Even though he understood that the key to victory in this war might lie in finding the girl at the center of the world, Lin Luo still had absolutely no clue where she was or where he should even begin looking. With the scant information he currently possessed, he could only grope vaguely toward the direction he felt was most correct, guided only by the connection between the Heart of the World and the Book of Contracts.

Thus, Little ABER was instructed to continue scouting from the skies while remaining cloaked, and Lin Luo and the others proceeded through the forest at a leisurely pace, prioritizing the conservation of their stamina. Although the environment had changed, this area was equally vast; without Little ABER guiding them from above, they could easily become lost.

After walking for several hours in this forest, night finally descended. Lin Luo summoned Little ABER down from the sky and said, "It's gotten dark. Let's find a place to spend the night for now; traveling after dark is inconvenient."

No one objected to this proposal; they were exhausted after walking for a full day. This was especially true for Little ABER. While stealth was her basic ability, maintaining flight while remaining invisible consumed a great deal of magic. Thus, the moment she landed, she flopped onto Lin Luo's head, sprawling out completely.

Lin Luo felt quite annoyed by the little creature treating his head as her personal resting spot, but seeing how hard she had worked, he couldn't bring himself to push her off.

"Rest is fine, but what about dinner?" Shokuhou found a relatively clean patch of ground, sat down with a plop, and asked weakly. This was the most she had ever walked in a single day, and her physical stamina could barely handle it.

"Dinner... here it is." Hearing her question, Lin Luo flicked his hand and pulled out two plump wild pheasants from behind him.

"Whoa! Where did you conjure those from?" Shokuhou jumped in surprise, as she had just seen his hands empty moments before.

Lin Luo smiled slightly and casually pointed to a nearby thicket, saying with feigned nonchalance, "When we were passing by just now, I happened to spot these two fellows hiding there, just hanging around, so I scooped them up."

Shokuhou was speechless, and even Mugino looked awkward.

"Alright, next up: we feast on whole roasted pheasants." Lin Luo tossed the two wild birds—whether dead or alive, they suffered total annihilation just for 'hanging around' (this story teaches us not to casually hang around)—onto the ground and rubbed his hands together, saying, "Let's roast them whole."

"Roast chicken! I want some too!" Upon hearing there was food, Little ABER, who had been nodding off, suddenly lit up. She shot down from Lin Luo’s head with lightning speed toward the two motionless birds on the ground.

Of course, she was caught mid-flight by Lin Luo, who held her up in front of him, poking her small head with his finger. "You greedy little thing! These are still raw. Do you plan to eat them with their feathers still on?"

"I do not eat things raw! I am a lady," Little ABER grumbled in protest.

"A lady?" Lin Luo's mouth twitched, feeling a 180-degree sense of incongruity. "Aren't you a Knight? When did you become a lady?"

"Who says a Knight can't also be a lady? I am both a Knight and a lady," Little ABER declared righteously, hands placed firmly on her hips.

"Fine, you're a lady. Then this esteemed lady will kindly go practice some pre-meal etiquette." Lin Luo realized arguing with this creature was like playing a lute to a cow; he simply tossed her aside and started gathering firewood to start the fire and roast the chickens himself.

He had so many women with him, why did he have to cook?

Wait, who asked that question? How could anyone be so clueless? Did they think the noble lady Mugino Shizuri, raised in the Dark Side, knew how to cook? Or perhaps Shokuhou Misaki, a student who was also a Queen, could handle cooking? Or maybe just a little food bucket who only knew how to eat?

Lin Luo was different. He realized this from the start, so without a second thought, he assigned this task to himself.

Of course, the step of killing could be omitted; that was too gruesome.

Similarly, the step of cooking could also be omitted, as it would take too many words, and this was not a culinary novel... Generally speaking, Rin, who possessed all five elements, was an indispensable, wonderful woman. With her magic, everything was convenient, and the quality of life improved.

Finally, less than half an hour later, the two roasted whole pheasants were fresh out of the fire, their aroma instantly filling the air. Lin Luo handed one to Mugino and Shokuhou. "Taste and tell me how it is?"

The two accepted them casually and each took half. At this moment, there was no talk of noble ladies' elegance; both were already famished and immediately began devouring their portions.

But after only a few bites, Mugino frowned. "Although the roast chicken smells delicious, why is it completely flavorless? It’s too bland."

"Nonsense," Lin Luo couldn't help but roll his eyes at her. "Without salt and seasoning, of course, it has no taste. Just the fragrance is good enough to smell."

"Then does that mean from now on in this world, we'll have to live like this without any salt, oil, or sauce?" Upon hearing Lin Luo's words, Shokuhou's expression drastically changed. Eating one or two bland meals occasionally was fine, but if they had to stay in this world for eight months like last time without enjoying good food, that was more terrifying than encountering a nest of snakes.

Lin Luo smiled and explained, "It's not quite like that. It's just that we were too rushed today and didn't have time to prepare. Actually, extracting those seasonings isn't hard if we have time."

Shokuhou breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good to know. If we have to eat such bland, tasteless food every day, I'd rather sleep in the Fourth Dimension." With that, she lowered her head and continued eating.

You truly are a spoiled young lady, Lin Luo thought privately, while saying aloud, "Look at Little ABER over there, so obedient, not complaining at all, quietly eating her dinner... Hey, Little ABER, you ate the whole chicken! What about my share?"

Lin Luo was halfway through his complaint when his gaze snapped toward her, and his expression immediately changed. The other vibrant, fragrant roast pheasant was gone, replaced only by a pile of chicken bones on the ground, and Little ABER holding onto half a chicken in her hands.

"Mmmph-mmph-mmph..." Little ABER was gobbling everything down, her mouth stuffed full, her entire face shiny with grease. When she saw Lin Luo looking at her, her eyes darted around, seemingly contemplating something. Less than half a second later, her thoughts concluded, and she swept up the remaining half-chicken in her hand even faster.

"I..." Lin Luo nearly spat blood. This creature knew he hadn't eaten yet, yet she snatched food so brazenly. She was clearly aiming to make him starve—she was wicked to the extreme.

Lin Luo gritted his teeth and lunged forward, trying to snatch the last half of the chicken with his hand. But what he hadn't expected was that Little ABER, small as she was, possessed great strength. After tugging for a while, he couldn't get it, and she only managed to shove even more into her mouth.

Good heavens, is this a case of pressure leading to greater motivation? Lin Luo finally understood: trying to wrestle food from the mouth of an eating machine was harder than climbing to heaven.

However, Lin Luo was not one to be easily bullied. He pressed his thumb against Little ABER's forehead while gripping the chicken leg she hadn't yet managed to cram into her mouth with his other hand, then yanked hard. "Hand it over!"

"Waaah!" Little ABER cried out, her eyes misting over—not from pain, but because Lin Luo had seized a chicken leg.

With immense effort, Lin Luo finally managed to forcibly reclaim the single remaining chicken leg from Little ABER's grasp. But what depressed him was that this leg was no longer 'pure'; not only was a large piece of skin and meat missing, but it also bore a tooth mark...

Lin Luo nearly wept. After working hard all day, not only did he not get the best portion, but he was reduced to eating a chewed-up chicken leg... Was his life really this miserable? Really?

At that moment, Lin Luo suddenly felt like singing—singing that song: You are so cruel, so cruel, so cruel, cruel, cruel, cruel...

Forget it, half a chicken leg is half a chicken leg. He’d just make do with it; it wasn't worth the trouble of getting another one.

Lin Luo sighed inwardly and took a fierce bite out of the chicken leg... Finding pleasure in hardship, he considered it an indirect kiss with his sovereign.

"You're too cunning, stealing someone else's food," Little ABER said, wiping her mouth after finishing and pouting as she began to scold Lin Luo for his behavior.

You damn hypocrite, accusing the victim first?

Lin Luo couldn't help but roll his eyes repeatedly. He had initially thought Little ABER was a mascot, but it turned out she was an ungrateful little wolf who stole food from her master. How could he bear this?

"You little thing..." Lin Luo intended to give her a good scolding, but the moment he saw her sitting on the ground, tilting her head up to look at him with that incredibly cute expression, he couldn't bring himself to do it. He poked her flat little stomach and asked curiously, "By the way, where did that whole chicken you ate go?"

"It was digested, of course," Little ABER stated proudly.

"Your digestive system is truly excellent." Fully digesting an entire chicken in less than a minute—even the CP9 member from One Piece who used Life Return, Kaku or whoever it was, wasn't as formidable as you.

"I'm thirsty," Little ABER said again, lifting her small face to stare at Lin Luo.

Lin Luo felt utterly speechless. Who exactly was the retainer and who was the master now? Had he become a babysitter? Fine, now even this little one dared to step all over him... Ugh, to act wild in front of him.

Never mind. For now, he would fully embrace the spirit of Ah Q. Lin Luo sighed quietly.

"You want water? That's easy." Saying this casually, Lin Luo reached his hand toward the fire pit. Then, the Rule Force activated, and a large mass of water suddenly materialized before his palm. A cup formed from white mist completely contained it and he presented it before Little ABER. "Here, water is served."