Chapter 41: The Girls’ First Fry
"When outplaying the enemy, the terrain, and everything you own still isn’t enough, all that’s left is to go all in and pray for the right draw."
— Freya, realizing a little late that Sun Tzu hadn’t written The Art of War with Rank S monsters in mind, and that poker, by comparison, wasn’t so bad
~~
Her golden eyes went out the very moment she deactivated the skill, and all the weight she’d kept at arm’s length during the fight came crashing back down on her at once, dropping her to her knees on the cold stone.
"We did it... we actually pulled it off..."
The girls all rushed toward her at the same time, Laïa in the lead already sprinting across the room, Mei right behind despite her wounds, and Naïa hurrying over from her post.
"MADAAAM!"
Freya raised a hand in their direction to stop them dead.
"Wait—"
She didn’t get the chance to say more, because she doubled over and threw up onto the stone, everything her stomach held coming back up at once, unable to do anything else.
The three of them froze halfway there.
"...Eeew." Laïa let out, nose wrinkling, a hand over her mouth.
"Laïa!" Naïa hissed, smacking her on the head.
Freya stayed bent over there a while longer, emptying everything she could, one hand pressed flat to the floor to keep from tipping over completely, while the others waited around her without quite knowing what to do, torn between worry and a very distinct desire not to get too close to the puddle.
It wasn’t her body giving out, anyway, that one was perfectly fine save for a few tender ribs, but her head, saturated with a hundred deaths she’d been through one by one and that were all coming back up at once now that it was over.
Thirty minutes later, to preserve what little of Freya’s dignity remained.
Freya was now lying in the luxury bed, which no longer really looked like anything luxurious since it had been stripped of its mattress, its cushions and its sheets for the needs of the fight.
The girls had carried her there, well, mostly Mei, while the others fretted alongside, until Freya finally reassured them by insisting she was fine. Which wasn’t entirely true, because she’d just lived her own death hundreds of times over the span of a few short minutes, and that didn’t wipe away with the back of a hand.
To think that even pushing him to his limit, mentally and physically, even leading him exactly where I wanted him from the start by toying with his mind, I’d still have lost hands down without that skill.
She let out a sigh and brought a hand up over her eyes.
Aaah... it’s so ridiculous. Me, who swore never to rely on luck again, and here it is saving my life one more time.
Then, thinking back on the monster they’d just faced, she couldn’t help feeling proud all the same, because with the little they had, she’d still managed to overcome a creature of that kind of power, by piecing together every last thing at her disposal.
Even if in the end it all came down to my new skill, that’s just how it is.
Except no, that wasn’t quite true either, because she’d given everything she had even without it, and the victory rested on something far larger than a single lucky draw.
Because yes, it was a Rank S skill, but like the enchantment last time, it wasn’t so fearsome in her hands specifically, since its options stayed limited.
She’d had to line everything up to the millimeter, the element of surprise and the ink magic at the perfect timing, the two-pronged assault with Mei serving in reality as a diversion for the Mycofox.
The latter had then come to plant the container of oil that Laïa had set alight afterward, all of it under the direction of Naïa, who’d improvised in the moment.
That’s a fair few things put like that. Good thing I could count on everyone, and above all on Naïa, who managed to improvise like that on the fly.
Anyway.
Freya decided it was no longer the time for passive reflection, and that it was time to live what came next, so she cut the two black screens, reluctantly.
If I managed to get through that, then you’ll get through whatever comes at you too, and you’ll come back to me, Aria, I don’t doubt it. She paused, her throat a little tight. Just... a little... I’ll admit it... come back to me, please.
Then she slapped both her cheeks.
Pull yourself together, Freya, there’s still plenty to do here!
She summoned two more butterflies then and gave them their orders through thought.
The three of them would be spread out like so, one at the forest’s edge to cover the long crossing, one at the entrance of the Nymeria cave, and one at the entrance of her own dungeon, giving her a continuous view of every key point.
She got up afterward, swayed for a moment, hit by a rush of heat and a wave of dizziness, before pulling herself together, propped up by Naïa who’d rushed over at once.
"You should rest a while longer, madam."
"There’s plenty to do..." Freya replied.
"That’s true, but—"
"And that’s exactly why we’re starting right now!" Freya cut her off, suddenly all fired up. "Let’s get the frying going! Tonight, we’re eating fried!"
Laïa jumped at the words.
"Yes~~ yes! We’re eating fried, we’re eating fried! But... what’s fried?"
Freya couldn’t hold back a laugh at the question, because that was exactly the point of this little celebration, letting all the tension drain out after these long hours between putting the plan together, setting it up, and the fight itself. Even she needed it, a real break away from it all, if only to let her mind breathe for a while.
And so Freya taught the girls and the Mycofoxes what frying was, drawing on the reserves Aria had made before leaving and on the infinite rapeseed oil.
The result surpassed all her expectations.
Laïa was the first to taste, and her face lit up all at once at the first bite, to the point that she immediately asked for a second, then a third, cheeks puffed out like a hamster. Naïa was more measured, as always, but Freya caught her sneaking seconds when she thought no one was looking. Only Mei ate quietly in her corner, since she already knew it, but even she let a small smile show with every bite.
The Mycofoxes, for their part, were thoroughly enjoying themselves, a little too much even, and one of them, greedier than the rest, dunked his batter straight into the boiling oil to lick it right away, before jerking back with an offended "Kyu!", nose slightly singed, which set off general hilarity around the table.
It was in the middle of that laughter that Mei spoke up, as timidly as ever.
"Madam... could I... sculpt you a throne?"
Freya looked up, surprised.
"A throne?"
"Out of stone... and mithrite..." Mei was fidgeting with her fingers, eyes down. "It’s... sculpting is my passion. And it would really make me happy to make you one... if you’d allow it..."
"Of course you can!" Freya answered without the slightest hesitation.
She was sincerely happy, first because it was the first time Mei had asked her for something of her own accord, which was worth all the progress in the world for a girl that withdrawn, and second because, quite frankly, a mithrite throne had a serious ring to it.
"Go for it, Mei. I can’t wait to see it."
The giant’s face went red, and she nodded with an energy Freya had never seen from her, visibly delighted.
And so the meal came to an end, in good spirits, and they took the chance to build up as many oil reserves as they could, so as to still have some even once the enchantment expired, Laïa having declared she wanted to eat it every single day.
Then the girls went off to wash up together, taking the opportunity to clean their clothes that reeked of smoke, the grime of battle and, now, frying. The Mycofoxes did the same on their side, in their own quarters and their own "restrooms," before everyone finally went off to sleep and rest.
Left alone, Freya sat down right on the cold floor of the Heart chamber, now smashed to pieces from one end to the other, with the beast’s body on one side and its severed head a little further off on the stone.
The warm Freya of the evening was gone.
She contemplated the far-too-high amount of mana she had to spend.
[ Mana: 1,468/10,000 ]
Right, enough time wasted now. Back to business.
"System, upgrade the upgrades category to level three, please."
[ Spend 500 mana points on upgrading the upgrades category to Level 3? ]
"Yes."