"No, you're overthinking it." Emiya didn't dare go deeper into that topic. He quickly lifted up the meat pot in his hand, full to the brim.
"If you want to drink some bone soup, then hurry and serve yourself, otherwise I'm going to keep putting more meat in."
Grrrgle~
As if her stomach had heard Emiya's words, it made a sound right on cue.
Bronya's little face turned bright red with shame. "Don't get the wrong idea, that was the wind outside just now. I'm not very hungry. But since you've invited me, then I'll just have a taste!"
"Mm-hm, I understand."
Emiya wasn't deliberately teasing the young girl. Earlier he had really been worried she'd freeze stupid out in the cold, which was why he had no choice but to pull at her.
Seeing that she didn't seem intent on pursuing the matter anymore, he quickly seized the chance to smooth things over.
"Just drink a little soup first, gnaw on a bone or two to pad your stomach. Once Acheron and Vera come back, I'll make you all some food."
All of Jarilo was buried under blizzards. Rift creatures were everywhere, countless. It seemed as if humans were the only lifeform here, but life is tougher than anyone imagines. Even in such a harsh environment, plenty of creatures stubbornly survived.
Some survived by keeping warm through the geomarrows, some evolved bodies more resistant to cold and frost, and some went even further, abandoning flesh altogether and evolving into ice-based beings.
It's worth mentioning that geomarrow doesn't only exist beneath Belobog but is spread all across Jarilo.
It's just that the people of Belobog, under survival pressure, already used up all their strength just holding their ground there, they had no way to expand into other places.
"Phew, we're back!" After a long wait, Acheron and Vera each dragged back a black two-headed dog.
These two-headed dogs could weigh more than a hundred kilos. One head was specialized in devouring and digesting geomarrow, and could also spew flames to kill enemies.
The other head absorbed stellaron energy from the blizzards. With such a complete digestive system, they were the most numerous animals in Belobog.
"That's a two-headed dog, isn't it? That kind of animal cannot be eaten!"
At the sight of the two-headed dog, Bronya gasped, threw down the soup bowl in her hand, and even leapt up, planning to kick over the whole pot of meat on the fire.
"Girl, wasting food will earn you a beating!"
Emiya flashed to the fire, caught Bronya firmly out of the air into his arms, turned her around, and pressed her back against his broad chest.
"Eh? Why aren't you all stopping me?" Emiya held the pose for quite a while, but none of the Silvermane Guards came forward to intervene, leaving him feeling awkward.
But Emiya couldn't actually beat their commander right in front of them either, otherwise when they returned to Belobog, he'd be in big trouble.
"Perhaps Lady Bronya worried that the meat had been contaminated, and that eating it would cause an incurable sickness, that's why she rushed to overturn the pot."
Everyone exchanged looks for a long while. In the end, it was the gentle and sensible female guard who stepped forward to smooth things over.
Her name was Nalan, the younger sister of Bronya's vice-captain who had died in battle. During the week that Bronya was unconscious, Nalan had temporarily taken command.
"But to flip the pot without a word really is impolite. If Mr. Emiya wants to spank Lady Bronya, we won't stop him."
"Fine then, the ignorant are blameless. Just explain it to her." Emiya didn't say more.
After putting Bronya aside, he silently went off with Acheron and Vera to process the two-headed dog, leaving Bronya standing there red-faced and dazed.
'That guy, that guy just now, was he about to beat me…'
"Ah, Lady Bronya, you really were impulsive this time." Nalan sighed helplessly. If Bronya's recklessness caused Emiya to gain a bad impression of Belobog, that would be a huge loss.
"Mr. Emiya has a unique method. He can completely drain all the toxins from the two-headed dogs. During the whole week you were unconscious, Mr. Emiya's family and we all ate from the same pot of meat."
"That's impossible! Not only the city's doctors, even Doctor Vah himself clearly said that external creatures are absolutely inedible!" Bronya was so shocked that she completely forgot her embarrassment.
During her time in the Silvermane Guards, Bronya had personally witnessed many people eat flesh of outside creatures, quickly fall sick and die, and even more who, after eating too much meat in a short time, mutated into inhuman monsters.
"You haven't seen Mr. Emiya's family's strength with your own eyes, so it's not your fault..." Nalan pulled Bronya's little hand and sat her down, patiently recounting what she had seen over this past week.
As for Acheron and Vera, needless to say, rift monsters were like insects before them.
Emiya was a professional chef. Not only could he make irresistible food, he could also use his special ability to draw toxins out of wild creatures, making them edible.
These edible wild animals tasted far better than Belobog's domesticated ones. And after eating them, they provided abundant energy and strengthened the body.
Just over the course of this week, everyone had already felt their bodies grow clearly stronger.
"Er… the way you're saying all this almost sounds like when a cult leader is preaching." Cold sweat ran down Bronya's face.
If not for the fact that they were comrades who had faced life and death together, she might really suspect they'd been brainwashed.
"Heh heh, Lady Bronya, that's still just the small stuff!"
Seeing Bronya not believe, the other guards grew excited. They carefully took a small vial of potion out of their inner pockets and shook it in front of her.
"This potion is called Cold Resistance Potion. Just drinking this tiny bottle lets a person endure a whole day of snow and freezing cold."
"What's the big deal about one day? Doctor Vah's potion can resist for two or three days!"
Looking at her subordinates' burning eyes, Bronya really didn't want to dampen them, but if they kept getting this fanatical, something bad could happen. After all, Emiya's family were unfamiliar outsiders.
"Doctor Vah's potions have many side effects, and there's even a chance of killing the drinker. But this potion has virtually no side effects." Nalan's face darkened.
In fact, Doctor Vah was controversial among the Silvermane Guards.
Those who admired him saw him as a god who could do anything, after all, he could grant people the miraculous power to resist snow and storm.
But those who knew the truth also knew, Vah had always been conducting human experiments, and he dumped huge quantities of untested potions into the Underworld, turning unsuspecting people into his test subjects.
Countless had already died in agony from drinking Vah's medicines, like Nalan's own parents.
"If something that good really existed, what are they, gods? I don't believe it!" Bronya refused to accept it.
"We were each given two bottles of the potion. Here's yours, and I still haven't used mine either. Let's go outside together and see for ourselves!"
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