Sipping little by little, the cola can was empty before I knew it.
Leia stared at the empty can with a very disappointed look.
Jeong-min smiled and said to Leia,
"Would you like another one?"
Leia's eyes widened at Jeong-min's words, and her face lit up.
"Thank you, but... is it okay? Something so precious..."
"Precious? Well... of course, now that the [Trial of God] has started, it won't be as easy to get as before... but it's basically a very common drink."
Jeong-min took another can of cola from his bag, popped the top, and handed it to Leia.
"Such an amazing drink is common... Jeong-min's world must be an incredible place..."
Jeong-min chuckled and said to Leia,
"I don't know about incredible... Ah, well, the carbonation in the drink might sting your throat a little. But it's still good, right? It's much better when it's cold... it's a shame it's lukewarm."
Leia, who seemed used to the throat-stinging carbonation, took sips of the cola and muttered quietly after hearing Jeong-min's words.
Leia's hand holding the cola glowed white for a moment.
Leia took another sip of cola and said with a very bright face,
"It's really cold, so it's even more delicious! To think there's a drink like this... this is really..."
Leia looked at the cola Jeong-min was holding and said,
"Give me that one too. I'll cool it down for you."
Jeong-min, mesmerized, handed the cola to Leia.
As Leia held Jeong-min's cola and muttered quietly, it glowed once more and then disappeared.
Jeong-min, receiving the cola back from Leia, could feel the coldness of the chilled can.
Jeong-min said in amazement,
"Leia... you really have a variety of useful skills... The skills I have are all rejected as useless."
Leia took a sip of cola and said,
"Jeong-min's skills are useless? They even allowed you to travel through dimensions?"
"That's true as a result... but it seems that combat skills that can be used immediately are more in demand in this era..."
Jeong-min explained what had happened to him, complaining as he spoke.
About being rejected by large shelters and small guilds, and the despair he felt. These were stories he couldn't bring himself to tell Jun-ki.
Leia listened to Jeong-min's story silently, with the cola can to her lips.
Jeong-min, having finished his story, said awkwardly,
"Well... I'm just complaining for no reason."
"It's the same as when I first awakened."
Jeong-min stopped talking and looked at Leia.
"The same...?"
Leia stared at Jeong-min for a long time, then nodded slightly and said,
"Yes... when I first awakened, I had two skills. A sprint skill that allowed me to run at high speed, and a skill to summon a light orb that illuminated dark places. Both were skills that weren't really related to combat."
"....."
"Everyone said. With those skills, I would die soon after the [Trial of God] started... The guild I tried to join kicked me out, saying I was just a burden with useless skills."
Leia took another sip of cola and continued,
"Just as I was frustrated and about to give up everything... I met my teacher and comrades. With their help and sacrifice, I was able to grow... And so... I have become a survivor who has remained until the very end, reaching the stage of finishing the [Trial of God]."
"....."
Leia, having finished speaking, fiddled with the empty cola can, lost in thought.
She looked back and forth between the campfire and Jeong-min, seemingly pondering something for a long time.
Continuing her thoughts, Leia said to Jeong-min,
"... If... if Jeong-min is okay with it... would it be alright if I did for you... what my teacher did for me?"
".... Huh?"
Jeong-min looked at Leia with surprised eyes.
"Jeong-min traveling through dimensions, which is forbidden by God, and appearing before me... it's a coincidence. A huge coincidence... but if it's such a big coincidence... I thought it might not be a coincidence, but fate... destiny."
"...."
"... I always felt a great burden in my heart for not being able to repay the grace I received from my teacher and comrades. I wonder if they sent Jeongmin to me to relieve my burden."
"... If you help me, of course, I would be very grateful, but... wouldn't it be too much for Leia, who is about to face the final battle..."
Leia shook her head and said,
"I can't do anything great for you either. I'm just... telling you things based on my experiences in the [Trial of God]. That's all."
Jeong-min looked at Leia with touched eyes.
"... Thank you so much..."
Leia smiled as she looked at Jeong-min, who was bowing his head, then blushed slightly and said,
"Well... I don't really want much..."
"....?"
When Jeong-min looked at her with questioning eyes, Leia avoided his gaze and said softly,
"Just... sometimes... that... cola? If you could let me have one once in a while..."
Jeong-min smiled and said,
"Is cola all you want? I'll empty my entire inventory to introduce you to as much delicious food from my world as possible."
"No... not that much... that drink called cola... if it's a common drink in Jeongmin's world, you'll be able to buy it at a reasonable price at the Store that will open later... so just occasionally. Just one once in a very while..."
Jeong-min, thinking Leia, who was bowing her head and blushing, was cute, was startled and shook his head.
'She's older than me... and I'm calling a woman who takes on those terrifying monsters cute... I'm something else...'
At that moment, a faint sound came from Jeong-min's stomach.
Grumble grumble
Jeong-min's face flushed slightly at the sound coming from his stomach.
'Ah... come to think of it, I haven't had a proper meal today.'
Leia seemed to have heard the sound too, and said to Jeong-min,
"You seem hungry. It's also mealtime... would you like to have dinner together? I only have hard bread and soup, though."
Jeong-min said, slightly embarrassed,
"Ah... I haven't had a proper meal today... if it's okay with you, can I treat you? It's not much, but I'd like to show you some food from my world. I brought some when I went to my inventory earlier."
A look of anticipation flashed across Leia's eyes at Jeong-min's words.
"... Then... would it be alright if I asked you to? I've been eating only hard bread and watery soup for every meal... so I'd like to try some other food."
Jeong-min opened his bag and took out a portable gas stove and a camping pot set.
"It's a very common food that people eat easily in my world... I don't know if it will suit your taste. Please wait a moment. I'll prepare it quickly. The name of this food is... ramen."
"Ramen... it sounds like it would be delicious..."
Jeong-min placed the gas stove on the ground and put the pot on top.
"Ah... I didn't bring water..."
Having forgotten to bring a bottle of water, Jeong-min asked Leia,
"Do you happen to have any water? I forgot to bring water."
Leia looked at Jeong-min and said,
"Do I just need to fill that pot?"
"Yes, just fill it here..."
Before Jeong-min could finish speaking, a balloon-sized amount of water was created in the air and slowly entered the pot.
"Wow..."
An exclamation escaped Jeong-min's lips.
Jeong-min adjusted the amount of water and lit the gas stove.
Click
As the portable gas stove lit up, Leia's eyes widened.
"Jeong-min...? Was that just now... a skill?"
"Ah... it's not a skill... well... how should I explain it... science...? Should I call it that?"
Jeong-min explained the principle of the gas stove as he knew it.
Leia was very surprised to hear Jeong-min's explanation.
"Jeong-min's world... that science is a very developed world. Amazing..." Jeong-min smiled and put the ramen in the boiling water.
Leia watched Jeong-min's movements as he cooked the ramen with great interest.
Soon the ramen was finished, and Jeong-min poured it into a bowl and handed it to Leia.
"Well... you probably haven't used chopsticks before, have you? I wonder if I have a fork..."
Leia raised a fork and showed it.
"Ah, you have one. Then please try it. I cooked it with the least spicy ramen possible, but I don't know what Leia will think of it."
The two sat facing each other and began to eat the ramen.
Leia twirled the well-cooked ramen noodles with her fork, blew on them, and put them in her mouth.
Leia's eyes widened slightly.
Leia began to eat the ramen silently.
She was sweating profusely and panting, probably because it was quite spicy, but she kept putting the ramen noodles in her mouth.
Jeong-min looked at Leia, who was inhaling the ramen, with a proud look, and began to eat the ramen himself.
The ramen bowls were soon empty.
Leia, who had eaten the ramen in an instant, stared at the empty bowl with a disappointed look.
Jeong-min said,
"Did you enjoy it?"
Leia looked at Jeong-min with slightly dazed eyes and said,
"I really... enjoyed it so much... To be honest, I can say it's the most delicious food I've ever eaten... How can there be such a food... and it seemed very easy to make..."
"I'm glad you liked it. I'll show you various Earth foods in the future."
Seeing Leia smiling so happily, Jeong-min felt a warmth in his heart.
Whoosh
A gentle breeze shook the campfire between them.
Jeong-min shivered and thought,
'It's getting late... it's a bit cold...'
Jeong-min wrapped his arms around himself and shivered.
Leia, seeing Jeong-min shivering, handed him a blanket.
Jeong-min said as he received the blanket,
"Aren't you cold, Leia? You seem to be wearing thin clothes..."
"Ah, I'm fine. I have a skill that keeps me at the optimal temperature for living."
"Ah... there really are... so many different kinds of skills."
Jeong-min put on the blanket and sat back down.
Leia said,
"That's right, there are so many different kinds of skills that you might wonder, 'There's even a skill like this?' Well... today I'll tell you a little about skills."
Jeong-min straightened his posture and prepared to listen.
"There are three ways to acquire skills. Getting them randomly when you first awaken, buying them from the Store. I wouldn't recommend this. The price of skills sold in the Store is... really too expensive. And lastly. A method of learning by using items with skills engraved on them. There are three ways in total. I recommend the third method to Jeong-min."
"A method of using items with skills engraved on them?"
Leia nodded.
"Most of the skills I have were also learned by using items. The method is simple. By using an item with a skill attached to it and continuing to use that skill, the skill itself becomes engraved in your body, and you can use it even without the item. Of course, you can't learn a skill by using it just once or twice."
"Ah...."
Jeong-min recalled the sword he had heard about for the first time in Leia's inventory.
'If you hold that sword, you can use the skill 'Strike'... By using that sword and continuing to use 'Strike', it becomes my skill later on...'
Leia's explanation continued.
"I have many items with skills engraved on them. Use the items with the skills you want, Jeong-min, to acquire those skills."
"... Is it really okay?"
Leia smiled and nodded.
"Of course. However... I would like you to return them once you have fully acquired the skills... Those items are... all... keepsakes from precious people..."
Seeing Leia speaking with a sad face, Jeong-min said urgently,
"Ah... of course. I will use them carefully and return them..."
"And..."Leia opened her inventory and took out a silver necklace.
It was a thin, chain-style necklace with no embellishments.
"If you wear this necklace, you'll be able to use the skill 'Eye of Appraisal.' Use the Eye of Appraisal to appraise the items in my inventory. You'll be able to see what skills you can use, and what the content of those skills are. The 'Eye of Appraisal' skill is very useful, so don't take the necklace off until you've completely mastered it."
Jeong-min took the necklace and put it around his neck.
Leia looked at Jeong-min and said,
"Try using 'Eye of Appraisal' on anything."
Jeong-min looked at Leia's tent and tried using 'Eye of Appraisal.'
[Store Tent]
Two-person field tent. Owner: Leia
Jeong-min looked at the message that appeared before his eyes and understood how to use the 'Eye of Appraisal' skill.
'Ah... so it's like this...'
Leia watched Jeong-min use the skill and said,
"Would you like to use 'Eye of Appraisal' on me?"
"Ah... is that okay...?"
Jeong-min used the Eye of Appraisal on Leia, who nodded.
A window displaying Leia's stats appeared before Jeong-min's eyes.