Lia shouted as she clumsily tried to salvage the dumplings in the pot.
A while later, Aiko, with her face covered in cucumber slices, came downstairs from the second-floor bedroom in a huff.
Her wheelchair, a custom model from the Alchemist Guild powered by a Demon Core, had no trouble with stairs.
"What's wrong?" Aiko arrived at the kitchen.
"The dumplings' skins have all burst." Lia said in frustration, "Why must they give me such a hard time too!"
Aiko glanced at them and immediately understood the problem, somewhat speechless, "Did you boil them in cold water?"
Aside from fighting, the captain was truly useless at everything.
Aiko thought indignantly, even unable to cook properly, she really didn't know where Lia found the confidence to agree to Lin Da's departure from the team.
Fortunately, the girl wasn't stupid enough to throw the resignation letter directly at Lin Da. Until she formally cancels the contract at the Adventurer's Guild, Lin Da was still technically a member of the Snow Goose Adventure Team.
This was an opportunity to seize, and Aiko needed to take the chance to properly persuade Lin Da to stay.
Aiko pushed back her thoughts, looked up at Lia, and said with a pretended smile, "Of course they would burst, you have to use boiling water, don't you know even this?"
"I've never made dumplings before, how was I supposed to know that? What right do you have to criticize me?" Lia threw her spoon onto the stove and retorted forcefully.
Aiko grew even more frustrated to the point that she felt her patience was wearing thin.
It was always like this; nothing was ever Lia's fault. If a mistake was made, she always shifted the blame onto the team members.
Taking a deep breath and suppressing the veins jumping on her forehead, Aiko said through clenched teeth, "Go rest, throw these out, I'll make a new batch."
"That won't do, wasting food is not a good habit." Lia refused.
Aiko wanted to swear.
That was typical stingy adventurer logic, able to be swindled out of a hundred Gold Coins for gear but so frugal over small expenses like clothing and food, unwilling to lose even a single copper coin.
She forcibly contained her anger, ushered Lia into the living room, and dished out the dumplings to bring them to the table.
"Pig feed?" Klrona, who had been starving waiting at the table since she came down from the second floor, scratched her head in confusion at the sight of the ragged dumplings in the plate.
"I made them," Lia narrowed her eyes.
Klrona didn't dare to say another word.
With a pained expression, she swallowed a half-cooked dumpling and couldn't help but ask, "Miss Aiko, when is Lin Da coming back?"
In Klrona's eyes, the concept of Lin Da leaving the team wasn't quite clear.
It probably meant he would return by evening.
"Uh, well..." Aiko glanced at Lia.
Lia said nothing, furiously stuffing dumplings into her mouth as if trying to prove to the two of them that they were in fact edible.
"He'll be back tomorrow, right?" Klrona looked at Aiko hopefully.
"It'll take a few days, Lin Da went out to clear his head," Aiko said as she patted Klrona's head. While she spoke to Klrona, she cast a sidelong glance at Lia, clearly noticing that the moment Lin Da was mentioned, Lia's dumpling-packing hand stiffened unnaturally.
Aiko sneered inwardly.
She really didn't want to clean up after Lia.
But the Snow Goose Adventure Team indeed needed Lin Da, even if his level was a bit low. Having him at home developing strategies or cooking would be beneficial.
She needed to persuade Lin Da properly and convince him to come back as her own... oh no, that's not right, as a teammate.
A faint blush crept over Aiko's cheeks as she seemed to think about something.
All three of them were preoccupied, and silence ensued at the table, leaving only the sound of eating.
This quietness seemed to make Lia quite uncomfortable; her right foot kept tapping the ground beneath her, an irritating sound.
Aiko always had the feeling that it wouldn't be surprising if this powder keg exploded at any moment.
Why didn't she use her own skills to beg Lin Da to return?
She was only good at giving team members dirty looks, wasn't she?
Aiko couldn't take it anymore and coughed lightly, confronting the issue head-on, "I will find a chance to talk to Lin Da."
Lia, sipping her juice with her head lowered, did not respond, but the tip of her foot that had been tapping stopped.
Noticing this detail, Aiko's disdain for Lia was almost overflowing like a sea. She tried her best not to let this expression show on her face and said calmly, "I'll go ask him if he's realized his 'mistake'."
Before she had finished speaking, she heard Lia snort coldly.
"Anyway, I won't let him rejoin the team."
Aiko smiled, wanting to smack the bowl down on Lia's head.
'It's Aiko and the others who want you back. I didn't agree! If you really want to come back, then work hard and don't slack off!' Aiko could completely imagine the scene when Lin Da returned.
Thump thump thump!
Just then, there was a knock at the door.
All three turned to look.
Aiko thought to herself, "I'll go take a look."
What if it was Lin Da outside?
She couldn't let that little bitch Lia have alone time with Lin Da, not late at night with just the two of them, too dangerous.
Aiko opened the door, holding a sliver of hope as she stepped outside.
But it wasn't Lin Da.
A group of young men were gathered at the villa's entrance.
The leader was a neatly dressed, lean young man, with a band around his head that read 'Ice Flower Adventure Team Support Group Leader'.
Aiko's face twitched, these people, they're what you call 'homebodies', right? Ones who don't dare venture into the Mystic Realm, but idolize adventures so much that they make someone else's adventure team their spiritual pillar.
What disgusted her even more was that this group was the Support Group for the Ice Flower Adventure Team.
Ever since she heard that Isa had invited Lin Da to join the team, she hadn't felt good about Isa at all.
"This is the Snow Goose Adventure Team. Haven't you arrived at the wrong place?"
Aiko smiled warmly, like a mature big sister, perfectly concealing her true inner thoughts.
"So elegant! You truly deserve the title of 'Holy Mage' Aiko!"
"So gentle, we won't get scolded even for disturbing her in the middle of the night."
"From today on, Miss Aiko will be my second spiritual pillar."
The crowd cheered and hollered excitedly.
Aiko caressed her cheek, casually revealing a strand of snowy white at her shoulder, smiling radiantly, "So, why have you all come to the Snow Goose Adventure Team? Is there something you need, or are you lost?"
The group was so mesmerized they found their mouths going dry, but thankfully the leader Dawen was resolute, pinching his thigh hard as he said, "Actually, we're here to see Mr. Lin Da."
Lin Da?
Aiko's expression changed.
The matter of Lin Da leaving the team was currently only being whispered among a few adventurers; ordinary people like Dawen were still unaware.
She didn't mention the fact that Lin Da had left the team and asked indifferently, "What do you want with Lin Da?"
"It's like this..."
Dawen retold the events of the afternoon, when Lin Da had helped the Ice Flower Adventure Team out of a crisis, clearing the twelfth floor.
"We wanted to find Lin Da to thank him, to express our gratitude for his help with the Ice Flower Adventure Team!"
"Also, to warn Lin Da not to lay a hand on our Captain Isa!"
"Captain Isa belongs to our Support Group!"
Facing this group of nerds, seriously uttering revolting words, Aiko could barely keep the smile on her face from faltering.
Lin Da... he helped Isa clear the twelfth floor?
How could he do that, what right did he have?
Aiko felt a faint jealousy.
And it was lucky that it was her who came to the door; if it had been Lia, she probably would have had a stroke on the spot.
The Snow Goose Adventure Team struggled and fumbled through nine floors, yet once outside, a few sentences from Lin Da helped Ice Flower clear the twelfth.