Bloed was not surprised by Rana's presence. After all, he had already seen her thought Oculus before.
Instead, he was surprised by the fact that the rabbit girl teamed up with Liu Ying. After all, Gorde and Tyke, the wolfkin and the raccoonkin of Moonlight Glow as well, did not leave a very good impression on him.
When he heard their story, though, he understood.
A few hours ago, Liu Ying and Rana had met in their way towards here. And after a few words, they started to fight.
Unfortunately, their fight attracted the attention of a hunter, so the two girls were forced to work together to escape him.
In the end, they managed to escape the A-Rank's chase. And after that, they decided to team up. Apparently, the girls hit off very well with each other.
"Rana is very strong." Liu Ying explained with a bit of admiration. "To be honest, we would have not escaped the A-Rank if not for her magic."
"No no, Ying Ying is the strong one." Rana giggled with a soft smile. "You don't know how surprised I was when she received an attack of the A-Rank head-on and only took a few steps backward."
"You are a mage, Miss Rana?" Bloed asked interested.
"... I am." Rana said with a proud smile.
Bloed was a bit surprised. Very few beastmen could use magic due to their innate talents.
Although now that he thought about it, it was not uncommon to see rabbitkins using magic. In fact, rabbitkins and foxkins were usually the two beastmen species that used magic the most.
Rana did not explain deeply about her magic, and Bloed did not ask. After all, that was a private matter.
Instead, he opted to speak up about the things he experienced today.
When he arrived at the part where he fought Gorde and Tyke, Rana's expression dimmed considerably.
"So that happened, huh…"
"Sorry about that."
"You don't need to apologize, Mr. Bloed." Rana shook her head smilingly. "This is a competition, there is nothing wrong with you defeating them."
Bloed looked at the rabbit girl for a few seconds before nodding slightly.
Inwardly, he got a much better impression of this girl.
At the very least, she seemed much more mature than her two companions.
The atmosphere became a bit awkward momentarily, but fortunately, Liu Ying shifted the topic at that moment.
"By the way, Bloed, do you have a plan to reach the tower?"
Bloed appreciated Liu Ying's attempt to shift the topic and nodded.
"I have, but I want to wait for a bit more before putting it in action."
"Mm?"
"I need to get a grasp of the abilities of the A-Ranks guarding the tower."
Bloed did not explain anything else. Instead, he took out some things from his storage device.
"For now, let's eat something first. It's already late and I'm hungry."
When they heard these words, the eyes of the three girls sparkled.
Bloed abilities in the kitchen were not bad. Although Regina was usually the one that cooked, Bloed was not too behind her in terms of cooking skills.
Moreover, his storage device gave him a bit of freedom to carry ingredients and tools, so he managed to cook something good despite the place where they were.
In less than half an hour, an appetizing smell filled the place.
The girls gulped, and Rana's stomach grumbled. The rabbitkin girl was so embarrassed that her face turned red.
"Sorry…" She smiled sheepishly.
It was normal, though. In the end, they had fought and moved a lot during the day. Their bodies were anxious for a good meal.
And although the girls had brought rations with them for the trial, it could not be compared to hot and freshly cooked food.
Bloed smiled wryly and served a portion of food to each girl. Almost immediately, the girls started to devour it.
"Delicious~" Rana sighed joyfully. "Mr. Bloed, I never thought you could cook so well. Are you interested in being my personal chef?"
Bloed rolled his eyes to the anticipating expression on the rabbit girl's face.
After talking with her with a while, he had realized how bubbly and playful this rabbit was. She was the kind to joke casually with the people around her.
Fortunately, the other two girls were much calmer. Aya was eating silently, and Liu Ying was eating beside Bloed with a smile.
Aya looked at Bloed and Liu Ying seated together and decided to ask about something she had in her mind for a while.
"… Bloed, what is your relationship with Miss Liu Ying?"
"Hou... I'm also interested in that." Rana grinned.
Bloed was surprised by Aya's question. Instinctively, he wanted to reply they were friends.
But then, he realized that Liu Ying was a bit tense.
In the end, he smiled wryly and took a deep breath.
"Liu Ying is my girlfriend."
"… Oh…" Aya nodded and lowered her head to continue eating without showing any expression.
Unbeknown to Bloed, though, her eyes flashed with a brief complicate look.
Liu Ying, on the other hand, was looking at Bloed wide-eyed.
But an instant later, her face formed a very beautiful and shy smile.
She then put her bowl of food away and grabbed Bloed's hand, intertwining her fingers with his.
"… Boyfriend, huh…"
Bloed just smiled without speaking.
To be honest, he was a bit embarrassed.
In the end, he decided to follow Javelin's advice. He did not want to make Liu Ying's wait.
Thus, this was a way to confirm their relationship.
Plus, the demon had already kissed him twice. Saying that they were boyfriend and girlfriend was normal.
The same went for Regina.
Bloed decided to confirm his relationship with her after this event.
Without Bloed and Liu Ying's knowledge, though, the scene in the ruined city was being watched by Regina at that moment.
Briefly, a powerful killing intent escaped from the silver-haired Valkyrie, scaring Eve and King Firstmane.
Almost instantly, though, the killing intent disappeared and everything returned to normal.
But when Eve looked at Regina, she could not help but shiver after seeing her expressionless look.
Inside the ruined house, the rabbit girl was looking at Bloed and Liu Ying with sparkling eyes.
"So you two are lovers! I think I now understand why Ying Ying was talking so much about you~"
Bloed raised an eyebrow to in surprise, making Liu Ying blush and lower her head embarrassed.
"… She is exaggerating. I only mentioned you a little bit."
Bloed chuckled softly in amusement. Then, he continued eating his food.
The improvised diner continued like that, with Liu Ying leaning her body towards Bloed intimately and Aya and Rana eating silently.
When they ended diner, Bloed put everything back in the storage device.
But suddenly, he received an image from Oculus.
What he was waiting for was finally here.
Bloed put on a serious expression and looked at the girls.
"Someone is attempting to reach the tower."
The girls were surprised. Instantly, the three of them stood up in surprise.
The next second, the group of four went to observe the situation.