“Flora gets quite bold when she’s drunk,” Louise said with a smile as she poured a cup of fruit wine. She looked up at Chen Mian. “By the way, was the fish soup I made really that bad? You still haven't told me.”
“Do you want the truth or a lie?” Chen Mian asked, turning his head toward her.
“The truth, of course.”
“It was a bit awful. Extremely fishy,” Chen Mian said with a chuckle.
“Then why did you finish it?” Louise looked up, a complex look in her violet-gold eyes.
A flicker of surprise crossed Chen Mian's eyes as he looked into hers. “More of your memories have returned?”
“Mmh. I keep dreaming of scenes from the past, but it always feels like there's a lack of connection, like I'm just an onlooker.” Louise's fingers holding the cup paused slightly. She lowered her head to look at the swirling fruit wine. “Am I really still the person you used to know?”
Her eyes held a trace of confusion, and her long, silver-white hair fell forward again, obscuring her profile and hiding her expression.
“We still have plenty of time ahead of us... Even if you don't remember everything, you're still the Louise I know.” Chen Mian's tone was earnest. He added, “If this keeps up, then just create new memories. Don't let yourself get trapped in the past.”
Louise's grip on the cup loosened slightly, but she didn't let go completely.
She let out a soft laugh, her voice dropping slightly. “...Creating new memories. It sounds simple enough, but actually doing it doesn't seem that easy.”
“It is simple,” Chen Mian said, taking a grilled fish off the rack and holding it in front of her. “Let's start by eating this fish.”
“I already ate!”
“Have another one.”
“Will you take responsibility if I get fat?”
“Someone already demanded I take responsibility the moment she woke up.” Chen Mian smiled and placed the grilled fish near her lips. “Besides, you're a Mythic Rank powerhouse. How could you possibly get fat from eating?”
Louise looked down at the crispy grilled fish in front of her mouth. She reached out to take it, her voice sounding a bit softer than usual.
“Then I'll eat it.” She held the wooden skewer and took a bite. “You still haven't answered why you finished that awful fish soup.”
“Lean in closer, and I'll tell you.”
Louise was taken aback for a moment, but she still nudged herself closer to him. The tips of her silver-gray hair almost brushed his arm. “...Is this close enough?”
Chen Mian leaned in and whispered in her ear, “Because I didn't want a certain someone to feel disappointed.”
Louise's fingers tightened slightly around the grilled fish, her violet-gold eyes blinking. “Just because of that?”
“Mmh, just because of that.”
She looked down at the grilled fish in her hand and fell silent for a moment. Her cheeks puffed out as she chewed for a while before swallowing, her voice slightly muffled. “...I like that reason.”
“What did you think it was?”
“I thought you'd say something like you didn't want to waste food.” Louise's tone returned to its usual lightheartedness.
“You two are sickeningly lovey-dovey too,” Loviki grumbled from across the fire, her eyes wide.
“Do you want to come over and be lovey-dovey too, Loviki?” Louise asked, looking at Loviki with a playful smirk.
“I-I don't want to! Who would want to be lovey-dovey with him!”
“Stubborn as always~”
“I-I am not!!”
“I don't believe you. Why don't you give me a kiss on the cheek to prove it?”
Loviki's face instantly flushed crimson, the red spreading from her neck all the way to the tips of her ears. It took her a long moment to squeeze out a few words. “W-What are you saying!”
“Keep your voice down, don't wake Flora.”
“It's all because you're talking nonsense, Louise!”
“...Human, the way they interact is very strange.”
“You'll get used to it,” Chen Mian replied.
“I am not quite used to it.”
“You don't need to be.”
Velyan tilted her head in thought for a moment, then ultimately decided to take another grilled fish.
Watching her, Louise couldn't help but chuckle. “You certainly learn fast.”
Velyan took a bite of the fish, her golden eyes serious. “I believe that eating a lot in this apartment aligns with my survival guide.”
“Survival guide?” Loviki blinked.
“Mmh.” Velyan nodded, her cheeks puffed out. “Because if I do not eat, I will quickly become hungry. If I am hungry, I will have no strength. If I have no strength, I will faint from the pain during treatment. If I faint, I will eat even less. Therefore, eating a lot is for survival.”
“...You call that survival?” Loviki's expression turned a bit complicated.
“Mmh, my logic for survival is very clear.” Velyan took another large bite, narrowing her eyes in satisfaction.
A faint smile played on Louise's lips as she tilted her head to look at Chen Mian. “This dragon girl you picked up is quite interesting.”
“Yeah, she eats when she's hungry and sleeps when she's tired.” Chen Mian took the last grilled fish off the rack, split it in half, and handed one half to Louise and the other to Loviki.
“Chen Mian, do you still want to drink fish soup?” Louise asked with interest as she took her half of the fish.
“You want to cook it?”
“I'll brew a delicious fish soup for you.”
“Don't you prefer making all kinds of strange items over cooking?”
“They don't conflict,” Louise said, winking. “Besides, I can use magic potions to remove the fishiness. I guarantee the soup won't smell fishy at all.”
Chen Mian looked at her with a wry expression. “Louise, do you know you said the exact same thing in the past, and the dish you made turned out even more terrifying?”
“Are you trying to reject me? How heartbreaking~”
“Cut it out.” After saying that, Chen Mian froze slightly. Conversations like this had happened countless times in the past.
“If I make it, you have to drink it. Consider it compensation for what you owe me.”
Louise's voice pulled him back to reality.
“Alright~”
Soon, the fruit wine in the clay pot was completely gone, and Velyan had finished off the remaining grilled fish and fruit.
The charcoal in the grill was also about to burn out.
The surroundings had grown quiet. Loviki was slightly tipsy, and Miya had gone back to her room to sleep halfway through.
Now, Luolin and Louise were cleaning up nearby, while Chen Mian sat quietly with Flora leaning against him.
“I'm going back to sleep. Are you coming?” Loviki asked Velyan, her voice slurring slightly from the alcohol.
Velyan looked at the last bare fish bone in her hand, then looked up at Chen Mian. “I am not full yet.”
“No more,” Chen Mian said, pointing at the empty grill.
A trace of regret flashed through Velyan's golden eyes, but she quickly stood up and walked toward the house side by side with Loviki.
She paused at the doorway, looking back at Chen Mian. “Human, will there be grilled fish in the future?”
“Probably.”
Velyan tilted her head and thought for a moment. “As long as you feed me grilled fish, I can go to the seaside and catch a very, very big fish for you.”
“How big? Why don't you catch Leviathan for us?”
“I, I...” Velyan thought about it seriously, then shook her head. “Catching Leviathan does not align with my survival guide.”
With that, she jogged to catch up with Loviki.
Rate on N.U.
