The fact that Mira and Mariana had been talking for more than an hour spoke volumes of their true relationship, and that would not escape Martel’s keen sense for romance. As soon as the call was over, she hounded Mira with questions about it, like a meddling relative.
『I’m really sorry, Mira. I promised you we wouldn’t interfere with personal matters…』
『But it’s not fair that Worthzy can hear everything and I’m not allowed to.』
The Spirit King apologized for Martel’s behavior again, but she just kept complaining that it somehow was not fair. Worthzy, or rather the spirit of stillness Worthramble, was standing next to Mira and could hear everything, so Martel believed it was just fair that she should also be allowed to hear.
Worthramble was also able to hear the discussion happening in Mira’s mind, and he just looked bewildered, unsure how to react to being used for such an argument. But he also could not possibly oppose Martel, so making honor to his name, he just kept quiet.
『And there you have it, she probably won’t stop… But in all seriousness, is it fine if we assume that’s the case?』
Martel had been released from millenia of solitude, and her passion for love stories knew no bounds and could not be stopped. It seemed like her curiosity had started to rub off on the Spirit King too though, as he also asked that, his voice filled with wonder.
『Well, I guess so. You already heard everything.』
Mira could no longer try hiding her relationship with Mariana, or the fact that she liked Mariana, so this time she confidently affirmed it.
『That’s splendid! I’m so happy for you Mira!』
『Yes, that certainly warms my heart to hear.』
Martel and the Spirit King reacted positively to hearing Mira’s response. It did not seem like either of them really cared that they were not a traditional coupling.
The fact that there was mutual love was reason enough to celebrate, at least according to the Spirit King. Then Martel added that she wished more spirits could experience that.
『He also looked so happy when he fell in love back then.』
There were not many spirits who had fallen in love, but the one she remembered the best was Reedsline, the Originator Spirit of Dimensions. His love story ended with tragedy, though she recalled he had been brimming with hope before that.
『You have my full support and I’ll always cheer you two on, Mira!』
Martel said with a firm but warm voice. Maybe saying that she was obsessed with love stories was not exactly an accurate description, and she mainly wanted to confirm that people could love and be happy, instead of meeting a tragic end like Reedsline.
『And it’s two girls going at it…that’s so nice, and so hot!』
Or maybe she simply was obsessed with love stories, even unorthodox ones.
Before departing for her next destination of Haxthausen, Mira went to Gran Rings’ market under the pretense of gathering supplies for the trip.
(I still have around two hundred thousand Rils, give or take… It should be enough.)
Mira had burned through a large part of the budget Solomon had provided, but as long as she limited her desires slightly it should be alright. And even in the worst case she could always sell off some of her Magic Stones. Knowing that, Mira went to the market without reservations.
Like in any place where a large volume of people gathered, there were also a lot of food carts lined up along the street, delicious aromas wafting out to invite clients. Even if someone was not hungry, being there would quickly open their appetite and lure them in.
It would be lunch time soon enough, so the amount of people there had also increased. Mira always visited such places in all the cities she passed through, so as usual, she walked from one to the next, buying anything that caught her eye.
「This looks good too, I’ll take it. Oh, a grilled meat lunchbox, of course I’m not gonna pass on that.」
She secured a large assortment of dishes, from common street food staples to more exotic items, and stashed it all in her Item Box. This time she was impulsed by a realization that dawned on her while she ate dinner the night before.
It was a somewhat late, and yet almost obvious and painfully simple bit of knowledge. Carrying ready-made food was always less hassle and had the best taste.
The Ancient Underground City was a dungeon popular with adventurers across the entire range of skill levels. When Mira was preparing to go down to the lowest floor, she was heavily influenced by the other adventurers nearby, wanting to appear like one of them.
It was common for adventurers to set up camp and cook their meals in the wild. Mira was well-aware of that, and she somehow began to desire experiencing the same.
As a result, she splurged on all the ingredients she could get her hands on. The Item Box former players like herself possessed would preserve all items in the same state as when they were stored, keeping them fresh for an indefinite amount of time, which was a big difference from the Operator’s Bracelet most adventurers had.
Mira had abused that feature, bringing in plenty of fresh ingredients. That was not a bad idea in itself, giving her a big advantage over most adventurers, including the ability to take fresh vegetables that would usually get spoiled if transported by other means.
The issue was that Mira lacked the skills to bring out the full potential of the ingredients. In a way, her cooking took away more than half the ingredients’ value. Not to mention that she was not used to cooking, and it also took a long time.
After experiencing all of that first-hand, she arrived at this solution. If she could not cook delicious food herself, she could simply buy a lot of cooked, ready food.
Her Item Box would preserve the freshness of any food she bought, including cooked items. It was surprising it took her so long to think of that, but the experience of actually cooking was a valuable one and would not go to waste, or at least that was what she told herself.
「Mhm, this should be enough.」
Mira glanced over all the dishes she stashed into her Item Box and muttered with satisfaction, and then left the market. Half of her remaining money had been turned to food.
There were easily more than a hundred different dishes in her Item Box after her trip to the market, including desserts. She would likely not have to worry about food for a while.
Once she was gone from the market, she quickly became the topic of rumors and stories, various sellers mentioning how a strange yet cute silver haired girl had passed by, buying a ridiculous amount of food that seemed like it was too much for her to eat alone.
As those stories spread, they eventually merged with the rumors from the Union, which mentioned that the popular Spirit Queen was not a gorgeous silver haired woman, but a cute young girl.
The protagonist of both rumors shared many traits, all of which coincided. So in the end the stories about the Spirit Queen also added that she was a helpless glutton.
It would be a long time before Mira herself caught wind of that though.
