Chapter 29: What is the Most Desperate Thing in the World...
"Yes, it recorded some new recipes I have been researching recently," Himeko said, her voice drifting through the door with a distinct sigh of regret. "I originally intended to cook them for you all to taste tonight. Since it is nowhere to be found, forget it. I probably just set it down somewhere and forgot."
"What a pity!" Rekka gasped, injecting his voice with a masterful layer of deep sorrow. "We were really looking forward to Sister Himeko's new dishes! Really! Especially, especially looking forward to them!"
Behind him, Dan Heng's mouth twitched in a silent, violent spasm.
"It is okay. Although the recipe book is missing, I still remember some of them roughly."
Rekka's breath hitched.
'Still remembers?'
The blood drained from Rekka's face, leaving behind a wildly shifting kaleidoscope of sheer panic.
"Of course," Himeko mused thoughtfully from the corridor. "It seems like... stir-fried moth silk risotto, deep-fried watermelon strips, duck leg confit with coffee beans, strawberry devil-spicy tofu..."
Just listening to the syllables strung together felt like standing at the edge of an abyss.
Rekka slowly turned his head. Dan Heng stood frozen, a bead of cold sweat racing down his pale cheek at terminal velocity.
"Do you not think these few new dishes sound very creative? I think so too, especially that strawberry devil-spicy tofu."
"It certainly sounds delicious..." Rekka forced a smile so wide his facial muscles screamed in protest. His throat felt like sandpaper. "Sister Himeko is truly... so creative. It is simply unmatched and will never be surpassed! But Sister Himeko, cooking so many dishes must be exhausting, right? Shall we... uh, shall we just have the Conductor whip something up? After all, you are already busy enough worrying about the big and small matters of the Astral Express. How can we let you do the rough work of cooking yourself!"
"It is not exhausting," Himeko replied briskly, her tone bright and utterly merciless. "Cooking is a form of relaxation for me. Besides, I have already prepared the ingredients."
'It is over.'
The edges of Rekka's vision went pitch black.
"Um... Dan Heng said he wants to eat something light tonight!" Rekka's brain shifted into overdrive. He grabbed the shoulder of the paralyzed archivist, shaking him slightly. "Right, Dan Heng? Did you not just say your stomach has not been feeling well lately and you wanted to have some plain congee or something?"
Dan Heng blinked, his survival instincts finally kicking in. "Right. Stomach hurts. Want congee. Plain congee. The kind with absolutely nothing added."
Silence hung outside the door for two agonizing seconds.
"Stomach hurts, huh..." Himeko's voice softened with genuine concern. "There is also a Bitter Melon Cooling Mint Special Drink in the new recipe book. It is said to be especially good for the stomach, clearing heat and detoxifying. I will go make you a cup right now, it will be quick. Just hot ginger juice, chili powder, bitter melon, mint..."
'No!'
Despair clawed at Rekka's throat.
Accompanied by a violent, devastating tremor, the very fabric of reality ground to a halt. The air thickened. Dust motes hung suspended in the artificial gravity.
Viewed from the silent void of space, the entire Astral Express appeared locked inside an invisible, pulsating blue force field.
'Za Warudo!'The ultimate cheat skill activated. However, the cosmic clock was ticking. He had a strict time limit. Rekka had to move fast, weaponizing this stolen time to completely rewrite Himeko's culinary manifesto.'Must write something normal.''Must write something human beings can actually digest.''Must write something that Sister Himeko will not suspect, and that can actually be made from standard ingredients.'
Rekka scrambled for a pen, his hands flying across the paper like a madman.
"Sweet and sour pork ribs!"
"Fish-flavored shredded pork!"
"Potato beef!"
"Honey citron tea!"
He furiously scribbled the new, aggressively mundane recipes into a spare notebook, ripping out the original two pages of biochemical warfare. It was just two pages; she would not notice the difference in thickness.
Despite the frozen timeline, Rekka felt the stamina draining from his cells at a terrifying rate. Time manipulation demanded a heavy toll.
As the final stroke of ink dotted the paper, his wrist burned with lactic acid. He lunged toward the door, sliding the forged recipe notebook onto the floor just outside the Data Bank.
"Time... flows again."
Color slammed back into the world. The ambient hum of the Express engines returned.
The bead of cold sweat that had been hanging precariously on Dan Heng's chin finally dropped, shattering against the floorboards with a tiny splash.
Outside the door, Himeko's voice picked up the exact syllable she had left off on.
"...and so on."
Rekka's knees buckled. He swayed, nearly collapsing into a heap.
"What is wrong with you?" Dan Heng caught his arm, steadying him with a firm grip.
"It is nothing..." Rekka gasped, leaning heavily against the archivist. "Just a bit tired..."
Footsteps clicked against the floorboards outside, followed by a soft, melodic gasp of surprise.
"Huh? Why is this recipe book here?"
Himeko's voice carried genuine bewilderment.
Dead silence stretched between the two boys inside the room.
Then, the click of her heels moved closer.
Knock, knock, knock.
"Dan Heng? Rekka? Are you still in there? I found the recipe book."
Rekka sucked in a massive breath of air, forcing his vocal cords to project a mask of cheerful innocence. "Yes, we are here! Sister Himeko found it? That is great!"
"Yes, right on the floor outside the Data Bank." Himeko sounded deeply puzzled. "Strange, I clearly remembered putting it in the kitchen... Well then, I will cook according to the recipe tonight."
"Good... that is good..." Rekka squeaked, his voice entirely devoid of strength.
"By the way, there is also that Bitter Melon Cooling Mint Special Drink," Himeko added brightly. "It is especially good for the stomach. Dan Heng, you must try it."
Dan Heng's stoic expression shattered into a mask of pure ice.
"Okay."
The rhythmic clicking of Himeko's heels gradually faded down the corridor. The moment the sound vanished, both young men exhaled a massive, synchronized breath of salvation.
"What did you just do?" Dan Heng demanded in a hushed, urgent whisper.
"I stopped time."
"You... stopped time?"
"Right. Paused it for about... a little while." Rekka slid down the wall, planting his back against the cool metal as he panted. "I changed the recipe. I tore out the original two pages and wrote new content on them."
Dan Heng stared at him, processing the sheer absurdity of using a god-tier temporal ability for kitchen sabotage. "What did you write?"
"Sweet and sour pork ribs, fish-flavored shredded pork, potato beef." Rekka counted them off on his trembling fingers. "They are all dishes that normal people can eat. Absolutely safe."
Dan Heng remained silent for two long seconds, his teal eyes unblinking.
"So... what about the Bitter Melon Mint Special Drink?"
"Changed it to Honey Citron Tea."
Dan Heng closed his eyes. "Thank you."
However, when dinnertime arrived, the dining car presented a very different reality.
Sitting innocently on the table in front of Rekka was a steaming plate of stir-fried moth silk risotto.
In front of Dan Heng sat a towering pile of deep-fried watermelon strips.
In front of March 7th rested a bowl of strawberry devil-spicy tofu.
And in front of Welt sat a single duck leg confit, heavily crusted with whole, roasted coffee beans.
"Oh my, everyone, do not be polite. Try it."
Rekka slowly raised his head, his gaze locking with Himeko's warm, smiling eyes.
"What is wrong? Not to your taste?" she asked, tilting her head.
"Sister Himeko." Rekka took a deep, shuddering breath, fighting a losing battle to keep his voice from cracking. "May I ask... the dishes you cooked tonight... seem a bit different from what was written in the recipe?"
"The recipe?" Himeko blinked, a flash of realization crossing her elegant features. "Oh, you mean that. That was indeed something I jotted down casually, but I thought about it later and felt those dishes were too ordinary. They lacked creativity."
"So..."
"So I just went with my own ideas," Himeko declared, her tone ringing with absolute, matter-of-fact confidence. "This is also part of the Trailblaze, after all."
Rekka's stomach executed a violent, preemptive cramp.
Beside him, March 7th stared down at the strawberry devil-spicy tofu. Bright, oily red chili sauce pooled around fresh, sweet strawberries, all of it poured mercilessly over a block of trembling white tofu. The visual effect closely resembled a miniature, highly localized murder scene.
Strawberries and devil-spicy tofu could, theoretically, exist in her stomach at the same time.
But these two things absolutely, under no circumstances, should ever exist in her bowl at the same time!
Across the table, the duck leg confit with coffee beans sitting in front of Welt looked the most normal. At the very least, its geometric shape still registered as poultry. But the rich, heavy aroma of roasted coffee beans chemically fusing with hot duck fat produced an olfactory assault so pungent that even the seasoned former Herrscher unconsciously leaned back in his chair, his brow furrowing in deep concern.
As for Dan Heng?
He sat perfectly upright, his expression completely calm and stoic.
But looking closely at his glassy, unfocused eyes, it was obvious his soul had already left his body a long time ago.
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