"Out so soon?"
Himeko raised an eyebrow in surprise as she watched Felicity walk out of the guest room car.
She had thought the young couple would be all lovey-dovey in the room for a while longer.
"I helped Herta with some research for a bit, then she went back. By the way, what about March and the others? Are they not back yet?"
Felicity stretched lazily, only then remembering she hadn't retracted the Ambrosial Arbor's Divine Root on her head. She reached up, lightly tapped the tip of the Divine Root, and then pressed down firmly.
The Divine Root immediately retracted.
"March said she wanted to take some pictures of the Xianzhou's architecture as a souvenir. Dan Heng went to take care of some personal matters, and Stelle went with him, saying she wanted to rummage through the trash cans in the Scalegorge Waterscape too."
Himeko explained as she poured a cup of coffee and handed it to Felicity.
"Care for some coffee? It's a new version I developed. I personally ground the coffee beans into powder with a monomolecular saw. It's infused with the maker's heart, so I'm sure the flavor will be even better…"
Himeko looked at Felicity expectantly.
Felicity's movements froze for a moment.
She glanced at the monomolecular saw placed next to Himeko, finding it hard to imagine how Himeko had used such a thing to grind coffee beans into powder. But looking at the coffee, which was practically black sludge, Felicity fell into deep thought.
After all, this was coffee that Himeko had ground by hand with great anticipation. Seeing Himeko's expectant gaze, Felicity couldn't think of a reason to refuse.
Could this be some kind of vile magic?
Felicity couldn't help but fall into deep suspicion. Should she start stacking some Effect RES?
She still picked up the coffee and brought it to her lips with a calm expression.
One sip.
Perhaps because of her last experience, the bitterness wasn't as intense this time. For some reason, however, the blessing of Abundance automatically triggered.
"It's delicious."
Felicity nodded at Himeko, her expression unchanged.
Even Pom-Pom, who had been playing with Bailu nearby, fell silent, gazing at Felicity with an expression full of reverence.
*Passenger Felicity, you are a little too great.*
However, since Pom-Pom was no longer paying attention to Bailu, the bored little girl set her sights on Himeko.
She already loved to eat and drink, and what's more, the person she admired most right now, Felicity, was drinking that very coffee. Still somewhat childish, she naturally had the urge to imitate.
"Can I have a cup too, please!"
Bailu swayed on her feet and nodded politely at Himeko.
"Hmm… I suppose so?"
Himeko hesitated for a moment before handing over a small cup of coffee.
She had wanted to refuse Bailu on the grounds that children shouldn't drink coffee, but then she remembered that the aging process on the Xianzhou couldn't be judged by ordinary standards.
One couldn't generalize about people's bodies, let alone the High Elder of the Vidyadhara.
If she really didn't like it, she would probably put it down after a sniff.
"Wait…"
Felicity's pupils suddenly constricted.
Bailu happily took the coffee and, before Felicity could even stop her, took a huge gulp.
Then, the light in her pupils scattered.
"…"
Seeing the expression freeze on Bailu's face as she stared blankly, Felicity impassively set the coffee back down and picked the little girl up.
"It looks like little Bailu needs some rest. I'll take her back to the Xianzhou now."
With that, she turned and left the Express without hesitation.
...
*Munch, munch.*
A sweet and sour flavor bloomed on her taste buds. Bailu smacked her lips, finally recovering from the soul-shaking bitterness.
"I thought I was going to die... How does that stuff taste just like medicine, only more concentrated!"
Bailu grumbled, wiping her mouth. She leaned comfortably into Felicity's embrace, her gaze soon falling on a slice of fruit Felicity was holding between her fingers. A curious look appeared on her face.
"What kind of fruit is this?"
She had never tasted anything like it, nor had she ever seen such a fruit. It was surprisingly delicious.
"Hm... A secret recipe from my hometown?"
Felicity coughed lightly, stuffing the last piece of fruit into Bailu's mouth. She then nonchalantly pushed the Ambrosial Arbor's divine root that had sprouted from her head back in.
She was just testing it out; she hadn't expected it to actually grow fruit.
She had even made a point to taste the first fruit herself. It contained too much of the Blessing of Abundance; an ordinary person would probably attain immortality immediately after eating it, though she didn't know if there were any side effects.
To prevent her power from affecting Bailu, she had deliberately restrained most of the blessing when she grew the second fruit, leaving only a small portion to secrete sweetness and heal Bailu's taste buds.
"Aw, why!"
Bailu said with some regret. She ate the last piece of fruit, then continued to lean lazily in Felicity's arms.
"..."
The scene fell into a brief silence. After a moment, Bailu spoke again in a low voice:
"Big Sis Felicity... you're leaving soon, aren't you?"
"Yes."
Felicity nodded frankly.
"Hmph..."
Bailu pouted. She was tempted to ask Felicity to take her along, knowing that Felicity would most likely not refuse her request.
But... perhaps she herself wasn't truly ready to escape the Xianzhou.
Being controlled and confined made one want to flee. But would begging Felicity to take her away count as a true escape from that life? Bailu didn't think so.
Bailu wanted to wait until she had the ability to leave this chapter of her life on her own before moving on to the next, rather than constantly troubling others.
"Alright, then I should probably go turn myself in at the Alchemy Commission."
Bailu said with a sigh. Officially, she was still a runaway. Although this was probably the longest and most fun she'd ever had, she still felt it wasn't enough.
The little dragon girl hesitated for a moment before taking Felicity's hand, her small face quite serious.
"But you have to promise me! The next time we meet, you have to tell me new adventure stories!"
"That's too small of a request~"
Felicity's heart ached for her as she gently ruffled Bailu's hair.
*Such a sensible child. I can't let her suffer.*
Before Bailu could react, Felicity conjured a platinum-colored flower out of thin air as if by magic and placed it in Bailu's hand.
"This flower will never wither, you know~ If you plant it, who knows? It might even bear the same fruit you just ate."
Although it was just a memento, it was still better than leaving nothing at all.
"Really?"
Bailu was skeptical, but she still happily accepted the flower, deciding to go back and plant it in the most conspicuous spot in her room.
"Of course it's true. After all—"
Felicity patted Bailu's cheek and said with a slight smile,
"Big Sis Felicity is omnipotent!"