When Nia returned to the EI residence, she saw Meira pacing back and forth at the door from a distance.
Seeing the female knight again, the princess was visibly excited.
She ran quickly to Nia’s side and hugged her tightly, as if afraid she would disappear in the blink of an eye.
“Nia, why were you gone for so long?”
“I ran into a bit of trouble on the way.”
Nia gently patted Meira’s back, reassuring her, “Your Highness, there’s no need to worry. Don’t you still believe in my abilities?”
“But you’re injured! And last time you said the same thing. If it weren’t for Mr. EI, I might never have seen you again!”
“If you’re so careless with your own life, then I don’t think there’s any need for you to keep following me.” Meira avoided Nia’s gaze. “I need stable companions, not reckless lunatics who don’t value their lives.”
Meira choked up slightly. “Nia, you have to understand… you’re all I have left now.”
Meira didn’t know if she would lose this last family member… Yes, to her, Nia was no longer just a knight, but an inseparable part of her family.
“Your Highness, I promise, this will be the last time.”
“Let’s hope so.”
Meira wiped the tears from the corner of her eyes and asked, “Where’s Mr. EI? Why haven’t I seen him?”
“That’s a long story.”
Nia recounted the events from yesterday to Meira, including the fact that their opponent was from another continent and already knew their identities.
However, she didn’t mention a single word about the spell or anything related to her interactions with Mr. EI.
…
Mr. EI returned home about two hours later.
Judging by the Piggerheir dragging behind him, Nia didn’t have to guess where he’d been.
After greeting the two of them, Mr. EI dragged the magical beast and sat down in the courtyard.
With nothing else to do, Nia sat in a tree outside his courtyard, watching a live dissection of the monster up close.
Honestly, although she had seen plenty of monsters killed, this was the first time Nia saw someone calmly sit down to process one.
The messy bones and entrails were tossed aside, the beast’s hide was turned inside out and spread open on the ground, weighed down by stones to dry.
The back meat, leg meat, and what looked like clean neck meat were sorted carefully.
Even though she had been hungry for over a day, looking at the bloodied monster meat, Nia couldn’t summon even the slightest appetite.
Mr. EI made quite a ruckus in the courtyard, which piqued Meira’s interest as well.
She squatted beside him, curiously asking questions.
After about two hours, Mr. EI finally finished preparing the meat on the stone slab.
He built a small stove from stones on the spot, lined the bottom of the pit with wood, and threaded the chopped raw meat onto strips of paper.
Then, somehow, he pulled out several bottles and jars and sprinkled some strange seasonings over the meat.
Next came the fire.
The way they made fire on other continents was different from what Nia imagined — Mr. EI pulled out a small box, flipped it in his hand, and with a click, a tiny flame appeared.
The flame flickered like waves.
The skewered meat was laid across the stone stove, the dripping fat sizzled as it hit the fire.
Maybe it was because she hadn’t eaten for so long, but seeing the steaming meat, Nia actually thought about trying a piece.
Her thought had just crossed her mind when someone beat her to it.
“Mr. EI, may I try some?”
Meira, who had been watching, asked Mr. EI.
She sounded a little embarrassed but didn’t care about etiquette anymore.
It had been a long time since she’d eaten anything.
“Of course.” Mr. EI smiled and handed her the skewer from the stove. “Careful, it’s hot.”
“Thank you.”
No sooner had Meira finished expressing her thanks than Nia’s voice rang out.
“No!”
“Why not?”
Looking confused at Nia, Meira was taken aback. Nia hesitated before warning, “That’s monster meat!”
“I thought you were going to say something else.” Meira sighed with relief. “I’ve been watching Mr. EI prepare it all afternoon, of course I know what it is.”
“Then why—”
“Didn’t Mr. EI say it’s edible?” Meira interrupted Nia. “I trust Mr. EI.”
At Meira’s words, Nia noticed Mr. EI wink at her provocatively.
“But—”
“No buts.” Meira’s expression darkened. “Nia!”
“I…” Nia sighed. “I was rude.”
“I’m sorry, Mr. EI. If Nia’s words were inappropriate, please don’t take offense.”
Turning back, Meira’s voice lost its sternness and decisiveness, returning to gentle.
“No problem. I understand Miss Nia.” Mr. EI looked completely unbothered and “generously” bit off a large chunk of meat from the skewer, making a satisfied hum in front of the two of them.
Seeing this, Meira couldn’t help but take a bite.
In just an instant, her eyes shone brightly.
“Mr. EI, this is too delicious.”
Hunger and satisfaction made her disregard etiquette; she praised before swallowing her bite.
“See, see.” Mr. EI said knowingly. “These seasonings only come from my homeland; not everyone gets to eat like this.”
“Absolutely delicious.” Meira chewed on the meat, her voice slightly muffled as her mouth was still full, like a squirrel with pine nuts. “May I have another?”
“No problem. Eat all you want.”
The two of them seemed to forget the third person standing nearby as they dug in.
Until…
A rather loud “grumble” sounded nearby.
Nia’s ears flushed almost instantly.
Fortunately, both of them were focused on the food and didn’t seem to notice her.
Of course, that was just Nia’s wishful thinking.
The loud noise caught their attention almost immediately.
“Miss Meira, did you hear something strange?”
“Yeah, it sounded odd.” Meira put down her skewer and looked toward her knight. “Nia, did you hear that?”
“I didn’t.” Nia kept a stern expression and replied coldly.
“Maybe it was some wild beast nearby. Just in case, I’ll go check the area.” Mr. EI stood up, making a show of heading outside.
“Wait, Mr. EI.” Meira called out to him. “Nia is really good at this kind of thing. Why don’t we let her check?”
“That would be embarrassing.”
He said this, but judging from how quickly he sat back down, he wasn’t embarrassed at all.
“Nia, you go check it out.” Meira said kindly.
“Okay.”
Nia grumbled in response and turned to leave this place of sorrow.
But just as she took a step, Meira called after her.
“Wait.”
“Is there something else?”
“Who runs around on an empty stomach?”
Mr. EI handed her a skewer. “If you’re not full and you meet a beast, it’ll be the beast eating you.”
“I’m not hungry.”
Even though her gaze barely left the skewer, Nia answered calmly.
“You have to eat even if you’re not hungry.” Meira chimed in at the right moment. “That’s an order.”
The word “order” seemed to hit a nerve with Nia.
The step she had just taken stopped as if nailed to the ground.
“Since it’s your order…”
Putting on an unwilling expression, Nia “reluctantly” took the skewer from Meira’s hand.
Then, under their watchful eyes, she “begrudgingly” bit into the meat.
The moment the meat touched her tongue, Nia’s expression froze.
By Yudia’s grace, she had never tasted anything this delicious before!
“How is it? Tasty, right?” Mr. EI bragged. “Not to boast, but here, no one makes better food than me…”
“Not bad at all.”
Nia rarely gave such an honest compliment.
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