"Wow, this burger is delicious~ This pizza is great too, ooooh, the ramen is amazing~~"
Watching the girl who was wolfing down food so messily she could barely hold her chopsticks, yet somehow managed to shove everything into her mouth with perfect accuracy...
Not just Luo Shu was dumbfounded—every single person in the restaurant was staring in shock.
Standing by the food display case, C.C. gazed at Tohka Yatogami with slight bewilderment and couldn't help but remark:
"This place really does attract some strange people, doesn't it?"
As she spoke, C.C. quietly packed up all the pizzas from the display case, carefully avoiding Tohka's notice, then discreetly retreated to the side.
At that moment, Tohka Yatogami, having finished the food in front of her, shouted:
"Luo Shu, Luo Shu, I'm hungry! Is there any pizza left?"
"There should be a little... Hmm?"
Luo Shu turned to look at the display cabinet, spotting the only empty pizza tray, then glanced at C.C., who was staring up at the sky. His lips twitched involuntarily:
"Seems like there's no pizza left. How about some rye sandwiches instead?"
"Are they tasty?" Tohka Yatogami's attention instantly shifted from pizza as she asked excitedly.
Luo Shu recalled the restaurant chef's skills and nodded. "Quite good. At least, I like them."
"Then I want rye sandwiches!!"
Amid Tohka Yatogami's excited cheers, Luo Shu sighed and went to fetch the sandwiches for her.
"I knew it would come to this." C.C. felt somewhat relieved she'd moved the pizza earlier—otherwise, she'd be going hungry soon.
"You're living quite comfortably, aren't you?"
Just as C.C. was feeling relieved, Aya Tokoyogi's voice sounded beside her.
C.C. tilted her head slightly, glancing at Aya Tokoyogi without much surprise. "Finally decided to leave the lab?"
Aya Tokoyogi replied indifferently, "Even I can't stay immersed in research all the time."
"Besides..."
Her gaze shifted to Tohka Yatogami, eyes filled with curiosity. "A living Apostle is more than enough to pique my interest."
"Apostle?!" C.C. looked at Tohka Yatogami in shock, taking a bite of pizza. "Truly, appearances can be deceiving."
From looks alone, C.C. found it hard to believe this seemingly naive, easily fooled girl was actually an Apostle—a human wielding Divine Authority.
But after sweeping her eyes over the two-metre-long table in front of Tohka Yatogami, piled high with empty plates, C.C. was utterly convinced.
With an appetite like that, who wouldn't believe it?
Watching Luo Shu use wind to deliver plate after plate of food to Tohka Yatogami, who accepted everything without hesitation, C.C. couldn't help but muse:
"Say, could this child's Authority Embryo be related to eating?"
"Perhaps."
Aya Tokoyogi clearly had no intention of delving deeper into the topic. She glanced at C.C., noting her relaxed demeanour, and lowered her gaze.
"What about you?"
"Not planning to go back?"
"Back where? Truth Astronomy?" C.C. took another bite of pizza, a hint of mockery on her face. "Without your protection, I'd probably end up on an experiment table."
She waved a hand dismissively. "Not that I particularly care, but I'd rather not die in agony."
"Still, you asking this out of the blue... Are you planning to break our contract?"
Aya Tokoyogi didn't refute it, only stating calmly, "I can no longer kill you."
During her Demigod period, she'd formed a contract with C.C. when exploiting the latter's immortality as a sacrificial substitute. Now that her powers were sealed, leaving her at mere Hero Rank, killing C.C. became utterly impossible.
Thus, her contract with C.C. existed in name only.
"What a bother. You could've just killed me earlier."
C.C. muttered, then glanced sideways at Luo Shu standing by the food display before asking:
"Then what if I asked Director Luo Shu to kill me?"
As the words fell, Luo Shu's voice carried over on the wind:
"Apologies, but I'm not the type to do such heartless things."
Hearing this, C.C. raised an eyebrow, unsurprised:
"Eavesdropping on girls' conversations? What a lousy man."
While distractedly using wind to float a cheese-topped bun towards Tohka Yatogami, Luo Shu turned his head and shot C.C. a disdainful look:
"Weren't you the one deliberately testing a Demigod's hearing within this range?"
The restaurant wasn't that big, and C.C. and Aya Tokoyogi weren't using sound transmission techniques. Luo Shu would have to be utterly incompetent not to overhear them.
Ignoring Luo Shu's retort, C.C. calmly ate her pizza:
"Seems I won't be staying here much longer."
The implication being: without someone willing to kill her, she intended to leave.
Seeing this attitude, Luo Shu couldn't help but remark:
"Wait, wasn't your wish to be loved? Why this obsession with dying?"
C.C. gave him a surprised look:
"You're quite knowledgeable, I see."
"Just a bit outdated."
"To be loved? That was centuries ago."
"Now, I just want to die quietly."
Luo Shu sighed at this: "Tsundere really doesn't suit you."
"Stop acting like you understand me. It's disgusting."
C.C. clicked her tongue, then glanced meaningfully at Aya Tokoyogi:
"Falling for this sort of man... looks like you're in for hard times, Aya."
"How tedious." Aya Tokoyogi shot C.C. a cold look before glaring at Luo Shu.
"Got exposed, so now you're sowing discord? And Aya, why are you biting so easily?"
Luo Shu complained, then eyed C.C.:
"Have I been too friendly, making you think I won't mess with you?"
C.C. chuckled: "I'm not afraid of death. Why would I fear your antics?"
To which Luo Shu calmly replied:
"I can make you even more immortal—to the point nobody in this world could kill you."
Applying Hero Rank Calamity Absorption permanently to C.C.—he doubted even an Angel could kill her then.
Unless C.C. was reckless enough to charge at one of the Five Great Powers' super Abyss Artefacts, but those didn't count as people, making his statement technically accurate.
Hearing this, C.C. fell silent.
Faced with this man who couldn't solve problems but excelled at complicating them, she genuinely had a headache.
"So, what do I need to do to stop you from dragging me down?"
Seeing C.C. yield, Luo Shu couldn't be bothered to pursue her earlier provocation and got straight to the point:
"Echidna should have transformed into a vengeful spirit by now."
"I want to know which Classes within Truth Astronomy require this kind of transformation."