'What...'
Entering the cave, I was met by an incredibly bizarre sight.
Not only was the cave now illuminated by several orbs of light on the walls, but there was a table with two chairs, two mattresses to sleep on, and, in the middle, a strong fire already lit and prepared.
"What?! Why are you staring so much?"
There had been no doubt in my mind that the woman would stay in the cave, as she didn't seem to be in a position to take any chances. What I didn't expect was for that bratty Bella to, for one, prepare all of this ahead of time and two, be willing to lower herself and prepare the cave to this extent.
Scratching my head, I felt a bit awkward that I may have judged her prematurely, assuming that she would be too spoiled to do anything.
"Nothing. I was just impressed. You have done a great job, after all."
"Tsk! Just eat lunch and recover your mana so you can get out of here."
'So cold...'
Sadly, I didn't get the response one would assume to get if we had been in one of those Japanese cartoons. There was not a single trace of a blush on her face.
'So sad... She could at least have mumbled out 'idiot', or something...'
Still, I was happy at the fact that I had somehow gotten someone to make one part of the excursion a bit easier.
"Uhm... Bella?"
"Don't call me Bella, you peasant! It's Bellatrix!"
"Sure, sure. So anyway, when are you going to start cooking? I'm pretty hungry..."
A vein on her forehead suddenly started to twitch in response to my innocent question.
"Make your own damn food! You stupid idiot!"
'Ah, she finally said it!'
****
[Sophie's Pov]
*Bam! Bam! Bam!*
Blue blood was flying through the air, with the source being the second group of goblins that we had now wiped out.
We had a pretty good party, consisting of me, Sarah, Arthur and Anna.
With me and Arthur as the vanguard, Anna could freely use her [Orb of Decay] without risking getting attacked, and Sarah was able to support us with her new Skill [Winds of Protection] and heal us if needed.
The princess had even begun to use some offensive spells, mimicking the blades of wind that was John's signature move.
Sheathing his sword, my darling came with a great suggestion, something he knew I would need after fighting.
"Should we find a place to have lunch? We have already killed a lot of goblins, so I think it should be fine if we rest for a bit."
With everyone agreeing that it would be a good idea, we cleared out the small glade a bit and made a fire to cook the packets of premade food.
"Still, aren't the goblins a bit too weak? I mean, I know that we aren't the average students of Mensch, but they sure were weak for being the same rank as us."
Stretching her arms to the sky, Anna didn't seem to be nervous at all after having experienced the quality of our enemies.
Holding up her finger, Sarah was quick to admonish the girl for her stupid words, "Anna! You can't think like that. We have barely been here for more than a couple of hours, there's no telling if there are mutants or some kind of boss monster hiding somewhere."
"I agree. Also, part of the difficulty in excursions is to hold on for the designated time. If, for example, we were hunting in Kurat, there would be no way to quickly make our way back home. That means we have to always be prepared in case of something out of our expectations happen."
As the three of them kept talking, I didn't want to tell them that I actually completely agreed with Anna. It was so boring to fight the green little creatures, who were not only slow but incredibly weak.
They did make up for it to some extent because they could cooperate and they used different kinds of weapons, but it was still so dull.
The inner voice which couldn't be heard appeared to be feeling the same. There was no fun to be had in crushing inferior beings.
'Hopefully, something exciting happens while we are out here. I don't want to spend this whole trip being bored...'
That being said, there was a very clear upside to being out here. Letting my heart melt while watching the shining man try his best to start a fire, didn't feel all too bad.
****
[James's Pov]
*Kriik! Krik! Kriik?*
Running away, while making sure that the group of goblins didn't stop chasing me, I was currently in the middle of yet another hunt. Or maybe it should be called a slaughter.
In no time, I was inside yet another groove in the forest, where the goblins were forced to group together to fit through the trees.
"[Dome of Mist], [Detonate]"
*Kriik?!*
*BOOM!*
They didn't even have time to be confused by the sudden cloud of mist that engulfed them before they got blown to pieces. Bloody pieces that flew through the air from the pulse of energy that had ravaged them.
*Thud, thud, thud, thud*
Walking forward to my furry self, without minding the rain of green body parts, I couldn't stop myself from praising myself.
"Who's a good boy! Yes, who's a good boy!"
*Ruff!*
Taking a moment, I showed myself the appreciation I had for doing a good job, now having ended the lives of the ninth group of goblins during my first day. I had no idea what kind of numbers were considered good or bad, but I assumed that my kill count was probably above average at least.
'The sun is already setting...'
Although I would have liked to continue massacring the poor little critters, it would be foolish to stay out in the open when night fell. So, after collecting the ears from the goblins, I made my way back to the housewife who was surely waiting for me with a smile on her face.
==========
"Tsk! You're already back?"
There was not a smile to be seen on the face of the angry beauty.
Letting myself fall down on the chair next to the table, I was surprised to see a cup of tea suddenly getting handed to me by my client.
"Thank you!"
"Tsk! Put away that creepy smile. I'll get the food ready."
While I was thinking about the risks of her losing her tongue in a tragic case of overclicking, Bellatrix started to heat up a pot over the fire.
'Well, isn't this kind of nice?'
Enjoying some delicious tea after a hard day's work while waiting for the food to get ready. Afraid of making her stop what she was doing, I didn't dare voice the fact that the thing I had joked about during our meeting had become a reality.
After just a bit of time, two bowls got placed on the table, their rich aromas filling the room.
Looking down at the delicious bowl of chicken soup, I could feel my mouth start to salivate.
"Stop being such a creep and just eat."
Irritated by me showing my appreciation of the food she had prepared, Bellatrix just started shoveling the food down her throat.
It was a very contrasting picture to the usual haughty, but still always well-kept and ladylike appearance she displayed at the academy.
To me, it was a much more appealing sight, seeing her act more like a thug than a noble.
"Stop staring!"
"Yes, yes."
*Gulp* The soup was truly delicious. A rich and creamy broth, well-cooked but still crunchy vegetables, and juicy pieces of chicken. It was almost the point where I would have suspected her to be a professional cook.
"Thank you for the food."
"Tsk!"
Having finished the soup in no time, it was now time for me to recuperate for real. Sadly, my mind was still too energetic for me to fall asleep.
So I decided that it might be a good opportunity to talk a bit with the girl who was currently reading something on her smartwatch.
"So, how's the cave? I gotta say I love what you have done with the place, just the fact..."
A hand quickly covered my mouth, "Shut up. Please, just shut up."
Wondering how it could be that she was fine with touching the mouth of a commoner, I eased up on my teasing when she removed it.
"Haaa... Fine. Anyway, today went pretty well. I think there's a chance that we might get those mana essences if I can keep it up."
Looking a bit surprised at my confidence, I thought I could see her almost smile for a split second.
"Is that so? Good. Otherwise, there would be no point in me doing all of this for you. Now, go to bed while I clean up this mess."
"Yes, mother."
"Shut up!"
****
[3rd person Pov]
"Are we sure that the two monsters won't notice us? I know that we should be safe as we are below [C]-rank, but isn't that woman famous for her uncanny senses?"
"It's fine. The device our lord provided us should be more than enough. Now, let's begin searching for the bringer of light. We cannot afford to fail our lord."