Jiang Zhu's culinary skills were very high. Although there weren't many ingredients in that era that allowed him to make delicious dishes, in order to satisfy Ji Xuanyuan's appetite, he could be said to have desperately searched for ingredients.
The water chestnut cake back then was made from ingredients Jiang Zhu found on a cliff edge, and he even almost got killed by a wild boar on his way back.
Even though his main profession was healing and saving people, it could be seen from the silk book he had filled with ingredients how much effort he had put in for Ji Xuanyuan's appetite.
"Tsukiyo-chan, are you… making dessert?"
"Yes, I heard a recipe when I went to the Divine Realm for a mission and wanted to try it. But… there aren't enough ingredients, which is a bit of a shame."
Although she really wanted to make dessert, she was helpless and could only make something else.
Inaba Tsukiyo remembered a beet soup Bronya had told her about when she lived in Russia, and she could use it this time.
The ingredients were also very simple: carrots, potatoes, and onions. Cut all these ingredients into small pieces, then pour oil into the pot, then stir-fry the onions and carrots until cooked, then pour in tomato paste and stew for two minutes.
"Oh no… no beef, then it will just be beet soup."
At this moment, Inaba Tsukiyo remembered a very important ingredient, which was beef.
But where could she find beef to add now? Inaba Tsukiyo shook her head, a little troubled.
[Pat, pat]
Inaba Tsukiyo felt someone pat her shoulder. She turned around and found Bronya standing behind her at some point.
"Tsukiyo-nee-chan, you need this, right?" Saying so, she handed an open can in her hand to Inaba Tsukiyo. It was a can of beef.
"Beef? Thank you, Bronya. But why do you have canned beef?"
Although the beef problem was solved, why did Bronya have canned beef, and where did it come from?
"This is Bronya's emergency rations."
"Emergency rations? Are you worried that if Mei and I aren't here, you won't be able to make dinner for you all?"
Receiving the canned beef Bronya handed her, Inaba Tsukiyo reached out and rubbed Bronya's head. She then turned around, cut the beef into small pieces, and poured it into the pot along with the ingredients she had prepared earlier.
Bronya didn't leave; instead, she stood beside Inaba Tsukiyo, holding her Haxxor Bunny doll, watching Inaba Tsukiyo's actions.
Not only Bronya, but Seele also emerged from Bronya's body. The two stood on either side of Inaba Tsukiyo, just as they did when Inaba Tsukiyo cooked for them at Cocolia Orphanage.
After all the steps were completed, the heat was turned down. Now, they just had to wait half an hour for the dish to be successfully finished.
"How nostalgic. This is the dish Big Sister Bronya used to make for me and Big Sister Tsukiyo," Seele said, looking fondly at the beet soup in the pot, her face smiling as she gazed at Bronya, who was leaning tightly against Inaba Tsukiyo.
Bronya's eyes also showed a nostalgic look. Seeing this dish was like returning to the time when the three of them were together.
"Hey… Big Sister Tsukiyo, do you think Seele is doing well now?" Bronya, pressing tightly against Inaba Tsukiyo, asked as she watched the pot steaming.
"Seele? Haha~ She must be smiling and protecting us, just like your Project Bunny. She must be watching us now too."
Bronya couldn't see Seele, but Seele was right beside her at that moment, always accompanying Bronya.
"So, Seele is very happy now. You don't have to worry too much."
Half an hour later, Inaba Tsukiyo lifted the lid, added sour cream to the soup, and then gave a little to Bronya to taste. At the same time, she poured a bowl for herself.
However, this bowl wasn't specifically for her; it was for Seele.
"...Delicious."
Taking a sip of the soup, the familiar taste made a flicker of light flash in Bronya's eyes.
She looked up at Inaba Tsukiyo, and suddenly her eyes widened. In her vision, Inaba Tsukiyo transformed into Seele, who was smiling as she tasted the dish. Noticing Bronya's gaze, she smiled and held up the plate.
"It's really delicious, Big Sister Bronya."
"...See...le."
In the blink of an eye, the Seele before her changed back into Inaba Tsukiyo.
Bronya blinked. The previous scene hadn't actually happened, but she showed a faint smile.
For Bronya, who could no longer feel any joy, this was already a very miraculous thing.
"Big Sister Bronya…" Seele clearly heard Bronya's call, and her gaze towards Bronya was a little dim.
But she quickly cheered up, increasing the strength of her embrace around Inaba Tsukiyo.
She was very content with her current life; being able to live by attaching herself to Inaba Tsukiyo was already a great blessing for her.
Compared to staying in the Sea of Quanta, where there was no concept of time, enduring the loneliness of being alone, this was already the best outcome.
After the meal was prepared, everyone sat at the table laden with dishes, celebrating Inaba Tsukiyo's discharge from the hospital.
Taking off the streamers from her head, Inaba Tsukiyo listened to everyone's laughter, Bronya and Kiana's playful bickering, and Raiden Mei and Fu Hua's chatter. She couldn't help but smile, but also felt a little worried.
One must know that in this world full of Honkai, these Valkyries were the hope of this world, but the performance of these Valkyries before her… made her a little concerned about the future of this world.
"It's such a happy atmosphere, why don't you feel anything at all, Tsukiyo-chan?" Just as Inaba Tsukiyo was lost in thought, Theresa, holding a bitter gourd juice, came up to Inaba Tsukiyo, patted her shoulder, and said with some dissatisfaction.
"That's right, you're the guest of honor at this party. If you're not a little happier, then this party will be pointless."
"Happy? I'm very happy, Himeko."
"No… I only see a perfunctory smile on you. Show me the smile you have when you're with Bronya."
The experienced Himeko saw that Inaba Tsukiyo's smile was just a perfunctory one; only when she faced Bronya was her smile genuine.
This gave Himeko a headache, but also made her feel a bit helpless.
She hadn't felt it so strongly before, but when she tried to build a good relationship with Inaba Tsukiyo, she realized that Inaba Tsukiyo's estrangement from them was unusually great.
"The smile when I'm with Bronya… I don't quite understand what you mean." Inaba Tsukiyo wasn't lying; she genuinely didn't know what kind of smile she showed when facing Bronya.
Such things are done unconsciously, and they cannot be controlled by human will.
(fuhai: Indeed, some people can always show very cute smiles unconsciously, but when they try to smile intentionally, it always looks strange.)
Himeko shook her head. She realized that this matter couldn't be rushed.
However, when Himeko saw Inaba Tsukiyo chatting with Theresa with a doting smile, her whole mood soured.
What was this? Hadn't she just said she didn't know what a smile was? Why could she show such a beautiful smile in an instant?
Reminding herself not to get angry, Himeko took a few deep breaths, making her smile appear a little more natural.
"For this mission, I want to express my gratitude to you, Tsukiyo. As the captain of this operation, I, due to carelessness, kept causing you trouble. In the end, I was even controlled by the xuanyuan sword and lost consciousness."
When she said this, Himeko truly felt guilty.
It could be said that in this mission, she seemed to have done nothing but cause trouble; even Kiana was only responsible for carrying her around.
"Oh? Isn't that why I was supposed to go with you? As a member of this mission, isn't this what I should do?"
"No… whether it was at the beginning when you dealt with the Honkai fish, or later when you single-handedly dealt with the Anti-Entropy forces, and everything you did for me. These are all your contributions."
Himeko was very clear about what Inaba Tsukiyo had done. Even if she herself didn't admit it, Himeko saw it very clearly.
"It's okay… I just did what I wanted to do."
She wasn't entirely without gains from this operation.
Not only did she collect a portion of abnormal energy from Ji Xuanyuan, but she also brought together Ji Xuanyuan and Jiang Zhu, who shouldn't have been reunited. She was already very satisfied.
The party continued, and everyone, who had initially been somewhat reserved, completely let loose later on.
Just like Himeko, who had at least a dozen cans of beer in front of her and was holding a freshly opened, frothing beer, about to take off her clothes.
If Kiana, Fu Hua, and Raiden Mei hadn't stopped her, this gathering would probably have seen some strange things.
When she got drunk, besides taking off her clothes, she also started talking about embarrassing incidents from past missions, especially when she and Theresa were on missions together.
Not only that, Himeko also recounted the story of her first meeting with Theresa.
Himeko was sent by Schicksal to help Theresa establish St. Freya Academy, and when she first saw Theresa, Himeko was devastated.
Although she had heard that Theresa was an S-Rank Valkyrie of Schicksal, her daily habits and slacking off made Himeko feel helpless.
Even though Theresa worked hard on the construction of St. Freya Academy initially, once the work got on track, she started to slack off.
Especially after the comic "Haxxor Bunny Adventure" was published, she slacked off more and more each day, pushing all her tasks onto Himeko, which caused Himeko to have many complaints.
Himeko exposed Theresa's past dark history without any reservation, and the utterly infuriated Theresa suddenly yelled, "Judah!"
A golden cross appeared from somewhere, and chains from within the cross extended, completely binding the drunken Himeko.
"Sorry, Himeko and I still have some things to attend to tonight. We'll be leaving first."
After saying that, without waiting for anyone else to stop her, she directly dragged Himeko out of the dormitory.
The remaining people in the room exchanged glances, unsure of what to say.
"It's quiet now."
-----------------------
To read the next 40 chapters in advance, you can follow and support me on Patreon.
I'll be posting early chapters there so you can always stay ahead and never miss any new content.
patreon.com/SolyuraMT
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"