Chapter 93: It’s All the Squid’s Fault

Sizzle, sizzle.

Fat dripped down the sides of the meat, drop by drop, onto the glowing charcoal. A small white smoke rose, and the mixed aroma of chicken and mushrooms exploded instantly.

“It looks so delicious…”

Feilin had somehow gotten up and silently appeared behind Vivian. Her eyes were shining, her cheeks puffed out, and she looked utterly greedy.

“Didn’t all that chicken blood fill you up?” Vivian asked while flipping the skewers.

“The stomach for blood and the stomach for food aren’t the same.” Feilin patted her round belly, defending herself.

“I couldn’t agree more.” Vivian nodded.

She took a wooden plate, picked out a few pieces of squid from the stone slab, and placed two large skewers of different sizes on it.

“This is your share. Enjoy your meal.”

With a kind smile, she handed the plate to Feilin.

“Really… thank you so much!”

Feilin was startled at first, then burst into ecstasy. She never expected Vivian, who had always been cold to her, to suddenly change so much. Her smile was so gentle, her tone so warm. Could cooking really change a person?

She happily took the plate and began eating cheerfully.

“My turn, my turn! Bring mine over quick, I can’t wait any longer!”

Seeing Feilin get her midnight snack, Derek immediately strode forward excitedly.

“You’re last.”

Vivian glanced at him and handed a prepared snack to Nolan.

“Then I’ll start first. Derek, you can wait for the next one.”

As if deliberately showing off, Nolan waved the plate in front of him before sitting down to enjoy the food.

“Fine…”

Derek drooped his head and let his hands hang in disappointment.

“Hey, old man, no need to look like you’ve got nothing to eat,” Vivian said.

“I…”

Derek looked up, about to say something, when a plate of neatly arranged skewers and squid extended toward him.

“Here, yours.”

She smiled and handed the last snack to Derek.

“Thank you, Miss Vivian.”

“Ah, don’t mention it.”

Vivian waved her hand dismissively and then sat down next to Nolan.

Nolan couldn’t help turning his head, staring at Vivian’s empty hands in confusion. How could a cook forget to make her own portion?

“Where’s yours?” he asked.

“At your place.”

“Huh? You want to eat my snack?” Nolan exclaimed.

“Yeah, so what? Are you guarding your food?” Vivian said matter-of-factly. “Are you a little puppy?”

“I’m not a puppy.” Nolan quickly shook his head.

“Then share some with me.”

“No.”

“If you guard your food, you’re a puppy.”

“I’m not a puppy.”

“Then share some with me!”

“Fine…”

In the end, Nolan very reluctantly gave half of his snack and was forced to share tonight’s midnight treat with Vivian. But whether he was truly reluctant or not, he himself wasn’t sure. In truth, he didn’t feel that bad; instead, a hint of sweetness surged from the bottom of his heart.

‘Really can’t understand these complicated emotions…’

Nolan thought for a while but didn’t figure it out, so he gave up. ‘Forget it, why bother? It’s more important to fight Vivian for food.’

He snatched the last piece of chicken and stuffed it into his mouth, earning a glare from Vivian.

“See? They’re getting all lovey-dovey again.”

Feilin leaned close to Derek, pointing at Vivian and Nolan not far away.

“Honestly, they have to sit so close even when eating a midnight snack, and share the same plate. That’s so unhygienic, don’t you think, Pastor Derek?”

She bent her arm and gently elbowed Derek.

“It does violate the church’s hygiene management standards. It’s indecent.” Derek looked up, thought for a moment, then said. “But that’s their business as a married couple. We shouldn’t meddle. Let’s just pretend not to see it.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Feilin responded absentmindedly.

However, while they were talking, Feilin stealthily reached her hand into Derek’s plate. Taking advantage of the moment his attention shifted, she stole all the squid from his plate in one smooth motion! As befitting the vice president of the Scavenger Guild, even with only one hand, her thieving movements were flawless.

Thus, Feilin rambled on with Derek while secretly wolfing down his squid.

A moment later.

“Hey? Where’s my squid? How is it gone!”

Derek looked down in surprise at the empty plate. He flipped the plate over and checked the bottom, but still found no trace of the squid.

“Maybe it suddenly missed its mom and swam back into the river…”

Feilin quickly sucked the dangling squid tentacle into her mouth and answered with an innocent expression.

“I saw that! Spit my squid out now!!”

Derek raised his hand as if to hit her. Feilin turned and ran. He followed, vowing to catch the squid thief. The two figures—one old, one young—dashed wildly through the forest, as if they were about to turn the place upside down.

“See? They’re at it again.”

Vivian leaned against Nolan, pointing at Derek’s back with a smile.

“Exercise after meals aids digestion,” Nolan said.

“That’s not exercise. It puts strain on the stomach ligaments and can cause gastric ptosis. Good children should never learn that,” Vivian said.

“Then how should one exercise?” Nolan asked curiously.

“Come into the woods and I’ll teach you.” Vivian stood up and walked deep into the forest.

Nolan, eager to learn, followed. Then Vivian taught him a new posture…

___

The next day, unsurprisingly… Nolan caught a cold.

“Are you okay, Nolan?”

Vivian knelt on a blanket made of chicken feathers and nudged Nolan.

“Not really…”

“My head… hurts a little…”

His face was pale with a sickly pallor, but his cheeks were flushed with a slight fever. His voice was thick with congestion, and he occasionally sniffled back a runny nose. His brows drooped weakly, and his hands instinctively tightened his clothes. He didn’t look well at all.

Nolan never imagined that he, a Paladin, could fall ill! From the holy baptism in his past life to his final death in battle, common colds had never touched him. Now that he was reborn, before long he was sick in bed, barely able to lift a finger. How could he talk about defeating demons and saving the world?

‘Is my faith not strong enough…’

He rubbed his temples, full of melancholy.

“It must be because we ate too much squid last night! I knew there was something wrong with that river squid!”

Our great quack doctor Vivian took a quick look and shamelessly shifted the blame to the poor squid.

“Huh? I ate a lot too. Am I going to get sick?” Feilin’s eyes widened in alarm.

“It’s not the squid’s fault. It’s just that his body was invaded by the cold wind. In simple terms, he caught a chill.” Derek stepped forward to examine him and refuted Vivian’s claim.

“So what do we do now?” Vivian asked.

“Go home and lie down for a few days; he’ll be fine,” Derek replied.

“Then let’s go home!”

Vivian tossed Nolan onto the giant-horned cow’s back, then climbed on herself. The cow took the lead, heading toward Ma’en City.

“Yay!”

Feilin cheered immediately and followed.

Derek strolled leisurely at the back of the group, as if going for a spring outing.