervert, right?"
As she spoke, she proactively hugged Caelan's arm, her face full of pleading.
Seeing Talia's round eyes and pitiful expression, Caelan couldn't help but sigh softly.
Weren't you supposed to be my cousin? Why are you acting like a loli in front of me?
Over the years, whenever Caelan asked Talia to do anything, she would always cling to his arm and beg relentlessly.
Caelan helplessly yanked his arm free.
"You're pressing on my arm—it hurts!"
"Forget it. Let's just eat black bread tonight. We're out of money."
Talia nodded pitifully, like a kitten afraid of being abandoned.
"Dear cousin, I'll listen to everything you say."
"As long as you make me something tasty, I'll accept whatever you do to me."
The corner of Caelan's mouth twitched violently.
Where on earth did my cousin learn this kind of nonsense?
Forget it—whatever.
There'll be a chance to get revenge on Talia properly someday!
Caelan stood up and walked into the kitchen, taking out the black bread stored in the fridge.
Talia obediently followed behind him, hugging her big bucket of popcorn and occasionally popping a piece into her mouth.
"Little Caelan, you said you awakened your class earlier. So what class is it?"
Without turning his head, Caelan skillfully fried an egg.
"Oh. White Swordsman."
In truth, Caelan didn't intend to tell Talia too much about himself.
But on the other side, Talia keenly sensed that Caelan was hiding something.
So she puffed out her cheeks and hung onto him like a sloth.
"Little Caelan, you've learned to be bad!"
"You're clearly hiding something from me and won't say it!"
"Spill it, spill it! If you don't, I'm not getting down today!"
Caelan frowned. His gaze inadvertently caught a glimpse of vast, snow-white waves. He immediately put on a stern face.
"Talia, watch your posture!"
"We're both grown up now. You need to keep your distance from me."
Talia, however, looked completely unconcerned. Instead, she deliberately rubbed against Caelan's back as if showing off.
"Little Caelan, don't threaten me with that. Don't forget—who was it that bathed you when you were little?"
As she said this, at an angle Caelan couldn't possibly notice, a seven-pointed star sigil belonging to an awakener above level 700 suddenly appeared in Talia's round eyes!
If Caelan had seen this, he would have been utterly shocked.
This Talia was also an awakener!
"How strange… why can't I see through this little Caelan's status panel?"
"That shouldn't be possible. Or have I been slacking off for too long?"