"Eula?"
"How come you’ve got time to stop by today?"
Kamisato Satoru looked rather surprised when he saw the beautiful woman with short ice-blue hair walking down from the second floor.
"Oh? From that tone of yours, it sounds like I’m not very welcome here."
"I’ll remember this grudge."
Eula gave a soft huff and folded her arms across her chest, her tone carrying a touch of haughty displeasure.
"Besides, strictly speaking, isn’t this still my house?"
"Of course you’re welcome. I’d never say otherwise."
"As the saying goes, one day apart feels like three autumns. It’s already been several days. I’ve been looking forward to seeing you every single day."
Kamisato Satoru shamelessly joked.
The main reason was that he’d grown far too comfortable living here and had practically started treating the place as his own territory.
Eula’s exquisite face instantly flushed all the way to her ears, and she responded by glaring fiercely at him.
"Brother, what delicious food are you making for us tonight?"
"You’ll find out once I’m done cooking."
"But hey, Trashy Lumine, what are you doing here mooching dinner too?"
Kamisato Satoru curled his lips as he looked toward the blonde girl nearby and the little white creature flying around beside her.
Paimon in particular was notorious for her enormous appetite.
He was starting to suspect the ingredients he’d bought might not be enough.
"Hey! What’s with that horribly prejudiced look?!"
Paimon angrily stomped her tiny feet in midair, feeling as though her dignity had suffered a devastating blow.
"Nothing. I’m going to make dinner."
Kamisato Satoru casually took Eula’s apron from where it hung on the wall, tied it around himself, and headed straight into the kitchen without any intention of dealing with the little floating creature.
"I swear, I’m definitely going to come up with the most horrible nickname in the entire world for him..."
"Hm? And what exactly does the little one known as ’emergency food’ plan on calling me?"
"Are you plotting some kind of secret uprising?"
Kamisato Satoru suddenly poked half his head out of the kitchen and stared teasingly at Paimon.
"Of course not! I was saying Lumine should stop sitting around and hurry over to help you wash the vegetables!"
Paimon lied without so much as blinking.
"Paimon, you’ve really got a special ’talent’ for throwing people under the bus."
Lumine planted one hand on her hip and stared speechlessly at her responsibility-dodging companion.
"Hehe, don’t be mad!"
Knowing she was in the wrong, Paimon hurriedly flew over and began massaging Lumine’s shoulders.
...
"Everyone, dinner’s ready!"
Kamisato Satoru brought out six dishes and a bowl of steaming soup in quick succession, and the rich aroma instantly filled the entire living room.
"Woooow—!"
Paimon was practically drooling.
Her eyes could no longer see anything except the table full of food.
Mapo Tofu, boiled fish in chili oil, steaming hot fish-fragrant shredded pork...
Nearly everything carried the fiery, spicy flavors of Sichuan cuisine. Aside from the bowl of tomato and egg soup, almost every dish was intensely seasoned.
"It does look rather similar to Liyue-style cooking..."
Eula had traveled to Liyue on official business before and still remembered some of its cuisine.
"That’s right. It is from that general school of cooking."
Kamisato Satoru nodded in agreement.
In his opinion, his homeland had countless delicacies, with a variety of cuisines far richer than anything found on this continent.
"Who cares where it’s from? I’m about to die from how good it smells! Time to eat!"
Paimon haphazardly wiped the drool from the corner of her mouth, grabbed a spoon, and immediately charged in.
The instant a tender piece of tofu entered her mouth, her entire face turned bright red, yet her expression became one of absolute bliss.
Seeing this, everyone else immediately started eating as well.
At the speed Paimon was devouring everything, even a second’s hesitation might leave nothing on the plates but sauce.
If they didn’t hurry, they might end up going to bed hungry tonight.
"Oh my gosh, this tastes incredible!"
Before long, Eula and the others all had flushed faces, with tiny beads of sweat trickling down their necks.
Yet the utensils in their hands only moved faster and faster.
"Ahhh—"
"That meal was so satisfying!"
Paimon rubbed her round little belly and collapsed comfortably against the back of her chair.
Judging by her expression, if someone brought out another entire table of food, she could probably keep fighting.
"Seriously, Lumine, I’m curious how you manage to earn enough money to support this ’emergency food’ of yours."
As he cleaned up the aftermath, Kamisato Satoru couldn’t resist complaining.
Good grief.
At least two-thirds of the entire meal had been devoured by this tiny creature who wasn’t even the size of his hand.
Most bizarrely, her stomach didn’t seem to have swollen in the slightest.
Kamisato Satoru thought it was a shame he wasn’t a biologist. Otherwise, he’d genuinely want to see exactly how this little creature’s body was structured.
As for the nickname "Trashy Lumine," Lumine had already become more or less immune to it and couldn’t even be bothered to argue anymore.
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