deia’s stomach let out a quiet growl. She hadn’t eaten anything since morning because she didn’t want to delay their trip.
Lucian had actually packed food and stored it in her Space Pocket and in the van.
However, since Sora was kindly offering them a al, maybe she could at least pretend to give it a try. These old folks looked like the type who could easily hunt monsters for food anyway.
"Oh, what are you cooking?" deia asked, trying to sound interested.
Sora’s face lit up. "We were lucky today. We found a flock of big rats outside the city and caught a few." She pointed proudly at a bowl sitting on the table. "So, rat at stew! Want so?"
deia’s heart sank the second she heard the word ’rat’. Sure, hell had terrible food, but she had never stooped so low as to eat rodents or bugs.
"No, thank you." deia forced a smile, trying to sound polite. "I already ate."
But just as she thought she was safe, her stomach betrayed her with a loud grumble.
"Oh, don’t be shy!" Sora chuckled warmly. She wrapped an arm around deia’s shoulders and gently led her to the kitchen. "Co on, let’s get you and your friends so stew. Don’t worry, we still have plenty left."
And just like that, deia found herself holding a full bowl of steaming rat stew.
To make things worse, no one else seed bothered by it. They just started eating like it was completely normal. In the apocalypse, they had all eaten worse before finding safe food like vegetables and fruits in the Red Star Alliance.
Even Lucian calmly started eating without complaining. Maybe he just didn’t want to offend his future in-laws. Or maybe he really could eat anything without feeling disgusted by it.
Well, considering he had eaten bugs before, deia wasn’t even surprised anymore. She just stared at the bowl, wondering how her life ended up like this.
Luckily, they didn’t have to eat together at the sa table since the elders were too busy boarding up the doors with wooden planks, trying to stop the storm from breaking them.
anwhile, Sora was walking around, searching for spare blankets for everyone.
deia and Lucian sat quietly in the middle row of the old pews, while the others scattered across the church, picking spots where they could relax.
"I can’t eat this," deia whispered to Lucian, staring at the stew like it was poison. "I’d rather go hungry all day than eat rat at."
Honestly, she could have just gone out to the van and grabbed the food Lucian packed earlier, but Gideon and Eldon had already sealed the door tight.
Moreover, the storm outside had gotten so bad that anyone who dared step out would probably freeze to death.
Even pulling food from her Space Pocket wasn’t an option. Everyone had seen her leave her bag in the van. If she suddenly pulled out food now, it would just make everyone suspicious.
"They’ll probably force you to eat if your bowl stays full," Lucian said quietly. "That’s what my grandma always did to ."
Apparently, Lucian’s grandmother had a habit of stuffing him with food, no matter how many tis he said he was full.
Why were grandparents so obsessed with feeding their grandchildren? Didn’t they worry their grandkids might explode from eating too much?
"Then help eat it." deia pushed the bowl toward Lucian.
But Lucian shook his head firmly. "If they catch eating your food, won’t they just kick out of the church? deia, you really put in a tough spot here."
She looked at him without the slightest hint of guilt. "What did I do? I just told them the truth."
Lucian closed his eyes, letting out a deep sigh. "Your ’truth’ almost sent straight to heaven, deia."
deia giggled and bumped her shoulder against his. "Oh, please. It wasn’t that bad."
Lucian subtly pointed with his eyes. "Then why are your grandparents still staring at like they want to bury under this church?"
deia peeked and saw Eldon and Gideon watching Lucian like two hawks. She gave an awkward chuckle. "Okay, maybe it was a little bad ... but I defended you, didn’t I?"
"You did," Lucian admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. "Just ... maybe try not to defend in a way that almost gets killed next ti?"
deia grinned like a child caught stealing cookies. "Deal." She hooked her pinky with his. "Pinky promise."
Lucian chuckled softly, shaking his head. He found her childish side both annoying and strangely cute.
"Alright, now give that," he said, reaching for the bowl of stew.
deia quickly passed it to him and casually leaned forward to hide what they were doing from the others.
"You’re really going to eat all that?" she whispered, watching him like he was about to commit a cri.
Lucian didn’t answer right away. Instead, he pressed a finger to the stew. A soft heat shimred through it, and the rat at dissolved into the broth like it had never existed.
deia’s eyes widened. The broth bubbled unnaturally, and she had to bite her tongue to stop herself from gasping.
"No way. I’d rather sleep in the snow than drink that," she muttered under her breath.
Lucian smiled. "Relax. I’m not feeding it to you."
Still, deia scooted a little further away, just in case.
"Here, eat this quietly." Lucian handed her a piece of beef jerky he had kept hidden in his pocket. It was perfectly sealed in vacuum plastic, looking untouched, as if he never intended to eat it himself.
It seed like he had saved it just for her.
She gave him a quick glance before looking over at her so-called grandfathers to make sure they weren’t watching. Once the coast was clear, she unwrapped it and devoured the beef jerky like it was the best thing she’d ever tasted.
Outside, the snowstorm was getting worse. The howling wind seeped through the cracks of the church, making even the sealed doors and windows useless against the cold.
Without a word, Lucian took off his jacket and placed it over deia’s shoulders. "This is why you should never leave your backpack in the car," he said softly.
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