Chapter 34: Shaved Ice

Chapter 34: Shaved Ice

Liu Ji had countless questions he wanted to ask after meeting the first person in this world he could communicate with smoothly. However, he understood that the being called Myza was right; for reasons unknown, Yaine treated him very well indeed.

Well... The thing was that he didn't know what to do if he went to Yaine.

This place didn't seem suitable for lessons, and his proficiency of incantation was far from sufficient for smooth conversation.

Glancing around, Liu Ji noticed that the shaved ice cup in front of Yaine seemed to be empty.

His eyes lit up—this was his opportunity. He quickly grabbed two cups of shaved ice from a nearby cart, then hurried over and sat on the seat in front of Yaine.

Yaine was momentarily surprised to see a cup of honeydew shaved ice appear in front of her. She looked up and saw Liu Ji.

Liu Ji grinned, then scooped a spoonful of shaved ice and put it into his mouth.

Mm, delicious. No wonder it was a treat he had been craving throughout the foray in the desert.

Yaine looked at Liu Ji, her face riddled with hesitance. She opened her mouth intending to ask why Liu Ji had come looking for her so quickly.

But when she opened her mouth, she didn't know what to say. It wasn't because of Liu Ji's insufficient incantation proficiency; it was just that regardless of how she phrased it, it would either sound like she was asking Liu Ji to leave or like she was being petty.

But she didn't wish to drive Liu Ji away, nor did she intend to throw a tantrum...

Seeing Yaine staring at him silently, Liu Ji felt a bit at a loss. He didn't know what to say or how to say it, so he scratched his head awkwardly and managed a goofy smile.

Yaine watched Liu Ji's silly expression but didn't say anything for a while. Then, she scooped a spoonful of shaved ice and offered it to Liu Ji.

Liu Ji was startled by the shaved ice right in front of his face. He eyed Yaine, then the spoonful of shaved ice while scratching his cheek in hesitation. Then, he finally opened his mouth wide...

But just as Liu Ji was about to eat the spoonful of shaved ice, Yaine turned the spoon around and put it into her own mouth.

Liu Ji froze momentarily; his brain, though, worked at lightning speed, and with smooth movements, he quickly scooped a spoonful of his own shaved ice and stuffed it into his mouth.

While he managed to cover it up, the atmosphere became a little awkward.

Liu Ji was completely wooden, confusion written all over his face as he looked toward Myza for help. However, he found Myza covering his mouth, snickering hysterically.

What Liu Ji didn't know was that Yaine's mind was even more blank than his. She didn't know what she had done or why she had even done that.

However, Calidora didn’t answer Mervant’s query but continued mumbling to herself, "Hmm, but... that doesn't seem completely right... Oh, Mervant, did anything else happen between them before you came?"

"After that? Let me think... We ran into a standard squad. We took them down, and that guy even helped Yaine kill one of the scouts, though he threw up like mad afterward. According to Yaine, it was probably his first time killing someone..."

"Wait, he helped Yaine take down a scout?" Calidora frowned. "How did he manage that?"

"Oh, it appears he can also transform into a bear," Mervant explained. "He smashed that scout to a pulp with one swipe of his paw. He's actually quite capable in a fight."

"No, no, that's not the point. It was his first time killing, but Yaine let him have the chance to strike?" Calidora shook her head. "No, Mervant, this doesn't make sense. The situation couldn't have been as relaxed as you're saying. There were only three of you. Be honest, what was the actual battle situation?"

"Umm..." Mervant mulled, stroking his chin. After a few seconds of silence, he said, "Alright, there was a bit of a problem with my strategic plans. We were short on manpower, so I tried to use the height difference of the cliff to buy Yaine time to cast her spells. However, the enemy scouts had climbing gear..."

"So you are saying, the enemy scouts got close to Yaine while she was chanting?" Calidora's voice rose a pitch higher.

"Uh... Yaine had prepared traps in advance..." Mervant said.

"But a standard squad has two scouts, and Yaine actually let someone who had never killed before help her take one of them down." Calidora pressed her hands to her temples. "Ah... I finally understand."

"Uh... Sorry." Mervant rubbed his nose. "That was indeed a tactical mistake on my part."

"No, your approach wasn't wrong. I wouldn't have expected the scouts' gear either, but you missed something important." Calidora sighed. "The fact that Yaine gave him the chance to strike means she had no traps left to use.

"And, although I don't know the exact details, from this I can deduce that the situation you and Osar were in at that time wasn't ideal enough for Yaine to cease her incantations immediately.

"That means, if she wanted to deal with the second scout, she would have to stop her chanting.

"But she surely hesitated at that time. You should know that hesitating for even a second on the battlefield can have serious consequences.

"If he wasn't there..."

Calidora suddenly stood up.

"Cali?" Mervant was stunned. "What are you..."

"I need to go thank him," said Calidora, smiling. "If not for him, perhaps I might not have gotten to meet you guys today."