The next evening, deep in the forest:

Crackling...

Golden oil drops traveled across the slightly burnt fish skin and fell into the fire with a burst of aroma. After a long day's trekking in the sea of woods, small treats like this can comfort both the body and the heart.

We had set up camp and I had a fire made with my fire power to cook the fish and to kill the bacteria and worms inside the fish. The three of us sat down on logs. While trekking through the sea of woods, Princess Kongming was still ha sing trust issues with me and Tesla-Zero. Even with Drago thinking he was an evil spirit possessing me. When I showed my power to Kongming, she thought I was also a wizard.

"Hmm, this one is done. Wanna bite?" I offered Kongming one of the cooked fish. "Nah, you can keep this poisoned fish to yourself." Said Kongming. "..." She didn't take the fish grill. I took a bite myself, and handed it back. "See, it's perfectly safe. I'm not a master cook, but I know how to handle ingredients properly." "... Thank you." After a long pause, she took the grill carefully and nipped gently at the other side of the fish.

I turned to Tesla-Zero and offered her some grilled fish too. "T, you want one too?" "I'm fine. Help yourself to some more. I'll take a stroll around these parts and maybe come back with more fish." "Suit yourself then." I went closer to her then whispered. "Are you going to take care of our follower?" Then she whispered back. "Yeah, she's been on our tail the whole day. Time to say hi, I guess." "Need my help? Because our follower might be to strong for you." "No, you stay here and watch her. I'll be right back." "Ok... stay safe." With that, Tesla-Zero left the camp to deal with our follower.

Cracking...

The crackling of burning branches sounded particularly loud in the awkward silence. While I was fumbling for words, Kongming broke the terrible silence. "Thank you for the grill... Mr. Patrick." Said Kongming. "Huh? You're welcome. How did it taste, by the way?" I replied. "To be honest... it's awful." "..." "One side was over burnt, and the tail was still raw... I bet your not a kitchen lover, Mr. Patrick." "Aha... you got me... However, I don't have any experience with cooking raw fish. And I am a kitchen lover. I have experience with cooking and baking. But not with fish."

"There was... someone like you. Not much of a cook, but he tried hard to appear one, and he made dishes after dishes for me that tasted like death. Sometimes he would slip off the maids and took me fishing at the pond and cook the catch for me. Tasted terrible, too." "That reminds me of when I used to go fishing with my family at a few lake and when we caught a fish that was the right size, we would cook our catches. He must be someone very important to you." "Hmm. He was my grandpa." "...Sorry. It must have been very hard for you after he died." "Why say sorry? He died for his empire and his people. I'm very proud of him." "..."

"But sometimes I do feel lonely... If these cursed beasts did not exist..." "Cursed beasts? What cursed beasts?" "You've never heard before?" "I'm afraid not." "Curses from another world that befall our world without any sign. When one of them comes, evil creatures flood the land and leave nothing behind their path. Three years ago, beast Yama came and it took General Durandal and 300 thousand soldiers to fend it off. Last month, beast Amorphous showed up..."

Boom!

Suddenly there was an explosion. "What's that noise?" "Sounds like the wind. Right, what about this beast?" 'I can't have her knowing about our follower and Tesla-Zero dealing with our follower.' "Grandpa led 100 thousand elite troops to fight Amorphous. It's a hard victory, and grandpa was badly wounded."

Boom!

There was another explosion. "What... what's that again?" "Sounds like a gas explosion." "Gas?" "Biogas... nothing serious. Where were we?" "..." Kongming was worried about what was happening but continued her explanation. "In his deathbed, grandpa passed the throne to me, and the empire's secret. The key to ending the chaos and sufferings brought by the beasts. Yama is the Beast of Ying, and Amorphous is Beast of Chaos. In theory, there is also a Beast of Yang. With my formation..."

Boom!

Finally Kongming grew annoyed and wanted answers from me. "Mr. Patrick, what's the noise really about?" 'I can't lie to her anymore. I have to tell her the truth.' Th-This... is..." "Hmm, looks like you're having a pleasant little chat." Tesla-Zero came back. "Miss Ironfist, did you hear some huge bangs?" Asked Kongming. "Ah, that's me fishing... Did I disturb you?" As she spoke, she dumped six or seven fresh fish on the ground before me.

"Skipper, go clean the fish up and have them grilled. I'm starving to death!" "Alright, I'm on it." I be t down pretending to pick up the fish while getting close to whisper to her. "Hey, what were you doing? That's a h*** of a lot of noise! Did you take care of our follower?" "Couldn't help... she's tougher than I thought. I had to get serious." Tesla-Zero whispered back to me. "So... it's taken care of, right?" "Nah, I let her go." "What?! You let her get away?!" "Pick up your dropping jaw. My three fists have no equals, but each can only cast ultimate once every month. I used two on her right now... I could have put her down, but on second thought, I'd better save the last punch for an emergency."

"Why haven't I never heard of three punches?" "I didn't think I'd use two this early." "Anyway, we only have one last punch, right?" "Yes, that's why you'll handle all the right from now on, skipper." "I think I should of gone and taken care of the follower myself and we could of saved your ultimates for emergency use only. But you wasted two and only have one left." 'Ugh... She's starting to feel like Megamin from "KonoSuba" where she can only use one spell per day.'

"Mr. Patrick and Miss Ironfist, what are you talking about?" Kongming asked us which caused us to be shocked with blank eyes then we sat up quick. "Ah... the fish... I was asking her where she fished these. They look much bigger than my catch." I lied. "Start cooking these already! I'm not going to sleep with an empty stomach." Tesla-Zero complained. "Alright, I'll make sure there's enough for you, and some more."

I used my Herrscher power and summoned water and put all the fish in the water sphere then I raised it up and made it glow. I was cleaning them and getting rid of the bacteria and worms. Then I used fire and grilled the fish up. "There. All done. Enjoy." I handed the grilled fish over to Tesla-Zero so she could eat.

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