Chapter 95: Jealousy
They had been walking for hours. Asker was fine, but Medea was starting to tire.
“Here,” Asker said, handing something back to her.
“What is it?” Medea asked.
“A chocolate bar,” Asker replied. “For energy.”
Medea tore open the wrapper and took a bite, the sweet, rich flavor spreading through her mouth.
“Want some?” She offered the half-eaten bar to Asker.
“No, thanks…” Asker began, but Medea quickly popped it into his mouth.
After swallowing the chocolate, Asker looked at her with a flat expression.
Medea grinned mischievously, like a sly fox.
“We’re here,” Asker announced after another hour of walking.
“Here?” Medea asked.
“This is where we first encountered the Snow Monsters.”
Medea looked around carefully. Although the snow had covered their tracks, she recognized the location.
She even saw the flattened area by the path where Sidlipha had been doing sit-ups, now covered in snow.
“Let’s keep moving,” Asker said. “They’re probably waiting for us where we fell down the slope.”
“Are you sure?” Medea asked.
“If Nuo and Eleanor are in charge, they’ll definitely have everyone stay put and wait,” Asker said confidently.
As if on cue, a figure appeared around the bend in the path ahead.
Recognizing the two of them, the figure instantly accelerated, covering the twenty meters and launching herself into Asker’s arms.
“Asker!” Peggy cried joyfully, burying her face in his chainmail.
“Peggy?” Asker was embarrassed. He had just told Medea that everyone was waiting in place, and now Peggy’s appearance contradicted him.
Medea, reading his thoughts, wanted to laugh. But seeing Peggy’s affectionate display, she also felt a twinge of annoyance.
“What are you doing here?” Asker coughed, asking Peggy. “Didn’t Nuo tell everyone to wait?”
“Yes,” Peggy nodded, releasing him. “But I didn’t want to listen to them, so I snuck out.”
Asker: …
“Lead us to them,” Asker sighed.
As they walked, Peggy clinging to Asker’s arm, Medea remained silent, a frown tugging at her lips.
So much for our alone time.
“Asker, what happened to your face?” Peggy suddenly noticed the burns and blisters.
“Just a minor injury, nothing serious,” Asker said dismissively.
“Those are burns, aren’t they? My, my.” Peggy said dramatically. “Someone was rather ruthless, to damage such a handsome face…”
“Fortunately, our dear Captain didn’t seem to mind this minor inconvenience,” Medea said coldly. “He even risked his life to save her from the avalanche.”
Peggy’s eyes flashed, and she glared at Medea, who returned a knowing, slightly provocative smile.
“Both of you, be quiet,” Asker said impatiently.
The girls fell silent, but their mental sparring continued in the privacy of their minds.
What are you so jealous about? Medea asked mentally. Can’t stand seeing him rescue me?
Asker simply wants to save people, Peggy retorted. Whether it was you or someone else who fell, it doesn’t matter.
Medea recalled the memories she’d gleaned from Asker’s mind and sneered, Oh, but that’s not what he was thinking.
“You!” Peggy’s face hardened. Knowing Medea could read minds, she fumed silently. That’s impossible! How could he possibly have feelings for you… I was here first!
That’s irrelevant, Medea said coolly. Men prefer women with…more…developed attributes. How long will it take for those little buds of yours to bloom? Oh, wait, I forgot. You’re a Flesh Sequence vampire. Your development is…permanently stunted, isn’t it?
“You’re lying!” Peggy hissed through gritted teeth. “Once I reach Flesh II, I can change my body at will! I’ll be a thousand times more…developed…than you!”
“You mean, breast augmentation?” Medea asked pointedly.
“That’s breast growth!” Peggy roared.
“Using supernatural means? What’s the difference between that and surgery?” Medea laughed.
“You!” Peggy stamped her foot in frustration.
“Hey! Both of you!” Asker frowned. “No private chats or arguing!”
The two girls fell silent, embarrassed, like children caught misbehaving.
As they continued walking, the two girls glared at each other, their eyes practically sparking. Exasperated, Asker scooped up some snow and threw a snowball at each of their faces.
This only ignited another battle. As they walked, the two girls began pelting each other with snowballs.
Physically, Medea was no match for Peggy.
However, Medea could subtly use her Desire ability to disrupt Peggy’s movements, preventing her from attacking or dodging effectively.
Asker sighed and continued walking, dodging the flying snowballs.
Finally, they reached the designated location and saw the rest of the girls squatting at the site of the avalanche, boredly building snowmen.
Sidlipha, holding an enormous snowball, was walking towards them.
“Asker!” she cried joyfully, dropping the snowball and running towards him.
The other girls also stood up, their excitement evident.
During the avalanche, the girls had huddled beneath the protruding rock on the outer slope, while Asker had jumped down to rescue Medea. The surviving members of the Iron Cross, however, had taken shelter at the base of the inner cliff.
Though protected from the avalanche’s flow, they were buried under a massive amount of snow.
After the avalanche subsided, the girls had waited and then helped dig out Andrea, Hermann, and the other surviving Iron Cross mercenaries and Spartan boy guides.
Hermann and the others expressed their gratitude profusely, but Andrea was speechless, his expression a mixture of gratitude and shame.
After regrouping, the Iron Cross mercenaries, along with the Spartan guides, intended to continue their mission and find those Snow Monsters to take their revenge.
Before leaving, Andrea even offered to buy the transcendental materials collected by Azure Longsword at the exorbitant price of 380 marks each.
However, this offer, clearly intended as compensation and gratitude, was rejected by the girls. They couldn’t make such a decision without their captain.
So the Iron Cross mercenaries bid farewell to the girls, asking them to direct any other mercenaries who had survived the avalanche and were returning from below towards their location.
After waiting for several hours and encountering a dozen groups of Iron Cross mercenaries returning after being scattered by the avalanche, the girls of Azure Longsword started to feel uneasy.
Like a ship without a rudder, they didn’t know what to do next.
Nuo, Eleanor, and Thira advocated waiting in place. If their captain was still alive, he would definitely return here to find them.
Peggy strongly disagreed. What do you mean “if the captain is still alive”? Of course he’s alive!
She, Mia, and Miel thought they should go down to the valley along the mountain path and actively search for Asker.
Sidlipha suggested using the nearby trees to make skis and slide down the path of the avalanche to find Asker and Medea.
This whimsical and dangerous idea was, of course, ignored by everyone.
After several rounds of voting, Sidlipha agreed to follow Eleanor’s plan.
4 to 3, Mia and Miel accepted the result, but Peggy declared, “I’m not listening to anyone, I’m only listening to Asker!”
Then she rushed out, so fast that even Mia couldn’t catch her.
Asker listened to the whole story in silence, then chopped Peggy on the neck, knocking her out.
“No more acting recklessly. Obey team decisions, understand?” he said when she woke up.
“But!” Peggy protested. “What if the team decision is wrong?”
“No one can guarantee that decisions will always be correct,” Asker said calmly, “but rashly separating from the team is definitely wrong, understand?”
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