Chapter 117: Whatever Princess
after a while she muttered.
"You remember when we got ambushed while sleeping?!"
"Hard to forget when something tried to rip my arm off!" Kelly said feeling a shudder when he thought back to that day one moment he was sleeping other he felt something biting into his arms.
"Good for you I was there to save you" Kei said with smugness.
"And whose fault was it in the first place" Kelly said irritatedly as he looked at her. Kei feeling shame just looked away from him however he continued.
"you were supposed to keep watch at that time"
But seeing she was not replying to him he just shook his head and said.
"forget it at least you woke up and blasted it away"
"..." for some time there was silence but as If remembering something Kei said.
"Well second time it was your bloody fault...we slept in the open"
"we didn’t have the choice we didn’t know which cave was occupied, and I had enough of letting you decide our hideout based on feelings" Kelly muttered.
"Hey it was gut feeling and sometimes I was right" Kei shot back with forced confidence.
"one time only one time you were right stop hoarding it over me" Kelly smirked when her saw her nose scrunched up.
"yeah like when you said ’we will be fine’ when we slept in the open" Kei muttered again pointing his mistake when she felt she was on the losing side of this argument.
"Come one, can’t you...ahh whatever I am tired just get me some mana potion"
Listening to his fatigued voice Kei stopped arguing and handed him the potion she took out from her storage pouch taking the potion kelly uncorked it and started drinking it after finishing it he again looked towards her but this time with a more annoyed tone he asked.
"Still cant believe you hid it from me...I was looking for food when we were hungry looking for ways to collect water so that we can get away from the god forsaken river fighting with bare hands and you were eating fucking break, have a water storage, weapons and every basic necessity possible and you hid it"
Kei felt her cheeks burned up when kelly pointed that out. But she fought back.
"What did you expect that I will tell you everything about me...like you did"
Kelly shut his mouth when she reminded him of the secrets he still hid from her but in a small voice that kelly could hear thanks to his sharp ears she muttered.
"and It was embarrassing to say that i have everything after hiding it for three days"
Kelly just rolled his eyes to that again the quietness of the moment settled between them, kelly sat up and looked at his clothes as he asked.
"You really don’t have any spare clothes except this shawl I get to wear every day, I am practically naked without it"
"Heh, I have some skirts that will look good on you" Kei snickered as she said that to which kelly just gave her a deadpan look however he also let his expression ease up and put out a little in response to her.
"No thanks" Kelly said he stood up and made his way towards the leg he cut open of that beast that was lying nearby it was as large as him "it will do" picking it up he gestured towards her and muttered "Lets go back, I am hungry and we got our dinner right here"
"Beh...your dinner you mean I am not eating that" Kei stood up and followed behind him.
"Yeah yeah, whatever princess"
"don’t ignore me, fuck look that thing is still moving" Kelly shrieked as she pointed towards the leg kelly was holding.
Kelly just moved his hands in response choosing to not respond at all.
"Hey, I am serious I will not eat that thing" she said again to make sure he understood her but kelly just kept on moving without replying to her.
A massive stone pillar rose from the cavern floor, so impossibly tall that its jagged peak disappeared into the darkness above, pressed firmly against the ceiling nearly twenty-five feet overhead. To anyone less observant, it could have easily been mistaken for a small mountain standing alone in the heart of the underground world, but on closer inspection it was exactly what it appeared to be an enormous slab of ancient stone, rough and weathered by time, its surface marked with cracks, mineral veins, and patches of glowing moss that painted it in faint shades of green and blue.
At its base, tucked against the natural curve of the rock, Kelly and Kei had built where they felt a little safe.
A large piece of thick cloth had been tied securely between two protruding stone edges, forming a crude shelter that sagged slightly in the middle but held strong against the occasional underground rain something neither of them still fully understood. There was no sky here. No clouds. No sun. And yet, every now and then, a cold drizzle would descend from the unseen darkness above, echoing softly across the cavern like the world itself was weeping.
A short distance away from their shelter, nestled between two naturally curved boulders that looked almost like crude chairs carved by nature itself, Kelly and Kei sat facing a warm, dancing fire.
Unlike an ordinary campfire, there was no wood feeding its flames. The fire burned bright and steady, its orange glow illuminating the rocky surroundings while faint traces of blue flickered at its core Kei’s mana sustaining every flame with effortless precision. The air around it shimmered slightly from the concentrated magic, warm enough to chase away the damp chill of the cavern.
Suspended above the fire on a metal holder Kelly had painstakingly crafted from broken weapon fragments and sharpened beast bones, a thick slab of red meat slowly roasted.
It was massive far larger than any normal cut of meat should’ve been its surface glistening as heat kissed its skin. Every few seconds, droplets of buttery fat melted from its edges, dripping into the magical flames below with soft sizzles, each drop sending up an intoxicating burst of aroma that spread through the cavern. The smell was rich. Savage. Mouthwatering.
A mix of charred flesh melted fat, and wild game that could make even an exhausted soul forget where they were if only for a moment.