Chapter 121: Cold Burger

"A burger...?" Nadia gawked.

She picked up the paper-wrapped object and unfolded it, revealing a beef patty, cheese, crispy lettuce, and more wedged between two soft yet crispy buns.

’It really is a burger...!’ Nadia’s eyes widened.

Although it was cold, she could still smell its delicious, subtle aroma.

She salivated at the sight and smell, her stomach grumbling — it was absolutely irresistible!

After gulping her saliva, she looked up at Hilda, intending to question why she had this.

"Huh?"

Unfortunately, by the time she looked up, Hilda had mysteriously vanished!

This immediately puzzled the Heroine. Where had she gone?

As she was about to look around for the woman, she felt a sudden weight on her right shoulder, followed by a familiar voice.

"Your notes look really well-put together. Well done~"

Hilda, who was now sitting beside the Heroine, rested her head on the woman’s shoulder.

She gently flipped through the pages of Nadia’s notebook with her right hand while holding a burger of her own with her left.

She calmly analysed the woman’s notes with subtle enjoyment. "Several pages on my lessons alone! You must’ve learnt a lot, hehe. I’m very flattered."

Nadia, stunned and speechless at the position they were in, felt an instinctive urge to shrug Hilda off her shoulder. But then... she relented once she remembered the burger in her hand.

’It wouldn’t be right if I did that...’ The Heroine reflected before sighing.

After deciding to let the German stay where she was, she responded to the woman’s comment on her notes.

"Your lessons were... very helpful," Nadia stated briefly, then glanced down at their burgers. "How... how long did you have these on you?"

"Hm? Since lunch," Hilda answered in between bites. "I knew you’d be hungry, so I saved you one for later."

After saying that, she made an inquisitive expression as she stared at her burger. ’It’s cold...’

Over the past few days since she came back, she hadn’t had much of a chance to experiment with her Inventory, as she’d been constantly travelling around the country.

So the fact that the burger was now cold, compared to earlier, left her rather surprised.

’I suppose this means the System Inventory must be a space where physics still applies. Or something like that.’ Hilda smirked, staring amusedly at the cold burger. ’What an interesting subject~...’

Unaware of Hilda’s thoughts, Nadia felt rather sheepish at the woman’s response, sensing no lies in it. "Oh, uhm... I see. Thank you... Hilda."

"Hm? Oh! My pleasure! Hehe."

With a complicated look in her eyes, Nadia averted her gaze from the German.

As she silently ate the burger she was given, she couldn’t help but notice one thing about its taste. Compared to when it was hot, it tasted different.

"..."

’It tastes better cold...’

...

Once they were finished, Hilda stared dazedly at Nadia, who was packing up her things. Of course, she was eventually caught.

"What?" Nadia asked curtly. "Is there something on my face?"

Hilda quietly processed Nadia’s words and quickly came up with a witty response.

She chuckled. "Something on your face? Yeah... I suppose I would have to say beauty? Hehe."

Nadia stared at Hilda taciturnly and rolled her eyes. She resumed packing. "Yeah, yeah, alright. Thanks."

"Aww, come on~! You can’t tell me that wasn’t good, haha!"

...

Hilda tossed away the wrappers into the classroom’s bin.

She dusted off her hands, clapping them over the bin, before turning to look at Nadia, who had just slung her bag over her shoulder.

They were now ready to leave.

With a gesture, Hilda said:

"Come, Meine Dame. I’ll walk you back home."

"Huh?"

Nadia, who was just checking if she had everything, glanced up.

By the time she fully processed Hilda’s words, the woman was already at the door, opening it for her like some gentleman... or gentlewoman?

Startled by the offer, Nadia waved her insistently. "I’ll be fine on my way back. I’d rather you not fol—"

"Oh, please! I insist!" Hilda smiled brightly. "To round off this pleasant day, I would like peace of mind knowing that my dear Dame made her way back safely!"

At that, Nadia’s face darkened with reluctance. ’She’s going to follow, regardless of how I feel about it...’

Although Hilda had definitely been nice to her all day, even buying her food and drinks without being asked, she still didn’t trust the woman — especially with information on where she lived.

"..."

Nadia blinked. ’Am I just being paranoid?’

Thinking it over again, Nadia didn’t see much of an issue with letting the woman know. Sure, Hilda was an extremely odd, touchy, and dangerous individual, but... that was all.

Nadia closed her eyes and held her chin, pondering the matter. In a public space, like her apartment complex, what was the worst Hilda could do? Annoy her? She was bound to do that, anyway!

’I doubt she’ll do anything as extreme as breaking into my apartment. And even if she does, I could just report her!’ Nadia thought confidently.

She doubted the authorities or even the Academy would let Hilda off easily for something like that!

Nadia smirked subconsciously, confident in her decision, and opened her eyes.

But the moment she did...

"Alright, fine, you can com—w-why are you so close!?"

She found Hilda’s face mere inches away from hers.

Flinching, the Heroine stumbled back, clearly startled by the closeness.

As she was about to question Hilda’s intentions for being that close, she watched as the woman cracked a knowing smirk.

"That was quite the smirk~ you don’t do that often. Were you thinking of something really~ funny? Or did you come up with some kind of plan~?"

Nadia flinched. ’Crap.’

At the woman’s subtle reaction, Hilda chuckled, gathering all that she wanted to know. She then turned around and made her way to the door.

"Come along, then. It’s getting super~ late. Surely, you don’t want to spend all day here, do you?"

Breaking out of her stupor, Nadia moved to chase after the German.

But before she did...

’Should I...?’

She stopped in front of the chart Hilda put up.

Nadia stared at the star magnetic with her initials, then glanced up at the spot above it in the 5-star section. For a split second, she considered it, then... decided against it.

After closing the door behind her, she chased after the German.