"I'm Martha, a nun from Stacia Church."
She led them to a small room in the church's corner, resembling a parlor. Nun Martha introduced herself while pulling out two chairs, inviting them to sit.
Noticing her slight trembling, Asuna quickly stepped forward to help, smiling politely. "We can do it ourselves… Nice to meet you, Ms. Martha. I'm Asuna."
"I'm Yuu, nice to meet you." Unlike Asuna's demeanor, Yuu gave a brief greeting, then looked at Nun Martha with a puzzled expression, as if lost in thought.
Asuna placed a chair in front of him, tilting her head in confusion. "What's wrong?"
Yuu thought for a moment, then said bluntly, "Ms. Martha's face looks unhealthy."
"Hey, Yuu-kun! Why would you…?"
Frowning and tugging his sleeve, Asuna grumbled about his overly direct attitude. But Nun Martha waved dismissively, pulling at her dry, wooden-like cheek and smiling. "Just an old ailment. Old folks are like that, don't worry. Please, sit."
"Sorry about that. My friend here speaks too bluntly. He's annoyed me a few times too…" Asuna sighed resignedly, bowing respectfully to the nun before sitting.
"Why are you apologizing?" Yuu whispered near her ear.
"It's your fault…" Unconsciously touching her ear, Asuna lowered her voice, irritated. "Being polite to elders is normal, right? Nobody just says someone looks unhealthy like you…"
"She's an NPC. A character made of data, only responding with set phrases."
Asuna pursed her thin lips, looking at him seriously. "Even so, we should still respect elders!"
"Yeah, yeah."
Shrugging, Yuu didn't want to argue with her odd stubbornness, so he stayed quiet. Nearby, Nun Martha watched their whispering with a cheerful expression before speaking.
"Miss Asuna, Mr. Yuu, you're adventurers, right?"
NPCs typically call players adventurers, regardless of their Ids. But perhaps due to this NPC's higher intelligence, when Nun Martha addressed them, it felt like an ordinary old woman calling out to kids nearby, lacking the usual stiffness and distance of other NPCs.
"Yes, we're adventurers new to this city!" As if immersed in the plot, Asuna smiled at the nun. "We happened to pass by this church today, drawn by its grandeur and beauty, so we couldn't resist coming in to look around… Sorry for disturbing you."
"Too kind. Not only Goddess Stacia, but I personally welcome you both…"
The trivial conversation passed. Yuu glanced up. Above Nun Martha's head was a gray question mark, indicating a mission was available but its conditions weren't met yet. Maybe after their chat, her mission could officially unlock?
As he thought this, his arm was suddenly nudged.
"Yuu-kun, Yuu-kun!" Asuna's voice sounded anxious.
Snapping out of his thoughts, Yuu instinctively placed his hand on his sword hilt. "What's up?"
"Look!"
Asuna's eyes sparkled, holding several light-brown biscuits, her cheeks puffed as she chewed, speaking to him vaguely but excitedly. "Biscuits baked by Ms. Martha herself—they're delicious! If sold at Ms. Susan's bakery, they'd fetch over a thousand Cor. She said we can have them all!"
Moving his hand from the sword to his face, Yuu rubbed his forehead and sighed. "…Great, that's nice."
Nun Martha smiled. "Old folks can't eat that much. As long as you enjoy them, that's enough… If you like, I can teach you the Cooking skill and the recipe."
"Really?" Shoving all the biscuits into Yuu's hands, Asuna bowed deeply, saying loudly, "Thank you so much, Ms. Martha!"
Amid her thanks, Yuu took a biscuit and tried it. It was indeed delicious, likely top-tier mastery in the real world. Thanks to Asuna, though they hadn't received a mission, he also got the Cooking skill and Nun's Biscuit recipe from Martha. Sadly, it couldn't be made in reality, and that stingy system wasn't generous enough to grant Dessert-Making skills.
After tasting the delicious biscuit, Yuu suddenly said, "Asuna, train your Cooking skill."
"Eh?" Asuna paused, her fingers stopping on the menu. "Sure… Don't you like cooking?"
"I do, but I cook every day in the real world, so I don't want to keep being a chef in-game." Yuu waved lazily. "Besides, there's a limit to how many skills you can train yourself."
"There are so many life skills in this game. Later, you train sewing and cooking, I'll train forging and fishing, and so on. Complementing each other is more efficient."
Asuna nodded attentively, her gaze fixed on her level-zero Cooking skill.
"I see, so we should pair up…"
Yuu flashed a pleasant smile. "Exactly. Hurry and train. Our team's food will depend on you, Chef Asuna."
"Why does it sound like you're making me a free chef…"
Glancing at him, Asuna sighed, speaking resignedly. "I really can't do anything about you. I'll try my best! Hopefully, cooking in-game isn't too weird and works like in the real world."
"It'll be simplified, or it'd be too troublesome."
As he said this, Yuu's eyes turned odd.
[Ding!]
[Congratulations, host, you received a reward: 500 yen]
(Tch, I make you a free chef, and you reward me? Asuna, you're too generous!)
"You two adventurers, may I ask you a question?"
Waiting for a pause in their chat, Nun Martha spoke in a weary, old voice. Asuna quickly turned, her attitude still sincere, like facing an elder. "Of course, please ask!"
With a kind gaze on them, Nun Martha smiled warmly and said, "Are you two lovers, or perhaps married?"
"…Huh?!"
Asuna's small lips parted, her face full of unexpected shock. She instinctively glanced at Yuu beside her, only to be met with his confused expression.
"Why look at me? Don't tell me if I said yes, you'd date me? Listen to my advice, young lady—be careful with online dating."
"…"
Her cheek twitched like a spasm, and Asuna firmly looked away, stating bluntly to Nun Martha:
"Absolutely! Not! True!"
"We're just ordinary teammates! I, Asuna, even if trampled by Orcs or beaten to death by a pig-headed man with a club, would never date a flirty, reckless-talking, disrespectful guy like him!"