In room 32, the first thing they did was take a bath.
After filling the bathtub with water, he saw the 30 boxes with [Hot Bath Stone].
Each daily stay at the Sunlight Inn has the right to one hot bath.
These stones, when poured into the water, begin to dissolve while heating the water.
The water remains hot for at least 30 minutes; enough time for them to clean themselves.
"I'll go later." Luan said with a smile: "You can go first, Catharina."
Now without the veil and hood, it was possible to see her expression.
Her half-closed eyes, while she smiled, were very cute.
"Thank you." She replied with a soft and melodious voice.
Luan was stunned.
He looks in her direction, seeing her hurriedly with rosy cheeks.
'What was that just now?'
That surprised him quite a bit, after all, it was the first time her voice sounded so... How to put it into words? Yes! It was so intimate, and not cold at all.
It was a striking contrast if compared to her usual voice.
Soon, a smile adorned Luan's lips: 'That's good. It means she's abandoning the past, right?'
He was genuinely happy for her.
...
Catharina's mind was a bit confused.
Not exactly today, but she noticed how the girls looked at Luan and that left her uncomfortable for some strange reason...
Today in particular, she noticed it even more.
Honestly, she could understand. To her, Luan was the best person in the entire world!
After leaving the bath with her long white hair slightly wet, she could barely look Luan in the eyes.
"It's your turn." She says with her head down.
"Can you take over the kitchen? You just need to keep an eye on the rice pot and finish frying the steaks." Luan asked.
"Sure." She agreed easily.
She tied her hair in a ponytail, and took his place in the kitchen.
Minutes later, Luan returned.
After dinner, Luan seemed to have noticed something, and asked: "What happened? Is something bothering you?"
Looking at her feet, she hesitates, but soon looked directly into his eyes: "Luan, why are you so good to me?"
This was something she couldn't understand.
Even now that she was capable of living on her own, he didn't abandon her. To say that she never feared that this day would happen would be a big lie.
Although she knew her own worth, or at least, she thinks she knew, still, she felt that she was a burden, since she needed to live hiding, and because of that, she even prevented him from socializing like a normal person.
A good example was the way they hunted in the dungeon, always lurking, avoiding curious eyes and such.
Smiling, Luan held her hands with his. He looked deeply into her eyes.
Catharina's heart accelerated without understanding.
His smile becomes wider when he responded: "Because you are worth it."
Catharina's heart gave a jump, its rhythm was interrupted. She turned her head slightly, without daring to look at him, her fingers unconsciously squeezing his hands.
She had imagined many possible answers from Luan.
Regardless of what he said, she would have accepted it.
But she never expected him to say that it was simply because she was worth it.
These words left Catharina speechless. They echoed in her mind, repeatedly.
It was as if her heart was wrapped in layers of sweetness, and she couldn't avoid the desire to hear those words again.
At that instant, the fog of her youthful confusion dissipated, and Catharina suddenly saw her own heart with crystal clear clarity...
--
--
The next morning, it started to snow.
The wind howled fiercely against the windows.
Because of the cold, Luan didn't even want to get out of bed.
Catharina, who was lying next to him, didn't have as much problem as him because of the cold; in fact, it made her sleep even more deeply.
'We have enough money, there's no rush to go to the dungeon.' Thinking like that, he decided to return to Earth and return to the training routine.
...
Later, inside the simulation.
Unlike the village, in Down City there was a huge shopping center with a significant diversity of things.
Skipping breakfast, around 11 o'clock in the morning, he went out even with a lot of wind and snow, with the intention of buying condiments to make lunch.
He bought legumes, greens, milk, cheese, among other things.
The quality of the cheese he bought seemed even superior to that of his world.
'This isn't Lv2 milk, right?'
He didn't even consider it to be Lv3, since he imagined it would be absurdly expensive.
Another thing he bought was wheat flour, Lv1 chicken fillet, Lv1 ground beef, and a whole piece that weighed 1.5 kilos of Lv2 lamb meat.
Full of shopping bags, he returned to the inn.
...
In room 32.
In the kitchen, Luan started preparing lunch.
Catharina wanted to help, but he stopped her this time.
That day, he intended to make something that apparently didn't exist in this world.
Starting to create the dough, kneading the wheat dough on the kitchen counter.
Normally, you need to let the dough rest, but he didn't do that, making thin square models, and taking them to the oven to pre-bake.
Minutes later, all the pre-baked doughs were ready.
The next step was the sauce that he had already started.
Adding more firewood, he started preparing the ground meat.
...
Several minutes later, a delicious smell hung in the air.
The smell of dough, mixed with cheese, ground meat, and seasoning became irresistible.
Just from the smell, it attracted Catharina, and her curious eyes were drawn to the shape in the center of the table.
"This is..."
"Lasagna." He replied: "Wait just a little, the rice is almost ready, and we can eat."
In addition to rice and lasagna, he also made french fries.
"It must be delicious~" She sang.
Luan laughed a little at her reaction.
If there was a moment when she showed the best reactions, it was at mealtime. After all, he knew she was a 'little gourmand'.
When the rice was ready, Luan placed a wooden board in the shape of the bottom of the pot on the table, then placed the pot on top.
"We can eat." He announced.
The lasagna had already been cut into several pieces in the pan.
They took rice, and when it was time to take the lasagna, the melted cheese stretched, amazing Catharina who looked at it with her bright eyes.
"Interesting..." She murmured.
Smiling, Luan also served himself with two pieces of lasagna, and a little french fries.
French fries were not something strange for Catharina, she also took some.
"Mmn~~ Delicious~" Catharina's cold voice sounded almost erotic.
Without realizing it, she didn't notice Luan's face heating up, as he disguised it by lowering his head.
At a steady, almost accelerated pace, they continued eating until nothing was left.
"That was wonderful, Luan~!" Catharina let out a sigh of satisfaction.
Laughing a little, he said with a smile: "I'm glad you liked it. I'll do this more often."
"Yes, please!" She turned red upon noticing her response, but it was received with a smile that reassured her.