After Shido learned about the existence of the Spirits, AST, and Hyun, time passed, and before long the day of the first operation had arrived.
The date they had promised after giving the Spirit once known by the identifier [Princess] the name “Toka.”
That date was finally taking place the very next day.
“What an absurd method.”
Hyun, who had been watching Shido’s “operation” all this time, said.
Three choices were presented: safety, adventure, and gambling. When the crew selected one of those options, the plan would proceed according to whichever choice received the most votes.
Unable to understand such a bizarre method, Hyun had never once taken part in the voting.
“...Because it’s the answer derived by AI.”
“Even if artificial intelligence came up with it, if you want to win someone’s favor, wouldn’t it be better to think it through?”
“That sounds very unconvincing coming from you, Hyun.”
Kotori, who had been listening quietly from the side, cut in.
That was because Hyun often spoke and acted as if he had not thought at all before saying something. For him to say that was absurd.
But Hyun was unfazed.
“There is nothing particularly wrong with my words or actions.”
Hyun did think before he spoke.
He was putting forward words he had arrived at through his own way of thinking, not simply blurting things out without thought.
However, the things he said were so unbelievable that...
“Aren’t you being a little too shameless? Think about everything you’ve said so far.”
Kotori slowly listed Hyun’s past behavior.
Every time she told him to stop installing bonfires, he would only answer, “I’ll consider it.”
When Reine held a lesson, a few minutes later he would mutter, “Ah, I didn’t hear that.”
When Kotori got angry because he had eaten one of her candy collection pieces, he would brazenly answer, “Hmm. My apologies. I wish you had at least put your name on it.”
...He’s worse than an elementary schooler.
After listing it all out, Kotori felt that even an elementary schooler would communicate better than this.
“I don’t see any particular problem.”
“Everything about it is a problem...!”
Hyun and Kotori were at odds.
In truth, from Hyun’s perspective, none of those statements were problematic.
When he installed a bonfire in the lounge, he had actually taken Kotori’s words into account and moved it to a place where other people would not come often. During Reine’s lesson, he really had not heard her, and that was why he said that. As for eating Kotori’s candy collection, he had genuinely not known it was hers, and he had said that because he thought it would not have been confusing if she had at least put her name on it.
Kotori had no way of knowing any of that, so their opinions were bound to clash.
“...Haa, forget it. Talking to you makes me feel like I’m getting dumber too.”
“If you’re a student and you get dumber, what are you going to do?”
“......”
He’s mocking me, right? He is, right? That guy actually knows everything and is just messing with me, isn’t he?
For a moment, anger flared up, but Reine shook her head and let Kotori know.
There was not a shred of malice in those words.
Kotori knew that much too. Hyun’s emotions were damaged, and his common sense was lacking compared to other people’s, so he spoke his thoughts without hesitation.
Even so. The way he said things made it impossible not to get angry.
Let’s calm down. I’m the commander.
Since she was the commander, she decided to show the generosity to overlook a crew member’s mistake.
Forcing down her anger, Kotori put one of her candies in her mouth and looked at the central monitor.
On the screen, Shido could be seen diligently going on his date with Toka.
“How far along are they now?”
“They’re entering a nearby shopping district. At this speed, we expect they’ll reach the intended location very soon.”
“Good. It’s going well.”
Very well indeed.
The plan was proceeding smoothly.
Using Ratatoskr’s financial power, they had renovated and bought up the surrounding shops, luring Shido and Toka there and, under the pretense of special products, serving them an enormous amount of food.
Because Toka had shown such intense interest in food, the plan had been devised quickly, and it was working successfully.
Watching Toka eat mountains of food, Hyun tilted his head.
“Did food really have taste?”
“...What?”
At that mutter, everyone’s eyes turned to Hyun.
“Hmm. Why is everyone looking at me like that?”
“...Hyun. What did you mean by that just now?”
“Exactly what I said. Did food have taste?”
Food did not exist in Hyun’s world. No, it certainly had existed, but it could not be eaten.
While living day by day in battle, struggling to preserve his own life, finding proper food in a world heading toward destruction had been nearly impossible.
So Hyun’s main sustenance had been alcohol at best, or Estus soup.
Both had been food given to him by his friend, the Onion Knight, Siegbert.
If not for him, Hyun would have lived on Estus alone, with no food at all.
But neither of those had anything one could call taste.
After suddenly falling into another world and dying over and over again, his sense of taste had long since stopped functioning properly.
At first, Hyun had certainly longed for food. But after losing his sense of taste, he no longer really desired it.
Only when he occasionally met Siegbert did they drink and eat soup together, blessing each other’s journeys.
“...Wait, Hyun. You mean you haven’t eaten anything even once all this time?”
“Hyun, are you really all right...?”
Even Kannazuki was worried by that, and Hyun calmly nodded.
“There is no problem.”
Hyun was undead.
As an undead, why should he be attached to something as trivial as food? And even without food, he did not feel hunger, so it was fine.
“Let’s stop with the small talk.”
As if proving that he was perfectly fine, Hyun said that and focused back on the screen.
Shido and Toka were still dealing with a massive amount of food.
“Siegbert.”
Watching Toka smile brightly, Hyun thought of his friend Siegbert.
Just like Toka, Siegbert had also smiled brightly and raised a toast whenever he ate and drank, so Hyun could not forget that man who always carried such a cheerful air.
Even someone whose emotions were broken could still look back on the past and remember it.
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