High School of Demon Hunting
Chapter 990 - 52 - : Crucible Frog

Chapter 990: 52 Chapter: Crucible Frog

In the afternoon restaurant, the atmosphere was lively and comfortable.

At a table diagonally in front of Zheng Qing and his friends, a chubby customer was enjoying a Toothpick Elf service; directly behind them, a pair of male and female wizards were intimately conversing; behind the bar, the landlady propped her chin, sleepily fiddling with an abacus; and under the window, a group of chattering young girls had ordered only a large plate of fried rice and several cold drinks.

"...what kind of pimple-removing worms are you using now?" a girl with a pointed chin and a thin voice asked her friend, "I’m currently using the Miaojiang series, and although the pimple removal effect is good, my face always feels a bit sore afterward."

"That’s because Miaojiang worms contain some toxins, my mom won’t let me use them." Her friend took out a small box from her handbag and placed it on the table, "I’m using the Worm series now... the pimple removal effect is okay, and it’s less irritating to the skin. Why don’t you give it a try?"

As she spoke, she opened the lid of the box, scooped out a bit of yellowish, rice grain-sized paste with her finger, and smeared it directly onto the face of the girl with the pointed chin.

"No, no need," the girl protested weakly but let her friend evenly spread the yellow paste on her cheeks.

The yellow paste came to life upon contact with her face, quickly squirming around, spreading evenly across the girl’s face. In just a moment, it lost its vitality, dried into a film, and peeled away from her face.

Zheng Qing watched carefully.

Indeed, compared to before the application, the girl’s face looked noticeably refreshed, smoother, and cleaner.

"How is it, your face doesn’t hurt, right... as far as I know, Worm is the least irritating to the skin on the market," her friend boasted, putting the small box back into her handbag.

Zheng Qing opened a little notebook in his mind and took note of their conversation.

The next time a holiday came, he wouldn’t have to worry about what gift to prepare.

Speaking of the next holiday, the young cost student calculated the time secretly. Today was February 8th, Sunday, and tomorrow was Lantern Festival, which naturally had no custom of giving gifts. But in a week, on February 14th, Valentine’s Day, a Western tradition, he must prepare a gift for Elena.

Conveniently, February 15th was the time for school registration and tuition payment before the new term started; by then, he should be able to find Elena.

Thinking of this, Zheng Qing couldn’t help but recall the time, not long ago, when he took a boat to North Beta Town and encountered a Gypsy witch. Since that day, because he had been busy with various matters, he hadn’t invited the witch out. He wondered if she would be upset about it.

In fact, Zheng Qing always felt that their relationship was a bit awkward—calling them lovers, they hardly ever spent time together like the young couple behind them, intimately chatting; but if it was just a casual relationship, who has ever heard of platonic friends who have kissed?

He sighed, picked up his teacup, and took a sip of the strong tea.

The bitter taste of the tea flowed between his lips and teeth, pushing down the sour feelings that were rising in his heart.

Under the window, the girls’ conversation continued.

"...Worm does feel quite nice, but its price per unit is about half more expensive than Miaojiang," the first girl said enviously, "Unless you find a cost student as a boyfriend, I can’t afford that kind of thing."

"Cough," Zheng Qing, who hadn’t fully swallowed his tea, choked as it went down the wrong way, his face turning crimson, his chest throbbing with pain. But he forcefully suppressed the urge to cough out loud.

In front of him, Xiao Xiao and Xin Fat Man, who had been focused on the delicious food on their table, gave him a puzzled glance.

The fat man quickly stretched his arms, protectively covering the food beneath them.

"Sanitation is important! Wasting food is a disgrace!" Fatso widened his eyes and gave a stern warning.

Zheng Qing covered his face and turned away, looking down the other aisle and hiding most of his head in the shadow beneath the table. He tried to make himself as inconspicuous as possible, and beckoned to his companions, signaling that he understood and was alright.

The shame that Nameless felt told him that as long as he pretended nothing was wrong, everything would return to normal in two minutes.

This intuition was very accurate.

In fact, it didn’t take two minutes.

After roughly one minute, the wind chimes at the restaurant’s entrance rang ’ding-a-ling,’ and with the arrival of new customers, the strange feeling that had been looming over Zheng Qing’s head quickly disappeared.

"Boss lady, the usual... One order of Crucible Frog, extra spicy, and a large rice," called the new customer who had just entered.

"You’re off shift pretty early today, Old Li... How many pounds of frog do you want?" the previously drowsy proprietress behind the bar instantly woke up, her abacus clacking away.

"A pound and a half is enough... Clean the frog skin well, no frog tongues. For the side dishes, I want pickled cucumber, and add some fried centipede and lizard tails," the new customer instructed.

"The cold poison is indeed strong in the deep winter; it’s really time to get rid of some toxins!" the proprietress scribbled swiftly and soon sent a greasy Paper Crane flying to the kitchen.

Zheng Qing watched the Paper Crane flying lopsidedly and wondered if it might fall into the crucible halfway through its flight.

He felt that he had regained his composure now, especially his train of thought.

To prove this, he sat up straight and asked Xin Fat Man a question that had just occurred to him, "Ms. Pulitzer’s interview from the other day, why haven’t I seen it published? It’s almost been a week, hasn’t it?"

Xin Fat Man licked his greasy lips, blinked, and pondered for a few seconds, "An exclusive interview isn’t instant messaging; it doesn’t come out that fast. From the interview to the final draft, then approval, to the final publication—I estimate it’s about half a month. You should definitely be able to see that report by the start of school at the latest."

"I’d rather never see it," Zheng Qing muttered in disappointment.

He had been hoping the interview hadn’t gone well and that Ms. Pulitzer had given up on the report. It looked like he had to agonize over it in anticipation for a while longer.

"Speaking of which, there’s something else I’m more concerned about," Xin Fat Man picked another piece of fried chicken from his plate and started devouring it noisily; he mumbled through his meal, "That descendant of Satoguya you killed on Silent River—the big frog. Why hasn’t there been any follow-up in the news? It’s been almost a week, and not even a small snippet... It’s really too unusual."

Zheng Qing nodded repeatedly; he also felt that the matter was very strange.

It was as if someone had quietly suppressed the incident.

"Maybe the school thinks the outside environment is too complicated right now, and it’s better to do less rather than more," the young cost student speculated, "Just like you guys were saying earlier, the Mage Alliance suppresses negative news about aliens... Satoguya counts as an alien, right?"

"It’s not human," Fatso tossed aside the cleaned chicken bone and licked his greasy fingers, concluding.

"Without a doubt," Zheng Qing tugged at the corner of his mouth.