The SSS-rank Guide Doesn't Need Saving

Aisha opened her contact list and tried calling Zenick’s terminal, but the call went unanswered. She called him a few more times until she thought it was enough.

First, she needed to understand what was going on.

Why did the merchant ship get destroyed? Where could Zenick have been taken to?

These two needed to be answered quickly.

But what was the most important question there was... Was Zenick still alive?

Aisha honestly didn’t want to be pessimistic about it, but having lived a life where anything could happen, she couldn’t help but think of the worst of it all.

Besides, she doubted that Zenick would just go missing after telling her he’d see her after he checked the situation at the dock. He wouldn’t just leave the younger sister he adored without a parting word.

She immediately opened the Gaia Stellar News. A merchant ship was just destroyed; it wouldn’t be possible for it to be kept a secret.

However, there was no article or piece of gossip that could point out that a merchant had been wrecked at one of the docking sites. And no news of a merchant heir being abducted either.

Aisha opened Theon’s message and sent him a reply: [Have you asked his crewmates about his whereabouts? He told me there was an explosion and one of his friends had been injured.]

After sending her reply, Aisha walked into the kitchen and acted normally as she always does. Though the tremors in her hand suggested that she was not as calm as she wanted to appear.

Not even a minute after she sent Theon a message, a reply came.

[I only found a few of them. They said they didn’t see Zenick.]

[They told me he never went to the dock. It looked like they had no idea the merchant ship was even destroyed.]

Aisha furrowed her eyebrows. A flicker of unease appeared in her eyes as she read his message. She knew it couldn’t be right. The grim expression on Zenick’s face had been real at the time he received a message. Though she didn’t see what he had seen on his terminal, the situation looked extremely serious and urgent. Besides, the fact that Zenick had to rush elsewhere and abandon her before they could reach the imperial hall made it evident and more obvious that something went wrong!

But why did his crewmate claim they hadn’t seen him?

Her eyes flashed coldly.

Then she sent Theon another message.

[Tell me where his crewmates were last seen or where they’re staying.]

Theon’s reply came in an instant.

[Why? I’ve already talked to them.]

Aisha did not respond and only stared at her terminal, tapping her finger against the surface of the countertop, and waited.

[Fine. I’ll find out where they are.]

After receiving his reply, Aisha was not reassured. Instead, her expression hardened even more, her entire being pouring out coldness that made anyone not want to get close to her. It was as though everything around her had turned into a big cellar made of ice.

It took a moment before she calmed down, suppressing her violent emotion. She turned around and started to prepare their meal as if nothing had happened.

In just a few minutes later, the three who had been inside the training room emerged and arrived in the kitchen with their body sweaty and expressions weary from the exhausting training they had just gone through.

”Haa... I’m hungry.”

”All you think about is food.” Sabel kicked him in the shin, but Vesper dodged quickly.

He jumped and landed spectacularly next to the table and sat down on the chair, smiling at her smugly.

”You’re just pissed you lost to me.”

Sabel rolled her eyes at him, taking the seat across from him.

Kane didn’t sit immediately and watched Aisha prepare their meal in silence. He went over to her side and asked her, ”Is there anything we can help with?”

Aisha raised her head and thought for a second before nodding. ”Take some plates with you and bring them over to the table.”

Kane wordlessly obeyed.

When the meat was placed on a bigger plate and brought to their table, her classmates stared at the food for a moment. It looked nothing like they had seen before. And most surprising about this was that it was Aisha who cooked and prepared the food!

Wasn’t she originally a daughter of a wealthy merchant?

Kane and Sabel exchanged glances, both understanding the hesitation they felt about eating the food prepared by someone who might not even know how to cook. On the other hand, Vesper was none the wiser and completely unguarded about what was going on around him.

Under his two classmates’ careful watch, Vesper took his first bite.

Chew, chew.

Kane and Sabel: ”...”

At this moment, Aisha also took her seat at their table and looked at them. She lifted an inquisitive eyebrow and said, ”Eat as much as you want. I cooked enough for all of us.”

Then she left to go upstairs.

Sabel wryly smiled, watching as Aisha disappeared into a corner.

Just then, Vesper banged his hand on the table, shaking the plates on top of it.

”Ungg...” He looked at them with wide and bloodshot eyes.

Kane and Sabel leaned back with pale faces. Will they lose one of their friends today?

Suddenly, Vesper, who looked like he was about to be choked with his mouth still full, gave them a wide smile. His eyes glimmered with barely disguised delight. ”It’s so delicious! Where did you learn how to cook? F*ck, I can’t believe I’m tasting something like this for the first time! Why is the meat melting in my mouth?!”

Sabel seemed at a loss, speaking with a touch of bewilderment. ”I...is it that good? Are you sure?”

Vesper turned to her and nodded.

Kane frowned and immediately asked, ”On a scale of 1 to 10, which is more delicious, the one we ate at the restaurant or this?”

Vesper seemed surprised at his question. But he did not hesitate at all when he answered, ”I’d rather eat a hundred times this than the food at the restaurant.”

Hearing this, both Sabel and Kane were at a loss for words.

In the end, they also reluctantly placed a spoonful of meat into their mouths.

The dining table suddenly was filled with the sounds of ’ooh’ and ’mmmh!’. Not even having any idea that the meat they were savoring in their mouths was once filled with miasma and something they swore they could never eat, even if their life depended on it!

While they were ravenously feasting in the dining room, Aisha stepped into the bedroom and picked up her spiritual beast.

The tiny creature stirred from its sleep and raised its head, swaying side to side with its antennae.

”Hey, it’s time to eat.”

Nibbles’ antennae stood at attention at the mention of ’eat’, but before its excitement for food could even show in its behavior, it suddenly looked up at Aisha.

Without meaning to, Aisha could tell Nibbles could sense that something was wrong with her. A spiritual beast has a deep link to their awakened host’s mind and emotions. And right now, the little beast could feel Aisha’s desire to rip whoever took Zenick into shreds.

So, she confessed to her little companion. ”Nibbles... I think I might need to bloody my hands soon.”

”Guru?”

Her spiritual beast stared at her.