The next day, Kakarov was already able to get out of bed and walk. His injuries had mostly recovered. The fact that an ordinary person's injuries could recover so quickly, and without any side effects, left Shigure Kira and the other woman amazed.
Ethan Lane had agreed with them to leave for Schicksal the next day. However, they wouldn't be going to see Otto right away. They decided to first go to the Snow Wolf Squad's base, where Cecilia was.
The three great families of Schicksal were not in the same place. Although Schicksal's headquarters was in Vienna, where the Apocalypse family resided, the Schariac family was in Paris, and the Kaslana family was in Geneva.
Therefore, the group's destination was Geneva. However, due to the arrival of a severe snowstorm, the plan to leave the next day was postponed.
Shigure Kira and Patricia Highsmith even moved into Ethan Lane's house that same day. Originally, Patricia was against it, but she couldn't resist Shigure Kira's insistence, so she had no choice but to move in with her.
Ethan Lane was a little helpless. The place she was renting was already small, and now with two beautiful girls squeezed in, it felt even smaller.
"What would you two sisters like to eat? I'll go prepare it," Ethan Lane asked after pouring a cup of tea for the two who had forced their way into her home.
Shigure Kira didn't speak. She picked up the teacup, smelled it with some surprise, and said, "This... this tea is so fragrant. Mmm... the taste is sweet, with a long-lasting aftertaste. It seems to be full of life, making every cell in my body sing. Another cup!"
Ethan Lane smiled. This was a function of her Stigmata that she had discovered. When her Spiritual Qi was transformed by the Stigmata, it would carry this vitality. This was also the reason why Kakarov had recovered so quickly.
She also found that this transformed Spiritual Qi could be used to refine tea leaves, not only making the tea taste excellent, but the vitality contained within, under the effect of the Spiritual Qi, could also slowly regulate the human body. This was the secret to why it felt so comfortable.
Patricia didn't say anything, just silently drank the tea in one gulp, then pushed the cup forward. She wasn't as boisterous as Shigure Kira, who didn't treat herself as an outsider at all.
Ethan Lane refilled their cups, and the two continued to drink like cows. Seeing this made her eye twitch, and she refilled their cups again.
This time, the two finally started to savor the tea. Ethan Lane repeated her question. Shigure Kira reached out, took out a piece of paper from somewhere, and started writing and drawing. A moment later, she handed the paper to Ethan Lane.
Ethan Lane took it and looked at it, and her mouth couldn't help but twitch. "Sister Kira, are you sure you want to eat these?" On the paper were written Mapo Tofu, Kung Pao Chicken, and Hot Pot.
"Yes, Xiaolin. I heard you're from Huaxia, so I'm sure these things won't be a problem for you," Shigure Kira said. "Er... as someone from Xiang province in Huaxia, I have to remind you that if I make these my way, they will be very spicy. Don't say I didn't warn you!" Ethan Lane said after a moment's hesitation.
"Hmph, you underestimate me, Xiaolin. The curry I eat every day is also very spicy. Go ahead and make it as spicy as you want!" Shigure Kira patted her chest confidently.
Ethan Lane looked at her with an expression of pity for the foolish, then looked at Patricia. Patricia quickly said, "Lane, anything simple is fine, but please don't make the flavor too strong."
"No problem, I won't disappoint you." Ethan Lane jumped off the chair, then moved a stool to stand on and began to chop vegetables. That's right, she needed a stool because she was only a little taller than the kitchen stove.
Patricia looked at Ethan Lane struggling to cook on her tiptoes, smiled slightly, and entered the kitchen. "Lane, do you need my help?" "No, you can just wait for a bit. It'll be ready soon." Ethan Lane refused. Cooking a meal wasn't something that could defeat her.
Seeing her refusal, Patricia had to stand aside for the time being. Ethan Lane looked at the spice box on the high shelf with some frustration. "It's all Kakarov's fault for putting it so high last time he cooked. How am I supposed to get it?"
Patricia chuckled softly, didn't say much, and silently took the spice box down from the high shelf. Ethan Lane took the spice box and tilted her head. "Thanks. In that case, you can stay and help me. Also... don't tell anyone that I couldn't reach the spice box, or else..."
Patricia smiled slightly. "No problem. This will be our little secret." Ethan Lane nodded and continued to cook. *Tuk tuk...* The knife cut through some bright red chili peppers, and instantly, a pungent chili smell began to fill the kitchen.
Patricia's expression changed, but she didn't intend to warn Shigure Kira. She had said she wasn't afraid of spicy food. A moment of silence for her.
Soon, dinner was ready. In addition to what Shigure Kira had requested, she had made the hot pot with a dual-sided pot, along with some lighter dishes.
"Alright, Kira, dinner's ready. Please, dig in." The three of them sat at the dining table. Shigure Kira looked at the bright red dishes in front of her, her mouth twitching as she looked at Ethan Lane. "Xiaolin, this dish..."
"Don't worry, it just looks that way. It's not spicy at all (yeah, right). Just eat it with confidence," Ethan Lane comforted her.
"Is that so? Then... I'll dig in! *Amu...* Mmm! It tastes good, very delicious. Xiaolin, your cooking is amazing!" Shigure Kira gave a thumbs-up in praise.
Ethan Lane's expression changed. She exchanged a look with Patricia, who then picked up a piece of Mapo Tofu with her chopsticks and put it in her mouth. Her face changed, her ears quickly turned red, and she forced herself to swallow the tofu, then began to silently gulp down water.
Ethan Lane said to Patricia, "Sister Patricia, this isn't spicy at all, it's delicious. You should try it."
Patricia was hesitant. After a long moment, she gritted her teeth, took a small spoonful with her spoon, and put it in her mouth. Suddenly, her face changed drastically. She quickly spat out the food in her mouth and started to chug cold water.
"Hahaha, you're so funny, sister. You believed me just like that." Ethan Lane laughed so hard she almost fell over. Patricia suddenly stood up and looked at the laughing Ethan Lane with a benevolent smile.
Ethan Lane suddenly shivered. Seeing Patricia's benevolent expression, her face changed, and she jumped off the table and ran. "Lane, don't run! This food isn't spicy at all. Come on, eat up!" Patricia chased after Ethan Lane with a plate of food.
"No, I'm already full. You can enjoy it yourself, sister," Ethan Lane quickly refused. Patricia was much faster than her and directly cornered her against the wall, saying with a smile, "Come on, big sister will feed you. Ahhh."
Looking at the bright red tofu in front of her, Ethan Lane suddenly had a feeling of having brought this upon herself. Gritting her teeth and closing her eyes, she ate it. "Water, water, water! Spicy, spicy, spicy! Owww!!!" Ethan Lane frantically searched for water, finally burying her head in a basin of it.
Shigure Kira watched them fool around, smiling as she ate all the food, showing no signs of being affected by the spice. It seemed she was taste-deaf.
After dinner, it was already quite dark. Shigure Kira suddenly said to Ethan Lane, "Xiaolin, I found a hot spring outside the town. Want to go?"
"A hot spring?! Is this the hot spring episode from an anime?" Ethan Lane's heart leaped with joy. She quickly nodded and said, "I'll go get the bath supplies." Soon, she had everything ready, and the three of them headed out of town.
They quickly arrived at a place on the edge of town. There were no roads here, and no one would come to this wilderness on a winter night, so there was no need to worry about peeping toms.
When Shigure Kira and the other woman arrived at the hot spring, they immediately started taking off their clothes. This made Ethan Lane very embarrassed, and she quickly turned her back.
The two of them quickly changed into bath towels, only to see Ethan Lane with her back to them. Shigure Kira suddenly gave a mischievous smile, tiptoed up to her, and with lightning speed, stripped her bare.
"Ah!" Ethan Lane cried out, but a bath towel was immediately wrapped around her. The next moment, the world spun, and she was in the hot spring.
Ethan Lane opened her eyes and saw Shigure Kira and the other woman enjoying the hot spring with looks of bliss. So, she also closed her eyes and began to enjoy the pleasure of the hot spring.
"I'm a girl now, what's there to be shy about? It would be a crime against heaven not to accept this freebie." Ethan Lane gave herself a pep talk, opened her eyes, and began to peek with a clear conscience.