Can someone in MyGo stay in an adventure group forever?

Page 25

"But I don't want to spend his money anymore! Not a single penny!"

"I learned how to snag discounted bento boxes at convenience stores... I learned how to do the most with the least amount of water, and even at home, I only turn on one light at a time..." Her voice gradually lowered again.

"In summer, I don't need air conditioning; in winter, I don't need heating; I don't watch TV; I just use the outlets in the library to charge my phone. That way, I can save a lot of money."

"At least this way... I can support myself with the income I earn from treating others..."

Nagasaki Motoyo put down the photo frame, looked up at him, and suddenly laughed, "You know what? Sometimes I feel like I'm really lucky..."

"Because this is an upscale neighborhood, no one will compete with me for discounted lunchboxes. Every time I come back from club activities, I can always find the leftovers at the convenience store—"

Nagasaki Motoyo paused for a moment when she saw the piece of paper handed to her.

"Let's wipe it clean," said Koshimura Sawa.

Ugh?

Nagasaki Motoyo subconsciously raised her hand, her fingertips hesitantly touching her cheek, where she felt a wetness.

Did I cry?

Seeing that she didn't react, Yuecun Ze stared at him with wide eyes and sighed helplessly: "If you don't wipe it, I'll wipe it for you."

He had never experienced anything like this before and was somewhat at a loss, frantically wiping her face a couple of times.

[The Invincible Little Chef]

Just as the snot-covered tissue was about to slip past her red, tear-stained nose and head straight for her still relatively clean lips, Nagasaki Motoyo quickly slapped his hand away: "I can do it myself!"

She angrily snatched the tissue from Yuecunze's hand, turned her back, and began to carefully wipe the wall, her shoulders twitching.

Koshimura Sawa scratched his hair and looked around helplessly.

Ah, I've got it.

"Ahem." He cleared his throat, trying to get Nagasaki Motoyo's attention. "Nagasaki-kun, do you know what medicated oil and a cross have in common?"

Nagasaki Motoyo paused in wiping her face, without turning around, but the twitching in her shoulders seemed to stop.

"They can all refresh you."

"Pfft—" Nagasaki Motoyo suddenly couldn't hold back, and a muffled laugh escaped from her mouth, which was covered by a tissue, but she still couldn't stop sobbing.

[I think this long-term vegetarian is also a big shot on the internet.]

That's right, don't you even look at who's in the vegetarian forum's profile picture?

Koshimura Sawa moved slightly closer and gently patted her shoulder.

"It's okay, just cry. It's not scary to have water in your brain, just cry it out."

"What...what is all this about!" Nagasaki Motoyo finally turned around, her face still bearing traces of tears, her eyes red and swollen, but the sorrowful quality she had shown at the beginning was gone.

"Stop crying?" Yuecun Ze handed her another clean tissue. "I won't presumptuously say things like 'let go' or 'look forward'... Since you've made your decision, it means you already have the answer in your heart."

"Hmm..." Nagasaki Motoyo responded softly, "Actually, it's just... I'm having trouble controlling my emotions..."

"I'm sorry, it's so strange to suddenly tell you all this..." Her voice trailed off, becoming hoarse from crying.

"It's nothing." Koshimura shook his head. "Actually, I quite admire you."

"Ugh?"

"For example, I don't turn on the air conditioner in the summer. Even if I'm so poor that I don't have enough to eat, I still turn on the air conditioner."

Nagasaki Motoyo: "...?"

This person's thought process is definitely different from others, isn't it?

"Alright, feeling better?" Yuecun Ze breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that she was in a much better mood, and stretched out his hand to her. "There's still a huge pile of garbage waiting for us outside."

Nagasaki Motoyo stared at the outstretched hand, paused for a moment, and suddenly felt a long-lost sensation, as if she were being gently supported by something warm.

Almost without hesitation, she reached out and grabbed his hand.

"Yes!" Nagasaki Motoyo nodded vigorously and smiled.

It was as if a crack had finally appeared in the overcast sky, letting in slivers of sunlight. Though faint, they were dazzlingly bright, as if much of the gloom that had enveloped her had been dispelled.

Feeling the cool, delicate touch on his palm, Koshimura suddenly said, "Nagasaki-kun."

"Ok?"

"Could you not squeeze so tight, ouch—"

"No."

Without saying a word, Nagasaki Motoyo pulled him toward the door, tightening her grip on his hand.

Yuecun Ze watched as she transformed back into her elf form, her face slightly flushed, her ears twitching uncontrollably.

Forget it, let her be.

Chapter Twenty-Six: Top-Tier Configuration

Koshimura clapped his hands and looked at the garbage bags that had almost filled the entire corridor.

"Finally done..." He couldn't help but stretch, feeling his whole body making crackling sounds.

Nagasaki Suzuki struggled to move out of the door, carrying a bulging garbage bag.

Her forehead was covered with fine beads of sweat, a few strands of soft brown hair clung to it, and she was making soft breathing sounds.

It feels quite different from the image of Lady Tsukimori.

But it's still much better than being a drowsy, shut-in girl.

She finally dragged the bag into the hallway, tossed it into the already piled-up garbage bags with a sigh of relief, and let out a long breath.

One last desperate gamble!

[Deliberate, is this really James?]

When Koshimura saw Nagasaki Motoyo stretching like him, he paused for a moment, then quickly turned his head away.

Do not look at what is improper, do not look at what is improper...

"Ahem." He cleared his throat, glanced at his watch, and said, "Finally finished cleaning up... but it's getting late, I'll put it down tomorrow. I'll be going now—"

"Wait!" Nagasaki Motoyo blurted out.

Koshimura looked at her with some surprise.

“Uh…” Nagasaki Motoyo was also taken aback.

She was indeed a bit... but why did she say it out loud?!

"Um... it's so late, and you... you still spent so long cleaning for me..." She avoided Yuecun Ze's questioning gaze, her fingers unconsciously twisting the hem of her clothes. She quickly glanced at him, then quickly lowered her eyes again. "Why don't you... stay for a meal? Consider it... a thank you for cleaning my room."

“That works…” Koshimura recalled the empty refrigerator he had seen earlier, “but I don’t see any food in your house, so—”

Upon hearing this, Nagasaki Motoyo's tense expression vanished instantly, replaced by a slightly arrogant look that seemed to say, "You underestimate me."

She didn't answer, but simply stretched out her hands, cupping them in front of her chest in a gesture resembling prayer. Her eyes instantly became focused and devout, her lips moved silently a few times, and a warm white halo seemed to flash around her.

The next second, the soft white light dissipated from her clasped palms, and several plump tomatoes, a bunch of bright green scallions, and a box of perfectly packaged eggs appeared out of thin air in her hands, even thoughtfully packed in a plastic bag.

Carrying the ingredients that had appeared out of thin air, she gave the dumbfounded Yuecun Ze a smug smile, her eyes crinkling: "Don't you know what the Unity Domain Priest's abilities are?"

After thinking for a moment, Koshimura suddenly slammed his fist down.

Oh, I know, that's it!

"Pots, pans, and utensils, obey my command!"

“You’re wrong.” Nagasaki Motoyo gently tapped his forehead. “It’s [Heart-Blessing].”

【Blessing of the Hearth】

At level 1, you receive the blessing of the hearth. When you take a short break with each friendly creature you camp with, if it eats food you prepared and spends one or more Hit Dice to restore Hit Points, it can reroll any number of Hit Points up to the amount restored, and for each reroll, choose the higher of the two dice before and after the reroll to calculate the restoration amount.

[Guiding Divine Power: A Magnificent Feast]

[Starting at level 2, you can consume a number of your channeling mana attempts to create a certain amount of food, equal to your Perception modifier (at least 1 serving). Each serving of food lasts for 8 hours and will never spoil. If a friendly creature consumes food created in this way, it will recover 2d4 + your priest level points of health and will have one of a specific negative status effect on that creature removed (the type is selected by the consumer at the time of consumption)].

Koshimura Sawa didn't really have any recollection of this; it seems this sub-position is a new one that appeared in third-party resources?

That's not surprising, since he's only ever read the official rulebook.

So what do the priests in this field worship? The ancient Greek god of cooking?

"Then I'll have to look forward to it." Koshimura Sawa said with a sincere smile.

------

About half an hour later, Yuecun Ze looked down at the plate of dark, wriggling things on the table.

Then I looked at Nagasaki Motoyo.

I glanced again at the plate on the table—

"Alright, stop looking!" Nagasaki Motoyo finally couldn't hold back anymore and covered her flushed face. "This...this is just...it's been a long time since I've cooked, so it's normal to be a bit rusty!"

rusty?

He stretched out his chopsticks and picked up some indescribable, viscous, eerily charred black contents, as if he could hear the hissing sound of the plastic chopsticks being corroded.

No, this is no longer a question of whether we're familiar with each other or not, is it?

A small bubble suddenly swelled up at the edge of the black substance, bursting with a "pop" and emitting an indescribable smell.

【sancheck (1d3/1d10)】

Wait a minute, isn't this DND? Why would we need a SAN value test?!

What happened to the promised hearth blessing? This has turned into a hearth curse!

"Never mind." Yuecun Ze sighed resignedly, put down his chopsticks, stood up, rolled up his sleeves to reveal his well-defined forearms, "It seems that I'm the only one who can come out today."

"Huh?" Nagasaki Motoyo peeked out from between her fingers, looking at him blankly.

------

"It's still instant noodles after all..." Nagasaki Motoyo poked at the golden noodles in the bowl with her chopsticks.

"There's only this much food at home, I can't help it." Yue Cunze used a slotted spoon to scoop a poached egg from the pan and put it in her bowl. "Besides, this is the top-grade tomato-based fried egg dish. My dad used to always have this when he had a hangover—"

He seemed to remember something and suddenly shut his mouth.

"Isn't it still instant noodles..." Nagasaki Motoyo didn't seem to care.

"You'll know once you try it. Oh, and remember to eat the poached egg first. If it sits in the hot soup for too long, it won't be soft-boiled anymore." Yuecun Ze also returned to his seat and picked up his chopsticks.

Looking at the tempting soft-boiled egg, Nagasaki Motoyo was indeed a little hungry. She picked up the egg with some skepticism, brought it to her mouth, and took a small bite. The warm yolk inside instantly flowed out, and the rich, mellow egg aroma mixed with the sweetness of the tomato instantly filled her mouth.

Hmm? It seems... a little different?

She blinked, then picked up a few more noodles and put them in her mouth. The noodles were cooked just right, smooth yet chewy, soaked in the broth, rich in flavor, and carrying a comforting warmth. It was definitely different from the noodles she usually just casually made herself.

"Is it really true that boiled noodles and soaked noodles are different? Is it the cooking time, or..." she murmured to herself.

"Hmm... so this is the taste..." came a delighted exclamation from the side.

"So you didn't even know that yourself?!"

"No, but it doesn't taste like this usually when I eat it." Koshimura Sawa fell into thought. "If we control for variables..."

His gaze involuntarily drifted to the girl sitting opposite him. She was tilting her head slightly, looking at him with a puzzled expression. A few strands of slightly messy brown hair hung down beside her cheeks, which added a touch of everyday life to her.

"...Maybe it's because you're here."

"Huh?" Nagasaki Motoyo's hand froze in mid-air, forgetting even to put the noodles on her chopsticks into her mouth.

"If you're cooking just to avoid being hungry, then it's merely maintaining vital signs," Koshimura analyzed seriously. "But if you're cooking with the intention of making someone happy, then that's true cooking..."

The sheer volume of information left Nagasaki Motoyo momentarily overwhelmed, and her body, which was being held in trust, instinctively slurped up a mouthful of noodles.

"Wait, wait! What are you saying?!" She swallowed what was in her mouth, her cheeks flushed red at a visible speed, her gaze wandered aimlessly, and she subconsciously looked away.

Then, she inadvertently caught a glimpse of the wall behind her.

The photos that used to cover the entire wall have disappeared, leaving only some glue residue and slightly yellowed marks, making it look rather bare.

"My...my—" Nagasaki Motoyo's voice was somewhat panicked as she suddenly stood up, the chair legs scraping loudly on the floor.