Miss Fíliya didn't get her wish after all.
The delicious dinner she had imagined was nonexistent from the start. All she received was black bread hard enough to chip a tooth and some visibly murky water.
"How awful... just awful. Is this what you people eat?"
Fíliya rubbed her eyes with an exaggerated motion.
"Tch... This is the front line. What did you expect, a feast?"
Wirbel shot Fíliya an impatient glare.
"It's because this is the front line that you should be eating better, don't you think? Look, your subordinates are risking their lives to hold back the Demon Race, yet they can't even have their most basic material needs met. Isn't that a little too pitiful?"
The moment Fíliya finished speaking, Wirbel turned to Ehre with a very strange expression.
"Ehre, is she some noble lady? How is she even more trouble than you?"
"What do you mean, more trouble than me? I adapted pretty quickly. I haven't complained once about eating rocks that are impossible to chew every day here, you know."
"No, no, isn't the very phrase 'eating rocks that are impossible to chew every day' a complaint in itself? And you say you haven't complained."
"Isn't it the truth?"
Huh? Why are these two starting to argue? Fíliya tilted her head slightly, then let out a soft cough.
"Ahem... What I mean is..."
Her drawn-out tone successfully recaptured their attention.
"What I mean is, have you really just been eating these black rocks dry? You're mages, for goodness' sake. Haven't you thought of a way to deal with this?"
Fíliya stared at the two of them, a look of confusion on her face.
"A way? What way? It's common knowledge that supplies are hard to come by out here... Besides, this is a battlefield. It's saturated with chaotic mana. Magical beasts are very sensitive; they fled long ago. We can't even hunt some magical beasts for food."
"If there are no magical beasts to eat, why not just eat members of the Demon Race?"
Fíliya said it instinctively, but she immediately realized her mistake.
She saw the two people before her staring at her as if she were a monster.
"Fíliya... you..."
Wirbel wore an expression of utter disbelief.
"Ahaha... I was just joking, don't be so tense... I mean, the Demon Race are intelligent, humanoid creatures after all. Eating them would be a bit hard to stomach... haha. Besides, they turn to ash as soon as they die, so you can't eat them anyway."
Fíliya quickly scratched the back of her head, her tone slightly theatrical.
"Fíliya... you wouldn't actually..."
Seeing Fíliya's behavior, Ehre suddenly shuddered, then scooted her chair a little closer to Wirbel.
"I said I wouldn't... Do I look like an ogre? Hmm? Look at me, look into my pure, innocent eyes... Stop hiding behind Wirbel... Honestly."
Fíliya sighed and thought to herself, 'No, I have to salvage my image.'
So she took a deep breath and began to speak in a more serious tone.
"I'm saying, have you never thought of using magic to improve your lives? Watch this."
As she spoke, Fíliya cast a spell on a piece of black bread on her plate. After a brief flash of light, the black bread transformed into a steaming, fragrant, soft, and slightly crispy... white loaf.
"Hmph, hmph, see? The 'Magic to Turn Black Bread into White Bread'."
Fíliya placed her hands on her hips, looking at the two of them smugly.
But the praise she expected never came.
After a brief silence, Wirbel and Ehre exchanged a look, then began to lunge at Fíliya like madmen.
"What are you doing? I'm the leader here! Ehre, you little brat, you dare try to snatch it from me?"
"Well, I'm a girl! Wirbel, you have no grace. Are you really going to snatch food right out of a girl's mouth?"
"Sorry, but my fists don't hold back, not even for a woman... I'm having that bread."
...
Watching her two colleagues 'scuffle' over a piece of white bread, Fíliya couldn't help but click her tongue.
"You poor things. How long has it been since you've eaten anything good... Alright, alright, both of you, calm down... There will be bread, and there will be milk."
Fíliya said, stepping between them and pulling them apart with her hands.
"Really... why don't you look at your own seats?"
Fíliya prompted.
The two seemed to regain their senses. They then saw that the black bread and water originally at their places had been transformed into white bread and milk.
At last, the two stopped arguing and returned to their seats, their faces blushing.
"I just don't get it... Have you two... really never learned this kind of convenient 'folk magic'? It's super useful, you know!"
Fíliya leaned back in her chair, propping her chin on her hand as her curious gaze wandered between her two colleagues.
"Don't need it. Folk magic is time-consuming and difficult to learn, and it doesn't increase my combat power. I only need to learn magic that can slaughter the Demon Race."
Though he was wolfing down his food, Wirbel still took a moment to reply to Fíliya.
"That's right. The remnants of the Demon King's army are making a comeback, and the war between humans and the Demon Race is only going to intensify. The academies now prioritize practical combat magic, so they don't really teach these kinds of spells anymore... The most a young mage might learn these days is simple folk magic like 'Tidying Up' or 'Carrying Items'."
Ehre said with a blush, looking a bit embarrassed.
"I see. Well, I'm going to step out for a bit."
After hearing their replies, Fíliya nodded, then stood up and walked toward the door.
"Huh? What are you going to do?"
Wirbel asked hastily after swallowing a mouthful of bread.
"I'm going to improve everyone's meals, of course. We can't have the three of us mages sitting here eating white bread and drinking milk while we let the rest of the troops keep chewing on rocks, can we?"
Fíliya said with a light laugh, without turning around.
Fíliya's response made Wirbel's pupils dilate slightly, and then he smiled too.
"...Sorry, Fíliya. I just assumed you were some crazy woman, but I guess you do have a human side after all."
"...Hey, is that supposed to be a compliment? But as for having a 'human side'... I'd say we're all in the same boat."
With that, Fíliya pushed open the door and left.
After some time, once Fíliya had improved the entire unit's rations with magic, she returned to the temporary command post.
Of course, in the process, she also earned quite a few points from grateful hearts.
Finally, it was Fíliya's turn to eat. But just then, Ehre, like a curious child, scooted her chair over next to her.
"Um... I've been meaning to ask, Fíliya. What did you mean by 'we're all in the same boat'?"
____
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