The bonfire's flame dance into the night, I finish skinning the last wolf with my skill. Cooking in this world is easier, but it doesn't feel as special as when I did it for her. But maybe having less control isn't so bad, it means that if I mess up my cooking, it isn't my fault, it's the skill's fault.

I cut up the skinned wolves into nice little meat squares, Lexia claps as I bring the food to the bonfire.

"Man, this looks great!" Lexia tries to grab some of the food from my hands, but I pull it away before she can reach it. "Why are you a cook and an adventurer anyway? I didn't even know civilian classes could adventure solo."

"Good food is necessary to stay healthy, so I need to cook well." I skewer the meat and put it above the fire, Lexia's eyes never leave the meat, as if she's about to reach into the fire and grab the food the moment I look away.

She lays down on the grass, opting to stare at the night sky. "Doesn't explain why you took up adventuring, you could've opened a restaurant or something."

"I had to eat food. I didn't have money for food, so I hunted other things, mostly slimes. Then I learned I could get money by selling the things I couldn't cook to the adventurer's guild." I turn the meat around once I see one side is sufficiently roasted, I hope wolf meat taste good.

"Ugh, what's your obsession with healthiness anyway?" Lexia asks, "I know people who want to be rich, or strong--but never anyone obsessed with something as lame as general healthiness."

"Someone I trust told me that I should be healthy and happy, so that's what I'm trying to be."

She laughs. "So you don't even want to be healthy for yourself? Because someone else told you to?" She sits up, a smug grin on her face. "Come on, set your own goals--and make it big while you're at it!"

"What goal should I have, then?" I ask.

"Do you have slime in your ears too? Why are you asking me? You have to set a goal yourself. If it comes from me, it doesn't count!"

"What counts as a goal?"

"ARE YOU-" She takes a fistful of grass and throws it at me. "You're so frustrating to talk to. You know what? Figure it out yourself, I'm going to sleep." She snatches some roasted meat from the bonfire and stomps back to the tent.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

For some reason, I feel bad about this--I'm not very good at identifying my emotions, but I can generally tell when it's negative or positive.

After checking my inventory, I figure out what I want to cook. I take out two wooden bowls and pour hot water in it, then I add some vegetables and the roasted meat--and finally--I add condiments for extra flavor. Most of my meals aren't particularly complicated, but they should be filling enough, which is the point of food.

I go back to the tent with my new dish, and I can see Lexia munching on the meat cubes as she's tucked in her sleeping bag. I put the bowl next to her and pull out my own sleeping bag.

"You can't sleep in the same room as a girl, go outside." Lexia orders in an uncharacteristically icy tone. I just nod and take my sleeping bag before heading outside, but she interrupts me again. "No...come back here."

"But you just told me to go outside."

"And you're okay with that? I just asked you to sleep in the dark, cold night, and you are OKAY with that?"

I shrug. "I'm used to sleeping outside."

"Listen, we're a team, right? This means we're on equal standing, you and I." I nod, and she continues, "Then, if I ask you to do something stupid like sleeping outside, then you can just ignore that and sleep inside anyway, if I say something that pisses you off, then you're allowed to be angry with me."

"Do you...want me to be angry with you?"

"YES! I mean, not exact- ACK!" She spills some of her food, and she hurriedly puts the bowl away before making more of a mess. "I want you to be a little more...selfish? I guess?"

"I'm sorry, I still don't understand what you want me to do."

She buries her face in her hands and screams. I'm really not sure what she wants from me, but considering her reaction, I think that it's not what I'm doing right now. "What do you want right now?" she asks, her voice a pitch higher than before.

I rack my brain as I try to think of something that wouldn't offend her. I think she got angry every time my goals mentioned someone else, so it must be something that I want and where I am the only person concerned. Being healthy and happy isn't what I wanted, it's what she wanted for me. But I can remember something that could be considered a selfish desire, something that I wished for time and time again with every death I went through.

"I want to stop existing," I answer.

I expected her to shout again, but she doesn't. She slowly takes her face out of her hands, her green eyes wide open--I never noticed she had green eyes, but it's a lot easier to see now that her eyelids aren't getting in the way.

"Okay," she says a lot more quietly than expected. "I kind of feel bad for shouting at you now." She laughs meekly.

After a few long minutes of silence, I assume the conversation is over, and I go to sleep.

In the middle of the night, I can hear Lexia shake around in her sleeping bag. "Hey, the meal tasted nice," she says, breaking the silence.

I'm not sure if I'm supposed to answer or not, so I don't. I hear her groan and go back to sleep, and I make a mental note to cook more for her.