Endless Leveling Done Right!

Chapter 373: I’m Rich. I’ll Take Care Of You For Life [Part 2]

”Alex, I’m glad you’re feeling better,” Latifa chimed in, hoping to change the subject. ”I was really worried last night.”

Hearing that she was worried about him made Alex feel something warm and fluffy spread inside his chest.

”Thank you, Latifa,” Alex replied. ”Well, then. I’ll be going back to the dormitory. Do you want to come with me? We can have breakfast together.”

Before Latifa could even answer, Lotte replied for her.

”I have a better idea. Why don’t you have breakfast with Latifa here?” Lotte suggested. ”It’s easy for me to whip something up for breakfast. What do you say, Alex?”

The young man accepted Lotte’s offer immediately.

He didn’t mind having breakfast with Latifa. Cafeteria food was galaxies far from good enough to make him hesitate.

”Juice or coffee?” Lumi asked. ”I can at least prepare that for you.”

”I’ll have coffee,” Alex answered.

”Okay.” Lumi nodded and followed Lotte to the kitchen to prepare breakfast.

She did this on purpose so that Latifa and Alex could spend some time alone together.

The two Alters even gave Latifa the ”go on, you can do it!” gaze before waving goodbye to her.

Taking a deep breath, Latifa got off her bed, revealing the rest of her pajamas. She then walked toward the round table, where Alex was already sitting, and took the seat beside him.

”Are you feeling better?” Latifa asked. ”Although Nessia told me you’d faked your injury last night, I’m still a little worried.”

”Don’t worry! Aside from suddenly blacking out, I’m perfectly fine,” Alex replied. ”Thank you for worrying, Latifa. I greatly appreciate it.”

”Alex, do you mind if I ask something?” Latifa’s voice turned serious. ”What did you and Evangeline talk about?”

Alex didn’t reply right away because his memory of the balcony conversation was still a little bit fuzzy. But seeing that Latifa looked genuinely concerned about him, he didn’t want to lie to her.

”She asked me if I remember saving a dying girl when I was ten,” Alex said. ”When I tried thinking about it, I was hit by a terrible headache. Fuzzy memories I don’t even remember having flashed in my mind. Soon after seeing them, I lost consciousness.”

Latifa frowned. ”Do you perhaps have amnesia? Do you know where you were born? Can you remember your parents?”

”No,” Alex replied. ”I was an orphan.”

Alex had been raised in an orphanage, so he really didn’t know where he’d been born or who his parents were.

Hearing this, Latifa felt apologetic and distressed. She might’ve caused the young man to recall unhappy times.

”Don’t worry! The Headmistress of the orphanage did a good job raising me,” Alex continued. ”When I grew older, I got lucky and entered a scholarship. I repaid the orphanage by sending it the money I earned.”

Alex was about to say more when he suddenly remembered that he was talking about his past, not Alex Stratos’ past.

Fortunately, Latifa assumed that he was referring to the scholarship he was currently on and that he’d been sending the orphanage his monthly stipend from Frieden Academy.

Many of the scholarship students wished to enter the academy to make their families’ lives better.

It’s not unusual for them to send their stipend to their families. Each scholarship student received twenty gold coins every month, enough for a normal family to live comfortably for a few months.

This might seem very little for some, but for commoners, this was actually a very big amount of money.

A copper coin was enough for a loaf of bread. By being frugal enough, a family could survive on two gold coins a month. That could get them wheat porridge for every meal and a bit of meat.

Of course, they wouldn’t be getting more than a few pieces of meat per meal. Naturally, people who lived in the countryside often hunted and fished to supplement their diet.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that being able to enroll in Frieden Academy was a dream for commoners.

But only the best of the best would be able to pass the trials and become scholarship students.

’Should I give him money to send back to his orphanage this month?’ Latifa thought.

The mere thought of Alex scrimping and saving so he had some money to give the orphanage broke Latifa’s heart.

’Was this the reason why he blackmailed the Crest Clubs and extorted them for money?’ Latifa mused. ’Now I know why Alex seemed so eager to milk those arrogant nobles dry of their gold!’

Alex was too immersed in recalling the scene of the little girl lying on the ground and almost covered in snow.

He only snapped out of his trance when he felt someone holding his hand that was resting on the table.

”Latifa?” Alex asked, taken aback by how her eyes sparkled with conviction. ”What’s wrong?”

”Alex, don’t worry,” Latifa stated. ”I’m rich. I’ll take care of you for life.”

The young man blinked once, then twice, before looking at the pair of hands that were holding his own.

Latifa’s hands were so soft and delicate, he wished she would never let go!

”That sounds like a proposal,” Alex teased. ”Are you proposing to me, Latifa?”

”Huh?!” Latifa suddenly realized that her words could indeed be interpreted in this manner!

She immediately panicked and let go of Alex’s hand like it was a hot potato. But Alex was faster, grabbing one of her hands before she could hide it under the table.

And he didn’t want to let go.

The two then stared at each other, their hearts beating fast inside their chests.

”Latifa, I...”

Alex moved closer to Latifa, wanting to tell her something that he had been holding back for so long.

”Alex...” Latifa’s face was still bright red, but her expression was tender.

Just as those important words were on the tip of his tongue, a hot mug was suddenly pressed against his cheek.

The young man was startled back to his senses and immediately backed away, fearing he would end up with a mug-shaped burn brand on his face.

”Have you finally stopped daydreaming?” Lumi glared at Alex before prying his hand from Latifa’s. ”Here’s your coffee, Sir.”

She then placed the cup of coffee in front of Alex before resting her hands on her waist. She stared daggers at him like she was his girlfriend, and she had just caught him trying to cheat on her with her younger sister.

Alex coughed lightly and picked up his coffee. He then blew on it a few times before taking a sip.

As soon as the bitterness assaulted his tongue, he placed the mug down.

”You didn’t add sugar,” Alex complained.

”Why should I?” Lumi asked in contempt. ”Who do you think I am? Your sugar mommy? Why would I give you sugar?”

Lotte also arrived, pushing a trolley filled with food.

She didn’t know if she should laugh or sigh at Lumi for prematurely ruining the mood.

They had already finished preparing breakfast and had been watching the conversation from a safe distance.

But when Alex had reached for Latifa’s hand, Lumi had barged right in and interrupted that intimate moment.

’Just what is Lumi thinking?’ Lotte thought. ’I thought she wanted Alex and Latifa to be closer. Why did she interrupt them when things seemed to be going smoothly?’

Since the lovey-doveyness was lost and wouldn’t come back for the foreseeable future, she had no choice but to simply serve the food while watching Alex and Lumi bicker over the unsatisfactory coffee.