Chapter 67: How Do You Deal with a “Defense” That Is All Offense?
They were clearly cooked in the same pot, so how could the taste be different?
After spending some time together, Peiya had started to understand Elise’s tricks. Simple teasing like before was no longer enough to fool her.
However, there was one thing Peiya had to admit.
Today’s meal was one of the rare times she could eat something hot while traveling.
Back when she was in her old team, after finishing the first pot, she had to quickly prepare a second one for Anna.
If there was too much delay, Anna would most likely get angry.
Because Anna didn’t like eating the same food as others, even when they were outside.
Because of the contract at that time, Peiya had no choice but to prepare a separate meal just for her.
By the time Anna started eating, the first pot had already gone cold.
If she had time, she would reheat it. If not, she would just eat it as it was lukewarm.
Eating like that for a long time was actually bad for the stomach.
Thinking about those memories, Peiya’s eyes became a little dim.
At almost the same moment…
Elise noticed the change in Peiya’s expression. She looked into her own bowl, picked out the biggest piece of vegetable, and placed it into Peiya’s bowl.
“I took some from you just now, so I’m giving it back. Don’t feel bad.”
In Elise’s eyes, she thought her action of taking food had upset Peiya, which was why Peiya looked so sad.
But this made Peiya, who had just entered a sad mood, suddenly freeze.
She couldn’t even feel sad anymore.
In fact, she almost wanted to laugh.
Because Peiya was feeling emotional about her past experiences, but Elise thought she was upset just because her food was taken.
This… what kind of situation was this?
Come on, how could she feel sad over a few bites of food? She wasn’t a child.
She was seriously remembering her past.
But Elise’s interruption completely broke the mood.
It was like a child trying hard to cry, but then gets amused and has to quickly think of something sad again to stop herself from smiling.
If she didn’t pretend to cry a bit more, wouldn’t all that effort before be wasted?
Peiya looked at Elise seriously and corrected her:
“I’m not upset because of you. I just remembered some sad things from my past adventures, so I felt emotional. Please don’t misunderstand.”
“I see…”
Elise then took back the vegetable she had just put into Peiya’s bowl.
Peiya’s lips twitched. “If you want to eat it, you can have my whole bowl.”
Before Peiya could hand over the bowl, Elise suddenly fed the food directly into her mouth.
“No need. I just didn’t know how to cheer you up, so I did that. Even though you made the food, I fed it to you. So in a way, it counts as a reward from me for overcoming your past.”
“Mmm—”
With her mouth suddenly full of food, Peiya couldn’t say a word.
How did it end up back in her mouth again?
Peiya wasn’t blaming Elise. Honestly, she felt a bit touched by this small moment.
After all, she knew very well how hard her past life had been.
She used to be poor, but she was never weak.
Peiya didn’t want Elise’s sincere feelings to go to waste.
She put down her bowl, her eyes avoiding Elise again and again.
After hesitating for a moment, Peiya decided to stop running away and face the feelings that had been bothering her these past days.
“Elise, there’s something I want to tell you.”
“What is it?”
Elise also put down her bowl, ready to listen.
She guessed it was probably related to Peiya’s past, because she herself had many painful memories from childhood. She understood that feeling of wanting to speak, yet hesitating at the last moment.
From another point of view, she even felt a bit envious of Peiya.
Being able to speak your thoughts out loud like this was already something she couldn’t do. Even now, she was still avoiding her own past…
A trace of sadness passed across Elise’s face, coming from deep inside her heart. But she quickly noticed it and coughed lightly, hiding it well.
Better not let Peiya know about these things… no need to make her worry.
Seeing Elise so serious, Peiya tried to calm the uneasiness in her heart again. She lifted her head, and a hint of determination appeared in her eyes.
“These past days… thank you for taking care of me. I’m really grateful that you were willing to take me in. But when you suddenly care about me like this, I also feel scared…”
“...I don’t know how to face you in the future, or what to say so you won’t dislike me. Honestly, I’ve never really had friends before. I don’t even know if I’m worthy of being your friend. But I know that if I keep dragging this on, it will only hurt you again. I don’t want to hurt you, so I decided to tell you all of this.”
Peiya bit her lip and poured out everything she was feeling.
She didn’t want to hide anymore. She didn’t want to be passive or irresponsible.
She didn’t want Elise to go through the same things she had experienced in the past.
But she also didn’t know how to treat Elise well, or what it meant to be a “good” friend.
Maybe for emotional matters like this, it’s better to just ask directly?
After all, this was something between the two of them now.
If she asked Elise, there would surely be an answer, right?
Elise’s eyes flickered slightly, like a candle flame shaking in the wind. Her usually clear eyes now looked like a calm lake disturbed by a small stone, creating gentle ripples.
If she had to say it, Peiya was probably the only person she could call a close friend.
As for whether getting closer would make Peiya uncomfortable… Elise didn’t know.
Two people with almost no experience in relationships ended up together. It was to the point that even holding hands made them overthink for a long time.
She was also trying step by step.
If she had to describe it, it was like just thinking about seeing Peiya when she wakes up could make her happy for the whole day.
It felt like everything became easier to do. Even ordinary, boring daily life became warmer because there was someone she cared about.
Since she had never experienced this before, everything felt new.
What does holding hands feel like? Before, she had no idea.
So maybe just hold hands a little and try?
But holding hands once didn’t feel enough… so maybe just keep holding it.
Thinking like this, even Elise felt her logic was a bit childish.
Maybe Peiya didn’t like holding hands. Maybe she preferred other kinds of interaction.
Holding hands was something Elise found interesting, but that didn’t mean Peiya felt the same.
Elise could feel that when she hugged Peiya just now, Peiya’s whole body was trembling.
Did that mean she didn’t even like hugs?
The more she thought about it, the more complicated everything seemed.
Elise rubbed her sore temples, trying her best to organize the messy thoughts in her mind.
In the end, it was because she lacked experience.
She even felt a bit guilty for not making Peiya feel comfortable.
So she shook her head and spoke sincerely:
“No… compared to you, I’m actually the selfish one. When I think about it carefully, I don’t have much experience either. The way I treated you well was just what I thought was right, and I ignored your feelings…”
“...Because of my status, it’s hard for me to find people I can really talk to. To be honest, my relationships are a mess too. You don’t need to blame yourself, some things we have to face together.”
Elise took Peiya’s empty bowl and served her another half bowl of vegetable soup.
“And I know I haven’t done well enough. But I’m willing to learn. Miss Peiya, I’m curious, what do you think about our team right now? Since you were willing to listen to me just now, how about letting me listen to you too?”
Peiya blinked, completely not expecting this kind of answer.
Was the misunderstanding… resolved?
She thought her earlier words might make Elise dislike her. But after speaking honestly—
Nothing bad actually happened.
Thinking of this, Peiya felt a bit happier. She didn’t even realize that she and Elise might not be thinking on the same wavelength.
Peiya was trying to face her own feelings honestly, while Elise was more focused on whether Peiya felt uncomfortable or lacking in some way.
And yet, somehow… they managed to reach an understanding.
Peiya held her chin and thought for a moment.
“If you ask what I think… then I’d say, maybe you’re overthinking it. I actually quite like our team as it is. You shouldn’t worry too much either. Take a break sometimes, okay? What if you overwork yourself? Anyway… that’s all I wanted to say. Um… I’m hungry, let’s eat.”
Peiya lowered her head and focused on eating, not daring to look at Elise.
Even though she was the one who gathered the courage to speak, she was also the first to retreat.
As she kept eating, the food started to lose its taste.
Only then did she realize she was already full.
She was just eating out of habit, trying to avoid the strange feelings in her heart.
Elise moved closer to her.
“Don’t force yourself to eat. What you said just now… wasn’t completely honest, right?”
A warm breeze brushed across Peiya’s forehead, lifting her uneven silver hair.
Her heart became restless again.
“What? Of course it was true.”
Peiya put down her bowl and chopsticks, looking like she was insisting on her point.
Elise nodded slightly, a meaningful smile appearing on her lips. There was a playful glint in her eyes.
She adjusted her posture slightly, supporting her chin with one hand as she looked straight at Peiya.
“Then thank you. But Miss Peiya, let me tell you something honestly too. I don’t actually care whether we defeat the Ice Bear King or not. Even if we fail, it’s not really the responsibility of adventurers. The Church or the Kingdom will handle it. On the contrary, seeing how tired you are from planning this, I even feel like… maybe I shouldn’t have brought up defeating the Ice Bear King in the first place.”
Peiya’s expression softened slightly.
“But that night, you looked like you really wanted to defeat it… so I made up my mind that I didn’t want to hold you back…”
Elise shook her head and gently leaned closer. Her fingers carefully brushed aside the loose silver hair by Peiya’s temple. Her eyes carried a soft, almost hidden warmth.
“Of course I look forward to defeating the Ice Bear King… because the person I want to adventure with is you.”