Antique Café.
笛口凉子, holding a grief-stricken and scared 笛口雏实, recounted everything to everyone.
“How is it possible… that there’s food that allows us to eat…?”
“The investigators we encountered…”
“Mr. 笛口… 凉子-san, you’ve been exposed…”
Everyone in the shop, including the manager, 芳村功善, 雾岛董香, 金木研, 四方莲示, 古间圆儿, and 入見萱, were shocked by the information that 笛口凉子 had revealed.
After everyone had digested the information more or less, 笛口凉子 continued, “Manager 功善, the investigators already know about us. I want to leave with 雏实 as soon as possible.”
“Leave, where could you go? To the 24th ward?”
董香 excitedly objected: “Are you kidding? You two can’t survive in that shithole!”
“董香…” The manager’s gentle and warm voice rang out, “Maybe the situation isn’t that bad. 凉子, how much information do you think they have about you and 雏实? Do they have facial photos?”
笛口凉子 thought for a moment, then firmly said, “No. If they got the information from home, we’ve never left photos or anything like that. Besides, that investigator didn’t recognize me in person.”
“Then you should still be safe. It’s best to stay in the shop for now. You don’t need to worry about safety. The important thing is…”
Manager 功善 stood up seriously, “Can you show us what this so-called food is?”
笛口凉子 nodded and opened the insulated bag of stinky tofu.
In an instant, that familiar stinky smell quickly filled the café.
四方 and the others, who were still somewhat expectant, instantly frowned at the smell that permeated the air.
They subconsciously covered their noses.
How stinky! Is this really edible?
Even humans would find it hard to swallow.
“It’s so stinky, is this stinky tofu?”
“It’s definitely stinky enough. 笛口, are you sure you’re not insulting us?”
Before 笛口凉子 could explain, 古间圆儿 interjected, “No, this isn’t simply stinky. There’s a seductive fragrance within the stench. This smell is stinky, but after smelling it for a while, you get a kind of heady feeling.”
芳村功善 nodded, his face full of excitement, “That’s right, everyone close your eyes and feel it. Can’t you feel your rc cells trembling? It’s not wrong, this is food we can eat.”
古间圆儿 reached out and picked up a pair of chopsticks: “If you guys don’t like it, then let me try it.”
#@#
The stinky tofu was placed on the counter, everyone stared intently, the invisible pressure made 古间圆儿 feel a sense of anxiety.
He forced a smile, “Maybe we should just forget about it.”
Before his voice could fade, 四方莲示 took action.
His right hand accurately grabbed a piece of stinky tofu and, in the dumbfounded gaze of everyone, threw it into his mouth.
The stinky tofu entered his mouth, he hadn’t even chewed a few times before 四方莲示’s expression instantly changed.
Fragrant, crispy, spicy. The fragrance was truly fragrant, the spiciness was also real, he had no preparation, his facial skin was directly burned red.
Even his kagune activated in the first instant.
“Hiss~”
“Look, even 四方 is crying. If you can’t eat it, just spit it out.”
“Water, water, water, 四方, if you can’t eat it, don’t try it. It’s so stinky, it’s obvious it’s not good to eat!”
四方莲示 didn’t say anything. He continued to chew haphazardly for a few more bites, then swallowed the stinky tofu to everyone’s astonishment.
Quiet.
This superfluous action stunned everyone.
“Whew~”
“It’s delicious. This stinky tofu tastes amazing.”
“Don’t just watch, everyone try it. This food is really edible. My body doesn’t have any discomfort.” 四方莲示 excitedly said, while wiping the garlic paste from the corner of his mouth.
In the café.
Space froze for three seconds. The next moment, everyone was quick and nimble, their chopsticks danced gracefully, mixed with a few small hands, all scrambling for the stinky tofu.
Ten portions of stinky tofu, forty-odd pieces. Even the weakest 金木研 snatched several pieces.
Chewing sounds rose and fell. After taking a bite, everyone fell silent.
“Delicious, right?”
笛口凉子 gave the stinky tofu she grabbed to her daughter 雏实. Watching her daughter’s happy face, the sadness in her heart was somewhat washed away.
四方莲示 and the others finished eating, they looked at each other and all turned their heads away.
“No way, 圆儿, why are you crying? You wouldn’t be crying from deliciousness, would you?” 入見萱 teased with a crying voice. She herself was red-eyed.
She knew why everyone was crying. It was the feeling of eating normal food for the first time.
“Nonsense, this is from being spicy,” 古间圆儿 swallowed the last bite of stinky tofu, without thinking, he directly picked up the bowl and drank the remaining soup from the take-out box.
It was the first time he had encountered food that was both edible and so delicious, he wouldn’t even waste a drop of sauce.
“圆儿, you’re so cunning. Save some for me.”
Half an hour later.
Everyone’s excited mood slowly calmed down a little bit.
Looking at the take-out bag on the counter, everyone’s eyes shone.
“笛口, I know you’re very sad now, but this stinky tofu is the hope for us ghouls. Please recount the situation from that time in detail.”
“Okay, it went like this…”
笛口 nodded.
This was the second time they were hearing the information, everyone’s expression was exceptionally serious this time, afraid of missing a single word.
“Wearing a mask… suddenly giving you food, if this wasn’t a coincidence, that boss probably knows you. He’s helping you! Without this, those two ccg investigators wouldn’t have easily dropped their suspicion of you.”
Hearing the manager’s words, everyone was stunned.
Especially 笛口, her heart felt a wave of emotion. It turned out she had been saved once.
“But this speculation is terrifying, proving that the other party knows that his food can be eaten by ghouls…”
“So, the other party is a friend, not an enemy. At least, they are kind to us.”
“Let’s go, Matsu-shi is not far away. We’ll go meet this boss.”
The manager made a decision, pushed open the door and rushed out.
As a ghoul of the highest rank, SSS rank, 芳村功善 went full power, in the blink of an eye, he arrived at the place where 夏天 was setting up his stall.
But the place was empty, only the faint smell of stinky tofu lingered in the air.
“Has he already packed up and gone home?”
After waiting for a few minutes, 四方 and the others rushed over. Seeing this, they were also disappointed.
“笛口, are you sure it’s here?”
“Yes, I met the boss at this intersection.”
“When I left, the boss’s stall was already very popular. A ccg investigator even bought several portions. The boss probably packed up after selling out.”
“I see, I guess we have to wait until tomorrow.”
Although they said that, they were all unsure if they could wait until tomorrow.
That person knew them well, but they knew nothing about him.