One month later. Inside a certain village
In a village near the Empire, as a ray of sunlight fell on the windowsill, Kiana slowly opened her eyes and rubbed them sleepily.
"Haa... It's a new day..."
"A whole month has passed, and nothing has happened at all."
After leaving that small forest, Kiana had thought that she and Aaron would be facing one strong enemy after another.
But since that day, the two of them had spent half a month traveling through the villages around the Imperial Capital and hadn't run into the former minister, Chouri, at all.
It's not that they didn't encounter enemies like bandits or Danger Beasts, but compared to a Teigu user, these weak opponents were nothing.
After wandering through all the surrounding villages, Aaron decided to change tactics.
*Might as well find a place to hunker down and train. His luck wasn't great anyway. If he couldn't find Chouri, he couldn't move forward with his plan.*
And from that day on, Aaron and Kiana settled down in a small village. Every day, aside from eating and sleeping, they would find an open space to spar and practice their combat skills.
"Ugh... that guy Aaron..."
Hearing the sounds from outside, Kiana slowly finished washing up and walked into the dining area.
Just like always, Aaron, having already taken off his apron, had breakfast ready for her.
After taking a deep breath, Kiana picked up her chopsticks and said softly to the food in front of her:
"Time to eat!"
The moment the words left the girl's mouth, Kiana began to frantically demolish all the food in front of her at incredible speed.
Watching Kiana, Aaron had to admit that while his companion was definitely a beautiful girl, well...
...seeing her eat like she was shoveling down pig feed, Aaron really felt the urge to comment, but couldn't find the words.
This was something he really couldn't get used to in such a short time.
"Nom, nom, nom, nom, nom."
*Mhm, mhm. Even though it's all semi-prepared stuff, Aaron's cooking... well, it's not as good as Mei's, but the gap is getting smaller and smaller.*
*And he even made my favorite toast pizza today, yay!*
"Eat slower..."
Aaron said weakly, watching Kiana wolf down her food.
"I've already eaten. No one's going to steal it from you."
"Aaron, you're so naggy! This is how good food is supposed to be enjoyed. Sometimes I really think..."
*...you're even naggier than my damn old man.*
Kiana, who had been about to say that, suddenly paused as Siegfried's face flashed in her mind, a shadow passing over her eyes.
But a moment later, the sadness in her eyes was replaced by anger.
*Hmph. That damn old man. Disappearing for so long without a single word.*
*Compared to that damn old man, Aaron is way more reliable as a man!*
*A damn old man who ditches his daughter... I don't care where he went!*
*Don't think about depressing stuff. Eat, eat!*
"Aaron, I have a question."
After finishing everything in front of her, Kiana said with a hint of regret:
"Why do I feel like... the portion size today was a little smaller?"
"I reduced it by about thirty percent. We have work to do today, after all. I was afraid if you upset your stomach, you wouldn't be able to get anything done."
After saying this, Aaron glanced over and let out an exasperated sigh.
"I was worried the refrigerated food I prepared would expire, but now I see I was overthinking it."
"I just never expected you to be able to eat *this* much."
"You're getting even naggier! Being able to eat a lot is proof that this lady is growing strong, okay!"
After making a small gesture, Aaron calmly chose to shut up.
But the look in his eyes right now made Kiana even angrier.
"Hey! What's with that 'average' look!"
"Kiana, I'm disappointed."
"What are you even disappointed or expecting, hey!"
"I'm disappointed... because I've been saying we have work to do, but you haven't even asked what it is or what we need to do."
At this, Aaron's tone grew colder as he spoke to Kiana.
"It seems this past month has been too comfortable for you. You've already forgotten how much trouble we ran into on our first day here."
"...I, I was planning to..."
Under Aaron's cold gaze, Kiana finally caved.
"Sorry... This lady was wrong."
*Mhm, I bluffed my way through.*
*But it looks like her 'Tuna-fication' level has also increased.*
"Anyway, let's go over the intel I've gathered."
"Esdeath's army returned to the Imperial Capital yesterday. She and the Three Beasts met with the Minister yesterday as well. If nothing goes wrong, they'll make their move today."
"At the same time, Minister Chouri's side has gotten antsy after hearing of Esdeath's return. He knows very well that Esdeath is one of Honest's people. If she continues to gain power, Honest's own power will only grow."
"If things go as expected, the Three Beasts will probably head out in the next day or two to assassinate former minister Chouri, who's preparing to return to the Imperial Capital."
"And what we need to do... is take care of them before the Three Beasts can find Chouri."
...............