Rock, Paper, Scissors

Three days later.

The four of them had eaten most of the food stored at Heiter's house.

Vegetables and meat were all running low.

The supplies in the storeroom urgently needed replenishing.

Dugu Qing, Fern, and Frieren set out on foot for the Holy Capital, bamboo containers on their backs, to buy supplies.

"Lady Frieren, why aren't we flying?"

On the way, Fern, who had already mastered Flight Magic, looked eagerly up at the sky.

"Because we need to conserve mana! If we run into monsters or enemies, we'll still have plenty of mana left. Besides, we can check for monsters along the way. If we find any, we can eliminate them on the spot and protect humans too!"

Frieren passed on her experience with the air of someone who had been through it all.

Fern and Dugu Qing nodded in understanding.

On the central street in the Holy Capital.

The three of them went their separate ways, buying the supplies on their list from different parts of the market.

Dugu Qing was in charge of staple foods, buying rice, dried noodles, glass noodles, buckwheat noodles, corn, oats, mixed grains, eggs...

Frieren was in charge of meat, collecting chicken breasts, pork belly, chunks of beef, pieces of fish, cured pork, smoked meat, and other meats...

Fern was in charge of picking out vegetables, stocking up on carrots, ginger, onions, mushrooms, wood ear mushrooms, snow fungus, kelp, seaweed... as well as the snacks they were short on.

The three of them went their separate ways and spent most of the day going around the Holy Capital, buying everything they needed.

Dugu Qing, Fern, and Frieren met up again on Central Avenue. Looking at the bamboo baskets packed full on one another's backs, they smiled in satisfaction.

"Oh, right, we've been busy all day. Want some ice cream?"

On the way home, Dugu Qing stopped and pointed to an ice cream shop not far away.

"Sure!"

Fern had only eaten a serving of pork cutlet rice for lunch. At his words, she nodded vigorously.

Even if Dugu Qing's suggestion had been wrong, she would have supported it wholeheartedly.

Besides, she was a little thirsty too, and ice cream was just the thing to replenish her fluids.

"Ice cream sticks to your mouth. Let's have grilled meat instead!"

At the mention of food, Frieren perked right up. She pointed to a grill restaurant ahead, looking quite taken with the idea.

"We've been walking all day. It'd be nice to sit down for a while. All right, let's go have grilled meat."

Dugu Qing was persuaded by Frieren and raised his foot to follow her.

Thinking quickly, Fern grabbed Dugu Qing's hand.

"Lady Frieren, how about this? You go have grilled meat, and Dugu Qing and I will have ice cream. What do you think?"

Frieren didn't notice what Fern was up to and earnestly invited Dugu Qing and Fern along.

"The more people there are, the better grilled meat is. Dugu Qing, Fern, you should come too! The more people, the tastier the meat!"

Fern was so angry she wanted to stamp her foot.

Was this about the meat tasting better with more people?

This was a heaven-sent opportunity that had finally come along.

If she didn't seize it, heaven knew when she would next get to spend time alone with Dugu Qing...

"No. We said we'd have ice cream, so we're having ice cream. Dugu Qing, let's go."

Fern took Dugu Qing's hand and headed toward the ice cream shop behind them.

Dugu Qing didn't know why Fern was being so serious.

But she looked scary when she was angry, so he let Fern hold his hand and slowly lead him forward.

"No, ice cream will only make us thirstier. Let's have grilled meat instead! They have hot water to drink at the restaurant."

As she spent time with Fern, Frieren had gradually begun to act more like a young girl.

She argued her case without giving an inch, and in the end, she went so far as to hoist Dugu Qing's other arm onto her shoulder.

Two lovely young beauties, one with purple hair and purple eyes, the other with white hair and green eyes.

They looked at each other.

Sparks flew in their eyes, igniting the flames of battle. It was serious, yet not without romance.

"Oh! What's going on here?"

"Two girls fighting over one boy? Young people these days are really brave!"

"Go on! I'm rooting for you."

Passing pedestrians and tourists stopped one after another to watch the boy and girls and enjoy the spectacle.

Things were escalating and looked as though they might get out of hand.

Dugu Qing reached out and patted Frieren and Fern on the head.

"All right, stop playing around. Let's have ice cream first, then go have barbecue!"

Seeing how serious Fern was, Frieren's playful side came out. She hoisted Dugu Qing's left arm onto her shoulder and started walking.

"No, I'm having grilled meat today."

Dugu Qing was pulled forward.

Fern responded in kind, hoisting Dugu Qing's left arm onto her shoulder and pulling hard in her direction.

The two of them were like contestants in a tense, thrilling game of tug-of-war.

The winner would get the food she wanted.

Passing pedestrians—men and women, young and old—all began calling out.

"Hey, beautiful, stop fighting. I'll go home with you and buy you whatever you want to eat."

"I knew something good would happen if I went out today. I didn't expect to see two beauties arguing. Now there's a good show!"

"Fight! Fight! I love watching girls fight."

The pedestrians were delighted, and more and more gathered around.

Dugu Qing thought the two of them were acting a little strangely, when he suddenly came up with a solution.

"All right, stop playing around. How about we settle this with rock, paper, scissors? We'll do what the winner says."

Frieren and Fern looked at the crowd watching them and felt slightly annoyed. To defeat each other as quickly as possible, they agreed to Dugu Qing's suggestion.

At Dugu Qing's command, Frieren and Fern raised their hands and made fists at the same time.

"Rock, paper, scissors!"

"Rock, paper, scissors!"

Twice in a row, Frieren and Fern actually made exactly the same move.

Dugu Qing looked at his empty hands, the corners of his mouth curling up. He pulled a silver coin from his pocket and hurried to the ice cream counter.

"Three ice creams, please."

"Of course."

The server took the ice creams, cold air rising from them, out of the freezer and handed them to Dugu Qing.

Dugu Qing took them and paid, not even waiting for his change before turning back.

Frieren and Fern still hadn't settled the contest.

A gentle, serene face pressed close to a delicate, adorable one as they gathered together, competing with fiery enthusiasm. The scene was full of excitement.

"Rock, paper, scissors!"

"Rock, paper, scissors!"

They both held out their hands at the same time, their slender, fair palms open and empty.

Seeing this, Dugu Qing hurried over and placed an ice cream in each of their hands.

"All right, it's a tie. Game over. Now we can eat our ice cream on the way to the grill restaurant."

Frieren raised her ice cream and calmly took a bite, looking inquisitively at Fern.

Why was she so set on having ice cream?

Could it be? Did she like sweets too? Then they shared an interest!

"In a bit, I want pork belly, grilled lamb, grilled pork chops, and black pepper beef strips."

Fern stayed at Dugu Qing's side like a girlfriend acting cute, looking at him expectantly.

"Sure, I'll order them for you."

Dugu Qing patted Fern on the head.

To Fern, the intimate gesture was full of affection.

Fern chuckled smugly, like a female general returning in glory after a victorious battle.

"Fern really does have a childlike temper!"

Frieren shook her head gently.

When she was with Fern, she often couldn't maintain the tranquil expression that had remained unchanged on her face for a thousand years!

Humans really were amazing.

The three entered the grill restaurant, took the menu, and picked out the food they wanted.

The golden, crispy barbecue came fresh off the grill, and the server brought it to their table with a smile.

Dugu Qing, Frieren, and Fern quietly enjoyed the food.

The fatigue of the day quickly faded away.

In the evening, the three walked toward Heiter's house with the setting sun at their backs and their shadows stretching long before them.