From Uvogin's perspective, Luke's request was quite excessive.
It was just like before, when he was curious about Luke's power, and then got angry because Luke made him beg for it.
Forcing them to lower their heads to others openly was harder than killing them.
Although Uvogin saw this as Luke's innocent joke, devoid of any deeper meaning, to Phinks, it was probably a blatant mockery and humiliation.
"So, in the end, it all comes down to a showdown!"
Uvogin clenched his fists, ready for battle.
But at the same time, he also understood.
What Luke had said before, asking him to beg, might just be Luke's unique way of doing things.
Or... Some kind of peculiar request?
Uvogin's not-so-stupid mind began to ponder. But the next moment, he was frozen in place.
"Just begging?"
Phinks, regaining his composure, asked again.
After receiving a positive response from Luke...
"I see..."
He nodded earnestly, then said:
"Please, I beg you, give us the same kind of food you gave Uvogin, the kind that fills the stomach, tastes delicious, and smells amazing!"
Phinks's request was decisive.
Uvogin: "...?"
Wait, bro, he told you to beg, and you actually begged?!
Where's your pride?!
Where's that defiant attitude you had when you were shouting to fight me earlier?!
Why did you turn into this just for food?!
Uvogin couldn't understand, but Phinks revealed a cold smile in his heart.
"You've stuffed yourself full, so of course you don't feel it. Easy for you to talk big when you're not hungry..."
Phinks glanced at the stunned Uvogin and almost guessed what the bastard was thinking.
You're so full and plump, but we're still hungry.
This is just the man who doesn't know the hunger of the starving.
You just finished your meal, and you're already pretending.
"Besides, all he asked was for us to beg him. It's not even something that outrageous, so what's the big deal?!"
Phinks felt no shame at all. Instead, he felt at ease and justified.
He even thought Luke's request was nothing.
Because, when he was younger, Phinks had faced worse things for a bite of food.
After all, this is Meteor City, not a place for them to play around and play house.
That could be fatal. Everyone was fighting for survival supplies, like the all-important food.
If simply begging could fill your stomach, then at least eight or nine out of ten people in Meteor City would do it without hesitation!
"Besides, aren't you also getting food by following this guy?"
Phinks's gaze towards Uvogin gradually turned contemptuous: "You're clearly mooching off him too, and yet you're trying to mock me?"
"Don't be ridiculous! Stop making me laugh!"
"Hey, what's that look in your eyes?!"
Now it was Uvogin's turn to get angry and roar furiously.
But Phinks ignored him. Right now, food is the most important thing!
Feitan, standing silently at the side, also felt slightly uncomfortable with this act of begging.
But since he always sided with Phinks, he chose to respect his companion's decision.
Of course, the main reason was that the food smelled way too good.
Especially when he saw Machi meticulously scraping every grain of rice from the black coconut fruit and shoving it into her mouth.
His throat churned even more fiercely.
"No problem. Since you've made the request, I'll grant it."
Luke snapped his fingers softly and laughed.
He had just been worrying that his stock of Plant Re-modeler was running low, and that there wouldn't be enough food in the coming days.
But now, these two had come knocking with a new request.
That meant his supply had increased a lot.
"However, there is one problem."
Luke raised his head, sensing the surroundings.
"You two were talking a little too loudly just now. It seems quite a few people heard you."
Huh?!
Phinks and Uvogin pricked up their ears and faintly heard footsteps approaching.
There was even some noisy chatter, like: "What's that smell?!"
"What a nice smell! Are they cooking new food inside the church?!"
"No, it's coming from the forest!"
"Hurry, let's go see! Maybe there'll be leftovers!"
Many such voices drifted over faintly.
"It seems we've attracted some people here, too."
Luke spread his hands slightly. "We'll just have to evacuate for now."
"But doesn't the appearance of that food require plants like trees?"
Machi, who had also finished her seafood fried rice nearby, reminded him: "Apart from here, unless we go to the outskirts, there don't seem to be any trees..."
"There's a rotten tree near Feitan's house."
Phinks immediately interrupted: "It's the one Feitan uses to stand on tiptoe, perfect for him to get a higher view..."
Puff!
Phinks was suddenly struck by a fist in the waist.
"Stop talking!"
Feitan, who only reached Phinks' waist height, spoke in a deep voice, his first words since arriving.
As for Feitan's height, let's not talk about that.
Even after more than a decade, he'd only grown to 155cm at his tallest.
This was a constant source of pain for him.
Only Phinks, his life-and-death companion, could bring up Feitan's height so thoughtlessly.
If it were anyone else, Feitan would have fought them head-on long ago.
But with this suitable destination, it was a perfect place for everyone to go.
And there was no need to sneak around the church anymore.
It would save them from making such a fuss, which was both inconvenient and unsafe.
So, having made their decision, they immediately took action.
Before leaving for good, Luke also raised his head and smiled toward the glass of a certain room in the church.
Then, along with Phinks and Feitan, they hurried towards their home.
"Just now... Did that person notice us?"
Little Pakunoda, in the screening room, noticed Luke's smile before he left and wondered in surprise.
She wasn't mistaken, for Luke's gaze was directed towards them.
"I once read in a book that people are very sensitive to gazes projected at them by others."
Little Chrollo, however, didn't think much of it: "We've been watching him from here for so long, of course, he must have noticed."
As he spoke, a curved smile appeared on his lips: "It seems he's a fascinating person, too. I really want to find a chance to meet him."
After Luke and the others left, many people gathered near the large tree below where Luke and the others had been staying.
Everyone caught a whiff of the rich fragrance wafting through the air.
One by one, their faces revealed expressions of deep ecstasy and greed.
"Hiss!"
Some even took a deep breath, trying to absorb the entire aroma into their nostrils. Such behavior also drew angry glares from the others.
Some even thought that the delicious food must be there, but it must have been hidden by those who arrived first.
For various reasons, the group gathered around and started arguing and even fighting.
Well, fighting is always inevitable in Meteor City.
…
Leaving aside little Chrollo's curiosity about Luke and those people's meaningless fights, Luke, Uvogin, and Machi smoothly followed Phinks and Feitan to Feitan's house.
Although Uvogin was very annoyed with Phinks, he would still be happy to take the opportunity to steal food from them.
Feitan's house was not large, and its exterior was just as shabby as Luke's. But the contents inside were more substantial than Luke's.
At least, besides the bed, there were simple tables and chairs, and a small cabinet for storing things.
Though still just as shabby. But for things scavenged from the junk piles, you couldn't be picky; having them at all was already good.
Luke's main focus was on the rotting tree in Feitan's house.
Thankfully, the Plant Re-modeler only required plants; there was no specific requirement for living or dead plants.
Luke immediately took out two more modifiers and loaded them into the syringes.
Now that he had received Phinks' commission, his inventory had expanded considerably.
Puff.
He inserted the syringe into the tree again, and under the gazes of Phinks and Feitan, whose eyes shifted from curiosity to shock, the tree sprouted, blossomed, and bore fruit.
A large black coconut fruit took shape.
"So that's how you get your food..."
Phinks muttered to himself, stunned and almost dazed.
Feitan, though silent, nearly opened his normally squinting eyes to their widest.
He watched the birth of the second black coconut fruit, as if wanting to see it all clearly, to see how it was done.
However, all their shock and confusion ended when the lid of the black coconut fruit was opened.
Crack.
The rich aroma wafted into their nostrils, stimulating their brains.
Instantly, it gave them a shudder.
All their shock, curiosity, and confusion vanished at that moment.
What replaced them was a deep longing for the bowl of food before them.
A rice bowl piled high with thick pork cutlets, and a steaming stir-fry filled with bean sprouts, shredded meat, and greens.
Two dishes of food they had never seen before sat right in front of them, making their throats churn uncontrollably.
Even Uvogin and Machi, who had already eaten, couldn't help but salivate.
And, upon seeing the food, Uvogin's expression gradually grew subtler.
"Bastard! These are ours, don't even think about taking them away!"
Before Uvogin could act, Phinks, as if already anticipating it, immediately carried the two dishes far away.
"Don't think I don't know what filthy schemes you're plotting, you bastard!"
Phinks glared at Uvogin viciously: "Your eyes and drool already sold you out!"
"Hm? Was it that obvious?"
Uvogin, having failed, regretfully wiped the corner of his mouth.
Sure enough, there was quite a lot of drool.