SWNOVELXO Chapter 213: Children of the World?
He was fine, but if Belle didn't get enough rest, she'd have to connect to the system again tomorrow for a commission, and that would be mentally exhausting.
Just as Wise turned on his computer, tapped a few keys, and exchanged a couple of words with Fairy, something suddenly crossed his mind—his expression stiffened.
Wait a second!
Belle's cooking...
Belle's cooking?!
He'd been so moved earlier that he nearly forgot!
To put it nicely, Belle was an "innovative chef." To put it bluntly, her dishes were the kind no one had ever even imagined!
Wise shot up, said something quickly to Fairy, and headed straight for the kitchen...
Moments later, Belle was "blown" out of the kitchen by Wise, holding a tray of unbaked chili apple pies.
...
Outside the Tanuki House, Zane opened the door and stepped in. Under the warm lighting, the cats were lazily doing their own thing.
For some reason, two little calico cats were chasing each other, darting past Zane's legs and zipping right by Panta, causing him to spin around.
Zane bent down and pressed a palm gently on Panta's head to stop him. Dizzy, Panta staggered a couple of steps before plopping down on the floor.
A few curious kittens gathered around him. In their minds, this kind of creature should be red and white—what they were seeing now was rare.
Compared to Dennies, Panta didn't visit the cat café often, so he was still a novelty to the others here.
"Nocturne, I feel like you've gotten a bit chubbier…"
On the cat shelf beside him, Nocturne was lying on a small platform. For some reason, he really liked staying in high places.
"Meow~"
The little black cat meowed in protest. What do you mean fat? Clearly, it was just more majestic now...
But he didn't make a fuss—just rolled over to stretch and nearly fell off in the process.
Steadying himself just in time, Nocturne shook his head, then leapt gracefully onto Zane's shoulder.
"If you grow any bigger, you probably won't be able to stay up there…"
Feeling the added weight, Zane shook his head with a sigh.
The food at the Tanuki House was great, so the cats here grew fast. "Rice Bucket" was already a whole size bigger than when he first arrived.
After gently patting the little black cat, Nocturne jumped down and landed softly. Noticing two new members in the corner seemingly being bullied, he rushed over to "set things straight."
On the other side, Zane took off his coat, hung it on the rack, glanced around the café, made a call, and after settling some things, simply heated a cup of tea. Wearing only light clothing, he stepped out to the café's front door.
Because the area was a bit secluded, the streets were nearly empty—just a few streetlights flickering quietly in the distance.
Zane switched on the café's front light. While it looked dim during the day, at night it felt warm and welcoming.
He sat down on the bench by the door, set the hot tea beside him, and let the night breeze stir the steam, adding a hint of chill to the air.
But that didn't bother Zane. His hair swayed slightly, his eyes glinting as he lost himself in thought.
He picked up the teacup and took a sip. The warmth flowed through him.
The tea wasn't strong, and the flavor was simple. He'd just brewed it casually—not like the time-consuming ones Qingyi made.
In short, it didn't have that distinct taste Qingyi's tea always carried.
Zane set the cup down and looked up slightly. The night was peaceful, and the strange moon still hung high.
His gaze fell on the stars hidden behind the moonlight. He looked at the night sky—the world reflected in it. A sight visible to those in the world, yet one that didn't truly belong to it.
"Children of the world…"
Zane whispered quietly, recalling the words she had said earlier.
To him, he felt more like a "tool of the world" than anything as emotional as a "child of the world."
Yet Fairy had still used that term. Zane could vaguely sense a peculiar familiarity she had with the 'fire pickers.
She wasn't a researcher, but was desperate to connect with him and had access to so much information…
She must have a special method of acquiring knowledge about the "fire pickers."
So maybe the phrase "child of the world" wasn't just poetic or euphemistic. It might actually be serious.
"Children of the world… What a unique name… This world…"
Zane blinked and murmured softly.
"Tch, now that I think about it—I've seen rain, sunshine, cloudy skies, sunrises, and sunsets... but I don't think I've ever seen snow…"
"If I really am a child of the world, asking for a bit of snow shouldn't be too much… Heh heh…"
Zane chuckled softly and shook his head. When had he become so childish?
Saying something like that really did sound like a kid asking a grown-up for candy...
He finished the last of his tea but didn't get up, as if he were waiting for something. Moments later, a voice suddenly rang out beside him.
"Mmmgah!"
Nekomata popped out with her hands on her cheeks, trying to scare him. But seeing Zane just turn and smile calmly, her expression immediately drooped.
"Aww, Zane, you're no fun at all!"
"You can't scare me if your technique's off. How does that make me the boring one..."
Zane spread his hands, looking a bit wronged.
"Then... then couldn't you at least pretend to be scared? Seriously…"
"Huh? You mean I should play along and comfort the little kitten?"
Zane's tone turned playful. Nekomata froze, then blushed and frantically waved her hands to deny it.
That wasn't what she meant at all!
"By the way, where'd you learn that move? It didn't scare me, but it looked kinda cute…"
Zane chuckled and asked.
"Ah, that? That's what Anby used to scare me with before we came here. She said she got it from a movie…"
Nekomata scratched her head shyly. What do you mean it wasn't scary?! Anby had totally startled her doing it!
Anby said "Mmmgah" with a straight face and she still jumped. This time, she even added a dramatic evil dragon expression—and got told it was cute instead...
"So it was Anby, huh… Now I'm kind of curious how she does it…"
Zane smiled faintly, then stood up and waved to Nekomata.