Leyla

"Soo... What part of the bird is this?" Everette asked curiously as he scrutinised a piece of roasted meat on his paper plate.

"Hm? I just carved some of the bird's breast for you." Jack was using a knife that was handed to him to carve out some meat. He then raised another plate with another piece of meat.

"Who wants some?!" He yelled out, followed by a crowd of raised hands.

Everyone was waiting outside in a queue for a plate because cooking it inside the Chapel was probably a health hazard.

Everyone was initially sceptical about the meat, but after Jack ate a piece and nothing happened, all their scepticism left.

Everette held the meat and raised it into his mouth.

'It's not bad...'

The meat had a texture similar to chicken. It's not dry either, and it was very juicy. The meat also has a hint of smokiness to it.

After devouring the meat, Eden popped up before his eyes to show...

[ WISDOM 15 - > 16 ]

"..."

'Eh...?'

'The meat raised my wisdom stat!?'

He decided to check his stats just in case he wasn't going crazy.

***

[ Name: Everette Garden ]

[ Level: 10 - Soldier ]

[ INJURIES: None ]

[MANA: 100 ]

[STAMINA: 100 ]

[ Titles: Adam's Eve ]

[ Classes: Royal Attendant ]

[ STRENGTH: 15 ] 

[ VITALITY: 20 ] 

[ AGILITY: 18 ] 

[ SPEED: 20 ]

[ MANA: 10 ]

[ WISDOM: 16 ]

[ DEFENSE: 0 ]

[ STAT POINTS: 6 ]

[ FULL RECOVERIES: 0 / 3 ]

{ ABILITIES: Mana Coating [Tier 1], Mana Control [Tier 1], Increased Charm [Tier 1] }

[ ANALYSIS: "Just some pretty boy." ]

***

'It really did raise it... Wait a second...'

"Since when did I get a title? And why is it that of all things!?"

{"Would you like to remove the title [Adam's Eve]?"}

He stared at the message for a few seconds before shaking his head.

"It's fine... It's not bothering me, so I can just leave it be."

Everette tucked a finger under his chin before displaying a pondering look.

'If my stats can increase just by eating, then...'

Just before Everette could come to an inward conclusion, an arm suddenly wrapped itself around his shoulder.

"Yo! Have you eaten yet?" Ada was holding a plate of her own.

Everette nodded before shrugging off her arm.

"We got to start bringing back our kills, Ada."

"Hm? Did you like the meat that much?" Ada took a bite out of the meat.

Everette nodded, "It was good, but that's not my reason for wanting to bring back more."

"Oh? Then do tell me." She took the last bite of her meat and swallowed it. Her eyes then widened.

"Do you see it? The meat actually gives us stats!" Everette exclaimed excitedly.

The two then discussed about it before Ada left to talk to Jack and Amelia about it.

Everette also walked with her as an excuse to grab another. After receiving another slice, he walked into the Chapel to find Leyla still in the same position he had seen her half an hour before.

He slowly made his way to her.

"Have you eaten yet?"

Leyla shifted her head up just enough to where her eyes could make out who was talking to her.

"I haven't."

Everette nodded, "You mind if I sit with you?"

In response, she shook her head. Everette sat down in a cross-legged position. He then held out his plate towards her.

"Here."

Leyla eyed it before gently taking it out of his hands. After shifting around, she was now sat cross-legged like Everette.

"Thanks."

Everette nodded, "No problem."

After saying that, the two sat in awkward silence until Everette decided to engage in a conversation with her.

"How is it? It's pretty good, right?" Leyla only responded with a nod.

"... How about... helping the others to level up? How was that?"

Leyla paused for a split second before answering.

"It was... alright."

"I see..."

'She doesn't speak much, huh? But I guess I can't say much.'

"So... Do you have anyone special to you?" Leyla raised her head and stared at him with a raised brow.

"Why do you wanna know?"

Everette was never really good at talking, so he was quite stumped on making up a response for this question.

"W-well... I figured since we'll be working together in the near future, I thought it'd be nice to know more about my partners."

Leyla scrutinised his face before sighing.

"I had a girlfriend."

Everette's eyes noticed how tightly she was gripping the paper plate.

"...Before losing her to those damn infected in front of my very eyes."

"Do you know what it is like to see someone you love be devoured alive right before your eyes, and you couldn't even do anything to save them?"

She threw the plate to the side and gripped the side of her head with her hands. She bent her head to cover her face, but drops of tears could be seen dripping onto her black skirt.

"Powerless! Powerless at the fact you can't even do anything..."

"Guilt for not being able to save her!" She continued.

Everette's eyes widened, 'I thought I had to increase my favourability with her to get that much out of her.' He was pretty shocked at how easy it was for her to share that with him.

"I see..."

He awkwardly reached over and patted her back.

"There there..."

While trying his best to comfort her, he couldn't help but think about how lucky he was.

'Even though I curse my luck, I have to say that I am very fortunate that I didn't lose someone I care about before my eyes.'

Ada's face then suddenly appeared in his mind. He then immediately shook his head to get rid of the thought.

Leyla raised her head up before wiping the last few tears left on her face.

She stared at Everette softly with a grateful look.

"Thank you... I kinda needed someone to vent to."

"It's no problem—"

Almost as if on cue, a familiar girl with blonde hair sat right next to him.

"Here you are! I was looking for you, y'know." Ada pouted at Everette for running off without her.

Everette laughed at her pout.

"Sorry, sorry! I won't leave you next time then. How about that?"

The two then argued back and forth about random things. Leyla stared at them from the side with a slight smile on her face.