"This… this underground city is so fantastic..."
Yao Yun muttered as he gazed at the maps Emersyn laid out before him on the table. They were inside a room where they could see the perfectly preserved remains of the computers. Emersyn was sitting on a swivel chair as she laid out more maps before Yao Yun.
"These are all the underground cities near the sources of geothermal energy. I also sensed a lot of dangerous creatures living above those cities."
"Are we going to all of these?"
"Your choice. To be honest, I don't have any ties to the Central Marsh or their people, so I can only follow you as repayment for the hospitality you have shown to me. I am truly grateful for that."
"Okay… can you still sense that man, Nico, around here?"
Emersyn sighed as she nodded.
"They are still in the building."
"Let's go."
Emersyn sighed once again seeing the determination in the man's eyes.
"As you wish," then she stood up and left the room as Yao Yun followed her.
They arrived on the lowest floor and they could see furniture blocking the broken windows. Emersyn nodded then stepped back behind Yao Yun. The man was puzzled, but when he felt a nudge from his back, he stepped forward then cleared his throat weakly. The men, who were camping at the center of the lobby, quickly raised their lowered heads. Nico gasped as Emersyn entered his sight with a wave of acknowledgement. He was so embarrassed that his hard and chiseled face reddened as he waved back to the woman he admired.
"May we intrude?" Yao Yun cautiously asked.
"Please! Intrude all you like!" Nico beamed.
Althas smiled wryly then gestured at Yao Yun and Emersyn to sit down which they obeyed.
"I'm sorry about our friend."
"Nono! We are the one who needs to be sorry… uhm… I have a small favor…."
"Please, we are all open."
"We are finding a place where we could stay warm. Could it be possible for us to enter your city?"
"Of course!!!"
"..."
Cali, Althas and Elan simultaneously looked at each other then nodded.
"Of course you can stay with us. However… We are still on a mission to purge the Scavengers infesting this location. If we let them be, they'll definitely find our entrances and invade the city. We all know what would happen if that is the case. So, we need your cooperation," Althas said as he gazed, not at Yao Yun, but at Emersyn who was silently sitting on the carpeted floor.
Yao Yun turned to look at Emersyn as she fiddled with a stick then nudged her. Emersyn looked at Yao Yun with a puzzled expression.
"Why are you asking me?" She said as she tilted her head, gazing at Althas.
"We need your help. The faster we could do the mission, the better it is. Please help us."
"I could, sure. But the final decision will fall on this guy," Emersyn gestured at the bashful Yao Yun. "I am here to protect him."
"Oh..."
"Uh… what is your name, sir?"
Yao Yun furrowed his brows from the sudden politeness. He shook his head then said, "I am the one who followed her because I intruded in her… you know… uh… mission? Well, she just left us and flew, but I managed to grab her. We just came to an agreement that she will follow me from here on out. So, please, don't be polite at me. It's… embarrassing."
Althas nodded.
"I'm sorry for that. So, what is your name?"
"Yao Yun. You can just call me Yun."
"Can you help us, Yun? Except for the meat, you can have all the rest of the Scavengers… we would like to have the meat for our ration."
Yao Yun smiled then nodded, "Of course!"
Althas, Cali and Elan sighed in relief while Nico was seen fawning over Emersyn who was ignoring him, for some reason. Then, when they concluded their plans for tomorrow, they slept in their sleeping bag as Emersyn went up to find a room for herself.
Tomorrow came and Emersyn was the first one that woke up. She went to the kitchen and prepared breakfast. She decided for something simple. Since she had a lot of stocked meat, she would go for hamburger steak. She retrieved the spices and herbs she would add then grounded the meat with the mithril knives. She put the well-grounded meat in a huge bowl then added salt, pepper, egg, breadcrumbs, paprika, oregano, cumin, ancho chili powder, soy sauce and grated parmesan. She rolled the meat in her hands then proceeded to remove the air bubbles in the patty. On a large skillet, she put a fair amount of olive oil. Cook the patties for four minutes then flip and do the same on the other side. Then, she added a thick slice of cheese and poured a small amount of water then put the lid on.
Having smelled something delicious, Yao Yun and the men peeked out from the door then watched Emersyn steamed some rice and cooked a whole pot of creamy soup.
Nico's eyes gleamed as his eyes followed the woman in a trance.
Emersyn retrieved big bowls from her inventory and scooped up rice for the bowls. She topped four cheese hamburgers in one bowl and poured a fair amount of gravy. Next, was their soup. After she finished lining them all up on the kitchen island she removed her apron then gestured at the food for them to eat. The men scrambled to the kitchen island as they found chairs for them to use. They thanked her for cooking then lavished the meal served for them. They cried like children as they shoved more food into their mouths.
Emersyn smiled then proceeded to shovel a spoonful of food into her mouth. This made the Locruna men look at her in a daze. It was their first time seeing a woman eat with them toe to toe. They rejoiced then ate more vigorously.
"Ah… I am so full..."
"Have some refreshments," Emersyn said as she offered them warm milk.
"Thank you very much."
"Emersyn! Please be my wife!"
Althas smacked Nico's head then bowed to her.
"I'm sorry for my friend's outburst. He is naturally stupid, but he is capable in a fight."
Emersyn could only smile.
***
"Cali!" Althas screamed as he endured all the attacks of the Scavenger they were facing inside the building they were in. They were already having a hard time fighting one and yet, more were coming from the broken window. Fortunately, Emersyn was fighting the rest of them, and Yao Yun was being trained as he fought in the frontline with Emersyn supporting him from the back. They would throw one for the men to take on, then one again after they defeated the previous one.
"I'm fine!" Cali shouted from where he was thrown, groaning as he stood up. He breathed out a sigh then ran towards the Scavenger. The snow that entered through the broken window scrunched as he ran closer and landed a surprise attack on the Scavenger's neck. Cali's sword got stuck on its flesh as he tried pulling it out. Unfortunately, it got lodged into the space between its spine. Nico also attacked the front using his own sword. Then, Elan suddenly appeared from behind the monster as it writhed in agony. Before the Scavenger regained its reason, Elan spun in the air then hit the hilt of the sword stuck on its spine with his steeled boots. With that, the Scavenger released a wail then collapsed on the floor.
Althas heaved then turned to look at Emersyn easily fighting the enormous amount of Scavengers they lured in.
"One more coming!" Emersyn shouted then a wounded Scavenger landed on the floor with a heavy thud.
Nico smiled widely then immediately lodged his sword in the enemy's wounded part, instantly killing it. He sighed in astonishment as he saw that the numbers of Scavengers were quickly diminishing. They were also gaining huge amounts of experience as they killed one after one. After all, the Scavengers were at the top of the food chain in most of the areas. Though their numbers weren't as high like this time. In any case, their party was the only A-rank that was so close to becoming S-rank, so they accepted the request knowing that they would only encounter the weakest ones or a lot of strong ones at worst. However, their expectations crumbled the moment a whole lot of them appeared.
When the Scavengers finally stopped coming, Yao Yun and the Locruna men lost strength in their knees and gave out. Emersyn smiled wryly then dismantled the monsters on her own.
"Let me… let me help…," Yao Yun wheezed as he tried standing up.
"Rest. I can do this."
"Are you sure?"
"Are you even in your right mind now?"
"Ugh..."
"Rest. I will cook something for you all later."
Emersyn immediately got to work and collected all the parts of the monsters and stored everything in her inventory. Now, she still had to cook a lot for these men who gave their all into this mission of theirs.