After that, she really became a true troublemaker.

But even though Li Ang later learned of her strength, he never coveted this part of her.

Well, you can’t say he never considered facing difficulties together, but her rather erratic thinking and completely self-centered behavior made cooperation impossible. It was like the first time he experienced the feeling of a mother hanging a pancake around a child’s neck before leaving home in a story. Every time before a mission, he would prepare food and water, genuinely worried that her kind of living style would one day starve her to death.

Looking back later, he really didn’t know how the feelings between them had developed earlier, and he even once doubted if there were any feelings between them. But providing food and shelter and care seemed to make his indulgence unreasonable...

Even so, she eventually pulled that stunt by suddenly disappearing, which left him heartbroken.

Whenever he spoke, it always seemed like Meluna didn’t take it seriously, but whether or not others listened, at least he enjoyed the sound of his own voice.

Meluna wanted to say something, but before she could open her mouth, her stomach growled.

A group of people gathered around to listen to her stomach rumble. Someone like Dorothy, a delicate young girl, couldn’t keep her expression in check, and Otto frowned, while Meimei covered her face and squatted down.

Yet she herself felt nothing from the gazes of others.

"Li Ang, I’m hungry."

Meluna looked at Li Ang with expectant eyes.

When at the restaurant, Meimei had eaten for free, so naturally, Li Ang hadn’t ordered anything for Meluna, and so she hadn’t eaten.

"Didn’t you buy anything yourself?"

"I spent all my money, you said not to take things randomly."

"What about back in your world?" Li Ang had never asked this question before, and only now knowing it was a broken world did he start to sketch images in his mind. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

"People living in tents gathered to cook, and when they saw me, they would share their food with me."

"That sounds like a refugee shelter." Meimei whispered.

Dorothy grinned and said, "They probably took you for a vagrant."

Li Ang rubbed his forehead. Back then, he couldn’t understand this woman at all, but now he somewhat grasped the reasons behind some of her behaviors. It sounded like her world wasn’t any better than Meimei’s. Regularly traversing the remnants of destroyed civilizations and starting to wander at less than ten years old, it was indeed impossible for her to communicate like a normal person.

"What did you eat before coming to Mengze Island?"

"Fruits, rabbits."

"Why did you also eat rabbits?"

"Tasty."

Li Ang glanced at Akuya, whose pink-haired girl had already balled her fists.

In front of so many people, especially traditional elders like Otto, Li Ang had no choice but to take care of her. He didn’t prepare a whole meal, just gave her some of the fruits Diana sent earlier and a small portion of the supplies stored in the Dimensional Rift, including canned meat from various herbivorous animals.

In full view, Meluna started eating with reckless abandon, her mouth small so she couldn’t take big bites, but her manner was as fierce as a tiger, quickly messily getting food all over her face.

Li Ang looked around. The people surrounding him were either Zoe and Akuya, openly mocking, or Farina frowning in dismay, or An and ALulu, expressionless and lost in their thoughts, or Meimei, covering her face in embarrassment at her own disgrace, and Otto, who expected Li Ang to clean up after Meluna.

In the end, he was compelled to handle the situation.

He took out a towel, dampened it with water, and during her eating breaks, wiped off the parts messily covered, then sat quietly to wait for her to finish.

"Finished eating."

Meluna opened her hands and sat upright facing Li Ang, closing her eyes.

Li Ang used the towel to wipe off the remaining food crumbs around her mouth, then cleaned her hands using a fresh towel.

Just looking at her hands, they were beautifully artistic, perhaps due to her adept use of magic power, as she never overburdened her hands, so there were almost no calluses from the sword hilt. In contrast, Zoe’s hands, although fair and tender, when held, had some toughness about them.

As he cleaned her, Meluna’s throat seemed to hum in faint pleasure, as if she were a large dog nestling by his side.

Dorothy gritted her teeth and said, "What does this mean? Is this already a regular custom?"

"Grr! I want Li Ang to do this for me next time." Zoe said angrily.

If Dorothy had seen her usually so easily agitated, she’d have made a teasing remark, but this time she understood and said nothing.

After Li Ang finished, Meluna opened her eyes, looked around, then stood up.

Originally still muttering, Dorothy took a half step back. Meluna didn’t look at her but instead spoke to Otto, "I’m full now, so let’s fight."

"Was she not striking earlier because she was hungry? When I’m hungry, I also have no energy." Zoe wondered.

"That’s not it," Dorothy pursed her lips, "She just had a mood boost after being pampered."

"Oh?" At the mention of a swordfight, the old Sword Hero’s interest was piqued. Li Ang saw he originally had something to say, probably intending to advise Meluna on how to live, but now he was too eager to bother.

The Black haired Female Sword Hero immediately drew the long sword from her waist, and as the sword’s light manifested, a chill reminiscent of deep water enveloped the surroundings.

Savor it carefully, this cold was akin to the threat as the sword edge neared. It was not merely the power of the Water Attribute but also an extremely sharp Sword Intent.

Magic power naturally slicked her black hair back, revealing her breathtakingly beautiful face, but at that moment, her beauty paled in comparison to her formidable presence.

At this moment, standing before them wasn’t a helpless, messy young girl, but a monster that had survived countless dire and perilous battles.