Chapter 23
“Are you really okay? Are you sure you can move?”
“I’m fine, I’m tougher than I look!”
“What are you saying? You look as weak as ever!”
As I tried to get up, Stella looked concerned and stopped me.
“What kind of talk is that to an old childhood friend?”
“Then you should eat something and put on some weight! You look like you’ll break if someone sneezes!”
“That’s because you always stole my food when we were kids!”
“Have you said all you want to say?”
Puck!
Ugh…! That punch landed right in my solar plexus. I still have that bad habit of throwing the first punch!
“…I keep telling you, I’m the patient here…”
“If you’re sick, just lie down quietly! Your mouth is flapping like a fresh-caught fish. If you don’t want another smack, get some more sleep.”
“No, I really am fine!”
“What did you say?”
As she spoke, her fists clenched, and that smile of hers was pretty intimidating.
“Nothing at all!”
“Stella, Nova just got up after a week, so you should get moving; it’ll be good for your health.”
Nice going, Shia!
At that, Stella rested her chin on her fingers and said, “…You have a point. Just don’t overdo it. If you’re careful, I’ll let you go out.”
“Who made you the doctor?”
“Hehe, then shall we all go out for a meal? Stella looks really hungry too.”
“I’m not that hungry…”
Grrruuullleee
The loud growl echoed through the hospital room, and we all fell silent. It was obvious that if I said a word, I’d get smacked for real.
“Ah~ I’ve been lying around, and I really want something delicious! Let’s go eat something nice, right, Shia?”
“Of course~ Absolutely! I just so happen to have mapped out all the best eateries in the Empire! Shall we, Stella?”
“…Sure.”
Stella couldn’t hide her blush, her face deep red as she looked down.
*
“This way! Just past this alley is the restaurant I often frequent!”
Stella said, raising her eyebrows in confusion.
“I had a feeling this was strange… How do you know so much about cafes and shops in the Empire?”
It is indeed odd; you’d think she wouldn’t know after coming to a foreign country, yet here she was, visiting cafes and knowing all the hot spots.
“Actually, it’s been over a month since I came to Melian. I wanted to experience Western culture before enrolling in the Academy.”
“A month?”
“What do you mean by ‘obligation’? You just came to play… ouch!”
I smacked her for her whining and quickly changed the subject.
“Thanks to you, I can find good places to eat easily now.”
“Hehe, thank you! We just need to pass through this alley, and…?”
As we went through the alley, we ended up at yet another intersection, with nothing but more streets ahead.
“Hmm… that’s strange. I’m pretty sure it was this way…”
‘…Oh right, Shia is directionally challenged…’
“Wait, are we lost?”
Now that I think about it, she was wandering around until time was up when we first met.
“Ugh? What’s wrong with you guys?”
Plus, there were some shady-looking toughs loitering around.
“Excuse me, do you know of any food places around here?”
These guys don’t seem like the Akandis. No drug smell here, just a bunch of thugs.
“Pass through this alley and pay the toll, or hand over everything you have. How much do you have?”
“That’s not fair! A toll? We need to go eat, and we can’t give you everything! Can’t this be settled for something less?”
Shia, that’s not going to work. It’s just like last time. Why does she always have to be so naïve?
Stella mumbled something I couldn’t quite catch.
“At this point, I can’t tell if she’s playing dumb or if it’s genuine…”
“Oh? Now that I look at you two, you’re not bad looking. Hey, you two, hand over the girls and scram. We’ll spare your lives!”
What the heck is that supposed to mean?
“Who do you think you are…?”
Thump!
Just as I was about to step forward, Stella grabbed my shoulder.
“We promised not to overdo it, right? Let me handle this, I could use some exercise.”
With that, Stella made a popping sound with her fingers and strode confidently towards the thugs.
“Huh? You actually understand me?”
Just as one of the thugs reached for Stella, she grabbed his wrist and—
Crack!
“Ugh… Aaargh!!!”
She swiftly folded his wrist backward.
“How dare you touch me, filthy scum!”
Then, like water flowing, she grabbed his hair and yanked him down, delivering a knee strike to his face.
With one swift kick, the thugs’ comrade’s face caved in, leaving the rest in shock.
“What… what the hell is she?”
“So refreshing! I’ve been relying on magic and my body has gotten all stiff lately.”
“Okay… grab them!”
As the remaining thugs charged in, Stella took them down one by one with ease.
Seeing that, Shia looked panicked and asked me, “Is this really okay?”
“Yeah, it’s fine. I was just about to do that anyway.”
Clearly, Stella had some talent in combat. There’s an event in the game where I learn about fighting from Stella.
Back in the game, Stella could teach you everything from magic to swordsmanship, spear technique, and archery—truly an all-around teacher.
Although she got a load of criticism for character recycling in the community, it turns out they implemented it pretty well.
“So, are you gonna fight back too?”
The last thug looked at her in despair.
“Who the hell are you?”
As he said that, he pulled out a knife.
“Don’t you know? If you pull that out, I’m not going to hold back either.”
“Shut up! H-Hehe, so you’re scared of knives, huh?”
With that, he lunged at Stella.
“I’m feeling good right now, so I don’t really want to kill you. You’re lucky.”
And with those words, Stella caught the thug’s wrist, who was trying to stab her.
“What the heck?!”
At that moment, the thug’s body twisted a full 180 degrees.
With a thud, he hit the ground, headfirst.
“Phew… I worked up a sweat. Now, let’s go!”
Stella returned to us, looking satisfied.
“That technique you just used… could it be Aikido?”
Shia rushed over to Stella, her eyes wide.
Speaking of Aikido, it makes sense as a real-world technique in a game, but why is Stella using it?
“Awesome, Stella! That technique just now was Aikido, right? How did you learn a martial art from our country? That was a perfect hip throw!”
“Um… secret? So, what now? We still need to find that restaurant.”
“About that, I have a good idea.”
At my words, both of them turned to look at me, curiosity on their faces.
“Hey, get up! Are you not waking up?”
The worst… whoosh!
I punched the thug who had tried to touch Stella right in the cheek.
“Eek…”
“Hey, tell me where the shop is based on this sign.”
*
“We found it pretty quickly, thank goodness!”
“Yeah.”
The thug who had pointed out the location was bowing his head apologetically.
“Then… can I leave now?”
“Of course you can go, but…”
I said that and reached out my hand to him.
“Wh-why do you want my hand?”
“Give me your wallet.”
“Huh?”
“What do you mean, ‘huh’? If you plan to snatch from someone else, you should expect to get snatched from yourself. Hand it over, you little punk!”
“Y-yes…”
He looked at Stella, who was grinning with a gleeful smile, then reluctantly handed over his wallet, eyes welling with tears.
“I should have taken the wallets of the others too, but I forgot.”
Stella clapped her chest proudly.
“Don’t worry, I stole all the rest!”
“Stella… you!”
“Yay!”
Snap!
As Stella and I high-fived, Shia looked at us in disbelief.
“It really seems like you two are childhood friends…”
*
As we entered the shop, the owner greeted us warmly.
“Oh, Shia, you’re here again. And these two are new faces!”
“Hello, Doris! We’ve come to eat!”
The bald owner greeted Shia with warmth. Is Shia really a regular? How does she manage to come here every time, being as directionally challenged as she is?
“How on earth does she keep finding her way here?”
“Would you like to try the same dish as me? It’s curry, and it’s pretty good!”
“Curry! I love it!”
“In that case, I’ll also have curry!”
The owner went into the kitchen to prepare our orders.
It wasn’t long after sitting down that Shia asked, “I’m curious, have you both lived together?”
“Uh… I guess? Why do you ask?”
“Oh, just wondering. Stella has been active in the Magic Tower, right? I was curious if Nova was also from the Magic Tower.”
“That’s…”
“We grew up in a small rural village near Haren Village to the north. Stella had talent in magic and was scouted by an archmage.”
“I see… Being chosen by an archmage is quite impressive!”
Stella glanced over at me silently. What am I supposed to say? It’s kind of awkward to talk about.
Ugh… being this close, her doll-like features were almost chilling.
Not just Stella, but Shia and the other girls looked the same. It feels like all the beautiful women have gathered together.
“…Stop it…”
“Huh?”
“Stop staring at me…”
Stella turned her head away from me. What’s up with her?
“Sorry for the wait! Here’s your food!”
The owner brought out three curries and placed them on the table before leaving, signaling the start of our meal.
As Shia dug into her curry, she exclaimed, “Mmm~ just as I expected! What do you think? Isn’t it delicious?”
I’m not particularly fond of curry, but just watching Stella enjoy hers was enough to fill me up. However, it wouldn’t be polite to not at least take a bite.
So I scooped up a big spoonful and tasted it.
“Huh? This is super spicy! How am I supposed to eat this?”
“Wow! This is so good! Another bowl, please!”
