Lin Yue squatted by the firewood, poking the freshly lit fire with a wooden stick, and gently blew on it.
Lying beside him was a Little Pig, its skin roasted a bit black—one look and you could tell it had been blasted away by Lin Yue.
Wait, what am I doing being so careful when I’m already inside the game?
Why not just light the fire with magic?
With that thought, Lin Yue gathered magic power into his palm again.
This time, he channeled it carefully, and the flames gradually grew stronger.
Let’s make something different today.
I’ll see if she wants to eat it.
But the conditions are a bit rough—it might take quite a while.
Even though he had a rule not to get involved with main characters, Lilia was still a bit different for Lin Yue.
Maybe it was a little selfish wish of his?
There were only a handful of scenes in the original where Lilia interacted with anyone.
After all, she was the late-stage, officially banned “cheat”—if he could team up with Lilia, maybe the final boss wouldn’t even get a chance to show up.
As Lin Yue was preparing the ingredients to go into the pot, a spatial rift opened beside him.
“Ah, you’re here.”
Lilia was still wearing that oversized academy uniform, hands in her pockets.
Unlike before, this time she didn’t watch from the tree but blinked straight to his side.
Without turning his head, Lin Yue tied the scallions together, just about to toss them in, when he saw Lilia stroll lazily to the campfire and, without any courtesy, pick up a chunk of pork and prepare to stuff it into her mouth.
“Hey, it’s not cooked yet!”
Because of the job interview, Lin Yue came back more than an hour late.
Lilia, holding out to keep her stomach empty, hadn’t eaten a single thing, which made her eyes dull and her whole demeanor like a starving ghost.
“How much longer?”
Lilia frowned, a bit unhappy, putting the meat back.
“Uh… probably more than an hour?”
There wasn’t a pressure cooker here, so it just couldn’t be done fast.
“But if we increase the heat a bit, and could add pressure to the pot, it would cook much faster.”
“Add pressure?”
Lilia seemed a little lost.
With nothing better to do, Lin Yue explained to her the principle of a pressure cooker.
Lilia nodded, half-understanding, then reached out toward the small iron pot and said: “Like this?”
As soon as she spoke, a faint purple spatial magic wrapped around the whole pot, forming a transparent, airtight dome.
At the same time, she pointed her other hand at the fire.
The flames instantly roared, several times fiercer than before.
The water in the pot boiled in no time, bubbling and gurgling, at more than double the normal speed.
Lilia pulled her hand back, looking at Lin Yue with a hint of pride in her eyes, even though her expression was as calm as ever.
Lin Yue stared, speechless—there was only one thought in his head: Amazing.
Of course it’s you, using magic to manually create a pressure cooker.
Before long, the “Lilia-brand Pressure Cooker” had the meat perfectly done.
Lilia withdrew the magic dome, and instantly, a thick, rich aroma of meat filled the air.
The smell was even more enticing than Lilia expected, salty from the soy sauce with a hint of sweetness from the rock sugar, making one’s appetite surge.
Lin Yue lifted the lid, revealing blocks of Dongpo pork lying quietly in the thick sauce.
“Hey, you really did make it.”
He carefully scooped out a piece with a spoon, placed it on a clean wooden plate, and handed it to Lilia: “Have a taste.”
Lilia had been waiting impatiently, just about to reach for it, when Lin Yue tapped her hand with two small wooden sticks.
“Don’t always grab with your hands—use these.”
Lilia looked up, a little confused.
What are two little wooden sticks for when eating?
Seeing her puzzled face, Lin Yue picked up a piece of meat with the chopsticks himself and said: “These are called chopsticks. This is how you use them—your hands stay clean, and you won’t drop half the meat like with a fork.”
Lilia frowned, awkwardly imitating Lin Yue’s movements with the two slender sticks, trying to pick up the Dongpo pork on the plate.
Her hands, which could precisely control magic, now seemed to ignore her will.
The chopsticks wobbled in her fingers—either she couldn’t pick up the meat at all, or as soon as she did, it would “clack” right back onto the plate.
After several tries, she still hadn’t managed a bite, but her hands were now covered in sauce.
Lilia’s little face turned a bit red, her eyes flashing with impatience.
A dignified sixth-rank Magus, defeated by two lousy sticks?
Lin Yue nearly laughed out loud at the scene, but held it in and patiently instructed: “Relax your fingers a bit, press with the base of your thumb—yes, gently pinch it…”
Lilia tried as he described, but ended up worse off—she stabbed the chopsticks straight into the meat, spraying sauce everywhere.
Finally, she’d had enough.
With a sharp smack, she slapped the chopsticks onto the ground, cheeks puffed up as if deeply wronged.
New bajji!!!!!!!
Wait, that’s not glasses.
The next second, Lilia extended one finger, pointed at the Dongpo pork on the plate, and gently tapped.
A barely noticeable thread of pale purple magic wrapped around the meat, which then floated up as if alive and drifted right into her mouth.
Lilia chewed contentedly, eyes showing a hint of satisfaction.
Lin Yue watched, feeling that his own magic was a joke.
Other people only dared use magic to move rocks and the like, worried about controlling their strength.
But her?
She could send something as tricky as a chunk of meat straight into her mouth, steady as anything—even chopsticks weren’t up to the job.
Trying to talk life skills with her—I admit defeat.
Shaking his head helplessly, he picked up his own chopsticks and started eating.
“Tastes good, right?”
Lin Yue chewed the tender Dongpo pork and asked Lilia.
“It’s good—better than yesterday’s.”
Hmm, looks like she likes sweet food.
Watching her show the kind of smile a girl her age should have, Lin Yue felt that making this meal was worth it.
After all, she was only sixteen.
Lilia looked at Lin Yue’s face, her tone returning to its usual coldness as she asked, “Why did you come back so late today?”
Lin Yue kept eating as he replied casually, “I went to the commercial street to find a part-time job. Asked at several shops before finding a café-library that’s hiring.”
“Part-time?”
Lilia raised her eyebrows.
“Are you short on money?”
Lin Yue scratched his head—lack of money was the hero’s greatest problem.
He’d thought about making money off information gaps, but without any startup funds, he had to worry about just filling his belly for now.
“Yeah, kind of.”
After all, he was camping out in the wild.
“Why not ask me?”
“I could hire you as my magic research assistant. You can take whatever pay you want—as long as you cook for me.”
“…”
Seeing the look of disdain all over Lin Yue’s face, Lilia felt she’d been underestimated and snorted in protest, “I’m your school’s honorary professor, you know. I get plenty of research funding, easily enough to support you.”
Missy, it’s not like I don’t know your temperament.
We only met yesterday—if I brought it up myself, I’d just get tormented as a suspected spy.
And besides, he’d already promised the uncle to start work tomorrow—no way he could back out now.
Just as Lin Yue was about to say something, Lilia’s eyes suddenly turned sharp, her tone flat as she said: “Lin Yue, get down…”
In an instant, the sounds of insects and wind vanished, the air seeming to freeze.
Her voice turned icy, her eyes sharp, sweeping over the surrounding woods.
Lin Yue’s heart skipped a beat, and he instinctively dove to the ground.
Before he could react, Lilia flicked her wrist—a formless wind blade spread out from her, instantly expanding!
Shlaa!
A screeching slicing sound rang out—as far as ten meters around, every tree, thick or thin, was cut clean through!
Huge trunks crashed to the ground, leaves and branches flying, dust billowing up.
Where there had been dense forest, a wide, empty circle appeared in an instant.
Lin Yue gaped at the scene, his heart pounding wildly.
He’d seen enough of this in games and cutscenes, but witnessing it in real life for the first time was truly terrifying.
This was Lilia…
“Come out.”
Lilia floated in the air, her pupils blazing with purple light—she looked nothing like the girl who’d just been eating.
As the dust settled, a figure in an academy uniform stepped out from behind a fallen tree.
At their side stood a menacing, gigantic silver wolf.
That’s…
“Airella?”