What Yae Sakura had prepared was not some lavish feast of delicacies or mountain rarities, but very ordinary, homely cuisine.
Rice balls wrapped with pickles, miso soup, some sweets, and the Fried Tofu that Evan had specifically requested earlier. There was nothing else.
This was within Evan's expectations. Earlier, when he was scavenging for ingredients in Yae Village, he had only seen the raw materials for these specific items. What Evan hadn't expected was—
"Oh, oh, oh! The pickles in this rice ball are so delicious!"
Seeing Kallen cheering with sparkling eyes, Evan fell silent for a moment. He briefly recalled the conditions of the virtual simulation Kallen had been in before.
The city, shrouded in the Black Death, had lacked vitality to begin with. There weren't many stalls on the streets, and Kallen had been treated as a criminal the entire time, locked away in a cell. Previously, Evan and Kiana had seen the prison food: hard, tasteless bread that was difficult to swallow, paired with a cup of milk diluted until it was little better than plain water.
That must have been the standard meal for prisoners. It wasn't any different just because Kallen was the strongest Valkyrie. The high-ranking officials of Schicksal who loathed her wouldn't give her any special treatment before her execution. And the few people with a conscience, like Arthur, who wanted Kallen to escape, hadn't changed this detail either, to avoid alerting the enemy.
Kallen had looped through that simulation many times and eaten that food countless times. Now, tasting a rice ball that wasn't particularly extraordinary, she wore a face full of bliss.
Beside her, Higokumaru was also hugging a piece of Fried Tofu, eating happily.
"There aren't many ingredients left in Yae Village. What would you like to eat later? I'll bring it over."
Knowing that these ingredients weren't created out of thin air by Honkai energy or Corruption—and thus wouldn't regenerate after being eaten—Evan asked this question.
"Just keeping things as they are is fine. I feel like I'll never get tired of eating this."
Kallen's words brought a gentle smile to Yae Sakura, who had made the food, but they made Evan feel a mix of emotion and pity.
The rice balls Yae Sakura made were indeed delicious, but if anyone else were to eat them, they would find the diet monotonous after a few times. It wasn't that Yae Sakura's culinary skills were lacking, but rather that the resources in Yae Village were far too scarce.
This space wasn't purely fabricated by Higokumaru from nothing. Instead, she had used the power of Corruption to sever the original Yae Village from the normal world, turning it into her own domain. This place perfectly replicated everything about Yae Village, including the extreme scarcity of food varieties.
In a village that frequently suffered from droughts—severe enough that they had to sacrifice children to a "God" just to survive—where would they find abundant resources? The pickles used in the rice balls were likely wild vegetables from the mountain. The miso soup didn't have the rich seasonings that Raiden Mei used. As for the remaining Fried Tofu, that was probably already considered a precious delicacy in Yae Village.
Evan even suspected that the Fried Tofu was something Higokumaru had specifically brought in from the real world to satisfy her own cravings, as the original Yae Village likely wouldn't have had it.
Scarcity of materials doomed the flavors to be simple.
However, Evan didn't doubt the sincerity of Kallen's words.
A girl who could eat prison food without batting an eye, repeating that scene countless times, could undoubtedly do as she said—eat this simple food forever without getting bored.
The group sat on the walkway outside the shrine, slightly elevated above the courtyard ground. Eating simple but undoubtedly delicious food and admiring the cherry blossoms that seemed destined never to wither, a sense of tranquility and warmth brewed in their hearts.
Like Yae Sakura, Evan didn't eat much at this moment. Mostly, he watched Kallen and Higokumaru enjoy the meal with a smile. Sensing Evan's gaze, Higokumaru, who was happily munching on Fried Tofu, asked with a slightly muffled voice.
"As long as I have Fried Tofu, I'm good. By the way, Big Bro, where are you going to find ingredients?"
"This is an independent space. I need to go to the outside world to bring things in."
Evan didn't plan to hide the situation here from Higokumaru. In fact, when the time was right, Evan would let Higokumaru make her own choice: regain her memories and power to become the Herrscher of Corruption again, or continue being the carefree Higokumaru. It would all be up to her.
"The outside world? Do I need to follow you? Will Big Bro be in danger if he goes alone?"
Although she didn't quite understand, Higokumaru still showed her kind side, causing Yae Sakura beside her to gaze at her for a long time.
Yae Sakura suddenly realized she actually didn't know Higokumaru at all.
Is human nature inherently good or evil? At least Yae Sakura believed that Higokumaru was originally good. She had only lost her memories and power; Evan shouldn't have directly tampered with her personality.
Did merely losing memories cause such a huge transformation? It seemed Higokumaru also possessed a tragic past.
The subtle sense of distance and vigilance Yae Sakura had held toward Higokumaru gradually vanished, leaving only a faint sense of pity.
Evan answered Higokumaru's question.
"The outside world indeed isn't that safe, but I'm not a weakling who can't fight back. so you don't need to worry."
"Oh! If Big Bro needs help, I'll help you!"
Higokumaru put on a reliable look, patting her chest to guarantee it. To show off her imposing manner, she even conjured a small flame in her hand.
Unlike the dark red of the past, this flame lacked the original gloom, leaving only a bright, clear red.
However, such a tiny flame really lacked any intimidation factor. Evan couldn't help but laugh.
"Just enjoy your Fried Tofu."
At this moment, Evan overlooked a very important piece of information.
How would Higokumaru judge whether Evan needed help? She hadn't asked Evan to run back to this space to ask for help when he was in trouble.
Either Higokumaru had a special means to sense Evan's life status, or Higokumaru could independently observe the outside world from within this space.
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