Mobius glared darkly at the plate of vegetables set before her. Snakes are carnivores—how could she eat greens? Before Silas started forcibly managing her diet, the only "vegetables" she ever ate were the tiny dried bits floating in instant noodles.
So when Silas saw the diet chart Klein had drawn up for Mobius, he couldn't help but wonder if the constitution of people from the Previous Era was somehow different from the humans he knew. Could a body like hers really be built off this kind of diet?
It was baffling.
But it was also true that Mobius's physical condition had been abysmal—so bad it could only be described as tragic.
She would be gasping for breath after a normal 400-meter run, and at 800 meters she was on the verge of collapse.
Things had improved a little recently, at least. She no longer looked like she'd drop dead after 800 meters. Silas even felt a little proud of that.
Flavorful emphasized again and again that the special dishes she prepared for Mobius were absolutely healthy. Mobius, scowling, muttered, "Of course I know that…"
She never had a good attitude toward anyone who tried to make her eat vegetables—except Silas and Klein, who she couldn't do anything about. Originally Klein was easy to deal with, but ever since Silas had started overseeing her diet, Klein had begun using it to keep her in line…
What kind of nonsense is this?
It wasn't like she hadn't resisted. After all, Mobius was a genius. When Silas imposed his dietary rules, she had tried to argue from a theoretical standpoint, insisting her eating habits were fine. Unfortunately… no matter how she tried to prove it, she always ended up wrong.
In the end, it turned into bargaining—only after providing her own theoretical justifications did Silas agree to reduce the vegetable portion of her diet down to the bare minimum.
Life is just too hard…
Silas glanced at Mobius, who was locked in a staring contest with her vegetables. He nodded in satisfaction. At least now she didn't push the plate away the second she saw it—that was real progress.
Meanwhile, over at Kosma's side.
Kosma looked at the dishes on Flavorful's cart, lost in thought.
(My relationship with Dystopia really does need some improvement. Things can't go on like this. That dish—I remember it's something she likes. Should I… be the one to move it closer to her? But if I do that, wouldn't it mean I'm the one giving in first?)
Flavorful placed several plates of vegetables in front of Mobius, ignoring the way her face went pale with misery, then continued serving dishes. Since Elysia had only made special notes for Mobius, Flavorful handled the rest of the table casually.
In theory, Flavorful should've known Silas's eating habits well. But after observing him in the previous timeline, she'd realized he seemed to eat anything. There was no preference to pick up on.
In truth, Silas had once been picky. It was only after undergoing the MANTIS surgery that he stopped caring about food, and that habit stuck.
A good habit, in a way.
Silas looked at Mobius's face—frustrated, unwilling, yet also a little pitiful. Deciding he'd teased her enough, he reached out to take a dish from Flavorful, then swapped one of Mobius's vegetable plates over to his own side, placing a new dish in front of her instead.
Mobius: "!"
Well… since Silas was being this considerate, maybe she could forgive him and Elysia for ganging up on her. After all, his intentions really were for her sake. Of course—Elysia was still unforgivable! Whatever her intentions, Mobius wasn't letting her off!
While Kosma was still tangled up in his dilemma, Silas had already started helping Flavorful serve the rest. He more or less knew everyone's preferences at the table—except for Dystopia and Hua.
He hadn't interacted much with Dystopia in the last life, so he wasn't too clear on her tastes. As for Hua, she rarely interacted with anyone and mostly kept to herself, so he didn't know much there either.
Still, judging from how she'd managed to survive on mantou for thousands of years, she probably wasn't picky.
He hadn't eaten with Sakura often, but Sakura's little sister Rin had already sold her out completely.
Aside from Rin, he probably knew Sakura best. In the last life, while gaming with Rin, she would often complain about how her sister was basically a block of wood outside of being kind.
Kosma glanced at the dishes again, then let go of his earlier thought.
(As expected of Silas—he remembered my… no, everyone's preferences, even after all this? In this respect… he really is a lot like Elysia. Forget it. There'll be other opportunities to reconcile with Dystopia. There's no need to rush it now.)
Kosma decided to just give up.
Elysia rested her chin on her hand, watching as Silas served the dishes one by one. Once he sat down, she secretly typed on her phone and slid the screen toward him:
"You actually remembered everyone's food preferences, huh? As expected of you, Silas～ (/≧▽≦/)"
Feeling the vibration, Silas took out his phone and glanced at her message. Then he looked up at Elysia, who was still smiling at him, eyes fixed warmly on his face. After a brief pause, he typed back:
"It's nothing. You ordered the dishes yourself. You must have remembered them long ago too, right?"
"But of course～ Who do you think I am? I'm Elysia, after all～ (≧ω≦)/ But still, you're the surprising one, Silas. I thought all your attention was focused on the Thirteen Fallen Angels."
Silas fell silent.
Why did he suddenly feel a trace of resentment in her words?
…
He put his phone down and focused on eating.
Elysia: "..."
So he did understand what she meant, but chose to ignore it and bail out, huh?
Silas's gaze flickered briefly toward the inner pocket of his jacket. Inside was the sun-shaped earring Lilith had slipped to him earlier. Since it belonged to her, he couldn't just leave it lying around anywhere. Especially with Vill-V—who sometimes dropped by his dorm unannounced—he couldn't risk keeping it there.
He could already imagine what would happen if Vill-V found it.
Most likely, his back would hurt too much to get out of bed the next day.
So, carrying it on his person was the safest choice. Even if being caught with it later might cause an even bigger problem…
Well, that was a problem for future him. Right now? Not his concern.
Best to just let things slide.
Dystopia watched Silas calmly finish serving the food, then quietly exchanging texts with Elysia, and sighed again at how difficult it would be to steal Pardo's "cornerstone." Then she turned to check on Pardo…
Huh?
The little Pardo she was worried about was currently busy focusing on her plate, happily eating away, not paying the slightest attention to Elysia and Silas.
At least Brother Silas knew what she liked to eat, right? As for the rest—whatever. Do your best, leave the rest to fate. If you let things go, life feels so much easier.
Giving up was the optimal solution!
Dystopia: "..."
No need to even ask—that had to be Pardo's favorite dish. Which meant Silas probably knew everyone's preferences? As expected, a man capable of being a "lady-killer" had his own tricks.
She then glanced at her own dish, falling silent for a moment. How did he know what she liked to eat? She hadn't really shown it in front of him before, had she? Could it be… that Kosma told him? That seemed likely.
This Kosma, always running his mouth about everything.
Kosma: ???
In reality, Silas had just been winging it. Aside from Dystopia and Hua, he actually did know everyone else's preferences.
So, for him, it was basically a coin toss. And he just happened to guess right.
________________________________________
15+ advanced chapters available on Pat/NoobyIdiotka