Chapter 421 ~ Express Travel

Lisbeth watched in a daze as Yuuji flipped several eggs on a pan over the little camp fire they’ve set up.

Then with the other hand, he used a knife to cut various vegetables and put it into a pot, poured beef stock, a few chunks of beef, and exchanged it with the pan to begin cooking on the camp fire.

Seeing his dextrous hands moving without stopping, managing several things at a time, without as much as a glimpse of effort, she couldn’t help but sigh to herself.

’Ah, that’s right... He’s also an amazing cook.’

This was the first time she had ever seen him cook in person, but she had tasted his cooking once.

Asuna had shared her lunch with her once before. It was a lunch box made for her by Yuuji.

Since then, she has never forgotten the taste. It was much more delicious than anything she’d eaten in this world.

’His cooking skill must be much higher than even my blacksmithing skill...’

The cooking process in this world has been simplified to a great degree. So much so that all it took to cut an ingredient was simply touching it with a knife. Then, they put all the ingredients into the pot and configure some settings according to the system’s recipe.

But to create a recipe that would make such a delicious dish was a feat of its own. It was the difference between a player who used the system to cook and a player who’s capable of cooking and simply used the system to make use of their skills in this world.

It was just like blacksmithing. She could just follow a blueprint. But if she wanted to create her own original, she’d have to come up with her own methods and materials.

And now that she had a moment to truly appreciate his skills did she realize how amazingly skilled he was.

Before she knew if, Lis fell into a daze, staring blankly at his profile.

Then suddenly, she felt a nudge from her side.

"Hey Lis, are you listening to me?"

Like a bubble, her dazed state popped and she immediately turned towards the voice calling her.

"E-Eh?! Sorry, what did you say?"

She could feel her heart thumping loudly in her chest and her cheeks blushing redly as Asuna stared at her in silence.

Guilt, nervousness, and the aftershock of her surprise still pounding her heart.

But then, she smiled and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"You should relax, Lis. It’s going to be fine. As long as we’re together, we’ll definitely find a way."

Her comforting voice and words snapped Lisbeth out of her shock, and the tension suddenly seemed to dissipate.

"Y-Yeah... Of course. Sorry, I was just a bit tense and tired after everything..."

She forced out a laugh, rubbing the back of her head, before snuggling deeper into the collars of her coat and hugging her knees.

As expected, Asuna was truly a good friend. Her best friend. Just a few words from Asuna and she was able to calm her down.

But that realization only made her guilt gnaw at her heart even more.

"..."

Asuna stared silently at her best friend, her eyes filled with a knowing look, and her lips curled into a helpless smile.

Then, she glanced at the sinful man cooking away in ignorance to the two maidens by his side.

’I’ll need to talk to her soon...’

She decided. Just as she had with Lux, Yuna, and Silica.

"Alright guys, meal’s ready! Let’s eat up and rest early since we might need to fight a wyrm tomorrow morning!"

"Ugh... I’m not looking forward to that."

Asuna giggled and patted Lisbeth on her back.

"Let’s eat. I also brought along some fruit cakes for desserts later."

"Really? That’s great! I’m looking forward to that!"

--------------------------------X--------------------------------

"Nnnghhh..."

Lisbeth stretched her arms and body from within her thick sleeping bag.

Her eyes blinked a few times before she could finally see before her an unfamiliar ceiling of a tent.

’Ah, that’s right... I’m in a dragon’s lair...’

The temperature within the tent was so warm that she almost forgot that they were actually within a hole inside of an ice mountain.

"Ah, Lis. You’re up. Good morning."

She turned and saw Asuna already packing up her sleeping bag, already adorned in her armor, and taking out her Lambent Light rapier.

"Mm... Good morning."

Lis rubbed her eyes as she sat up. Then, she also began tidying up her sleeping bag and changing into her armor.

"Yuuji’s making breakfast right now. Let’s eat quickly. We won’t know when the wyrm would return."

"Mm."

After Lis finished changing, the two girls went out of their tent to see Yuuji already cooking with a camp fire.

"Ah, you’re up. Good morning."

He was already adorned in his full armor with Savior placed right by his side on the snow.

""Good morning.""

"Breakfast is ready. Let’s eat and tidy up the camp. It might get in the way if we had to fight the wyrm here."

The girls nodded, and the three began to eat their breakfast, which was a simple meal that consisted of some eggs, miso soup, rice, and grilled fish.

They spent their time for breakfast in silence. The wyrm could return to its nest at any time, so they focused on quickly finishing their breakfast and get ready for a potential fight.

After finishing their breakfast, the three immediately started packing up all their tents and stuff before also destroying the camp fire so it wouldn’t get in the way during battle.

And right after they finished cleaning up, a roar echoed from up above.

"It’s coming... Get ready."

Yuuji brandished his one-handed sword and kept his eyes up to the entrance of the lair up above.

Similarly, Asuna also brandished her rapier while Lisbeth equipped her buckler and mace, bracing for battle.

A few seconds later, its figure appeared above the entrance.

Then, the massive creature with blazing red eyes charged towards them from above.

*ROOOOOOOOAR!!!*

Its raging roar of finding intruders into its lair reverberated, shaking the entire structure of its lair and pushing off snow from the ground.

"Our ride is here! Get on it!"

Yuuji charged first, activated a sword skill, and leapt up to its head.

His Savior traced a wide vertical arc in the air, then slammed down onto the head of the wyrm.

*ROOOOAAAR!*

"Now!"

Asuna and Lisbeth dashed as quickly as they could from its flank, taking advantage of its staggered state, and leapt up onto its back.

Asuna buried her rapier into its back as an anchor, while Lis grabbed onto a ice crystal protrusion on its back for dear life, clenching her eyes shut.

Yuuji landed on the ground with an uncanny grace that barely disturbed the snow. And after making sure Asuna and Lis were already on it, he leapt up onto its arm and then behind base of its neck.

"Now, take us out of here."

*ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAR!*

He stabbed his sword down into the wyrm, and a deafening roar of pain shook the entirety of the ice mountain.

The wyrm blasted up into flight, trying to shake off the insects that had invaded its lair and now stabbing its back.

"Hold on!"

A tremendous amount of icy wind blasted through them as X’rphan flew up out of its lair at astounding speed.

Then soon, they could feel the warmth of the sun.

Lisbeth turned her head to the side and snuck a peek, and saw the beautiful sight of the rising as she flew in the skies.

’Wow...’

The horizon glimmering with light as the ice crystals and snow twinkle and shimmer under the morning light.

Then she looked up, her eyes naturally gravitating towards the man who was now somehow on his feet as he lowered himself in a bracing position while holding onto the handle of the sword that had been buried to its hilt into the wyrm.

"Good. Now that you’ve brought us out, you can get us down."

Yuuji pulled out his sword from within the wyrm with a single swift pull, eliciting another pained roar.

He raised his sword up high, activated a sword skill, and slammed down.

In an instant, the wyrm nose dived to the ground.

Yuuji, Asuna, and Lisbeth felt a brief moment of weightlessness, before they felt themselves rushing down to the ground.

In the next moment, the wyrm impacted the hard snow and cracking the rocky ground beneath into a crater.

Yuuji leapt off his ride and took distance, readying his sword for its counterattack.

While Asuna and Lisbeth slowly got off, still a bit frazzled by the early morning roller coaster ride from a real dragon.

"This is... more intense than I thought it would be..."

"Ughh, I feel sick..."

They staggered back, away from the wyrm as it too began to recover.

"Asuna, Lis, get ready! It’s coming!"

"Yes!"

"I-I got it!"

Lis shook her head and clenched her hold on her buckler and mace.

*ROAAAAAAAR!*

"Ugh..."

She knew that the wyrm was massive, but standing before it now and directly receiving its menacing roar, Lisbeth couldn’t help but flinch in her armor.

But before she could move, Yuuji and Asuna had already charged towards it.

Flashes of sword skills, gleaming arcs of a sword, everything rain downed upon the wyrm’s massive figure like an unending torrent.

And even when it tried to counter attack, Yuuji had parried it perfectly, creating a perfect opening for Asuna to unleash her sword skill into its weak points without any resistance.

"Amazing..."

This was the first time she had ever seen either of them in such an intense battle.

She could feel her heart thump in awe and admiration, and along with it, at the corner of her heart, envy, guilt, and melancholy.

’They are amazing...’

She continued to stare at them battling the wyrm in silence with a raging whirl of emotions within her heart that refused to calm down.

--------------------------------X--------------------------------

After returning to the small hamlet to complete the quest with the elder and successfully dodging the elder’s regaling of his youth, the three quickly made their way back to the warmer region of the 55th floor.

Upon arriving at the steel city, Granzam, Yuuji, Asuna, and Lisbeth decided to stay in an inn to rest.

Although they were hardly hurt in the battle against X’rphan, their trip to the harsh, icy, northern part of the western region had accumulated enough exhaustion for them, even the ever industrious Yuuji, to take a day off to relax.

Making Yuuji’s new sword could wait until tomorrow.

After making her hike an ice mountain, climb down a deep, giant hole, camp in deep snow, and fight a giant wyrm, Lis felt she was already generous enough to make him wait only a day more.

She had decided. Tonight, she and Asuna would go have a girls’ night out and go around the night market and have Yuuji be their "trash can" for food and bag holder.

But for now, after settling down and changing into a casual wear, she and Asuna finally relaxed in their room.

Lisbeth laid down on her bed, staring up at the ceiling in a daze.

So much has happened in the last two days... But the most vivid memories that refused the leave the forefront of her mind remained the same.

’Hah...’

She turned her head to the side to see Asuna laying down as she was, her eyes closed.

Even as a woman, she couldn’t help but admire her beauty in silence.

’They’re a pair made in heaven...’

Strong. Beautiful. Kind. Smart. She’s the perfect pair for someone like him.

She was nothing compared to her.

’Hah...’

"Hm? What’s wrong, Lis?"

"Eh?!"

Lis snapped out of her dazed to see Asuna’s eyes opened, staring at her.

"N-Nothing!"

Her body turned to the other side, quickly averting her redly blushing face from Asuna’s sight.

But without having to see it, Asuna could already tell what she was thinking.

Her gaze softened, and her lips curled into a small smile.

"Hey, Lis... Let’s talk."

While in the other room, similarly relaxing on the bed, Yuuji got a message.

["Yuuji-san! Yuna-san, Lux-san, and I caught two ragout rabbits today! Can you and Asuna-san cook it for us?"]

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