Please Bully Me, Miss Villainess!

Chapter 214 : Raw Stone 4

Compared to the central region where they originally lived, the climate here was much drier.

Due to the loss of vegetation's temperature-regulating function, the temperature difference between day and night was greater than she had imagined.

"My, that was really dangerous just now..."

Gathered around the lit bonfire, Yuna, wrapped in the cloak given to her by the old woman, inched closer to Brin.

"Um... Brin, could it be you're still angry?"

"............"

Brin hugged her knees and turned her face away, not saying a word.

After cutting off her hair, they had finally safely overcome the crisis and returned here, but Brin seemed to have taken quite a hit.

She remained silent for a while, then finally squeezed out a complete sentence:

"...Sometimes I really don't understand what you're thinking."

Her background... everything she should have had, she had given up so easily. This made Brin feel it was incomprehensible.

"I never intended to fight for anything... I'm already very grateful that you came with me."

Sitting down beside her, she whispered in her ear:

"...Or is it that because I cut my hair, you don't like me anymore?"

"—How could that be possible!!"

Seeing Yuna's face full of a soft 'That's great~~' expression, Brin realized she had answered too quickly and decisively. She crossed her arms in embarrassment and closed her mouth again.

"It's alright! My hair grows very fast~... Although it will take many years for my hair to return to its original color, that doesn't matter to me."

Compared to the hair symbolizing her bloodline, she didn't want to lose important people, even at the risk of losing it.

"Alright, it's easy to get angry on an empty stomach—At times like this, we should eat something and then think carefully about tomorrow's strategy!"

She had obtained dough and maple sugar from somewhere and was kneading it with her small hands.

"Wait a moment, I'll turn these into something delicious right away!"

"There's no pot here... How do you plan to cook?"

"Hehe~ Don't you know? As long as there's fire, anything can become cookware!"

She heated smooth pebbles she had selected and washed clean with fire, polished them with small pieces of cut animal fat until they were shiny, then stuck the smooth dough wrapped with maple sugar onto them, making a sizzling sound as the steam evaporated.

The fragrant aroma of wheat and caramel suddenly wafted over.

"...Where did these things come from?"

Tempted by the delicious food, she finally regained some spirit.

Brin didn't believe crops could be grown on this land.

"I picked them up."

Ah Huang, who was tending the bonfire for the two, nodded towards a pile of 'garbage' in the nearby mine cart, which contained food and some dirty old clothes. However, as items that could be recycled, they were still quite valuable.

"Except for fresh vegetables, you can exchange anything here with money... If you want flour, there's some over there too, but it's just flour. The only ready-made dough is that piece."

Although it had some bugs, it was still usable after sifting.

"...Where did you pick all this up from?"

"Look, see that stone castle over there?"

Ah Huang, who was tending the fire, picked up a tree branch that had become charred from poking the fire and pointed to a castle not far away.

"It's built quite extravagantly, isn't it? That's the lair of those bloodline holders... Every day, a large amount of food is thrown away from there, mostly just one bite taken or completely untouched. Sometimes there are also semi-finished products and raw materials like this."

Following the direction he pointed, Yuna fell into a brief silence.

She knew her mother was in there.

"...Hot!!"

Taking the sugar pancake she had baked on the stone, she took a big bite. The maple syrup, which had melted into a translucent liquid, flowed out from where she had bitten, accidentally scalding her tongue.

"Hehe~ Don't eat too hastily. But I understand, after all, sweet things combined with pastry are invincible—"

"That's just your taste, isn't it?!"

"Eh~ Are there really small folk who don't like sweets? No way, no way?"

Wiping the syrup from the corner of her mouth, she said with a grin, completely reverting to the senior she knew.

"...I don't dislike it."

"But it's such a shame~ Big Sis's hair was definitely the most beautiful I've ever seen! Several times prettier than those folks living in the castle!"

"Thank you."

Touching her remaining hair, Yuna smiled somewhat bashfully.

Beside her, Brin quickly finished her maple sugar pancake in a few bites and held both their staves, keeping an eye on their surroundings.

Unlike Yuna, she still couldn't trust these people. In a place where they could lose their lives at any moment, the others might betray them for the reward at any time.

"...Yuna."

"Hm?"

"Let's sleep together tonight."

...Eh?

Eh??

Suddenly flushed red by this overly direct statement, she instinctively reached for the hair by her ear, only to remember it had been cut off, instantly becoming flustered.

"What's wrong? Why are you making such a fuss... We used to do this often, didn't we?"

"B-before that was..."

Before understanding her feelings for her, she had indeed shared a bed with her for quite some time.

But now the relationship between them had quietly changed. Yuna wasn't confident she could continue to sleep together with her without thinking about anything, like before.

"...N-no! It's too early now!!"

This kind of thing should only be done after confirming their relationship—though if she insisted, she wouldn't refuse!

"What's wrong? We'll take turns keeping watch. We used to do this often during field assignments, right? Besides, it's already quite late."

Looking towards the sky that had completely darkened, she finally realized:

"Ah, so that's what you meant..."

"What did you think I was talking about?"

"Well..."

Feeling ashamed of the thoughts that had just popped into her head, her heart, which had swelled with excitement, suddenly deflated.

Why did such strange thoughts suddenly come to mind~~~!!

She's my best friend—Did I get carried away just because she said she liked me? My inner thoughts are truly ugly and unbearable!!

"...Don't worry, I won't do anything."

Her expression as she spoke was obscured by the shadows cast by the firelight.

"After all, you said you wanted to be good friends with me for a lifetime. I'm not so tactless as to misunderstand to that extent."

"...Mm."

However, this response made her feel somewhat guilty.

Soon, Brin used elemental magic to build a windbreak wall around the two of them.

"Can't you just build a house directly?"

"That won't work... The soil here has completely turned to sand. If we tried to build one, the ceiling would collapse on us."

"Sleep now. I'll take the first half of the night, and you can take over for the second half."

The two fell silent, facing away from each other.

What should I do at a time like this~~~~

...If only Ellie were here!

...If only Yvonne were here!

The two thought in unison.

Although they were those two's teachers in magical expertise, they were still completely clueless when it came to matters of the heart...