Chapter 20: The Name and the Dark Elf’s Grudge

“Then what about your name?”

On the road, a previously overlooked detail suddenly struck me, piquing my curiosity.

“Did those other angels help you choose it too?”

“Th-this…” Angelina’s face immediately flushed, as if she had been caught red-handed, and she awkwardly turned away.

“No, not really… I haven’t actually spoken to any other angels.”

“So?” I pressed.

“Well… Angelina is actually… the name of a European female singer I admire…”

Seemingly mortified, she stammered the words out after a long pause, her face crimson.

A faint smile involuntarily touched my lips.

“No wonder you’re so accustomed to wearing women’s clothes. It never even crossed my mind that it could be you.”

“That’s completely different!”

Angelina bristled instantly, leaping up as if her pride had been wounded.

“At first, I had no choice because there were no other clothes! Lat… later, of course, I got used to it. And aren’t you the same, judging me!”

Uh, I had been about to tease her, but the tables had been turned, and I found myself splattered with mud.

For a moment, neither of us knew what to say.

“Alright, let’s rest here and eat. We’ll need our strength to continue the journey.”

Amos observed the sky, found an empty spot by the roadside, and addressed the group.

Sally and the others began setting up a makeshift stove, while Brook and his companions ventured deeper into the jungle.

Their packed provisions were nearly depleted, and they hoped to try their luck at finding some game.

Angelina and I, naturally, felt too awkward to stand idly by.

We both volunteered to help, and to avoid being lazy angels who merely waited to be fed and clothed, I even took on the task of cooking.

Ugh, what on earth are these ingredients?

Staring at the pile of unidentified meats, jerky, and wild greens before me, I felt a bead of sweat trickle down my forehead, suddenly wondering if I had bitten off more than I could chew.

“How about I help you?”

Seeing me frozen before the mountain of food, unsure of what to do, Angelina walked over, offering assistance.

However, as a former young master, she was even less skilled than I, completely ignorant of how to prepare such things.

Soon, we were both simply staring blankly at the ingredients.

“Oh, perhaps I should just do it.”

Tiffany, seeing our helpless expressions, snatched the food from our hands with an exasperated look, muttering under her breath, “I should have known you angels, who don’t partake in worldly affairs, wouldn’t know how to cook. And I naively believed you.”

I reached out, intending to offer a few words of defense, but ultimately said nothing.

To be honest, I wasn’t entirely clueless, but in such a rudimentary wilderness setting, with no seasonings and only one pot available, facing completely unknown ingredients, I feared creating some kind of ‘dark cuisine’ if I simply tossed everything into the pot.

That was why I hesitated to begin.

Angelina, on the other hand, was genuinely hopeless, shrugging indifferently before stepping aside.

****

“Look out!”

Suddenly, I sensed a strange aura materialize beside Angelina, imbued with the same unsettling repugnance I’d felt when encountering the Minos hellhounds.

It was faint and indistinct, yet undeniably present.

I immediately cried out to her.

Angelina must have noticed it too, for her wings flashed into existence behind her, and she vaulted into the air.

At the spot where she had stood, two daggers appeared with a *swish*, one embedding itself in the ground, while the other struck the pot of boiling water over the campfire.

With a resounding *clang*, sparks flew and boiling water sloshed everywhere in an instant, leaving the campsite in disarray.

“Ah, my pot!”

Tiffany cried out in distress at the sight, but swiftly recovered, drawing her spear and shouting, surveying her surroundings.

“Who’s there! Show yourself!”

“Over there!” I yelled, pointing to a distorted, shimmering shadow not far ahead, having pinpointed its location by its aura.

Hearing me, Sally immediately hurled a small Holy Light bullet.

Angelina, having also spotted the location, drew her condensed-air sword, and together with Tiffany, they lunged towards the spot.

****

After a series of fierce blows, everyone stared in confusion at the assassin, who was now securely bound at their feet.

“This… is far too weak, isn’t it?”

Tiffany looked at me skeptically, and I, in turn, looked speechlessly at the others, none of us knowing what to say.

On the ground lay a little girl, appearing to be no older than eight or nine, perhaps ten at most, who had been knocked unconscious.

With dark skin, a round face, and a petite figure, she wore a sharp, dark outfit that made her look quite adorable.

“Look at her ears!”

Sally was the first to notice something unusual, pointing to the girl’s pointed ears and urging us to look.

“A dark elf.”

Tiffany recognized her as well.

“But how did such a small dark elf end up here? And attacking us all alone?”

Having confirmed there was only one enemy, everyone wore bewildered expressions.

“We’re back!”

Just then, Amos and his group returned, Brook clutching a rabbit.

It was the first time I’d seen wild game in this forest.

“What’s this…?”

Catching sight of the captive on the ground, Brook gasped, nearly dropping the rabbit in his hand.

“Where did you catch a dark elf?”

“What do you mean ‘we caught’ her!”

Tiffany rolled her eyes in denial.

“She tried to assassinate us and got caught. But she’s really too weak, probably not even at a Tier 2 level.”

“She’s unconscious?”

Amos crouched down, observing her for a moment, then suddenly turned to Sally and the others, asking.

“What about dinner?”

Only then did everyone remember they had been cooking.

Tiffany suddenly shrieked as something dawned on her.

“My pot—!”

****

Without a pot to cook their food, the packed meats and wild greens were inedible.

Their only option was to roast the rabbit directly over the campfire.

Tiffany took listless bites of her roasted rabbit, her gaze fixed with indignation on the still unconscious dark elf girl, as if she were gnawing on the girl’s flesh.

All the while, she continued to mutter about her pot.

Even with the most careful rationing, one rabbit was simply not enough.

Angelina and I, as angels, didn’t seem to feel hunger during the day, so we gave our portions to the others, but it still wasn’t enough.

“Perhaps I should go hunt another one,” Brook offered, preparing to move.

Amos shook his head, stopping him.

“No, let’s not. Getting back on the road is more important, and game is scarce around here anyway.”

“Actually, I think I recognize this girl…”

Angelina, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke, referring to an event before they had met us.

“A few nights ago, when I was alone, she suddenly attacked me. I noticed her and caught her, but she managed to escape. Who knew she’d come back again?”

“So you’re saying her target is actually you?”

I recalled the ambush, where both daggers had indeed first targeted Angelina.

“But why is she so persistent in pursuing you?”

“That, I don’t know,” Angelina said, shrugging with an air of helplessness.

“She seems to be with those demonic beasts. Is it because I killed so many of her companions? That might be the reason.”

“She’s awake.”

Tiffany, who had been watching her intently, suddenly announced.

Indeed, when we looked, we saw that the dark elf girl’s eyes had opened at some point.

“Let me go!”

After briefly assessing her situation, the girl sat up, wriggling her body as if trying to break free from the ropes.

A delicate, childlike voice, sweet and utterly adorable, emanated from her.

“Hey, quiet down! You’re a captive now!”

Tiffany’s face darkened, and she immediately threatened with a fierce expression, “If you don’t make me happy and serve me well, I’ll boil you alive! No, wait, you’ll have to pay for my pot first!”

“Let me go!”

The little girl ignored her, however, still struggling defiantly, unwilling to yield.

Her eyes were fixed in a death glare on Angelina, who was opposite her.

“Just let me kill her, and I’ll pay you back for as many pots as you want!”

“So why are you so determined to kill her?”

Sally voiced the question on everyone’s minds.

“It doesn’t seem like there’s any deep-seated hatred between you two, and Lady Angelina even let you go after you attacked her.”

I felt the same way.

If it were merely a matter of differing factions, then all of us would be her enemies, so why would she focus solely on Angelina?

“Of course there’s a grudge! That stinky angel humiliated me!”

The little girl glared at the shameless angel, gnashing her teeth, and then dropped a bombshell.

“I’ll kill her to restore my honor!”

“Angelina?”

I glanced from Sally to the dark elf, utterly stunned by this revelation.

Barely believing my ears, I asked the unscrupulous angel, who was now hiding behind Sally, “What happened? What did you do to this little girl?”