Late at night, having temporarily finished the day's affairs, Evan entered the Jizo Mitama Space. He brought a large pile of ingredients delivered by the St. Freya Academy logistics department, some daily necessities he had specially purchased, as well as the reader and solar charging equipment capable of displaying the historical data Bronya had prepared.
At this moment, Evan carried an enormously large backpack on his back and held several plastic bags filled with items in both hands. If not for his stigmata making his physical constitution far superior to that of ordinary people, Evan really wouldn't have been able to bring so many things in at once.
Although the Jizo Mitama Space wasn't overly vast—consisting only of Yae Village, the back mountain where the shrine was located, and the stream in front of the village, with areas further out shrouded in misty airflow and inaccessible—no one felt constrained by it.
Kallen had lived on a static stage for far too long. Because of the constraints of the play, she couldn't even move freely within that city. Now, inside the Jizo Mitama Space, she felt extremely free. As for Yae Sakura, she had been sealed for five hundred years, enduring five centuries of loneliness and darkness. Although there was nothing novel about Yae Village, she didn't feel bored, and even found it incredibly heartwarming due to Kallen's presence.
As for Higokumaru, she was a bit special. Whether as a fox-type Honkai Beast or in her earlier periods, she had endured loneliness far exceeding that of Kallen and Yae Sakura. She absolutely wouldn't feel any discomfort due to the limitations of the Jizo Mitama Space. But now, her memories were sealed.
Actually, the reason Evan had specially bought a pile of non-essential items—such as entertaining manga, storybooks, and even some handheld game consoles—was because he feared Higokumaru would get bored.
However, the subsequent development of events completely deviated from Evan's expectations.
"Big Bro, what were you doing with that red-haired Big Sister last night?"
When Yae Sakura picked out some of the ingredients Evan brought and went to the kitchen to prepare them, and Kallen followed to help, Higokumaru's attention wasn't on the various entertainment items. Instead, she asked this question with a face full of curiosity.
Red-haired Big Sister last night?
At that time, I was with Himeko Murata...
Realizing what she meant, Evan instantly felt his body stiffen.
"Higokumaru, can you see what's happening outside through the Jizo Mitama Space?"
"Mhm! But I can only see the situation within about five meters around [Jizo Mitama]. Since Big Bro seems to always keep [Jizo Mitama] hidden on your person, I..."
Before Higokumaru could finish, Evan snatched the tiny figure floating in front of him out of the air, gritting his teeth slightly.
"Why didn't you tell me earlier? Also, don't you know there's such a thing as privacy? How can you just casually peek at my life?"
"Privacy? Oh, oh! So the things Big Bro did with the red-haired Big Sister before are unspeakable privacy?"
Held in Evan's hand, Higokumaru didn't feel any panic. Instead, she found a comfortable position to lie down, wearing a face that said, "I learned something new."
Although the trust this little guy showed toward him made Evan somewhat gratified, her actions made him very unhappy.
Even if Higokumaru was a girl, Evan still had a basic sense of shame. Even Himeko Murata, who was usually graceful and natural, would probably feel very uncomfortable if she knew everything.
Evan deeply felt that he needed to educate Higokumaru properly.
"You are not allowed to peek casually in the future, especially at night. If you do it again, I won't bring you Fried Tofu anymore."
"Eh? Eh, eh, eh?!"
Not being able to eat Fried Tofu was the most terrible future Higokumaru could imagine.
The little one, who had originally wanted to cute her way out of it, saw Evan's serious expression and knew there was no room for negotiation. She agreed dejectedly.
She looked very pitiful, but Evan didn't soften his heart on this point.
"If you really feel bored, I'll take you outside for some fresh air."
However, he wasn't overly harsh either. Higokumaru, having lost her memories, only retained some basic common sense and looked like a pure, innocent girl. Evan wouldn't go so far as to use abusive language on her, though he didn't know what would happen when she recovered her memories in the future.
[Jizo Mitama] sealed Higokumaru's power and memories, but in Evan's future plans, he didn't intend to maintain this forever. Compared to a mere tool, the Herrscher herself was indeed more powerful. Now, Evan was cultivating Higokumaru's favor and sense of belonging, slowly approaching the final goal—to have Higokumaru, the Herrscher of Corruption from the Previous Era, truly join his side.
As for the function of [Jizo Mitama] itself as a weapon and this space, as long as Higokumaru was willing to help, they could still be maintained.
Moreover, in Evan's view, although he possessed the Supply System and used stigmata as his power source—walking a path completely different from Herrschers—it didn't mean the future him couldn't possess abilities similar to a Herrscher.
As his adaptability and control over Honkai energy became higher and higher, Evan seemed to see a new path.
Bang.
A small explosion sound from the kitchen, accompanied by a pungent burnt smell, interrupted Evan's thoughts. He looked at Higokumaru with some confusion.
"With Yae Sakura's cooking skills, would such a situation occur?"
"Uh... I don't think it's Big Sister Yae Sakura's problem. It's Big Sister Kallen. She seems to be completely bad at cooking. While you were away, Big Bro, Big Sister Kallen wanted to help several times, but accidents happen whenever she enters the kitchen."
"..."
Kiana was like this too.
Entering the kitchen with the intention of helping, only to accidentally knock the handle of a pot being used, or fail to distinguish salt from sugar in the spice jars, increasing Raiden Mei's workload in various ways.
This was truly an "excellent" quality inherited by the Kaslana family.
Yae Sakura doted on Kallen; when the latter made mistakes, she would only offer comfort and tell her to try hard next time. However, Evan knew well that one of the prices the Kaslana family paid for obtaining extraordinary combat power might be the sacrifice of their cooking skills.
No matter how hard Kiana tried, she couldn't make a successful dish. It seemed Kallen was the same.
"I'll talk to her. When cooking is happening, I'll make her stay away from the kitchen."
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