Wait…
Li Ke looked at Lottie's suddenly bright eyes and a sense of foreboding washed over him.
Meanwhile, Sharan's words echoed his thoughts.
"Oh, in that case, I'm relieved."
Sharan clearly breathed a sigh of relief.
"Although the Mage Guild has ample funds, the budget for food and drinks isn't very high. If this little girl continues to eat and drink for free at the restaurant, the guild will soon have to make the mages pay for their own meals. After all, this kid alone consumes half of the guild's budget."
Sharan pinched Lottie's cheek, her face full of helplessness.
…Half the budget?
Li Ke felt that if he had a cigarette in his hand right now, he would definitely drop it on the ground, because without a doubt, this news was far too shocking.
"Hehe…"
Lottie scratched his cheek somewhat embarrassedly, but there was no weird expression on her face.
"It's mainly because I was starving for so long. Actually, my appetite is not that much."
"..."
Li Ke was still somewhat skeptical.
"Are you sure? Or is the guild's food budget not very high?"
"Well, it's true, it's not very high, but I'm telling the truth… okay, it was a joke to some extent… What, regretting it? And there's a reason I recommended Lottie to you. This child's magical abilities are very strong, so she can help you a little on your path to learning magic. So I have no intention of taking advantage of you."
Sharan chuckled.
"Understood."
Li Ke nodded, then looked at Lottie.
"Then please take care of me during this time."
Li Ke extended his hand to Lottie, who politely bowed to Li Ke first, then walked up to Li Ke, extended her hand, and shook Li Ke's hand, appearing very polite.
"Please take care of me!"
Isn't that very casual? Li Ke was a little puzzled. In games and fanfiction, mages were often portrayed as looking other beneath their own, or more accurately, as very arrogant.
But this was a very polite child.
"Let's go get something to eat first."
Li Ke's words made Lottie's eyes light up. She bowed to Li Ke again, her fiery red twin tails swaying beautifully.
Unfortunately, her twin tails weren't tied very well, and she was rather thin. If she were a little older, Li Ke might have some strange thoughts.
But right now, Li Ke had no such worldly desires.
"Thank you, Brother Li Ke!"
Hearing her call him "brother," Li Ke felt reassured that he hadn't been tricked. He said goodbye to Sharan and led Lottie towards the alley next to the Mage's Guild, intending to take her to a nice restaurant.
But just as Li Ke was about to take Lottie to the rather expensive-looking restaurant, Lottie suddenly tugged at his sleeve before he entered.
When Li Ke looked at her curiously, she spoke up somewhat shyly.
"Um, well, Brother Li Ke, let's skip this one. The food here is very expensive, and I don't want you to spend too much. Besides, I know a place that's really delicious and cheap!"
Her eyes were filled with expectation and worry. Li Ke, who had been undergoing intensive training recently, was completely defenseless against such looks due to something in his genes. So, he subconsciously stopped and smiled, ruffling Lottie's red hair.
He finally understood why there was such a market for "dad-lover" stories and countless "sister" stories.
The reason was simple: having a beautiful, cute, sensible, and well-behaved girl was truly a joyful experience.
"It's alright, I have plenty of money."
Li Ke patted his wallet. With the iron ingots from 7 Days to Die, he was never short of cash.
But after saying this, an embarrassed look reappeared on Lottie's cute little face.
"Well, um... it's just that I don't really like this shop... and, well, I don't have a very good relationship with the owner. I was kicked out of the shop once when I was eating here."
Kicked out?
Li Ke immediately looked at the busy shop owner. Seeing Lottie's unhappy expression, Li Ke thought for a moment, then grabbed Lottie's hand and turned to leave the shop.
"Okay, let's go to the shop you mentioned."
Upon hearing this, Lottie breathed a sigh of relief and unconsciously patted her bare chest.
Li Ke was genuinely curious.
Why would she make such an expression and gesture? After all, Sharan had said that eating all the money was just a joke. Just to be on the safe side, before entering the small restaurant Lottie had mentioned and preparing to order, Li Ke checked the prices first.
"Three copper coins for a bowl of rice, and twenty copper coins for a dish? Not a single dish costing over silver coins? That's quite cheap."
Feeling his wallet, which still held a few dozen gold coins, Li Ke felt completely relieved. He figured that money would be more than enough for Lottie to eat!
"Yes, that's why I often come here to eat when I'm hungry. The owner here really likes seeing me, but I wonder why she's not here today."
Li Ke didn't think much of it and simply nodded.
"Oh, okay. Then start ordering. You can eat whatever you want."
He really didn't believe that a little girl, a little girl who wasn't even as tall as him, could possibly eat all his gold coins.
"Okay! Thank you, Brother Li Ke!"
Lottie spoke politely again, then raised her hand to the waiter.
"Um, please give me three bowls of rice and these five dishes first."
Three bowls of rice and five dishes? That's not much. Why did Sharan specifically mention it?
Li Ke nodded, then realized what was happening.
Three bowls of rice?
He immediately turned his head and saw two waiters smiling as they carried over three steamers, each a meter in diameter.
His mouth dropped open as he watched the waiters place the rice on their table, then gently pat Lottie's red hair, mirroring his own affectionate expression, before smiling and speaking.
"Aren't you happy today? Why are you eating so little? Is this an appetizer?"
So little?
An appetizer?
Li Ke stared at the steamer basket, 15 centimeters high and one meter in diameter, silently picked up a chopstick from one side, and then, with trembling hands, put it into his mouth as if picking up a cigarette.
He had underestimated 2D girls.