Chapter 78: Breakfast Surprise

"Don't worry, I won't let you down," Feld nodded, finishing the last of the tea in his cup before lying back in the shelter, resting his head on his arm. Qi Qi had also finished her tea and lay down, leaning against Feld's side, her entire cat body tucked into the sleeping bag, only revealing a small face and two fuzzy cat ears, incredibly adorable.

Seeing this, Hilda also shifted her body and lay down in the shelter. It looked like a family of three, with Feld on the left, Qi Qi in the middle, and Hilda on the right.

The crackling of burning wood from the campfire echoed in their ears, a bit noisy but strangely comforting, bringing a sense of peace that made Hilda feel drowsy.

"Let's get a good night's sleep. We have a lot to do tomorrow, you see, Qi Qi is already asleep," Feld said.

"So fast?" Hilda glanced at Qi Qi, and sure enough, she had already closed her eyes and was sleeping soundly.

From lying down to falling asleep, it hadn't been five seconds yet, and Hilda couldn't help but envy the quality of the cat people's sleep. So she nodded, snuggled into her sleeping bag, and then turned to look at Feld.

In the darkness, his blue eyes shimmered like sapphires, reflecting the light of the campfire.

"Goodnight, Feld."

"Goodnight, little goofball."

"Huh? When did you give me that nickname?"

"Since I first saw you because you really look like a little goofball to me."

"Where do I look like one?"

"I just think so."

"Then I'll give you a funny nickname too."

"Oh? Tell me."

"I'll call you... Big Hammer!"

"That's too boring, pick another one."

"Then Big Foxwolf, because you're as cunning as a fox and as fierce as a wolf!"

"Is there such an animal as a foxwolf? Pick another one, it sounds awkward."

"Hey, I'm the one giving you a nickname, you can't be picky."

"Hehehe, pick another one."

"Alright, let me think..."

"I'll call you... Big... Big..."

Her voice grew quieter and quieter, and Feld looked at her, only to see that she had already closed her eyes.

She fell asleep just like that?

Looking at her delicate face, Feld shook his head with a smile.

"Little goofball."

But before he could finish, Hilda suddenly opened her eyes, looking at Feld mischievously.

"I caught you again, calling me stupid!"

"I knew you weren't asleep?" Feld couldn't help laughing.

"Hmph, I knew you were going to make fun of me again," Hilda pouted, feeling a bit proud. Finally, she raised her chin and said, "I've decided!"

"What?" Feld looked at her curiously.

"I'll call you Big Goofball!"

"Because you call me stupid every day, I'll call you stupid too!"

"Childish," Feld said.

"But I don't care, Big Goofball!"

"Are you addicted to it now?"

"Hehe~" Hilda smiled, seeming very satisfied. She had never called anyone stupid before, which made her feel a bit proud. But Feld was almost laughing out loud.

Hilda probably didn't know that calling someone a goofball had a teasing tone to it. She really was innocent.

Seeing Feld close his eyes and stop talking, Hilda snuggled into her warm sleeping bag, her big eyes blinking with a smile.

"Goodnight, Big Goofball."

"Goodnight, Little Goofball."

"You're a bit goofier than me."

"If you keep talking, it'll be dawn soon."

"Then I'll let you go for today. Normally, I'll call you Big Blockhead, but if you dare to call me stupid, I'll call you Big Goofball."

"Hehehe."

Listening to the playful words in her ear, Feld felt that he would definitely have sweet dreams tonight.

In the early morning, the sound of birds chirping incessantly filled the air. It seemed like some nearby bird was looking for a mate, its call piercing and unpleasant. Hilda's eyelashes fluttered lightly as she slowly opened her eyes. Rubbing her eyes, she sat up and stretched lazily, feeling quite comfortable. She had to admit, last night was the most comfortable sleep she had ever had outdoors. Indeed, having companions along during adventures made sleeping much more peaceful.

Then suddenly she felt something beside her. Looking down, she saw that Qi Qi had somehow snuggled up to her while she was sleeping, curling up with just her small face peeking out, still wrapped in her sleeping bag. Qi Qi looked like a little bug at the moment, with her head resting against Hilda's waist.

"A catbug?" Hilda's eyes flashed mischievously as she reached out and gently booped Qi Qi's tiny nose. Qi Qi twitched her nose in response and nuzzled closer to Hilda.

This adorable scene made Hilda couldn't help but smile. She had hardly experienced anything like this before. Among her few close friends, none of them had experienced spending the night outdoors together. It was her first time having such close contact with a sleeping cat-person companion.

After teasing Qi Qi for a bit, Hilda thought of teasing Feld to see his reaction. But when she turned her head, she found Feld's spot empty. There was no sign of him.

"Hey, awake," came Feld's voice from the other side. Hilda looked over and saw Feld carrying a huge round log, slowly making his way over.

Hilda was curious. "What are you doing?"

"Preparing firewood," Feld said. "I plan to light a big bonfire tonight, one that can reach ten meters high. It's the kind commonly used for bonfire gatherings."

Hilda's eyes lit up with excitement. She had seen those big bonfires before, where people gathered to dance and sing around them, and it looked so joyful. But she had never experienced it herself. So she nodded, got up, and said, "I'll help you."

"No need, this is the last one," Feld said, tilting his head.

Hilda looked in the direction Feld was tilting his head and saw several piles of huge logs not far away.

Hilda widened her eyes in surprise. "When did you get up?"

To prepare so many logs without waking her and Qi Qi, Feld had obviously gone quite far to chop down trees. It should have taken quite some time.

"Around five," Feld said.

Hilda checked her pocket watch and saw that it was already past seven.

In fact, Qi Qi had originally curled up in Feld's arms, but since Feld woke up early and Qi Qi didn't have Feld to rely on, she slowly moved over to Hilda's side.

"Why didn't you wake me up?" Hilda said with some reproach. "I could have helped."

"You were sleeping like a log, and I can handle this little task. I let you two sleep a bit longer," Feld said casually.

Hilda's cheeks puffed up. "You're the one who sleeps like a log!"

With that, her eyes suddenly lit up, and she said, "From now on, I'll call you Big Clumsy Pig~"

Feld: "..."

After getting closer, the little swan clearly started to reveal her true nature. Full of liveliness, just like Qi Qi. On the other hand, Qi Qi, who was usually very lively, didn't seem to be in high spirits today.

After Hilda woke up, Qi Qi also woke up shortly after. But then she struggled to get up, saying, "My hands hurt, meow... My legs hurt, meow... My whole body hurts, meow... Feld, hug me, meow..."

Seeing Qi Qi acting cute while stretching out her arms, Feld shook his head with a smile. "If it hurts, you need to move around. Let your body warm up, and the pain won't be so bad."

"Exercise a bit more today to improve blood circulation and speed up recovery. That way, you won't be so sore tomorrow."

"Oh..." Qi Qi looked a bit disappointed when Feld didn't hug her, but she obediently got up, put on her weight-bearing equipment, and started moving around the camp.

"What are we doing today?" Hilda also stretched her body and asked Feld.

Feld piled up the logs into a bonfire shape while admiring how slender Hilda's waist looked when she stretched.

Hilda, at 172 centimeters tall, had a tall and slender figure. Because of her pride and confidence, she appeared even taller than Vina, who was 175 centimeters tall. Despite her tall stature, her waist was as slender as Qi Qi's, even when wearing light armor, her waist still looked delicate and easy to hold.

"This morning, we'll search a five-kilometer radius around Lake Norfa while looking for a platinum-level monster, the Giant Green Crest Lizard. I need its crystal core."

"After lunch, we'll take a break, and at two o'clock in the afternoon, we'll practice sparring."

"Oh, and I've prepared breakfast. You two should eat up quickly, and then we'll get ready to go."

Upon hearing this, Hilda and Qi Qi went to the small table and saw a plate of pancakes topped with honey, along with various fruits and vegetables, and a few slices of smoked ham neatly arranged on top. The presentation was exquisite, tailored to Hilda's liking, as Qi Qi didn't need any of these.

"You even brought honey?" Hilda exclaimed in surprise. She loved sweet honey, and she was running out of it in her storage ring.

"No, this is fresh wild honey. I just traded with our bee neighbors," Feld said.

Hilda immediately smiled brightly. "Trading with bees? How did you do that?"

"I left some sugar cubes outside their house," Feld said.

He actually did that.

Normally, he wouldn't bother, but considering that Hilda was a lovely girl, he didn't mind making himself a bit more lovely.

As expected, when Hilda heard Feld say this, she smiled with her eyes curved. "That's a good trade."

"It is," Feld said, tilting his lips.

Then Hilda discovered with surprise that Feld had already prepared flower tea.

Yes, Feld was that thoughtful and attentive to details.

With that, Hilda happily began to eat breakfast, looking very elegant.

She cut a piece of pancake with honey and some sliced fruit and put it in her mouth. The multiple layers of natural flavors burst in her mouth, sweet, sour, and with texture.

Then she took a small sip of the warm flower tea to refresh her palate.

Immediately, Hilda's face showed a satisfied expression, looking very content.

Compared to Hilda's elegance, Qi Qi was down-to-earth. She simply folded the pancake in half, stuffed it with fruits and vegetables, and took a big bite, her cheeks bulging like a little squirrel.

Before long, breakfast was finished. Hilda cleaned the dishes with water magic, stored them in her storage ring, and then said to Feld, "Let's go!"

Feld nodded, and then the three of them started investigating in the forest together.

To be honest, calling

 it an investigation was a bit of a stretch. They were basically maintaining a certain speed, meandering through the forest in a serpentine path while enjoying the scenery. Unless they encountered monsters or bloodthirsty creatures, the journey was quite relaxing and enjoyable.

Of course, Qi Qi didn't think so, because her body was still sore.

But in order to become stronger, she chose to grit her teeth and persevere.

After wandering in the forest for about an hour, Feld finally spotted their target—the Giant Green Crest Lizard.

It was a very large lizard, entirely green, about two meters tall, and with a tail estimated to be eight to nine meters long.

The one Feld encountered was only platinum-ranked, so it posed no challenge as long as one didn't get hit directly by its venom. It was basically not a threat.

Feld easily took care of it, retrieved its crystal core, and then disassembled the corpse, storing it in his storage space.

During this process, Feld kept an eye on Hilda's reactions.

Hilda didn't feel sad because Feld killed the Giant Green Crest Lizard, nor did she find it cruel when Feld dismembered the corpse. Instead, she watched with some interest, as if she were learning something.

This made Feld admire her in his heart. On his way to Heddo, he had encountered a nun who was heading to other cities. She was a true Saint.

If he killed a rabbit, she would pray for nearly half a day beside him.

But the Saint was okay. At least she was genuinely kind. Those holier-than-thou types were disgusting. Making their own kindness someone else's burden. In his past life, Feld had encountered several of them.

Pretty disgusting.

Actually, as far as Feld was concerned, whether someone was a saint or not didn't matter. As long as they could manage themselves well.

Your kindness is your own business. Don't affect his life. In that case, he would agree very much and feel that there were still many good people in the world.

But if you forcibly imposed your kindness on him, then sorry, you were the Illuminati. In his eyes, even the Bright Church was a cult. He would just directly hit your head to shut you down and save himself from getting annoyed.

Hilda was good. Her kindness was clear, and she wouldn't actively harm creatures outside of the mission scope. Unless those creatures attacked her first. If they were within the mission scope, she wouldn't hesitate to wield her sword.

Feld appreciated this about her.