Chapter 31: Lankaka Blood Pastry Shop

Lankaka Blood Pastry Shop is a chain of pastry stores run by the demon race, and it is deeply loved among demon nobles.

As a city of inclusivity that embraces all races, Caledonia City naturally could not be without such a famous specialty pastry shop, and it just happened to catch Coco’s eye, with Yiluo following her inside.

The moment Yiluo saw the shop’s name and caught the sweet fragrance drifting out, the flow of blood through his body seemed to speed up by half a beat.

The craving for blood made him so excited that he could barely restrain himself.

Bloodkin, as the name suggests, need to consume blood—neither Coco nor Yiluo was an exception.

However, since neither of them had ever actually consumed blood before, they had been suppressing this rather exotic instinct throughout the past twenty days of travel.

Coco, having just been newly Embraced and having absorbed a large amount of Yiluo’s high-purity magical blood, was doing relatively fine.

But Yiluo, who had already had his blood drawn once, simply couldn’t hold back anymore upon seeing the shop name and smelling the aroma, no matter how strong his self-control was.

It was around three in the afternoon, and there weren’t many customers.

Standing at the counter was a goat-headed man, and inside the glass display case were all kinds of delicious-looking pastries and drink models.

If no one specifically mentioned that they contained blood as an ingredient, most people probably wouldn’t be able to tell.

“Hi there, two beautiful demon ladies.

What would you like to eat?

Everything is freshly made, and all the blood comes from farm-raised magical beasts—top quality guaranteed!”

At this moment, Coco was also captivated by the gorgeous pastries—though more because of their ingredients than their appearance.

Still, she stood respectfully behind Yiluo.

After all, no matter how much she wanted to eat, Yiluo had to speak first.

Hearing the goat-headed shop owner, Yiluo’s eyes flicked around as he placed a finger to his lips and said doubtfully,

“But we’re human nobles from the Western Continent, not demons.”

After hearing this, the goat-headed man chuckled and said,

“Miss, most of the customers who come into our shop are demons.

Even the occasional Eastern Continent folk who come out of curiosity are usually just curious—they wouldn’t be glowing with excitement like you are.

And silver-haired people from the Eastern Continent are extremely rare.”

“As for Western Continent people—haha—

the Holy Church forbids the consumption of blood.”

“So hurry up and choose, miss.

I’ll have the back kitchen prepare the most delicious blood pastries for you.”

Yiluo nodded, then turned and pointed at a girl sitting in the corner of the shop.

“Then what about her?

She clearly looks like someone from the Western Continent, and she seems to be of noble birth too.”

In the corner of the pastry shop sat a girl of about sixteen.

She wore a white blouse with a red jacket over it, and a dark red plaid pleated skirt below.

She was a little over one-point-six meters tall, with well-proportioned calves that had no excess fat yet didn’t look bony.

The curves beneath her white blouse were just right.

Her pale golden long hair framed a face of pure beauty—tinged with holiness and nobility.

Yet her round, curious eyes made her look extraordinarily innocent, as if she were easy to approach.

At this moment, she was holding a deep red blood pastry with both hands, clearly enjoying it very much, with two crumbs stuck at the corner of her mouth.

Although people from the Eastern and Western Continents could have all kinds of hair colors and similar skin tones, there were still subtle differences in facial features and bone structure if one looked closely.

Seeing Yiluo point at her, the girl blinked in confusion, then put down her pastry and smiled as she waved at Yiluo in greeting.

Yiluo, however, ignored her completely.

Seeing this, Coco felt a sense of danger and frowned slightly, moving a bit closer to Yiluo as if to declare ownership.

The goat-headed man stroked his beard, then spread his oddly shaped goat hands to either side.

“Indeed, there are some rather strange humans.”

“So then, you two beautiful human noble ladies—

what pastries would you like?”

Satisfied with the goat-headed man’s answer, Yiluo excitedly pointed at the cakes in the display case.

“This one, this one, and this one too.

Oh, and that one as well.

And that drink looks really good—let’s have a cup of that too.”

After finishing her own selection, she turned to Coco and asked,

“Coco, which one do you want?

Pick whatever you like—everything looks delicious!”

Seeing Yiluo’s excitement and happiness, Coco knew this was definitely not her master acting.

That made her feel extremely happy as well, and she smiled as she said,

“I’ll have the same as Master.”

The goat-headed man leaned forward and said,

“That’s quite a lot—if you can’t finish it all, I can serve part of it now and pack the rest to go.”

Coco stepped forward to pay, shook her head, and replied,

“This amount won’t be a problem for Miss.”

Yiluo and Coco chose a seat by the window.

On the European-style round table, delicate pastries were arranged on small ceramic plates, each one emitting a fresh, sweet aroma mixed with a faint scent that Yiluo found impossible to resist.

She picked one up and took a bite—sweet and soft, melting in her mouth, rich but not greasy.

A blissful smile spread across her fair, tender face, making Coco’s eyes sparkle with little stars as she watched.

Miss Yiluo’s way of eating is so cute.

I’ll definitely bring her to buy pastries from this shop more often in the future.

“Miss Yiluo, this city is truly amazing.

It can integrate so many different races and cultures.”

“Mmm… yes…

The founder of Caledonia Academy is no simple figure…”

“The books I bought at the Green City bookstore introduced this academy.

For the Holy Church to tolerate a place like this, it means the academy’s hidden strength is no weaker than the Church’s.”

“But we still need to be careful.

Even though that person’s memories say this place isn’t dangerous, mmm…”

Yiluo’s small mouth was stuffed full of pastry, making her speech a bit muffled.

By nature, Yiluo was a cautious person with a spirit of adventure.

Even though she clearly knew she was currently at the upper level of the Demon King tier, and had dropped to mid-tier Demon King after Embracing Coco—already powerful enough on the Star Continent to command wind and rain at will—she still planned to keep a low profile after coming to Caledonia.

She needed to find a way back and prepare to resist the ever-present threat of the Holy Church.

Right now, the most important things were gathering information and continuing to increase her strength, and Caledonia Academy—with its knowledge of countless races—was the perfect choice.

Moreover, the name “Caledonia Academy” was something she had heard even in a previous life, which further convinced Yiluo that this was a place she absolutely had to come to.

“Miss Yiluo, slow down.

If it’s not enough, we can order more—don’t choke.”

“Mmm… i’ts fine…

I was starving…”

Yiluo’s wolfing-down eating style made Coco a bit worried.

In the past, Yiluo rarely ate sweets.

But Alice had loved sweet pastries, and that bodily memory—combined with the bloodkin’s craving for blood—made Yiluo quickly fall in love with the blood pastries in her hands.

Yiluo was well aware of these changes in herself, but she didn’t resist them much.

After all, the pastries really were delicious.

And they suited her current persona perfectly.

Her professional instincts compelled her to play her role properly—

even though now she was essentially playing herself.

As for wolfing things down…

Well… aren’t there always characters like that?

So after eating several exquisite blood pastries, Yiluo seriously found herself a reason to continue enjoying the food in her hands.

And just as Yiluo was happily indulging herself, the girl from the corner—whose beauty could only be described as pure—curiously came over and sat by Yiluo and Coco’s table.

Blinking her big eyes excitedly, she said,

“Aren’t Blood Lingling mini cakes and Red Amber amazing?”

“You really have great taste!

Let’s be friends!”

“No—

let’s be best friends!”