The campfire blazed up again, its orange flames illuminating Ailiya’s focused and cool expression.
Her gloved hands were extremely steady, her right hand gripping that seemingly all-powerful dining knife, flipping it nimbly between her fingers, leaving faint afterimages.
A piece of tuber in her hand quickly became thinner and finer, each slice as precise as if cut by a machine.
“Uh… Ailiya.”
Leo sat by the fire, watching Balke and the others head into the woods to prepare ingredients. Sitting alone, he felt uneasy all over. Especially since the awkwardness from earlier hadn’t fully faded, he urgently needed something to do.
He leaned forward, his tone carrying a hint of deliberate ingratiation:
“Look, they’re all busy, so it doesn’t feel right for me to just sit around. How about I help you with something? Washing vegetables or adding firewood—I’m actually pretty good at that.”
Ailiya didn’t even lift an eyelid, her tone steady without a hint of fluctuation:
“No need. The greatest value Young Master has right now is to stay quietly in place and not add any unnecessary variables to this pot. That would be more than enough for me.”
“Hey… don’t be so heartless.”
Leo persisted shamelessly.
“I haven’t lost my touch from killing goblins earlier. I’m sure I can handle cutting meat.”
“Killing goblins and handling ingredients are two different things. The former only requires brute force; the latter requires intelligence.”
Leo was choked up again, but he was obviously used to this kind of blow. He leaned in again, his eyes almost pitiful.
“Then… let me do some menial work that doesn’t require skill. I definitely won’t mess it up. Just give me a chance to show off. Trust me, I absolutely won’t screw it up. Just give me some simple tasks.”
Ailiya finally lifted her eyelids and glanced at him. Seeing his silly expression that seemed to have “I want to help” carved on his forehead, she sighed inwardly.
‘If this kid keeps buzzing around here like a fly, it really will affect my mood.’
“Since you feel you have too much energy and insist on experiencing lower-class life,” Ailiya pointed to a pile of freshly washed tubers. “Then go peel those potatoes over there.”
“Got it! Just watch me!”
Leo, relieved, quickly took the potatoes and crouched aside, busying himself clumsily. His serious expression looked like he was carving some rare treasure.
Meanwhile, less than 50 meters from the camp, behind a dense bush. Brenda, with three freshly dressed plump wild rabbits tucked in his belt, was humming an out-of-tune tune as he walked back.
But before he got close to the camp, he found his Big Boss Balke, Ranger Misi, and Mage Sailin—all three of them lying flat in the grass, butts up, peeking sneakily toward the campfire.
“What are you guys doing here? Got diarrhea?”
“Shh—!!!”
The three of them flinched violently, turning their heads in unison like three startled groundhogs, frantically pressing fingers to their lips to signal him to shut up.
“Don’t make a sound! We’re watching a show!”
Balke lowered his voice and yanked Brenda into the grass.
Brenda lay bewildered on the muddy ground, following their gaze. Under the firelight, Leo was seriously wrestling with a few potatoes, while Ailiya guided him, occasionally giving him a look like he was an idiot.
“Don’t you think the way they interact is a bit strange?” Misi said, chewing on a blade of grass.
“I think so too.” Sailin stroked his chin with a profound expression. “This is nothing like the typical noble-servant relationship. In the eyes of nobles, servants are just tools—they can’t even talk back.”
“But considering Miss Ailiya’s terrifying ability to casually kick the boss flying, this kind of role reversal actually makes sense when you think about it. After all, might makes right.”
“Hey, talk all you want, but don’t use me as a unit of measurement for combat power!” Balke glared at Sailin, then a sly smirk typical of an old hand appeared on his face as he nudged Sailin with his elbow. “The key point now isn’t strength—it’s that kid Leo… the way he looks at that girl is obviously off.”
“Hehe, the way he wants to get close but is afraid of getting beaten, yet can’t help trying to please her by all means…” Balke grinned lecherously. “That’s classic one-sided affection, isn’t it? That kid definitely has a thing for Ailiya.”
“Brenda, what do you think?” Balke bumped the shield warrior next to him.
“I feel… beautiful women are hard to get along with. Like you, Big Boss, when you’re facing Miss Sid, you’re often led around by the nose and have to smile along.”
“Damn! What do you know, you big idiot!” Balke’s face reddened as he defended himself. “Miss Sid is just lively—that’s team chemistry! How is that the same as this kid’s one-sided crush?”
“True.” Sailin nodded, his expression a bit nostalgic. “Miss Sid’s usual divination really saves us a lot of trouble. I wonder if that anonymous private job she took is going well. I’ve got a bad feeling about it.”
As these rough men chatted, the topic started to drift, and they fell into endless nostalgia for the absent team member Sid.
Just as they were chatting happily, a shadow suddenly fell over their four raised butts.
“What are you guys chatting about here?” Leo said with a dark expression, holding a wooden basin full of potato peels. He had somehow already stood behind them, his eyes extremely unfriendly.
“Holy crap!” Balke and the others sprang up from the ground like springs, frantically patting the dirt off themselves. Balke chuckled dryly, his eyes darting.
“We were watching… watching this ant! Yeah, look at this ant, it’s moving house in the middle of the night, which means there’s definitely going to be a heavy storm tomorrow!”
“Right, right, right! Weather observation—this is the basic skill of a high-end adventurer!” Sailin nodded repeatedly in agreement, not even blushing.
“If you guys keep studying ant migration and miss the time to process the ingredients, we’ll all be chewing on those teeth-breaking black bread again tonight!” Leo said impatiently, a vein bulging on his forehead.
“No, no, no! Meat is here! Meat is here!”
As soon as it concerned their stomachs, Balke and the others immediately dropped their gossipy expressions and scampered toward the camp.
Leo followed behind, watching Balke’s fawning look as if afraid of missing dinner, then turned back to glance at Ailiya, who was sitting quietly by the fire and had started mixing spices. The warm firelight reflected on her profile.
He shook his head, forcibly suppressing the strange feeling in his heart, and quickly walked toward the camp.
Meanwhile, by the campfire, Ailiya watched this noisy group of “barbarians” running back, her gaze lingering on Leo for less than half a second.
She withdrew her gaze and lowered her head. With the addition of one seasoning, an unprecedented rich aroma instantly swept through the entire camp.