I don't want to be an elf!

To be honest, it doesn't look very appealing.

The noodles were overcooked until they were limp and had no chewiness at all, and the sauce was not thick at all; instead, it was like light water.

"I guess this counts as a failure."

After tasting a bite of the noodles she had cooked, Nephren said expressionlessly, "I guess I'll pass. Everyone fails the first time. I'll cook it again."

"Gurgle—!"

Yatogami Tohka's stomach growled.

Under her expectant gaze, Nephren ultimately did not throw away the failed noodles.

“It’s not that I don’t want you to eat it, it’s just that it really doesn’t taste good,” Nephren explained. “But if you insist on trying it, I won’t stop you.”

"Oh! That's great!"

Yatogami Tohka eagerly took the plate of noodles.

Without hesitation, I picked up the noodles with my fork and swished them into my mouth.

"Ok?"

After chewing a few bites, it wasn't as bad as I had imagined.

While it certainly wasn't as good as what a professional chef would make, with the best seasonings and the influence of hunger, this bland noodle dish actually tasted pretty good.

Because your tolerance for taste has increased?

Overall, the taste was pretty good.

Without the psychological pressure, Yatogami Tohka began to devour the noodles on her plate.

This imposing manner made Nephren feel a little uneasy.

“You don’t need to push yourself so hard,” Nephren comforted. “I know it tastes bad, but you don’t have to force yourself to eat it just because you care about my feelings.”

"I didn't force you," Tohka Yatogami mumbled between bites of food. "I really thought it was delicious!"

good to eat?

Nephren was stunned.

She had eaten this plate of noodles before, and neither the noodles themselves nor the sauce were up to par; even she herself wouldn't have wanted to eat it.

By any racial standard, this is an absolute failure.

They couldn't even get a taste of what was delicious.

However, the way Yatogami Tohka was enjoying the food didn't seem like she was deliberately putting on a show for her or doing it to comfort her.

A feeling I'd never experienced before welled up inside me.

It's like the joy that comes naturally when someone appreciates your own creations.

So, Nigolan had always been cooking for them with this in mind?

No wonder she always had a smile on her face when she watched everyone eating.

"Just how bad was the food you used to eat?" Nephren asked with a sigh.

"I don't know," Tohka Yatogami replied, "because I have no memories of it."

"Ah, I almost forgot you're a Golden Fairy in the final stages of personality disorder." A strange light flickered in Nephren's eyes. "Consider this a rehearsal. May I ask how you feel now that you've lost all your memories?"

"Hmm... I don't really have any particular feelings." Yatogami Tohka thought for a moment before answering, "Maybe I was scared before? But now I can't remember anything except my name, so whether I'm scared or not doesn't matter. Right now, all I want to do is eat my fill every day."

"The things they're thinking about are way too simplistic."

Have you experienced a personality breakdown?

“Fortunately, not yet,” Nephren said. “Perhaps it’s because I’m weak; my memories of my past life haven’t been awakened.”

Personality breakdown is actually what outsiders call this condition.

Among the Golden Fairies, they call this condition "past life corruption."

At some point, perhaps naturally, or perhaps as a result of using magic too intensely, the golden fairies will see scenes they have never seen before and hear voices that do not belong to them.

But those scenes and sounds were so real, as if they had actually happened.

Like their past lives.

When these memories from past lives accumulate to a certain extent, they can trigger a personality breakdown.

At that time, the Golden Fairies will be unable to distinguish between their past and present lives. Due to the conflict between their past and present lives, they will gradually lose all their memories.

Ultimately, it becomes an empty shell without any memory.

This is the second possible fate for their race, besides dying in battle.

Ironically, the Golden Fairy is a peculiar species; the more indifferent a Golden Fairy is to their own life, the more magic they can use.

Nephren, who is considered weak among the Gold Fairies, naturally cares about her life much more than the other two in the Fourth Fairy Warehouse.

When she was alone, she would involuntarily imagine her future: would she die on the battlefield, or would she forget everything she cherished and fall into personality destruction?

Either way, it terrified her.

“However, there’s not much point in worrying about the future, is there?” Tohka Yatogami said. “Since it’s all unavoidable anyway, we might as well focus on living life to the fullest now.”

“That’s quite unexpected.” Nephren looked at her with slight surprise. “Where did you see such wise words?”

"Couldn't I have come up with this myself?"

Yatogami Tohka wiped her mouth and handed the empty bowl to Nephren.

"My only worry right now is whether I'll have enough to eat, so please, cook me another bowl!"

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Author's note: Today's Tohka

Chapter Eight: A New Destination

Half an hour later.

After swallowing the last mouthful of soup, Tohka Yatogami licked the remaining liquid from the corner of her mouth.

She put down the bowl and fork, clasped her hands together, and said with lingering relish, "Thank you for the treat!"

“Poor hospitality.”

Seeing that the glutton had finally finished eating, Naphlene, whose hands were cramping from chopping vegetables, finally had a chance to catch her breath.

This was her first time cooking, and it took her almost an hour. Her intense focus made her feel even more tired than during her usual training sessions.

But it's worth it even if it's tiring.

With Tohka Yatogami around, who can make anything taste delicious, she can boldly experiment with and improve the dishes.

After cooking six bowls of noodles, her skill level had improved from barely edible at the beginning to a level of average cooking for the last bowl.

A faint sense of pride welled up within me.

"Thank you for cooking for me, you're a good person," Tohka Yatogami said earnestly. "Could you tell me your name?"

"I've been cooking for you for so long, and you still don't know my name?" Nephren said expressionlessly. "Didn't everyone introduce themselves at the welcome party?"

"Sorry, there were too many people here, and I didn't remember any of their names."

Tohka Yatogami shrank back, looking somewhat embarrassed: "But I'll definitely remember this time! I promise!"

“My full name is Nephren Luco Insania.”

"..."

Tohka Yatogami was silent for a moment, then cautiously asked, "Could you say that again?"

“Lotus,” Neferien said, “just call me Lotus.”

"Okay! I'll remember!"

Just as the two were talking, they heard light footsteps outside the kitchen door.

The two people in the kitchen exchanged a glance, unsure whether to hide or show themselves openly.

But time didn't give them enough options, and soon the kitchen door was opened.

"......" X4

The two people inside the kitchen and the two people outside the kitchen stared at each other blankly.

The visitors were William, the manager of the Fourth Fairy Warehouse, and Chtholly, one of the three adult Gold Fairies who remained there.

Neither side expected the other to appear at this time, and an eerie silence fell over the atmosphere.

Soon after, William broke the silence, ending the eerie atmosphere.

"What a coincidence! What are you two doing here so late?" William asked casually.

"I didn't eat enough for dinner, so I came to the kitchen to find something to eat," Tohka Yatogami replied.

“I saw her sneaking into the kitchen, and when I followed her, I found her eating raw food. I couldn’t stand it, so I cooked her something to eat.”

"Speaking of which, does Nephren cook for other people too?"

Looking at the slightly messy stove and cutting board in the kitchen, Chtholly asked curiously, "Aren't you usually the one who gets fed? When did you learn that from Nigoran?"

“I’ve seen Nigoran cook noodles before, so I improvised tonight,” Nephren replied. “Although I failed the first few times, at least it wasn’t wasted, and Tohka ate it all.”

"You ate them all?"

Chtholly covered her mouth in surprise and looked at Yatogami Tohka: "How many bowls of noodles did you eat?"

"About six bowls," Tohka Yatogami replied. "Eating too much will make me uncomfortable when I sleep, so I'll just have something to eat to tide me over."

"Six bowls of noodles... to fill your stomach..." Chtholly didn't know how to react for a moment.

As a golden fairy, she had never seen any of her kind eat so much in her life.

She couldn't help but look at Tohka Yatogami's stomach.

If we let her eat this much, let alone whether she could finish it, even if she did, her stomach would probably be bloated by now.