– Well, not bad today. Much better than yesterday.
Several days had passed since he began teaching Ais to cook. And with every day, he liked teaching her more and more. Feeling that he was better than her at least in something, especially after every time she beat him almost to death. He deliberately taught her to cook very difficult dishes, so that she would definitely fail, thereby raising his own self-esteem. But it seemed to him that she was beginning to guess this, and his sparring sessions became nightmarishly hard again.
He could not even withstand more than one blow against her. He immediately guessed the reason for the increase in difficulty and even asked why the sparring sessions were so harsh, receiving the answer that it was so he could fight stronger opponents. Of course, he understood that she was blatantly lying to his face, and with such a face, as if she would never lie to him.
— Hey, stop eating! Are you even listening to me?
— … Yes, I'm listening.
She said, without even looking in his direction, continuing to greedily devour everything he had cooked.
— Really? I hardly believe it; you could at least look at me for decency's sake, you glutton…
— … Sorry.
Seeing Ais's apologetic face, he felt like a bastard and quickly spoke.
— Ouch, ouch, what a scumbag you are!
– Ah, no, it's nothing. I was just joking. Ha-ha.
— No, wrong. You should be on your knees, licking her beautiful feet and begging for forgiveness.
We sat quietly, but not counting Kane's comments, only one sound could be heard in the room: both of us chewing. No one wanted to break such silence. We were both comfortable — that is what it is like when both people have little experience in communication. But before he knew it, she was already about to leave.
— Bye… Thank you, as always, it was tasty.
— Yes, you're welcome. Bye, Ais.
---
— Hey, you!
Kopii had gone for groceries, but, of course, he first visited his familia. On the way back, an elf girl jumped out to meet him. He was initially frightened, thinking she was one of those he had stared at so intently, so he ran without hesitation with all the strength he could muster.
— Heyyy!? Stop!
He ran without looking back. He could only hope that she was not above his level. But the groceries made themselves felt, slowing him down. But before he could even think about dropping them, she caught his arm. He tried to pull free, but realized she had not budged.
«Why am I so unlucky,» — he thought, fully giving up and mentally preparing for the change…
— Alright, calmed down?
«I'm done for,» — flashed through his head before she released him.
— Don't you dare run from me again, understand?
— …
— Ahem, ahem. Don't you dare keep talking with Ais!
— Huh? With Ais?
— Don't you dare say her name! Only friends like me can say it. And only me… Heeheehee, only me!
He had already guessed that she had sought him out because of the Sword Princess. She had long light-orange hair and blue eyes. The more he looked at her, the more her face twisted.
«Is she daydreaming or something,» — he thought, slowly taking a step back, farther and farther.
— Hey, stop right there! – Turning her attention to him again. – Do you understand me? – She said, pointing her finger at him.
— No.
He did not know her, but she was already annoying him.
— Huh?
— Why should I listen to a stranger telling me what to do and who to talk to?
— … My name is Lefiya Viridis, from the Loki Familia… And I am Ais's friend, and I don't want her talking to someone like you.
— Someone like me, huh? Ah!
— You're a dirty pervert! Or do you think that if you wear a mask, no one will recognize you? You're sorely mistaken! You're just a vile person, just trash! You'll definitely deceive our innocent Ais, and I won't allow it to happen again!
— Hey, calm down.
Feeling her voice getting louder and louder, he began backing away a little.
— Vile, dirty, heartless animal!
(In her head)
Lifting her by the chin.
— My princess, you are so beautiful. May I kiss such a beautiful girl?
— Of course, my prince. I'm all yours.
— I WON'T ALLOW IT!!!
«Magic.» — flashed through his head. His eyes nearly popped out of his skull when patterns began appearing in the air; then he understood he was in a very bad position. She was definitely above his level, but if she was also a mage, then her battle power was far above her level. He had read this information in books. That if a mage is level two, then, if they are a rather talented mage, their battle power could be like level four.
The chances that she was a genius were quite high, since she was from the Loki Familia. She was also faster and stronger than him, but the time spent on catching him had made it clear that she was no higher than level five and no lower than level three, and if she used serious magic on him, then he would definitely be finished.
— Hey, hey, you probably misunderstood! Let's talk! – He began waving his hands like a madman. But she successfully ignored him.
«I need to keep her from chanting the spell!»
His thoughts seemed to race at the speed of light. For the first time, he did not know what to do. If he began closing the distance, he might not make it. If he began running, he would expose his back; maybe he would not even have time to turn around. He could only hope she would use non-serious magic. Is there even such magic? He ran through many ideas in his head, solving the current problem. And an idea came to him.
Bang.
Drip. Drip. Drip.
«It worked!» — he smirked, watching the remains of a tomato run down her shocked face.
— Ahahah, bullseye.
— H-h-how dare you! Dirty animal…
Bang.
Drip. Drip. Drip.
— Ahahahahahaha.
— Why you…
Bang.
Drip. Drip. Drip.
— Serves her right, ahah… now snap her neck. How dare she think that just because she's a little pretty, she can say whatever she wants; tear out her eyes, poison her ears!
He was not at all surprised by Kane's sudden mood change. What surprised him most was that she had not dodged a single tomato. Of course, he had thrown them with all his might, but she should have had enough strength to dodge something like that.
Whoosh.
Bang.
He saw her close the distance between them in one burst, but compared to Ais, she seemed slower. But even so, he only had time to think about blocking before he flew back from her blow. Then he understood for sure that she was level three, though, of course, there was a chance she was holding back, but judging by her enraged face, he hardly believed it. But even if he had already defeated level three before, back then he had been at the limit of his abilities, and he had also been lucky. But now he was confident he could fight her; no, not be a simple punching bag; he could definitely cause her trouble.
— Do you think I'll let you keep mocking me! I WON'T ALLOW IT!!!
— Oh, Ais! – He shouted, looking behind her back.
She was surprised and sharply turned around.
— Ais!
But there was no one behind her.
— Deceiver!
Turning her gaze back, but seeing that he would soon disappear around the corner, anger seized her, and she dashed after him. Running into the alley after him, she saw no one. He seemed to have vanished.
— Well then, let's play hide-and-seek! Have it your way, you animal!
But however hard she searched this alley, she could not find him.
— He ran away.
Some time later, when she had fully left, complete silence remained in this alley; there was not even any wind.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
A rather loud thud of falling boards rang out, and from under them appeared Kopii.
— And you said it was a waste of time.
After the bandits had attacked him, when he had been completely powerless and had fallen into their captivity and almost been raped, he had then fully studied the ruined district and chosen three routes he could use to return, and placed several small hiding spots where he could quickly hide. He had been running here from the very beginning, but she had caught him.
Even if it had taken him weeks, he did not regret it one bit. After all, not much time had passed, and he was already using one of his hiding spots.
«Damn elf!»