Chapter 437: Dinner Together
"Did you all warm up?"
"Y-yes. Th-thank you very much."
Kira looked much healthier than when he had seen her at the shop, so Qiong Xing nodded and gently patted her head.
"Your hair is long, so should I tie it up for you?"
Since it had never been cut, it reached down to her waist.
Qiong Xing tied it up with a cute ribbon so it would not get in the way of eating, but she had become unusually quiet and withdrawn since earlier.
"Alright, everyone, let’s eat."
The children cheered "It’s dinner!" and carried the food over.
"Let’s eat."
"Let’s eat!"
"Let’s eat!!!"
"Yeah, eat!"
"Meat!!!"
"..."
"..."
While the children eagerly dug into their meal, the two sisters remained hunched over, not moving at all.
"What’s wrong? You must be hungry. Is there something you don’t like?"
"...?"
The two of them tilted their heads in confusion, so Qiong Xing realized something and told them it was okay to eat.
They looked surprised.
When he had bought Elias and the others before, he had explained it, but it seemed they had not expected food to be prepared for them as well.
"Eat a lot. Is fish okay? There’s also meat. Don’t choke, and make sure to drink water too. If you eat too quickly, your stomach will be surprised, so it’s better to start with miso soup."
Seeing the two still frozen in place, Qiong Xing placed bowls into their hands, but they still did not start eating, so he gave a wry smile.
She must still be unable to accept reality.
"For now, you don’t have to think about anything. Just eat your fill of the food in front of you, sleep well, and when you wake up tomorrow, we can talk again, alright?"
There would be no immediate answers to questions like why or how.
So he told her it was all fine to think about later, and when he placed a spoon in her hand, the two girls slowly began to eat, and Qiong Xing smiled at them.
The warm steam rising from the bowl told her that this was real.
But in her mind, there was still a voice insisting this could not be real, that it must be a foolish dream she was seeing.
Her heart and body felt out of sync, and she could not move while holding the bowl she had been told she was allowed to eat from.
"You don’t have to think about anything right now. Just eat your fill of the food in front of you, sleep deeply, and when you wake up tomorrow, we’ll talk again, alright?"
I don’t have to think...
At those words, she took a sip of soup and the gentle flavor that spread through her empty stomach made tears naturally spill from her eyes.
"Eat slowly. There’s no need to rush, just take your time."
With the spoon placed in her hand, she began to eat without thinking, swallowing simmered vegetables and fish.
It was her first meal in a long time.
Warm food after years.
People around her were asking worriedly if she was alright, but her tears would not stop, overflowing one after another.
"Have some meat too. It’s freshly cooked."
She was given small pieces of meat with some unknown sauce poured over them to make them easier to eat.
"Ah!? I-it’s delicious!"
"It’s so good, Big Sister!" Kira said with a smile, but Tasha had even forgotten to scold her for eating so carelessly.
"Eat up, Tasha."
Qiong Xing spoke gently, without laughing at or scolding her tear stained and messy face.
Occasionally he asked, "Is it good?" and even when she nodded through tears, she was not yelled at.
"Is she going to be okay?"
She was eating while crying so much that someone finally grew worried.
"Maybe my cooking was just too delicious? I’m flattered."
"Your food is always good, though."
"...Ars is just too cute."
"I’m a guy though."
"You spoil him too much, Qiong Xing."
It would normally sound like a ridiculous doting parent conversation, but with her mind too overwhelmed to think, she simply kept eating in silence.
"Big Sister, it’s delicious."
Feeling her sleeve being tugged, Tasha turned to see her younger sister smiling happily.
"See? I told you they were good people, didn’t I?"
Her sister, speaking with unusual confidence, which received a quiet nod in return.
Tasha did not know what would happen from here on.
Perhaps, by tomorrow, they would change their minds and kick and beat them, forcing them to work themselves to death.
But somewhere in her mind, she also believed that the man who had done so much for them would never do something like that.
"Alright, let’s sleep for today. You two can use this room. We’ll be in the next room, so if anything happens, just let us know."
"..."
"C-can we really... use this?"
"Yes. This room is for you two."
The room they were guided to while he was still carrying her sister was plain, but it contained beds and other furniture necessary for living, clearly meant for humans.
It was not something beastman slaves like them should be allowed to use.
Tasha wondered if this was perhaps the boy’s own room, and hesitated, thinking they should sleep in a corner instead, but for some reason her sister was placed onto the bed.
"We actually prepared two beds, but until you get used to it, it’s fine to sleep together. Come on, if you stand there you’ll catch a cold."
Strictly speaking, Qiong Xing was not their master, so they did not need to obey him, but when Tasha slowly approached, she too was laid down just like her sister.
When was the last time Tasha had slept in a bed like this?
It felt as though the days of huddling together on a cold floor with her sister to endure the cold had been a lie.
"Make sure to pull the blanket up to your shoulders so you don’t get cold. You’re girls, so you mustn’t let yourselves get chilled."