Chapter 952

Orito Orihime's gaze lifted from the painting and fell back onto Natsume Chikage's face, her tone seeming a bit more casual than just now.

"Haven't eaten breakfast yet, right?"

The kitchen's management power had always been Natsume Ruri's absolute domain; if Natsume Chikage touched it, his sister would mutter like a little cat protecting its food.

So even if he woke up early, he rarely had the chance to make his own breakfast.

When he went out, his sister was still in a sweet dream, so naturally, he hadn't eaten a bite.

He didn't intend to put on any airs either and admitted it very frankly.

"Not yet."

Orito Orihime seemed to have remembered something interesting, and the arc at the corners of her mouth deepened again.

She turned her head with interest and said to Konoe Hitomi, who was standing quietly not far away, her tone carrying a trace of unquestionable casualness.

"Let the people in the kitchen make an extra portion of the breakfast I usually eat for him too."

Konoe Hitomi heard this, paused, and still couldn't see any emotion on her face.

She then lowered her head expressionlessly and responded.

"Understood, young lady."

Inside the spacious and bright dining room, a long solid wood dining table had already been set with exquisite tableware and a white tablecloth.

Beside the dining table.

After the well-trained servants placed the food on the table one by one, they all quickly and silently bowed and retreated, without lingering in this space belonging to the master at all, as if they had never appeared.

And Orito Orihime didn't sit at the head of the dining table, but chose to sit on the chair beside Natsume Chikage.

A portion of breakfast identical to his was also placed in front of her, but she didn't move her knife and fork, just sat quietly on the side, her gaze falling on Natsume Chikage, observing his every move.

In her cognition, the beautifully presented food in front of Natsume Chikage was all twisted pieces of flesh of various shapes, wriggling slightly, emitting an uncomfortable breath.

Even the ordinary drinking water in the glass, dotted with mint leaves, was in her eyes a viscous "bloody," constantly bubbling with tiny "blood bubbles" of weird liquid.

For this "food," she had long been accustomed to it; from the time she had memories, she had always been eating these to maintain her physiological needs.

But she... had never seen another "normal person" eating in front of her.

She was a bit curious about how Natsume Chikage would face this "food" that was incredibly terrifying in her view.

Natsume Chikage always felt that Orito Orihime's gaze on the side was a bit strange.

But he didn't say much, just picked up the knife and fork, and started eating very directly and quietly, his movements natural, the speed of chewing neither fast nor slow.

And Orito Orihime looked at Natsume Chikage, who was a "normal person" in her eyes just like her, eating this "food" so normally, and also raised her exquisite eyebrows slightly.

She couldn't help but ask, her voice carrying a trace of real inquiry.

"What do you think... the taste is like?"

Natsume Chikage blinked, swallowed the food in his mouth, and felt this question was a bit inexplicable.

"It's quite delicious, the ingredients are very fresh, and the heat is just right."

He answered truthfully; the standard of this breakfast was indeed far beyond the ordinary.

Orito Orihime's gaze moved to the exquisite glass beside his hand, which contained a pale pink sweet drink that should be some kind of mixed fruit juice.

She stretched out her slender fingers, pointed to the drink, and asked.

"This... what is the taste?"

Natsume Chikage's expression became even stranger; he looked at the cup and then at her.

"Sweet, with a bit of berry sourness, what's wrong?"

He didn't understand why she would ask such a question that was close to common sense.

Orito Orihime frowned slightly, seeming a bit confused by this answer.

She stretched out her hand, picked up the cup beside her hand that was filled with "scarlet liquid" and constantly had small "blood foam" churning in her view, brought it to her lips, and sipped a little bit.

The texture exploded in her mouth instantly; it was a strong, nauseating rust taste and an indescribable fishy smell, mixed with a kind of corrupt sweetness.

But Orito Orihime's expression didn't change at all, not even frowning, as if what she drank was just the most ordinary white water.

She just put down the cup thoughtfully and rubbed her fingertips gently on the cup wall.

Is this... the "sweet" taste he described?

In her completely twisted senses, was the so-called "sweet" actually this mixture of nauseating rust fishy smell and corruption?

Or... was his "sweet" fundamentally different from what she felt?

Konoe Hitomi stood quietly at a slightly further position, her eyes always paying attention to Orito Orihime.