"Then how did you get that name?"
I suddenly recalled this overlooked matter and became very curious.
"Don't tell me the angels helped you come up with it?"
"This..." Nicola seemed to be caught off guard and became very embarrassed, turning her face away.
"That's not the case... Actually, I haven't spoken to the other angels at all."
"So?" I asked.
"So...so Nicola is actually...the name of a female singer I like..." She seemed very ashamed and stammered with a red face after hesitating for a long time.
I couldn't help but smile a little.
"No wonder you're so used to cross-dressing. That's why I didn't think it was you at all at first."
"That's different!"
Nicola immediately bristled and jumped up, as if her pride had been hurt. "At first I had no other clothes to wear, I had no choice! Later...later I got used to it. And you were the same!"
Uh, I was about to mock her, but didn't expect the accusations to be thrown back at me.
For a while, neither of us knew what to say.
"Alright, let's rest and eat here first. After all, we need energy to keep going."
Adrian looked at the sky and found an empty spot by the roadside for everyone.
Then Selene and the others started setting up the stove, while Brennan and the others also went deeper into the woods. The food we carried was almost gone. It looked like they wanted to try their luck at finding some prey.
Of course, Nicola and I didn't want to sit around doing nothing, so we volunteered to help. In order not to be a lazy angel who only eats and dresses, I even took on the task of cooking.
Uh, what the heck are these ingredients?
Looking at the pile of completely unrecognizable meat, jerky and vegetable-like things in front of me, I felt my forehead start to sweat, suddenly feeling that I might have bitten off more than I could chew.
"Why don't I help you?" Seeing me staring blankly at the pile of food, not knowing what to do, Nicola came over to help.
But as a young master who was even more useless than me, where would she know what to do with these things? So the two of us just stood there staring blankly.
"Oh, I'll do it." Seeing us, Vivianne came over with a helpless expression and snatched the ingredients from our hands, muttering nonstop. "I knew you angels who don't experience the human world wouldn't know how to cook. I was so naive to believe you."
I wanted to argue but didn't make a sound. To be honest, it wasn't that I couldn't cook at all, but in this outdoor environment, with very crude conditions and no seasoning, just one pot to use. Facing completely unfamiliar ingredients, if I just threw everything together in the pot to boil, I was afraid I would make some kind of horrible dish, so I just didn't dare to start.
As for Nicola, she really didn't know at all. She just shrugged and walked away.
"Watch out!"
Suddenly, I felt a strange aura appear out of thin air next to Nicola, mixed with the disgusting feeling I sensed when I saw Cerberus before, vaguely there but not very clear. I immediately shouted at her.
Nicola must have noticed it too. I saw her wings flash behind her as she leapt into the air. At the spot where she just stood, two daggers brushed past, one of them stuck in the ground while the other smashed right into the pot boiling water over the campfire.
With a loud "clang", sparks and boiling water sprayed everywhere and the place was a mess.
"Ah, my pot!"
Seeing this, Vivianne cried out in distress, but immediately regained her composure, drew out her spear, and looked around shouting:
"Who's there! Come out!"
"Over there!" Based on where the aura came from, I pointed to a spot not far away where the air seemed distorted, and shouted.
Selene immediately threw a small Holy Light bomb. Nicola also noticed the spot at the same time, took out the Condensation Sword and rushed over with Vivianne and the others.
...
After a series of fierce blows, everyone looked puzzled at the assassin tied up on the ground.
"This...is too weak, isn't it?"
Vivianne looked at me in confusion, and I also looked at everyone speechlessly.
But on the ground was a little girl who looked only eight or nine years old, ten at most. Black skin, round face, small stature but wearing neat, crisp dark clothes, looking very cute.
"Look at her ears!" Selene was the first to notice something unusual. Then she pointed at the pointed ears and called for us to look.
"She's a dark elf."
Vivianne also recognized this.
"But how did such a young dark elf get here? And come attack us alone?"
Now that it was certain the enemy was just her alone, everyone had a confused expression.
"We're back!" At this time Adrian and the others also came back, with Brennan still holding a rabbit in his hand. It was rare for me to see wildlife in this forest for the first time.
"Is that a dark elf you caught?"
Brennan sucked in a breath, almost dropping the rabbit in his hand to the ground in shock.
"What do you mean we caught her!" Vivianne rolled her eyes in denial. "She tried to sneak attack and kill us, but was too weak. She's probably not even second rank."
"She's unconscious?" Adrian squatted on the ground to observe for a while, then suddenly turned to ask Selene and the others.
"Then what about dinner?"
Only then did everyone remember they had been cooking. Vivianne suddenly remembered something and screamed.
"My pot--!"
...
Without a container to cook the meat and vegetables they had brought, they could only roast the rabbit over the campfire.
Vivianne gnawed on the roasted meat sullenly, glaring at the still unconscious dark elf girl, as if she was chewing on her flesh, while continuously murmuring about her pot.
Even divided evenly, one rabbit was too little. Nicola and I as angels didn't seem to feel hungry during the day, so we gave it all to them, but it still wasn't enough.
"Maybe I should go catch another one." Brennan started to leave, but Adrian shook his head to stop him. "Forget it, we need to hurry. And there's not much game to find here anyway."
"Actually, this girl looks a little familiar to me..." Nicola, who had been silent all this time, suddenly spoke up, referring to things that happened before meeting us.
"A few nights ago when I was alone, she suddenly attacked me, but I noticed and caught her. She got away later, but now she's back again."
"So you mean her target is actually you?" I recalled the sneak attack on us just now, and the two daggers did strike at Nicola first. "But why is she so fixated on you?"
"I don't know about that." Nicola shrugged, looking quite helpless. "She seems to be in league with those magical beasts, maybe because I killed so many of her companions? That could be the reason."
"She's awake."
Vivianne, who had been watching her, reminded us. Sure enough, when we looked over, the dark elf girl's eyes were open, though we didn't notice when.
"Let me go!"
After quickly assessing the situation, the girl sat up and twisted her whole body, seemingly trying to break free of the ropes, while a delicate girly voice came from her, sounding sweet and cute.
"Hey, quiet down! You're a prisoner now!"
Vivianne's face darkened as she glared fiercely. "If you don't let me vent and satisfy myself, watch out or I'll cook you! No, I'll make you pay for my pot first!"
"Let me go!" But the little girl paid her no mind and continued to struggle stubbornly. Her eyes stared fiercely at Nicola opposite her.
"As long as you let me kill her, I'll pay you however many pots you want!"
"So why do you have to kill her so badly?"
Selene asked the question on everyone's minds. "It doesn't seem like you have any deep hatred. And Nicola spared you when you attacked her before."
I felt the same way. If it was just because they were enemies, then we would all be her enemies. Why be so fixated on Nicola alone?
"Of course I have a grudge! That vulgar angel insulted me!" The little girl glared viciously at the shameless angel, her words shocking.
"I will kill her to regain my cleanness!"
"Nicola?"
Hearing this, I looked at Selene in shock, then at the dark elf girl. I could hardly believe it and asked the wicked angel hiding behind Selene. "What is this about? What did you do to the little girl?"