章節 141: Arc 5: Break - Chapter 5
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"Speech"
Arc 5: Break - Chapter 5
Octavia's horrified gaze remained fixed on the simple nigiri resting innocently on the plate. "I don't think you should ever cook at your very best, Jin..." She muttered with a mix of fear and disbelief.
Weiss nodded in agreement, her usually composed demeanor faltering slightly as she gently pushed her own plate away. "I agree with Octavia on this." She glanced over at Ruby with visible concern.
Ruby, who had been in a concerning state moments ago, now appeared fully back to normal. I snapped my fingers, using Boundary Manipulation to restore her to her usual self. However, the room was still thick with tension over what had just transpired.
Before I healed her, Ruby had been a complete mess. One bite of the seemingly ordinary nigiri had sent her spiraling into an uncontrollable state of extreme pleasure. Her body had convulsed as though overwhelmed by raw bliss, her breath hitching and her voice lost to a string of moans. She had been left squirming, her body reacting violently, with fluids pooling beneath her chair. It was as if the sushi had bypassed all reason and restraint, hitting the core of her being with an intensity unmatched by anything natural.
Taking deep breaths to regain her composure, Ruby finally managed to speak. "The only thing I can compare this to is when Jin uses his Boundary Manipulation on us to satisfy our sexual urges, Weiss. But this? This was similar but a bit slower, which was what caught me off guard, and it just kept going for a few seconds, just enough for me to barely hold on; otherwise, I would have lost consciousness." Ruby looked at the others seriously. "This nigiri is deadly to anyone who hasn't experienced the kind of extreme pleasures we're... used to, Weiss. It will break their mind. If someone unprepared ate it, they'd likely end up dehydrated, or dead, in mere seconds if no one saved them."
The four nigiri lay on the table, simple and innocent. To everyone present, these sushi were no longer food but potential weapons of catastrophic destruction.
From Weiss' left wrist, Ghost's voice broke the tense silence. "It's random true fact time!" Still in its wristwatch form. "Did you know that The Caretaker/Home, has accidentally acquired one of the hidden methods of the Eldritch pantheon? This method was originally intended to conquer countless worlds! As it turns out, anyone who eats food made under the influence of the Eldritch pantheon risks severe consequences. Such food has caused countless deaths—not just from unrelenting hunger but from irrevocable mental breaks unless reversed by someone with a highly unique ability. Furthermore, there's also a disturbingly high chance that the consumer's internal organs will rupture from uncontrollable vibrations, resulting in them transforming into sexual predators undead. These undead relentlessly pursue the living to unleash their overwhelming pent-up sexual urges."
Ghost's matter-of-fact delivery left the room even more unnerved. As the implications settled, we all returned to the nigiri, now imbued with a horrifying aura, like cursed relics masquerading as lunch.
To break the tension—and my own unease—I nudged Ruby on her side with my finger. She yelped, startled, her silver eyes wide as she looked at me with confusion.
"Just making sure your body's completely normal." I said calmly, answering her unspoken question. She blinked at me, still flustered, before reluctantly nodding.
Everyone's attention remained on the sushi, their mere presence casting a shadow over what should have been an ordinary meal.
I snapped my fingers, invoking Boundary Manipulation to transform the nigiri into truly ordinary ones. There were no lingering traces of Food Wars' Superhuman Cooking, Housekeeping Mastery, and Food Science. They were now mundane nigiri—nothing more, nothing less.
And yet, not a single one of us reached for them. Even I hesitated, my hand hovering momentarily before pulling back. Despite my assurances that they were perfectly safe, the memory of Ruby's earlier experience loomed too large. None of us dared risk it, and the sushi sat untouched, their existence now more a symbol of terror than sustenance.
I couldn't help but sense the emotions of the usually subdued forces that had contributed to their creation. Superhuman Cooking, which rarely made itself known, seemed to emit a faint sadness, almost like a disappointed artist whose masterpiece was being ignored. Its presence, subtle but perceptible, tugged at the edges of my consciousness.
Food Science, on the other hand, oozed a clinical curiosity, as though diligently cataloging every data point from Ruby's earlier reaction. Its dispassionate analysis stood in stark contrast to Superhuman Cooking's melancholy.
Housekeeping Mastery, however, was different—it radiated a distinct sense of disapproval, like a parent scolding a wasteful child. The notion of food being abandoned on the table clearly irked it more than any failed culinary experiment.
Even though I had neutralized the nigiri with Boundary Manipulation, their legacy lingered, an unspoken reminder of the dangers lurking behind the seemingly mundane. None of us dared break the silence to address the sad, heavy atmosphere the previous nigiri had left behind.
"Hey, guys." Taejin's voice cut through the heavy atmosphere, casual and unconcerned as usual. She emerged into the cafeteria with her unique method of traveling through the high school—appearing as if she'd always been there, just unnoticed until now. She slid into the seat right next to Weiss, crossing one leg over the other. "Couldn't you guys wait for the rest of us to get out of class? What's with all the intense staring at these sushi? And... why is the floor wet where Ruby is sitting?" Her sharp gaze darted from the untouched sushi to the damp patch beneath Ruby's chair.
Ruby's face flushed a light shade of pink as she squirmed slightly in her seat, sneaking a quick, embarrassed glance at me. "You don't want to know."
I sighed quietly and snapped my fingers again, invoking Boundary Manipulation to erase the evidence of the earlier incident, something I should have done before doing anything else. The floor beneath Ruby was instantly restored to a spotless, dry state, leaving no trace of what had transpired. However, the lingering discomfort in the room wasn't so easily dispelled.
Taejin's eyebrow rose slightly but she didn't press the issue further. Instead, she leaned back in her chair, glancing skeptically at the nigiri that still sat on the table. Even she seemed hesitant to ask about them, as though sensing the weight of the unspoken tension hanging in the air.
"Good!" Leng Peng's booming voice filled the cafeteria as he entered with his characteristic swagger. "You people finally realized to wait for me, Leng Peng, and offer me to eat first!" Without hesitation, he grabbed one of the nigiri, his smirk widening with smug satisfaction as he took a hearty bite.
The rest of us exchanged uneasy glances, but no one moved to stop him. Weiss leaned back in her chair, folding her arms as she shot me a flat, unimpressed look. "You should've left them as they were just so he could go through the experience."
"Hm?" Taejin turned to me, her expression questioning. The confusion in her eyes was mirrored by her body language as if she were trying to piece together the dynamics at play.
Leng Peng, oblivious to the tension at first, suddenly froze mid-chew. His confident smirk faded as his gaze dropped to the half-eaten nigiri in his hand. A flicker of panic crossed his face before he abruptly hurled the sushi to the side. Clutching his chest, he began to hammer it with his fist, coughing violently as his eyes widened in unmistakable fear. Each cough seemed desperate as he tried to throw up the nigiri he had partly eaten just now.
The room fell silent, except for Leng Peng's coughing fit. All eyes were on him now, the earlier unease replaced with restrained amusement. Despite my Boundary Manipulation neutralizing the sushi, the psychological weight of what happened to Ruby still lingered in our minds, and it was clear Taejin and Leng Peng had misunderstood everything.
"Anyway, why did you two finally arrive now?" I asked, doing my best to ignore Leng Peng and his antics. Still, I had to hand it to him—he hadn't started screaming about getting revenge on Alma for killing him during the last lunchtime. For someone like Leng Peng, that was practically character growth. Plus, credit where credit was due: somehow, he managed to get into high school despite everything.
"What do you mean?" Leng Peng sneered, crossing his arms. "Do you think everyone can just waltz into the cafeteria as easily as this silver-eyed beauty over here?" He gestured dramatically toward Ruby before throwing her a wink.
"I'm taken." Ruby said flatly, leaning into my arms. Her blank expression as she stared back at Leng Peng was more dismissive than angry.
Leng Peng, undeterred, shifted his attention to Weiss. "Well, Snow Angel—"
He didn't even get to finish. Weiss calmly leaned against me, silently making her stance clear. That left Leng Peng floundering for a moment before his gaze landed on Octavia.
"I'm not in a relationship with those three." Octavia said, her voice dry but matter-of-fact. "Also, sorry, but I'm not into humans."
Leng Peng's grin widened as if he'd just been issued a challenge. "Don't worry, beautiful avian demon. I believe I can persuade you otherwise. Besides..." He paused dramatically, puffing out his chest. "I'm not human either. This is just the form I've taken after reaching a certain stage of cultivation."
"Oh?" Taejin raised an eyebrow, intrigued but skeptical. "What were you before turning into a human, then?"
"A hamster." Leng Peng declared with unmistakable pride, his grin stretching from ear to ear.
That... was not what anyone expected.
"Uh..." Octavia blinked, clearly at a loss for words.
"Huh." Taejin stared at Leng Peng, the disbelief practically radiating off her. "Were you, like, the size of a mountain as a hamster?"
"Nope." Leng Peng said, his tone almost smug. "Just a regular-sized hamster, raised by my beloved masters—humans, of course. They gave me everything I needed for enlightenment. Over the years, I became the young master of the Peng Clan, all thanks to my masters. Coming here is merely a test, a way to prove myself and ensure I don't let them down!"
His eyes lit up—literally—flames flickering in his irises as he spoke with fiery determination.
The crazy part? Those flames weren't metaphorical. His eyes were genuinely on fire, and yet he acted as though it were the most normal thing in the world.
So, crazy voices. Did Alma cause Leng Peng even more problems after killing him? Or was he always this bizarre? Honestly, I couldn't tell anymore, and it left me at a loss for how to even react to this... new development.
"And the reason why you're approaching us is because...?" I asked, doing my best to keep my tone neutral. Testing the limits of whatever loophole I could exploit to deal with him outside the cafeteria didn't seem like the best idea just yet.
Leng Peng straightened up even further, tilting his chin up as though his presence was a blessing in itself. "Everyone else isn't worthy of my attention." He declared grandly. "Your group, however, has earned it. Consider it an honor for me, Leng Peng, to acknowledge everyone here." He puffed his chest out, flames still faintly flickering in his eyes as he radiated unshakable self-confidence.
The sheer audacity left me momentarily speechless, though I couldn't help but glance around at the others. Ruby leaned into me a little more, clearly unimpressed. Weiss looked as though she'd heard enough nonsense for one day. Taejin raised an eyebrow, still processing the "hamster-to-cultivator" backstory. Octavia, meanwhile, just blinked at Leng Peng as if trying to figure out whether he was serious or setting up some elaborate joke.
It was hard to tell, and that somehow made it worse.
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