Chapter 117

Luna’s big mouth briefly made the atmosphere a bit awkward, but it was only for a moment.

Having finally met Ratatosk, we decided to gradually establish a detailed plan.

The areas needed to be distributed as much as possible without overlapping. For that, it was essential for Ratatosk to check the map.

“Can Ratatosk read maps?”

“Map? What’s that? Is it something to eat?”

······ Looks like this might take a little time. But we have the weekend free, so we can plan it out then.

After this, Ratatosk set off to find a new partner, and we had no reason to stay in the forest any longer, so we returned.

“You’ve returned. Can you tell me what you discussed with the Dean?”

After returning, I met Grace as promised. Lee Yeon-joo was absent, probably having left already.

I hesitated about whether to tell Grace directly or not, and then I looked at Luna. It seemed better to leave it to her instead of me.

Luna seemed to catch my intent and nodded, starting to explain instead. Grace didn’t seem to have any complaints about it.

“We discussed stabilizing the outskirts of the forest. Sivar’s assistance is absolutely necessary. We’ll probably carry this out every weekend.”

“Implementing it every weekend… got it. We’ll need to coordinate our schedules.”

Grace seemed to sense that it was a secretive discussion, so she didn’t press for more details, appearing satisfied with that alone.

Having finished all that needed to be done, I approached Usuk, who was still in the middle of disassembly.

It was about lunchtime, so all the young Usuks must have been slaughtered by now.

“You’re right on time. How will you be paying?”

“With what’s left.”

As expected, the young Usuks were all slaughtered and waiting for me.

Freshness is important for meat, but since there’s a makeshift butchering setup, there isn’t any problem.

The payment was similar too. I only kept the edible parts and handed the rest over to the butcher.

Unlike the adults, the young Usuks don’t yield much from disassembly. They could be roughly used for research purposes.

“Sure enough, even when young, their size is substantial, so there’s quite a lot.”

“Are you planning to eat it right away? This would be too nice to eat in the dormitory.”

The meat extracted from just one young Usuk exceeds several dozen kilograms. But I intended to finish it all today.

Saving it would only make it less fresh, and I wouldn’t be the only one eating it. Things like this should be shared.

Besides, there’s still plenty of Usuk meat left. Just that one adult Usuk which hasn’t been properly disassembled should be enough for several meals.

‘The problem is where to cook this.’

I thought while looking at the Usuk meat packed in boxes. Everything’s fine, but there isn’t a suitable cooking place.

If I ate at the lodging, I’d be lacking other ingredients, but just letting it sit would be a waste.

“If it’s difficult, may I recommend a place? If you cover the cost, a fantastic dish can be created.”

“Is there such a place?”

“Yes. It might cost a bit, but it would be worth it for Usuk cuisine.”

Ah. That place exists. I think I roughly know where it is.

Since there’s the Chaos Forest nearby, there’s a place that cooks if you just provide the ingredients, as Grace mentioned.

However, it’s not commonly used in the Soul World. At first, I lacked the money to use it, and even when I had money, the cost-performance ratio wasn’t that great.

“What do you think? I can cover the cost. It’ll be better than cooking it ourselves.”

“Let’s go.”

“Alright then…”

“Let’s eat together.”

“Excuse me?”

Before Grace could even say anything, I threw the proposal out there. Her eyes widened in surprise.

Then she looked at the others and pointed to the box where the meat was stored, saying, “Let’s all eat this.”

“But you caught that yourself. You can eat it alone.”

“You don’t have to share it with us.”

As expected, everyone was reflexively rejecting the idea. But I had prepared a counter to this.

“I caught it. I decide.”

“··· ···”

“Let’s eat together.”

With my poor language skills, it probably sounded forceful. Still, my feelings must have gotten across in some way.

Eventually, starting with Kara, who smiled as if it were cute, the others also broke into warm smiles.

“Sivar says so, right?”

“I guess we have no choice. Let’s eat together. Is there enough though?”

Delicious things are best when shared. I lifted the box and headed towards the restaurant Grace had mentioned.

‘But what about Yeon-joo…’

I’ll have to buy something for her later.

*****

Since joining the Academy, Luna was having a myriad of experiences in real time.

Meetings with Sivar and Ratatosk. Hector’s battles. The visit from Saint Rize. The terror incident during the midterms(?). Lastly, the Usuk.

All of this had been connected to Sivar, and it was anything but a simple matter each time. No wonder she felt the urge to go home.

“I want to eat more… ”

But after having Usuk cuisine, all those worries vanished.

It was the most delicious food she had ever eaten in her life. Just thinking about it made her mouth water.

When she heard about cooking Usuk, she wasn’t too confident at first, but the actual dish was phenomenal.

As soon as it went into her mouth, the juices burst forth. The texture was perfectly tender, not tough at all. Lastly, it tasted almost like beef.

Having cooked with the materials obtained from occasionally butchering cows back home, this was far more delicious. In summary, it was like a top-tier version of beef.

“Weren’t the adults claimed to be a bit tough, but the young ones are just as good?”

After enjoying the feast, Sivar told her that if she wanted more, she could ask anytime. There were still adults left.

Normally, she would have felt guilty just for thinking that. Since Sivar was the one who single-handedly hunted the Usuk.

But it was just too delicious to refuse. Moreover, Usuk meat is good for the body.

If it weren’t good for the body, they wouldn’t use it for alchemy or potions. There isn’t any part that’s useless.

“I feel bad for always mooching off him… Is there anything I can give back?”

It felt like asking for just a little bit of the saber tusks and the meat was pushing it.

I was only receiving without being able to give anything back to Sivar. It was only natural for guilt to nag at me.

‘… Can I offer him stepping on it?’

Suddenly, that experience surfaced in her mind. A rare experience that only happens once in a lifetime.

At the time, she had judged it as belonging to a beast, but after reviewing all the evidence, it was confirmed to belong to Sivar.

In reality, Sivar kept denying it, but judging by Ratatosk’s testimony, it was pretty clear. Thanks to that, she had to throw away a pair of shoes.

Sivar must have felt some residual guilt, so maybe she could use that to her advantage. Of course, acquiring the saber tusks might be too ambitious.

“First, I need to secure the meat, but saber tusks need to come first.”

Sivar had said, if she wanted the saber tusks, she needed to become as strong as Kara.

At the time, she didn’t understand why he said that, but after reflecting, it made perfect sense.

Without skills on par with Kara, she’d just be pushed around by the weapons. Sivar had been looking out for her in his own way.

To reach Kara’s level, the only option was to train hard. It was at that moment when she was filled with that resolve while training.

“Luna student.”

“Yes?”

“Is there something going on?”

Gloria seemed to notice the change in Luna and asked curiously. It was genuine curiosity, not worry.

If she had been training as if chased by something, that would raise concern. But Luna was significantly more serious than usual.

“No? Nothing’s changed.”

“Look me in the eye and answer. Your gaze is different right now.”

Luna tilted her head. It was true that she was training with a serious mindset compared to usual to earn the saber tusks.

Gloria must have picked up on that nuance being a nurturer.

Then, Luna turned her gaze away. She noticed Kara, having a light duel with Kronos.

Sivar hadn’t participated in today’s autonomous training. He had gone with Grace to meet Godin.

“Something’s going on, huh? Saying nothing would be a lie, right?”

“Are you looking at Kara when you say that… could it be…?”

“?”

Gloria looked at Luna’s response, probably thinking if there was something going on. Naturally, Luna felt suspicious.

After a moment’s thought, Gloria placed a hand on Luna’s shoulder. Then, with a serious tone, she offered advice.

“If there’s something troubling you, I’ll stop the training here today. If you’re doing this out of anxiety, it will only harm your body.”

“······I am not troubled at all. I just have a reason to become stronger.”

“A reason to become stronger? Can you explain a bit more? We’re the kind to share secrets, right?”

Kind to share secrets. That must refer to the affair between Gloria and Kronos.

Hearing that made Luna chuckle faintly and then nod. This much was safe to share.

“Actually, what happened is…”

If it were someone else, she’d have explained the whole situation. Just to avoid misunderstanding.

However, Luna’s mouth was more like a loudmouth that invites misunderstandings. She gazed at Kara while slowly explaining.

“You heard that Sivar hunted the Usuk, right?”

“Of course. That’s why the Academy’s been so noisy, right?”

“Yes. And Sivar gifted one of the saber tusks to Sister Kara.”

“Really?”

Gloria was taken aback. Knowing how expensive saber tusks are, her reaction was natural.

Of course, Sivar might not know the market value. Considering that, it could be overlooked.

“Yes. So I asked him if I could have one too. I know it sounds shameless, but I wanted to use whatever was left.”

“Did Sivar turn you down?”

“Yes. He said I couldn’t have one unless I became as strong as Sister Kara.”

“Oh my.”

After hearing the backstory, Gloria’s mind quickly processed the information. She could understand the situation quite well.

It was obvious that there was a significant skill gap between Kara and Luna. After all, she had overwhelmingly lost in their duel before.

Though Kara had lost to Sivar too, she remembered that Kara had landed a few effective hits.

“If they are using Kara as the reference, does that mean there’s something going on between them?”

“Yes, well… that would make sense. There wouldn’t be a reason for Sivar to gift something to Kara otherwise.”

“Hmm… ”

Gloria contemplated after hearing that. It seemed that Sivar and Kara were closer than she had anticipated.

If this continued, Luna’s standing might get shaky. After all, she was still in a position where she had to keep chasing after them.

The only thing she could do was to become stronger, as Luna had said. But that would take a lot of time.

No matter how talented she was, it wouldn’t hold any value without practical experience.

“Luna student. Was there anything special between you and Sivar?”

“Why do you ask that all of a sudden?”

“Through that, you could receive a gift. A clever way to get close.”

“Um… there is, but…”

That was related to human compassion, so she couldn’t bring herself to say it. Luna smiled awkwardly as she replied.

“It’s just… a bit embarrassing for both of us…”

“Embarrassing for both?”

“Yes. It’s hard to explain…”

Here comes the notorious loud mouth again. Gloria’s expression began turning increasingly positive.

Then before saying anything, she glanced over at Kara. Kara was still dueling with Kronos.

“That’s exactly it.”

“Huh?”

What on earth was that crazy talk? Luna looked at Gloria with a bewildered expression.

In the meantime, Gloria, placing her hand back on Luna’s shoulder, used her uniquely kind voice to say.

“Just approach him slowly with that. If that’s the case, showing that effort might just lead him to feel obliged to give you a gift.”

“··· ···”

Could it be? Luna tilted her head in confusion.

It did sound somewhat reasonable, but it left her with more questions than answers.

“I will help you. While it’s difficult to become strong in the short term, you can definitely surprise Sivar.”

“······Really?”

“Yeah. This is fun… no, no. I’m just so proud of you, Luna. Plus, if you don’t train while your motivation is high, it won’t mean a thing.”

Gloria didn’t stop there.

“Moreover, I doubt that Kara has had that experience either. You can relate to that, right?”

“······Yes.”

She never wanted to experience such a thing again. Luna grumbled inwardly.

Gloria remained blissfully unaware of Luna’s private thoughts and continued to smile brightly as she spoke.

“So let’s all put in the effort. Your experience will be of tremendous help, Luna.”

“······”

Luna said nothing. She often kept her mouth shut during moments like these.

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