Chapter 8: The Team’s Best Chef

The roasted rabbit was surprisingly delicious.

Who’d have thought a duke’s daughter could cook?

Na Naya reluctantly scraped the last bit of meat off the bone with her teeth.

She tossed the bone into the campfire.

Meng Linna watched her, slightly entranced.

How to put it?

As someone who went from man to woman, she could hardly like men.

But someone like Na Naya fit her preferences perfectly.

A nun striving to prove she’s worthy of being a saintess.

It was hard not to feel protective.

Liking petite girls like her was coded into Meng Linna from her bishop days.

Of course, Na Naya’s cute appearance was the main draw.

Ugh, why was she such a hopeless sucker for looks?

Na Naya wasn’t oblivious.

Being stared at so intensely, how could she not react?

She wiped her hands and glared back.

“Ahem.”

Caught peeking by the subject herself, Meng Linna couldn’t keep looking.

She coughed twice, shifting her gaze away.

No explanations offered.

Seeing Meng Linna play ostrich, pretending not to see her, Na Naya just sneered.

She pulled a crystal core from the pile of monster materials.

She held it out to Meng Linna.

“Here.”

Without waiting for acceptance, Na Naya forced the core into her hand.

“What’s this for?”

Meng Linna recognized it.

A C-rank Imp Golem’s crystal core.

It powered the golem, holding a decent amount of magic.

It could be absorbed directly or processed further.

The adventurer guild’s standard purchase price was five silver coins.

“Call it payment for the meal.”

Na Naya wiped her mouth, staring at the campfire.

“I don’t want to owe you anything.”

“No way, this makes it look like I’m taking advantage of you!”

Meng Linna tried to return the core.

“It’s just a rabbit. Do we need to be so formal?”

“We?”

Na Naya bristled slightly.

“Don’t act like we’re close.”

Suddenly, the valuable core became a hot potato.

Both wanted to push it onto the other.

“It’s just one rabbit! No need to give me something this expensive!”

“Even if it’s just a rabbit, I don’t want to owe you!”

The two got stubborn over something so trivial.

Peggy, on the side, said nothing.

She just watched with interest, munching her rabbit more eagerly.

The standoff proved the guild’s rankings had merit.

A D-rank faith warrior couldn’t beat a C-rank one.

Meng Linna was forced to accept the core.

“Since you insist on giving it to me, I’ll treat it as prepaid meal fees. I’ll cook your breakfast and dinner for this trip!”

Meng Linna had her own little plan.

Na Naya might seem less hostile on the surface.

But she clearly hadn’t forgiven her.

After all, she had a system—probably the heroine of some novel, right?

Not wanting to be targeted by the heroine, Meng Linna hoped to earn her forgiveness.

Cooking for her could be a good way to get closer, no?

“Oh?”

Na Naya raised an eyebrow.

“You sound pretty confident in your cooking.”

“It’s decent.”

Meng Linna grinned confidently.

“In our team, my cooking’s second to none, fighting for first.”

Peggy, on the side, burst out laughing.

“Our team’s just the two of us! My cooking’s basically nonexistent, so you can claim to be the team’s best chef!”

“See? Even Peggy approves of my skills.”

Meng Linna shamelessly patted her chest.

“Stick with your Big Bro Meng, and eat without worry!”

“Big Bro Meng?”

Na Naya wasn’t fazed by the nickname, just chuckling.

“So you threw away your noble status to come cook for us in the middle of nowhere?”

That shut Meng Linna up.

True, after being disowned, she’d lived freely for a while with her severance money.

But then some thief stole it.

She had to take odd jobs.

Just as she was getting used to that life, a d*mn vampire bit her.

Not wanting to become a vampire, she came to Yanan, known for its medical expertise.

She hoped their skills could help her.

To make money, she became an adventurer who had to do a bit of everything.

She’d eaten her share of hardship.

In her past life, she was just a bishop reciting scriptures daily.

Now she was forced into a dangerous adventurer’s life.

She’d wondered if this was the life she wanted.

Sure, she missed the lazy noble life and the easy bishop days.

But given another chance, she’d still choose to escape that life.

She didn’t want to die in some mysterious assassination again.

“I was wrong about the past. But now I just want to be an honest person.”

Meng Linna stared at the campfire.

“Earn money honestly, live a good life again.”

“So you nearly ruined my life for that?”

Thinking of the past, Na Naya couldn’t help but get angry.

She thought she’d moved on.

But seeing Meng Linna brought those feelings back.

She couldn’t control her emotions.

“I’m really sorry about that.”

Meng Linna lowered her head, avoiding Na Naya’s eyes.

“I was immature back then. I hurt you. If I can, I want to make amends.”

“Hmph.”

Na Naya sneered.

“Sounds easy. Even if you reattach a broken branch, will the tree act like nothing happened?”

“So you’ll never forgive me?”

“Never.”

Na Naya nodded firmly.

“No matter how you atone, you can’t change the past.”

The air between them grew silent.

With boundaries drawn, trying to please her seemed pointless.

Meng Linna started to wonder.

What mindset should she have toward Na Naya?

“Fine, whether you forgive me is up to you.”

Meng Linna’s throat felt dry.

“I did wrong you before. So, whether you accept it or not, I’ll make amends my way.”

Na Naya didn’t respond directly.

She just muttered under her breath, too soft for Meng Linna to hear.

“Weirdo.”