Christina froze for a moment, then smiled and replied, "Mr. Jiang You, are you referring to the character from Prisma Illya?"
Christina lied without batting an eye. "You guessed it! The mapo tofu ramen was inspired by that. I saw them make it in every episode—isn't it a super popular dish?"
Both the Counter Force and Bubble had mentioned that her world, and even its parallel worlds, were recorded history in Jiang You's eyes, existing as games and anime. That's why, upon arriving in Jiang You's world, Illya had immediately conducted an intense self-research. After learning a vast amount of plot details, she'd also stumbled upon quite a few lewd (?) fanarts. This was how she could so smoothly answer Jiang You's question.
"I see."
The explanation was a bit strange, but it made sense. Mistaking a real girl for a game or anime character was a bit ridiculous, and they weren't even that close. Jiang You decisively dropped the topic.
The spiciness was a challenge even for him. For the rest of the meal, Jiang You focused all his energy on finishing the ramen and mapo tofu, leaving no room to think about anything else. Christina did the same. For her, the spice level was sheer torture, but to avoid arousing Jiang You's suspicion, she ate the entire bowl without a single complaint.
I should have asked that fake priest to adjust the recipe, Illya thought. When she'd gone to Kirei Kotomine for the recipe, he had agreed readily and repeatedly assured her it was absolutely authentic—so good that even people from Huaxia would praise it endlessly. He guaranteed Jiang You would love it. That's why Illya had meticulously recreated the mapo tofu ramen, following the recipe to the letter. If Jiang You had enjoyed it, all her effort would have been worth it. But from his furrowed brow, she could tell he was at least 80% dissatisfied.
Seeing Christina's swollen lips, Jiang You couldn't help but chuckle. "If you can't handle spicy food, you shouldn't force yourself. Aren't you just torturing yourself?"
Illya wanted to cry. She had brought this upon herself. But to maintain her persona, she had to keep up the act. "Only this level of spice is truly authentic. If it's not spicy enough, can you even call it mapo tofu? Besides, I love spicy food, so I secretly learned how to make this dish."
Jiang You found this understandable. It was like stinky tofu—some people felt it wasn't authentic unless it was overwhelmingly pungent.
"I see. If I get the chance, I'll take you to a Sichuan restaurant. Since you love spicy food so much, you have to try it."
"That would be great!" Illya forced a cheerful expression, secretly hoping Jiang You would forget about this promise.
After they washed the cooking utensils and bowls together, it was already ten o'clock, but Christina was still lingering at Jiang You's home.
It was the weekend, and for high school students, it was also summer vacation (synchronized with the Prisma Illya timeline and other timelines, as has been mentioned many times). So it was perfectly normal that Christina didn't have classes. After all, given the grueling schedules of Huaxia high school students, who would have time to make their own breakfast?
Sharing a room with a relatively normal (compared to a certain B.B) beautiful girl wasn't necessarily a bad thing. However, Jiang You wanted to log on and play his game. Out of courtesy, he couldn't just get into his dive pod in front of her.
"...By the way, you have school tomorrow, right? Are you sure it's okay not to tidy up your place? You won't have anywhere to live otherwise."
"Don't worry about that. Someone will take care of it."
If possible, Illya planned to stay at Jiang You's place, but she knew she had to take things one step at a time. Besides, there was no one here to compete with her.
"Also, I just arrived and I'm not familiar with the area or the local customs. Mr. Jiang You, could you please be my guide?"
The phrase "get familiar with the area" reminded Jiang You of yesterday, when Miss Tong had used the same excuse to ask him out.
He had a nagging feeling that Christina had the same idea, but she seemed much more reserved. Still, agreeing would mean giving up his personal time, while refusing would seem cold and unfriendly.
Social etiquette is such a hassle, he thought.
After wrestling with the decision for a while, Jiang You finally agreed to Christina's request. After all, she just wanted to see the neighborhood, not go on a date. It wouldn't take much time. He could treat it as a break from gaming. Ever since joining the beta test, he had rarely gone out.
"Alright, let's go."
Christina very naturally took Jiang You's hand.
He turned to stare at the overly familiar girl but didn't immediately pull away, acting as if this kind of thing had happened often before. He reasoned that he didn't understand German customs very well. In Europe and America, they even had cheek kisses as greetings, so holding hands probably wasn't a big deal. It was best not to overreact until he was sure.
"I'm actually a little scared of getting lost," Christina said.
Christina explained, showing no intention of letting go. She raised her head and met Jiang You's gaze directly.
"When I was very young, I got separated from my parents. The feeling was awful, and I don't want to go through that again. So... could you please hold my hand tightly?"
So it's psychological trauma? Jiang You thought. Still, she's getting way too familiar too quickly. He could only nod. "Then stay close to me."
-
Prisma Illya World
"Speaking of which, hasn't Jiang You been gone for a long time?"
After the Nero incident subsided, all memories of it were erased from the minds of ordinary people, and life seemed to return to normal. However, those involved with the Magus world retained their memories. They remained stubbornly ambitious, still hoping to seize the chance for "ascension" from Nero and Illya.
Nero, in particular, still retained her Tru'nembra Spirit Origin. The Magi had even formed a fan club for her, hoping she would one day unleash her Noble Phantasm again. But they weren't there for the music; they just wanted to stop being human. This infuriated Nero, who couldn't resist physically attacking them on sight.
Elizabeth, on the other hand, was much more relaxed. Since she hadn't directly caused any trouble, she'd heard about Nero's past debut through a talent show and secretly signed up for an idol group herself. She was determined to surpass Nero in fanbase as well.
Overall, the Class Card problem in the Prisma Illya World had become a minor issue. Servants, once incredibly rare, were no longer anything special. The entire city now harbored two unstable factors, each as dangerous as a nuclear bomb.