The Goddess of Victory Holds Whose Hand? #3

The game D&A had an incredibly vast amount of content. From life skills like gathering, fishing, crafting, and cooking, to relationship systems with characters and club management mechanics. There was even a system where collecting a certain number of rare items would unlock special rewards.

This kind of horizontal content system was called “inner strength,” and it became the standard for separating the true veterans from the casuals. You had to clear over seventy percent of the total achievements to be recognized as a real old-timer. For reference, I held the highest percentage on the strategy cafe at eighty-seven percent. No matter what I did, it wouldn’t go any higher.

That’s why people often joked, “Honestly, all the implemented achievements have already been discovered. The remaining thirteen percent are probably just things that haven’t been added yet. They’ll come out in a future DLC, right?”

…Come to think of it, a DLC really did come out.

Anyway, out of all those extensive life skills, the one I loved most was cooking. I must have sunk around five thousand hours into it. Thanks to that, I had most of the cooking recipes memorized. More than half of the cooking guides on the wiki were things I had discovered myself.

Bubble bubble bubble.

“……”

However, actually making those dishes in real life was a first for me too. I added the tier-one ingredient Herb Grass to the bubbling water and kept it boiling. In the game, a button prompt would have appeared at the perfect timing to skim off the impurities with a nice visual effect. But here in reality, there was no such thing. I had to watch with my own eyes and remove them myself.

“Do you happen to have a spoon or ladle in that bag?”

“I-I do, but… Are you really boiling that grass? It feels like we’re just wasting water and herbs. It already smells bitter…”

Nike seemed unable to understand why I was boiling the grass she had picked. Had she really not known how to eat it even though she was the one who gathered it? Still, with her staring at me so suspiciously, I couldn’t confidently say, “Yes, boiling it is correct.” I had to try it first to know.

Scrape scrape.

I skimmed the foam off with the spoon. Because of the Herb Grass, the broth had already turned a deep red and carried a sharp aroma. It felt quite thick. The pungent smell was so strong that Nike started coughing violently.

“Ugh, my eyes sting…! No matter how I look at it, this seems wrong…!”

“Just wait.”

At this point, it was probably time to add the jerky. I tossed the dried meat into the long-boiling water and stirred it slowly with the spoon. Just keep stirring. Stir continuously until it’s finished.

Scrape scrape scrape scrape.

After stirring like that for about five minutes, the spicy smell had completely vanished, replaced by an aroma so delicious it made my stomach growl.

Pop—

So this was the completion of Herb Soup. Seeing the text pop up along with the success effect felt exactly like the game. Considering that Ludens was the gods’ playground, it wasn’t exactly wrong.

The disappointing part was that, unlike the Fire Starting skill I had acquired earlier, I didn’t obtain the Lower Cooking skill. It had a five percent chance of being learned upon successful cooking. Breaking through that five percent was harder than I thought. For now, I decided to be satisfied with the fact that I had successfully recreated the recipe from my memory.

As I was convincing myself of that, I noticed Nike biting her thumb.

“Wow… It smells so good. What is this? I’ve never smelled anything like it before. It smells incredibly delicious.”

She kept repeating how good it smelled, like a parrot. The scent really was excellent. The question was whether the taste would live up to it. I was also curious if it would have the exact same HP recovery effect I remembered.

“Then shall we eat now? Do you have any bowls?”

“Bowls? Why would you need bowls…?”

“We’re going to share it.”

“For real?”

Nike looked utterly shocked. Was it really that surprising? After all, aside from the pot and water, all the other ingredients had come from her.

I received the bowls from a doubtful Nike and carefully portioned out the soup. I simply ate whatever was left in the pot for my own share. First bite. The warmth spreading through my mouth felt wonderful. The taste was…

At that moment, Nike let out a scream.

“H-hot! It’s hot!”

“You idiot. Let it cool down a bit before eating.”

But Nike didn’t stop scooping. Even while complaining about the heat, she kept shoveling the soup into her mouth without cooling it.

“It’s been so long since I’ve eaten something this hot. It’s delicious. Really delicious. I’ve never eaten anything this good before. Who would’ve thought Herb Grass could turn into a soup like this…”

“I’m glad you like it.”

“It’s not just good! This, what even is this? What on earth have I been eating all this time when I picked Herb Grass? What is this?”

“……”

How was I supposed to know if she asked me? Still, it felt genuinely good to see someone enjoying the food I had made. At the same time, her exaggerated reaction made me feel a little embarrassed.

Herb Soup was a tier-two dish. Similar tier-two foods were commonly sold at ordinary restaurants or grocery merchants. If she was reacting this strongly to simple herb soup, I became curious what kind of reaction she would have to the tier-one dish, Luxury Herb Soup.

If only I had one more ingredient. I decided to save that for later. It wasn’t exactly a hard-to-find material anyway.

“Haa, it’s warm… I feel like my fatigue is melting away.”

Before I knew it, Nike had finished her portion of soup and was stretching. Her face was still hidden behind messy hair, but she looked ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠incredibly happy. It must have been a healing experience. I felt the same. Maybe because I was struggling in this unfamiliar place, the warm soup tasted quite good and seeped deep into my bones.

Then Nike spoke up.

“Can you make more?”

She must have really liked it.

“As long as we have Herb Grass and dried jerky.”

“I-I know where the grass grows! I can’t gather it at night, but tomorrow when the sun comes up at lunchtime, I can dig up another root!”

Oh, if that was true, it was impressive. Suddenly, a question occurred to me.

“That grass doesn’t seem easy to find or gather. Do you have the Herbalism skill?”

“Of course! I’m a Black Mage! It increases the success rate of gathering herbs! It’s the gods’ blessing.”

“Earth Mage?”

Was there a job called Earth Mage in D&A? I wasn’t sure, but it suited Nike quite well, considering she was living as a homeless person like a dirt spoon. However, Nike got angry.

“Black Mage! Can’t you tell just by looking?”

She laughed with a “Hehehe—” sound. She was trying to look sinister, but her naturally loud personality made her not feel like a Black Mage at all.

Still, the information that she had the Herbalism skill was good news. It might become a lifeline to escape our current situation. It was best to grab the opportunity while I could.

“Nike, would you take my hand?”

“Hand…? Suddenly…?”

Nike twisted her body shyly. Was she embarrassed? Was there anything in our recent conversation that would make her feel that way? She was a woman I couldn’t understand.

“T-that kind of thing is only done after dating. Are you saying you want to… with me right now…”

“I’m asking if you’d like to work together with me.”

“Work?”

“Yes. Nike Mokemoke and I, Victor. Your Herbalism and my abilities will clearly create a positive synergy. We can end this homeless life in the forest.”

“……”

Nike didn’t answer. But I caught a glimpse of her emerald eyes, hidden behind her hair, shining strangely for a moment. It wasn’t an illusion created by the campfire light. As if to prove it, Nike reached out her hand toward me.

“If I work with you… can I eat that soup again?”

“I’ll make sure you can eat things even more delicious than that.”

I took her hand as well.

Morning. Nike had said she had been living in this Mysterious Forest for three months now. She had been kicked out of her club at the end of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠last semester and lived here throughout the entire break.

“This is my cabin. The Herb Grass is not far from here!”

“This isn’t a cabin, it’s a shack.”

“…I-it’s basically the same thing.”

Nike was living in a bizarre tent made by weaving together a huge amount of straw. It looked like the kind of hut that would collapse instantly if it rained or snowed. No wonder her school uniform was ragged like a beggar’s and her hair was messy and unkempt from lack of care.

“……”

Maybe the rumor about ghosts appearing in the Mysterious Forest was started because of her?

“This is a rabbit trap. This is a bird snare. This is…”

Nike introduced me to the crude items she had made. They were all basic items that beginners in life skills could easily craft using tree branch materials.

“You made them well. Do they actually have any effect?”

“I catch tons of rabbits! I turn the meat into jerky and sell the hides. That way I can earn about three hundred thousand Rene a week! Amazing, right?”

Three hundred thousand a week? That was actually pretty good earnings, wasn’t it? Even if the dormitory required a large upfront payment, she should have been able to afford a normal inn room. I grew curious why she was living like this.

“Nike, do you have debt?”

“Yeah.”

“How much?”

“About two hundred million Rene…”

Of all things, two hundred million in debt again. Earning three hundred thousand a week might take nearly a lifetime to pay off two hundred million.

“Selling rabbit hides would barely cover the interest. So you were sleeping in the forest to save on living expenses.”

“……”

Nike visibly wilted, easy to read as always.

“I’m not blaming you. I have a mountain of debt myself. But with that much debt, I was wondering if you’ve considered aiming for bigger money than selling rabbit hides. Like going into dungeons.”

“Dungeons…?”

Nike’s shoulders flinched. Maybe she had never even considered that option? As I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was thinking that, she suddenly burst out laughing.

“If you go into a dungeon you could die! It’s so dangerous!”

“……”

She wasn’t wrong. In a world with real senses instead of a game, that was a perfectly natural reaction. At the same time, it felt like one piece of the puzzle explaining why there were so many homeless students at Ludens had clicked into place. None of them even considered going into dungeons or fields. Unlike a game where you could reset, reality only gave you one life. Naturally, they couldn’t attempt reset tries, so they had no idea how to clear dungeons. Was that why the academy as a whole felt so run-down?

Then Nike said,

“I can’t die in a place like this. No matter what…”

She seemed about to say something resolute but closed her mouth. She hadn’t told me, but I could faintly sense that Nike had some big goal. That must be the solid pillar in her heart that allowed her to endure even this homeless lifestyle. Was it family? Or something else? I was curious. But I decided not to ask. The old me, who had nothing left but resentment, suddenly came to mind and my mouth wouldn’t open. Even if I asked, she probably wouldn’t tell me anyway.

“Done! I pulled it out with the root intact, right?”

Before long, Nike had pulled out the Herb ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Grass and shouted triumphantly. She really had pulled it out cleanly.

“Well done.”

“Then let’s eat lunch right away! Should I go get water? We can use the jerky I dried at the cabin!”

Nike seemed excited at the thought of eating the soup again. She was completely thrilled. However, I had to shake my head.

“We’re not eating this.”

“What? What are you talking about? That’s different from what you promised! You promised! Did you lie!?”

She seemed even angrier than when she had called me the enemy who closed down her club. Was it just my imagination? I had completely tamed her with food.

First, I had to explain.

“It’s not different from the promise. I’ll make sure you eat something even more delicious. But before that, today we’re heading to the academy’s central street. There, I’ll take out a loan and secure about fifty million Rene under my name and yours.”

“A loan…? You already have debt, and you’re going to borrow more money…?”

Nike couldn’t wrap her head around it. But I had already planned everything out last night.

“Just trust me.”

“I’ve heard you’re not supposed to trust people who say things like that…”

“……”

When I thought about it from the other side, it did sound extremely suspicious. Even I wouldn’t have trusted me. Asking her to take out a loan of twenty-five million Rene in her own name.

However.

Nike nodded her head more readily than I expected.

“Okay. I’ll trust you.”

For real? I had been worrying about how to persuade her, so her response left me rather flustered instead.

“…Is it because I’m Victor? Because I’m an enforcer who doesn’t lie, you think I won’t deceive you?”

“No, what are you talking about? I just trust you. You don’t seem like the kind of person who would lie. I can’t forgive you for closing my club, but apart from that, I think you’re an honest person.”

“……”

After talking with Nike, I felt like I understood. This girl was foolishly naive for a heroine. The type who could easily be taken advantage of by others and end up buried under a mountain of debt. I knew all too well what the end looked like for someone who trusted people this easily, so something in my chest burned hot.

“Nike, I swear in the name of the God of Order.”

“Swear…?”

“Just trust me. I’ll make sure to end your homeless life before the new semester begins.”

“……!”

Nike flinched in surprise. She quickly grabbed her ragged hood with both hands and pulled it down to cover her face, clearly not knowing what to do. Why was she acting like that? She really was a strange girl.