Chapter 187: Only This Warmth Endures, Don't Discover It Too Late
When Nakiri Mana swallowed, the silence in the restaurant was so absolute that one could hear the dust motes settling in the light beams.
Then, the dam broke.
Gin Dojima, the stoic Living Legend of Totsuki, immediately hooked his muscular arm around Joichiro Yukihira's neck. He squeezed his old friend in a chokehold of sheer, unadulterated triumph, his composure shattering like glass.
"She ate it! Joichiro! Do you see?! She actually ate it!"
"Guh—! Gin! I see it! Let go, you're killing me!" Joichiro rasped, slapping Gin's arm, though his own eyes were crinkled with a smile of profound relief.
Senzaemon Nakiri's body, usually as sturdy as an ancient oak tree, trembled visibly. His hands gripped the fabric of his hakama, his knuckles turning white from the force. Beside the table, Anne, the devoted attendant who had stood by Nakiri Mana's side through her darkest years of starvation and IV drips, immediately covered her mouth with both hands. Her shoulders shook as tears streamed down her face, a silent testament to the miracle she was witnessing.
Everyone else was also visibly excited, the air in the room vibrating with a collective exhale.
Nakiri Mana sat frozen, her hand still hovering near her mouth. Her entire God Tongue seemed to have malfunctioned. She waited for the backlash. She waited for the usual assault—the taste of impurities in the water, the metallic tang of chemical fertilizers in the rice, the chaotic noise of imperfect fire control.
But she couldn't detect any flaws.
There was only deliciousness. Only a profound, cleansing sweetness that felt like a gentle spring rain washing over a parched landscape.
She couldn't remember the last time she had tasted something like this. She even doubted if it was real, wondering if her brain had finally snapped from hunger and created a hallucination. But when that mouthful of porridge slid unhindered into her stomach—into a stomach that hadn't received solid food in so long—that warm feeling was undeniable. That cozy sensation spreading through her limbs, thawing the ice in her veins, was real.
Ren, standing calmly by the table, handed her a tissue and said with a gentle smile, "It seems to be to your liking. How do you feel?"
Nakiri Mana looked at the tissue. She wanted to reach for it, to maintain her dignity as the Director of the WGO. But she was also reluctant to put down the bowl, fearing that if she let go, the magic would vanish and the nausea would return.
Instead of taking it with her hand, she instinctively leaned her face closer to him, offering her tear-stained cheek.
Ren was momentarily surprised by the vulnerable gesture, then he smiled warmly. He looked past her to the old man sitting opposite. "Old man, I'll leave this job to you~"
But Senzaemon Nakiri merely closed his eyes, a serene, melancholic smile gracing his weathered face. He shook his head slightly. "No," he said softly, his voice thick with emotion. "You saved Mana, Ren-kun. You brought her back. You might as well see it through..."
Ren was taken aback but didn't refuse. He understood the weight of the request. He took the tissue and gently wiped the tears from the corners of Nakiri Mana's eyes, his movements careful and steady.
"I might be overstepping, but as the Old Man said, I'll see the rescue through," Ren said softly. "How do you feel physically? Is there any rejection?"
Nakiri Mana held the bowl of porridge with both hands, looking down at the jade-green liquid shimmering in the light. "Mr. Ren! This dish of yours... this Meiling Porridge... it is too delicious! I haven't found a single flaw! It's... it's quiet. For the first time in years, the storm in my mouth is quiet."
[Akarin's Note: Meiling Porridge (Mei Ling Zhou) is a famous medicinal dish from the anime Chuuka Ichiban! (Cooking Master Boy), known for its vivid green color and healing properties.]
The WGO Executive Officers—Courage, Decora, and Lanterby—were stunned into silence.
"No flaws?" Decora adjusted her glasses, her mouth slightly open. "Even with the highest grade ingredients, the God Tongue always finds something. The mood of the farmer, the quality of the soil... she tastes it all. How can a dish have zero flaws?"
Ren smiled, leaning his hip against the table. "I'm not asking for your culinary evaluation, Miss Mana. I'm asking if your God Tongue still has its sensation? Or is it numb? Can you taste the details, or is it just a blur?"
Nakiri Mana was startled. She paused, trying to focus on her tongue. It didn't feel numb like anesthesia. It felt... cushioned. Wrapped in velvet.
"I... I don't know," she admitted, looking up at him with wide, silver eyes.
"Here." Ren understood her confusion. He reached into a glass jar on the counter and pulled out a chocolate-covered biscuit stick—a common Pocky. He handed it to her. "Try this. It's a control test."
Nakiri Mana hesitated. The contrast between the divine, glowing porridge and a mass-produced convenience store snack was jarring. But she trusted him now. She took the stick with trembling fingers and took a bite.
Crunch.
She chewed it directly. Immediately, her expression shifted. Her brow furrowed, and her eyes sharpened with their usual critical intensity.
"This biscuit..." Mana spoke rapidly, her analytical mode kicking in involuntarily. "It is completely a product of industrial chemistry. I taste the emulsifier agent—soy lecithin, likely low grade. There is 20 grams too much sugar in the dough mixture, masking the staleness of the flour. The biscuit base was baked for exactly 3 seconds too long, resulting in a slight bitterness in the aftertaste. And the chocolate... it's a cocoa butter substitute, waxy and artificial... Eh?"
She froze mid-sentence.
Lanterby, the small Bookman with the large hat, gasped in surprise, pointing a shaking finger. "Lady Mana! You... you didn't spit it out! You accurately pointed out every flaw, you listed the chemical composition, but you swallowed it!"
Usually, eating such "trash" would have sent Mana into convulsions of nausea. Her body would have rejected the impurity violently.
Ren smiled and nodded, looking satisfied. "That's right~ Your God Tongue hasn't disappeared. But its taste perception has been temporarily weakened—or rather, buffered—by the mellow flavor of the Meiling Porridge."
Ren gestured to the green-tinted porridge in her bowl. "The Meiling Porridge acts like noise-canceling headphones for your tongue. It coats the stomach and the palate with a soothing, medicinal energy. It doesn't remove the sensitivity; it removes the pain associated with it."
"Your current mental endurance is a bit weaker than the sensory input of your God Tongue," Ren explained, sounding like a doctor giving a diagnosis. "Once the input volume is lowered by the porridge, your mental endurance takes the top spot. You are in control of the data, instead of the data drowning you."
He grinned mischievously, his eyes sparkling. "Plus, the dinner I will serve later will be beyond the current comprehension of your God Tongue. It will be a flavor from a dimension you cannot analyze. Though it will certainly satisfy your craving. At that point, you will achieve the effect of training your mental endurance that I spoke of."
Nakiri Mana nodded repeatedly, absorbing every word like a diligent student. Then she asked in confusion, "But Mr. Ren, if that's the case, won't I recover tomorrow? Will the noise come back? Do I have to keep drinking this porridge every day for the rest of my life?"
"Of course not," Ren laughed, waving his hand. "Once your God Tongue is weakened and tastes an 'unanalyzable deliciousness' later tonight, it will be satisfied. A satisfied God Tongue goes dormant. It stops frantically searching for flaws because it knows perfection exists. This phase won't be very long or very short, about one to two weeks. Then you'll need to come back to suppress it again."
Nakiri Mana nodded, looking relieved. She opened her mouth to ask about the ingredients—was it the creeping woodsorrel that gave it the green color?—but Ren clapped his hands gently.
"Although asking questions is a good habit," Ren said with a smile, pointing at her bowl, "the Meiling Porridge relies on its temperature to bind the medicinal herbs and the sweetness. It won't taste the same once it's cold. The magic lies in the heat. So, everyone, please enjoy. Especially Miss Nakiri Mana, you mustn't drink it too fast, or you'll shock your stomach~"
"Mhm! Mhm! Mhm!"
Mana nodded vigorously, immediately dipping her spoon back into the bowl. She looked like a child afraid her toy would be taken away.
After Ren finished giving instructions and explanations, he turned and returned to the kitchen to prepare the main feast. The sound of a knife hitting a chopping board echoed rhythmically, a promise of more wonders to come.
Nakiri Mana, meanwhile, slowly sipped her porridge. Her face radiated such pure, unadulterated happiness that Senzaemon Nakiri's eyes became a little moist again. He watched the color return to her cheeks, the tension leaving her jaw.
It was only when Nakiri Mana was halfway through eating that she noticed the silence. She looked up, blinking. Everyone—Gin, Joichiro, the Bookmen, even Lucifer—was watching her.
She felt a flush of embarrassment creep up her neck. "W-what? Is there something on my face?"
Joichiro, the scoundrel uncle, broke the tension with a loud, hearty laugh. "Alright! The problem is solved! I knew Shopkeeper Ren would have a solution. Watching you eat is making me starve. I'm starting! This smells too good to ignore any longer!"
With that, he picked up his bowl and began to drink.
The moment the liquid touched his tongue, Joichiro's eyes widened. After a mouthful of the sweet, soft, and smooth Meiling Porridge, the mellow aroma and sweetness instantly enveloped his entire mouth. It wasn't just food; it was vitality itself. It tasted of earth, of rain, of life.
So this is it, Joichiro thought, closing his eyes as a shudder of pleasure ran down his spine. The legendary recipe said to cure the Emperor. It balances the Qi. It creates harmony.
Then Joichiro understood what Mana meant by "flawless." It was perfect and unblemished like white jade. Joichiro came back to his senses and, without a word of emotion, ate large mouthfuls, abandoning his usual cool demeanor. He scraped the bowl, chasing every drop.
Seeing this effect on the former Second Seat, Courage and the others couldn't hold back. They also began to eat.
"It can't be that exagg—Mmm?!"
The result, of course, goes without saying.
The moment the porridge entered their mouths, the WGO officers let out sounds that could send one into a 'black room'—a euphemism for intense, almost erotic pleasure.
"Hnnng~!"
Decora's glasses slipped down her nose, steam fogging up the lenses. Courage gripped the table edge, her toes curling in her shoes. Lanterby kicked her legs in delight, a moan of happiness escaping her lips.
There was no other way; the taste buds of the Executive Officers were simply too developed. When stimulated by such perfection, the reaction was explosive. They couldn't stop. Spoonful after spoonful of porridge disappeared into their mouths. They probably couldn't believe they would ever drink a simple bowl of vegetable porridge with such voracious hunger. It cleansed their palates of all the mediocre food they had been forced to judge over the years.
However, among these people, only one person didn't drink.
Senzaemon Nakiri.
At this moment, the Demon of Food completely ignored the fragrant porridge steaming in front of him. The aroma, which would usually have him analyzing the ingredients, was secondary.
He simply watched Nakiri Mana.
She was happily sipping her porridge like a child, blowing on the spoon, her eyes curved in crescents of utter contentment. She hummed a soft, unrecognizable tune.
In this moment, Senzaemon seemed to recall a time decades ago. When Nakiri Mana was little, before the curse manifested, before the weight of the Nakiri name crushed her spirit. He would watch her eat just like this at the family breakfast table, her feet swinging not touching the floor.
It was exactly the same as now.
Time might have taken away the innocence and tenderness of the past. It had etched lines on his face and brought gray to his hair. It had put distance and pain between them, creating a chasm of silence that had lasted for years.
But no matter how things change, you are always you. The daughter he loved was still there, beneath the layers of trauma and authority.
If there's time, Senzaemon thought, a profound peace settling in his heart, let the self from your memories come out and walk around; there will always be someone to accompany you.
"Hmm? All gone..."
Nakiri Mana blinked, scraping the bottom of her bowl. The sound of the ceramic spoon against the empty bowl was loud in the quiet moment. Although she was eating in small sips, her hand movements were not slow. One mouthful had just been swallowed, and the next was already in her mouth. Unconsciously, the small bowl of porridge was completely finished.
She looked at the empty bowl with a lingering sense of loss. Her stomach was warm, but her heart wanted just a little more.
Seeing Nakiri Mana look at the empty bowl with that expression, Senzaemon Nakiri smiled. Without a word, he pushed his own untouched portion of Meiling Porridge across the table, placing it directly in front of her.
Nakiri Mana was startled. She looked up and asked in confusion, "Father? What are you doing? I... I've had enough. That's your portion. You haven't eaten anything all day either."
Senzaemon Nakiri smiled, his voice gruff but gentle, the voice of a father, not a director. "You are my daughter. Even after so many years apart, I still know you. Do you think I wouldn't know if you've had enough? Your eyes are still hungry."
He tapped the table near the bowl. "Drink it. I'm more looking forward to the main meal Ren-kun is cooking. I heard there's Mapo Tofu and heavy meat dishes coming up. I need to save room for the alcohol. I don't particularly like sweets or porridge anyway. It's too bland for an old man like me."
It was a lie. A clumsy, beautiful lie.
Nakiri Mana looked at Senzaemon Nakiri. She looked at the familiar face that was now covered in wrinkles.
What remained unchanged was that dignity, and that same type of concern that all parents share.
He didn't like sweets? The Demon King of Cuisine wouldn't dislike any delicious food. He was a man who lived to eat. He had traveled across the country once just for a specific red bean bun. Nakiri Mana knew very well that Senzaemon Nakiri was the person who, besides herself, most wanted to taste this deliciousness. He wanted to taste the dish that saved his family. He wanted to understand the magic.
But his love for his daughter had overcome his appetite. He was giving her his share of the miracle.
Nakiri Mana felt a sharp pang in her nose. Her vision blurred, and her eyes twitched with fresh tears.
"Father..." Nakiri Mana softly said, her voice trembling. "Mr. Ren said this is good for your health. You should..."
"I'm not that old yet!" Senzaemon barked, feigning annoyance, crossing his arms. "What porridge? I'd rather have a drink when the main course comes later! Hurry up and drink it, or it won't taste the same! Don't let it go cold! Do not waste Ren-kun's effort!"
"Hmm!"
Nakiri Mana finally couldn't hold back her tears. She pulled the bowl towards her.
She cried and she ate.
She felt like she hadn't cried this much in her entire life. Each spoonful was mixed with salt and sweetness. Senzaemon Nakiri reached out, took a tissue, and wiped Nakiri Mana's tears again.
"Shopkeeper Ren saved you completely," he said with a smile, his large hand resting gently on her head, stroking her silver hair. "It's only right that I'm here now to make sure you eat. Be careful not to choke."
"Hmm! Otou-sama..."
Everyone ate while watching the scene. The room was filled with the soft sounds of eating and the heavy weight of emotion. Even the rowdy Cerberus sisters were quiet, watching with wide eyes.
There was nothing more miraculous than emotion. Time could take away many things—youth, strength, shared moments—but the bond of blood would always remain.
When a family, long separated, finally sits down to eat together, do they suddenly realize that the people around them are no longer in their prime?
Youthful beauty fades, but care and warmth always remain…
Don't let this change be discovered too late…
[Akarin Note:
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