The group headed back the way they had come, and by evening, they finally arrived at the abandoned village where they had started.
Since Ansu planned to go underground tonight, the team didn't set up a temporary camp, instead preparing to take a short break, eat something, and set off immediately.
A bright campfire blazed in the open space in the center of the abandoned village; Ansu and Celia shared their food while warming themselves by the fire, while Professor Duncan impatiently prepared the magitech instruments for surveying, constantly recording things with the students.
"Ansu, it's cooked."
Celia pointed to the wooden skewer in his hand; because Ansu had been distracted, the meat on the skewer had begun to turn black and charred.
"Ah, sorry!" Ansu quickly put down the notes in his other hand and moved the meat skewer away from the fire.
Seeing Ansu sigh helplessly at the charred meat skewer, Celia curled her lip.
"Studying even while eating, you deserve to go hungry!"
"You don't understand, I'm best at multitasking." Ansu chuckled, skewering another piece of meat and continuing his dual-core operation.
Seeing him still researching magic while grilling meat, Celia rolled her eyes and reached out to snatch the skewer from his hand.
Ansu looked at her, and Celia said irritably, "Keep studying then, I'll grill it for you, I'll even feed you, okay!"
"Sure, sure..."
Having Miss Witch feed him was certainly something Ansu was happy about, but as he watched her continuously sprinkle salt on the meat, his brow began to furrow.
Wait... he realized belatedly...
Is there something wrong with Celia's sense of taste?
The more Ansu thought about it, the more it seemed to be the case; Celia indeed showed no longing for food, especially delicacies, and she always seemed calm and indifferent no matter what she ate...
"Don't worry, I'm very good at this!" Celia glanced at his focused expression and huffed, "It's just grilled meat, anyone can do it! You're looking down on me too much!"
"Um... I believe you." Ansu felt relieved when she finally stopped sprinkling salt.
"When I was little, wandering outside alone, I often hunted for myself and then grilled the meat to eat." Celia's eyes flickered along with the dancing firelight as she recalled things from long ago and laughed softly.
"You rarely tell me stories about the past," Ansu said suddenly.
"Because there's nothing much to tell." Celia rested her chin on one hand, waiting boredly, "It was nothing more than finding a place to shelter from the wind and rain, then finding a way to get food, and after being discovered or driven away, finding a new place..."
"You must have encountered people trying to catch you sometimes, right?" Ansu asked softly.
"Yeah, the Empire doesn't welcome demihumans, and it certainly doesn't welcome a demon descendant who can't control her own mana." Celia nodded, "People like me are hidden dangers that must be cleared in the eyes of the Church; when I was little, I don't know how many times I escaped death at the hands of demon hunter squads..."
The firelight reflected on Celia's face, coating her usually cold and stubborn features with a warm hue.
Ansu quietly watched her, a vision of a thin little girl also grilling meat by a fire gradually appearing in his mind.
Hunger, cold, and flight filled Celia's past; no wonder she didn't want to mention these things, as the contrast with her current self was too great.
"Don't sympathize or pity me, I don't think it's a big deal." Celia glanced at Ansu beside her.
"I'm not." Ansu indeed showed no sign of pity, as the Witch was someone with strong self-esteem.
"Well, anyway..." Celia said with a smile, "It really wasn't much; after all, many demihumans had it much worse than me, so I think I was quite lucky, and... when I was little, I wasn't always wandering outside; did I ever tell you about the time I was a boss in Benalu City?"
"A boss in Benalu City?" Ansu looked at her curiously, "That happened?"
Celia finally found something she could show off, and she laughingly told Ansu, "When I wandered near Benalu City, I suddenly became able to control my mana a bit, and I even taught myself some little tricks!"
"And then... I heard Benalu City was particularly prosperous and easy to find food in, so I found a way to sneak in; at that time, there were many children like me, hanging around the streets, forming various small gangs, living by fraud, begging, and theft."
Celia blinked and smiled, "Because I knew some low-level magic, the success rate of my crimes was particularly high! I was also the fiercest in a fight, so those children all followed me; I even led them to annex several nearby gangs and became the big sister of the vagrants in that whole area!"
"Impressive!" Hearing this, Ansu only felt admiration.
As expected of the Witch, with her personality, she could make a name for herself anywhere.
If she hadn't been adopted by that old witch later, perhaps in another timeline, Celia would have appeared as an underworld queen who unified the entire underground world...
"Ah! It's burnt again!" Celia had been so busy showing off her glorious deeds to Ansu that she forgot the meat skewer was still on the fire.
She looked at the charred meat in her hand, the same outcome as Ansu's just now, and suddenly felt a bit annoyed, "Are we even going to eat today?"
"We should be able to..." Ansu looked back toward Professor Duncan, whose preparations weren't yet complete.
"No, talking to you makes me lose focus!" Celia gave Ansu a look that said keep studying, leave it all to me! and then lifted the entire huge piece of beast meat, "I don't believe this!!"
Then, under Ansu's surprised gaze, that piece of beast meat slowly floated and rotated in mid-air, a dangerous surge of mana erupted, and scorching flames instantly surrounded the entire piece of meat.
Celia stopped pretending; she began to use her exquisite magic control to quickly roast the entire piece of meat evenly.
Ansu nodded silently in his heart.
Yeah... this is the correct way to use magic!
...
After eating, Ansu saw Professor Duncan assembling a magitech device that looked like a small cart.
This thing could detect the complete three-dimensional structure of the underground; even though Ansu remembered the route to the altar, they still had to pass through a complex maze, and with this thing, the margin for error would be higher.
Ansu and Celia sat on a large rock by the campfire, watching the stars and chatting while waiting for Professor Duncan.
"I thought... you'd continue studying after eating." Celia looked at the somewhat drowsy Ansu, "The professor should take a while, why don't you sleep for a bit first?"
Ansu had originally intended to keep studying, but he couldn't help but feel drowsy after eating, and having not slept for two days, a deep sense of fatigue left him unable to muster any energy.
"Sleep... for a bit?" Ansu yawned and glanced at Professor Duncan again, "The professor's assembly speed seems quite fast..."
"No, he's not fast at all." Celia answered flatly, "I also know a lot about magitech equipment; the magic runes on the detector can't be adapted in a short time."
"Oh..." Ansu nodded, feeling his eyelids grow heavier and heavier, a sense of sleepiness washing over him.
"Ansu, rest for a while." Celia's tone softened significantly as she saw Ansu's tired appearance, "You really need sleep..."
"Alright." Ansu knew he couldn't force himself to stay awake and could only accept the Witch's suggestion, "But if the team starts to set off... you must wake me up."
"Mm." Celia chuckled softly, then patted her closed legs, "Come."
Ansu's dazed expression suddenly froze for a moment; he looked at Celia's smiling face, then his gaze moved to her fair, smooth thighs.
Hmm... a lap pillow from the Witch?
Without hesitation, Ansu obediently lay down.
A soft and warm sensation came from the back of his head; while enjoying the comfortable lap pillow, his gaze drifted toward the starry sky.
"I'm so tired..."
"The night wind on the wasteland... is quite cool; sleeping like this should be very comfortable."
Celia looked down at the drowsy Ansu, who was mumbling nonsense, and a soft expression appeared on her face, "I thought you'd never say you were tired."
"How could I not be tired..." Ansu closed his eyes, his voice growing softer, "Miss Witch, I'm tired to death..."
Celia had a smile on her lips.
Because Ansu rarely showed fatigue in front of her; he always seemed firm and full of energy...
Thus, her heart grew even softer.
The night wind of the wasteland gently blew the black hair on Ansu's forehead; Celia reached out her fingers and gently stroked his face, her fingertips feeling the rhythm of his gradually steady breathing.
"If you're tired, then sleep for a while..."
"Sleep for a while..."
She murmured softly, like singing a silent lullaby.
The campfire crackled beside them, casting a soft glow over the peacefully sleeping Ansu.
Celia watched the already deep-asleep Ansu, smiled, and slowly lowered her head, pressing a gentle kiss on his lips.
"Goodnight, Ansu."
Rate on N.U.
