TALES OF A WITCHER - Season 8 Episode 88

“You’re not coming? Hey, what do you mean by that? Not only are you late, but you just told me that you decide to bail out at the last minute?”

The yelling from the other side of the line got Roland to move his head away from the speaker. Even though he could not see Garcia, he could clearly sense her anger.

“I have an unexpected visitor whom I have to receive.” While Garcia was panting, Roland explained quickly, “I have no other choice. You know that besides me, there’s only a 14-year-old girl in my apartment. How can I rely on her to receive a guest?”

“Your room number is 0825, right? I’ll come over and talk to you.”

“Um… I’m not in the apartment right now…” After uttering those words, Roland squinted and prepared for the next round of vocal attack.

As expected, Garcia raised her volume again. “Don’t you know that I’ve made an appointment with the seniors of the association? I thought you were finally able to take some responsibility. How can you just bail on me? Do you think I don’t know what you’re up to? Come back now!”

“Taking responsibility… what the hell is that supposed to mean? It’s such a misleading phrase,” Roland said to himself.

When he saw the taxi driver with an expression of “Man, well done, I totally understand you”, Roland knew that further explanation would not work.

“What did you say? The reception isn’t too good. I’ve just entered Oriental Road. Hello, are you still there? Hello… hello?” After putting on this self-directed show, Roland hung up the phone. He also turned the phone off, just in case she called back.

He had probably completely offended this Martial Arts star.

He had not expected that Garcia would care so much about whether he was going to join in Martialist Association. Her reaction once again confirmed Roland’s speculation that she only appeared distant to strangers. As soon as he was recognized as the Awakened of the Force of Nature, she revealed her real personality.

“That was so cliche,” Zero at the back seat said coldly, “do you think we’re living an exclusive life in a deep forest? How can we encounter a reception problem when we’re still in the city?”

“Aren’t you smart.” Roland took a glance at the back seat. Phyllis was still sitting close to the window, stupefied by everything outside. She had been sitting there, motionless ever since she had crept into the car. It was no surprise to see her react like this as high rise buildings, busy traffic, huge advertising bulletins, and wall hanging screens could bring a certain shock to an ancient person. As a matter of fact, the increase in productivity resulted in drastic changes in the era. The radicality of those changes, which might even shock the locals, could make a city look completely different within merely two decades and would certainly overwhelm a Taquila witch.

Before this trip, Roland helped her change from her raggy robe, allegedly the Taquila uniform, into his own clothes. A T-shirt and shorts were unisex and so there was no problem for Phyllis to wear them. Oddly enough, those cheap clothes looked rather casual and fashionable on her. It seemed a person’s appearance could make the ugly become beautiful. The only problem was the bra. In the end, Roland had to request Zero to wrap a cloth around her chest to solve the issue.

The purposes of this trip were specific. They were taking the God’s Punishment Witch to eat and buy her a new set of clothes. What if she could enter his dream again? She could not always wear his clothes and be wrapped in cloth.

“Here we are, Green Valley Park,” the driver pushed down the taximeter and said, “25 bucks.”

This park was not far from Roland’s apartment. It was also a piece of fine green land that Roland discovered during his city exploration. There were not many people here and a business street was just nearby. Most importantly, there were KFC and McDonald’s chain stores nearby.

Right, these two were Roland’s first choices as roadside food stands offered too poor dining environments and there was no guarantee that they tasted good. After all, this trip was meant to let the guest from the other world have a good time. So naturally, flavors and the dining environment were the two basic criteria. There should also be enough food to feed the witch and make her feel full. Starred restaurants obviously had a better environment, but if the witch indulged herself… Roland was afraid he did not have that kind of financial capacity.

Therefore, fast food restaurants were obviously the best choice.

Besides, Zero had been talking about eating fast food for a long time though this was probably due to the doll toys coming with the kid’s meals as it greatly appealed to kids like her.

He brought the two to a KFC restaurant and picked a window seat. Roland went to the counter and directly ordered two family buckets and one kid’s meal.

“Why did you buy so much?” Zero asked in surprise upon seeing Roland put so much food on the table. “Uncle, although you have a job now, you shouldn’t squander your money.”

“I am rarely generous. Why don’t you just enjoy it?”

“Ok!” She finally stopped pouting upon seeing the toy in the kid’s meal.

“Eat with us. If you want more, just tell me.” Roland handed a piece of fried chicken to Phyllis. After being fried in a high-temperature, high-pressure environment, the chicken skin appeared a tempting golden color. One would get a good appetite by purely smelling at it. The chicken cooked with the modern method not only had its tender and smooth flavor, but the meat also had the fresh tastes of spices like black pepper, thyme, garlic, and salt. The flavor was entirely different and the plain boiled chicken in old times couldn’t compare to it.

Although modern men always complain about the high calories and the universal taste of fast food, it was absolutely a delicacy in an area where food and seasonings were always in deficiency. It would definitely blow Phyllis away, who had not tasted food for the last few hundred years.

On the way there, she perfectly followed Roland’s instruction and regardless what strange things she saw, she would not ask. She would try her best to imitate how others behaved, but the moment she bit into the fried chicken, she could not control herself any longer. Hot tears filled her eyes and trickled down uncontrollably.

“What’s wrong, sister…” Zero was stunned.

“Um, nothing. It’s just she’s been starving for too long. Phyllis’ families didn’t treat her well… They’ve always wanted a boy, yet weren’t able to get one… Anyway, you’re too young to understand that. You only need to know that she didn’t live a happy life there.”

“I see…” The little girl’s expression softened, probably out of sympathy.

Roland did not intend to make a fuss about why Zero called Phyllis sister, yet himself uncle. Watching the ancient witch gulp food down while weeping touched him.

For the witches, the mundane pleasure of enjoying food was a dream that they were willing to pay anything for. He felt sad for the unfairness of it all. Fortunately, the experience today gave Phyllis a little solace although it was hard to say whether there would be another chance next time.

What he could do for them was to try his best to fulfill her wish during this one-day adventure.