Wanting Beef Brisket with Potatoes

After setting the two Hajimis down, Yukinoshita said to Li Yu, "I've taken care of the room. You can go straight in and draw the Magic Array."

Li Yu nodded and headed for the open door. Without hesitation, he got right to work.

Kato Megumi and Asuna came in with the others and watched from the side. Just like yesterday, Li Yu first marked out four positions, then crouched down and began drawing.

But when Asuna saw the pattern he was drawing, she asked in surprise, "Is this Magic Array different from the one in my home? I remember mine didn't look like this."

"The environment's different, so the Magic Array is different too. Otherwise, why do you think they cost so much?" Li Yu casually explained, helping them understand how it worked.

Li Yu had drawn two yesterday, so today he worked much faster. In just twenty minutes, he finished drawing the entire Magic Array.

Once he was done, Li Yu helped activate it. After making sure there were no major problems, he packed up his tools and turned to Kato Megumi. "All done here. Let's go to your place!"

All Li Yu wanted now was to finish up as soon as possible, then go to the market to buy groceries and have dinner with Asuna.

"Okay. Yukino, do you want to come?" Kato Megumi had no objections. She looked over at Yukinoshita, inviting her to join them if she wanted.

"No, I'll tidy up here. I'll get in touch later, and we can go eat together." Yukino Yukinoshita shook her head. Everything in her home was still outside, and she needed to put it away.

At that, Kato Megumi thought for a moment, then nodded. "Okay. Message me later, and we'll have dinner together."

Once they'd made plans, Kato Megumi headed to her place with Li Yu and Asuna. Her home wasn't far from Yukino Yukinoshita's.

It took them only five or six minutes to reach their destination. Kato Megumi lived on the fifth floor, and the apartments all seemed to have more or less the same layout.

They were a lot like the place Li Yu and the others lived in, built specifically to rent out to students. Li Yu even suspected they all belonged to the same landlord!

Come to think of it, Sister Mi had said she owned several buildings that she rented out. Could these apartments all be hers? Maybe she'd handed them over to a property manager and gone to run her shop herself?

Li Yu couldn't help wondering. Otherwise, how could all these apartments look so similar?

Kato Megumi had already moved everything out of her room, waiting for Li Yu to come draw the Magic Array. Maybe, like Yukino, she'd gotten up early and started moving things right away?

Thinking of Kato Megumi and Yukino Yukinoshita getting up early, brushing their teeth, and then immediately moving everything out made Li Yu chuckle.

At Kato Megumi's place, Li Yu followed the same steps and quickly drew the Magic Array for her. He'd used up almost all the materials in his hands, with only a little left, so he simply threw it away.

"Done!" Looking at the Magic Array he'd made, Li Yu nodded in satisfaction. This time he'd been even faster, finishing in just eighteen minutes.

"Thanks for your hard work, Li Yu." Kato Megumi gazed at the Magic Array on the floor, her eyes bright with delight. Now she'd be able to increase her magical power over the next couple of days and break through to the third rank.

"I did the job, so I got paid. We're done here, so we'll get going. Let me know if anything comes up." Li Yu dusted off his hands and reminded her.

Kato Megumi smiled. "Of course I'll come to you if anything comes up. You two can head back. I won't keep you."

After saying goodbye to Kato Megumi, Li Yu and Asuna left her home together and started back to their own place.

"Is there anything you feel like eating?" Li Yu couldn't help asking Asuna on the way back. She'd treated him to a meal yesterday, so today it was his turn.

At that, Asuna said, "I want beef brisket. Can you make it? If you can, let's have that!"

As for what she wanted to eat, Asuna had a clear favorite. Of all the food here, she liked beef brisket best. If Li Yu could cook it, that would be even better.

"No problem. I'll make beef brisket stewed with potatoes tonight. Anything else?" Li Yu nodded and agreed at once. It was no trouble at all.

"Hehe, sorry for the trouble. Oh, Li Yu, we should pick up some medicine later, too. We'll need to get ready for Monday's Dungeon." Asuna suddenly remembered something and suggested it to him.

Hearing that, Li Yu thought for a moment before answering. "Medicine... I think I'll buy some materials and make it myself. That stuff is ridiculously expensive!"

All kinds of potions were very expensive, and Li Yu didn't want to be the sucker who paid those prices. He might as well make them himself. It shouldn't be a problem.

"Make them yourself? Will that really work?" Asuna looked at Li Yu in confusion. Wouldn't it be a lot of trouble? And would he have enough time?

"It'll be fine. You can find tutorials online for things like Basic Potions. It shouldn't be hard for me to learn." Li Yu was brimming with confidence.

They were just potions. Li Yu could study tonight, then buy all kinds of materials tomorrow and start making them. He could study while asleep or awake.

If he could make something himself, why spend money on it? His hard-earned cash was precious, so making them himself was the better option.

"Then I'll wait until you've made some. If they work well, I'll buy them from you!" Thinking of Li Yu's freakish talent for learning, Asuna had made up her mind.

Maybe Li Yu really could make them. If he did and they worked well, she could simply buy them from him.

Save when you can, spend when you have to. If you could save a little, why not? For that reason, Asuna decided not to buy any and wait to see what Li Yu came up with.

"I haven't even started making them, and I've already got a customer?" Hearing Asuna say that, Li Yu burst out laughing. Still, it wasn't a bad deal. If Asuna bought them from him, he'd definitely give her a good price.

"Save when you can, spend when you have to. If I can get them cheap, why would I pay more?" Asuna said it with complete conviction, and Li Yu couldn't argue with her.

She really did believe in his talent. Otherwise, she wouldn't have made that choice. Li Yu smiled and said nothing more, taking her straight to the market.

Once Li Yu arrived at the market, he started shopping while Asuna quietly followed along. Since he'd just moved, he was missing a lot of things, so he had to buy them all again.

Thinking about the new place reminded Li Yu that he still hadn't given up his old apartment. He still had a deposit there, so he'd have to contact the landlord and get it back later.

What if the landlord refused to return it? As if. They were in this kind of world, where people really would beat you up if they said they would. Who didn't know a few moves?