Have I truly seen through Mo He? Or perhaps I should fra it another way, do I understand Mo He?
Erald Sparrow didn't think so.
While she had indeed honed her ability to read people through years of social interactions in her workplace, this skill only allowed her to discern certain traits of others, not to completely see through a person.
Although she didn't know what exactly Mo He had misunderstood, there was no doubt that she wasn't as remarkable as the other made her out to be.
At the very least, when Mo He bought those civilian-use tools in the Magic Tool Store as if she were wholesaling, Erald Sparrow was completely baffled.
Since they t earlier than planned, they decided to stroll along the street together, and sohow ended up in the Magic Tool Store, kicking off Mo He's extensive shopping spree along the street.
There were small generators converting magic power into electricity, construction material adjusters for house repairs, hydraulic resource managers integrated with a civil plumbing system, and a whole bunch of agricultural magic tools whose nas even Erald Sparrow couldn't recall... And Mo He wasn't just ssing around; she was comparing prices across different shops, analyzing cost-efficiency seriously.
"Why are you buying these?" Even though Erald Sparrow didn't have anything she wanted to buy, she curiously followed and asked.
"A friend needs them," Mo He replied.
"Your friend owns a farm?"
"They live in the Wilderness, so they need to farm," Mo He explained while filling out a shipping form at the counter: "There's no water or electricity where they live, they need these."
"Living in the Wilderness?"
This peculiar answer surprised Erald Sparrow, but considering Mo He's so-called "friends" were likely Magical Girls, a group of sufficiently powerful Magical Girls could protect each other and manage to survive in a stable spot in the Wilderness. However, it still sounded a bit off, "How do you plan to send these things there?"
"I'll have the store deliver the tools to a city in the Material Realm, from where they will transport them into the Wilderness," Mo He stated unreservedly.
"...Is this sort of a hobby?" Erald Sparrow could only analyze it this way.
"I don't know," Mo He shook her head.
This fragnted conversation continued sporadically.
Erald Sparrow soon noticed that Mo He seed to be avoiding talking too much about her "friends," which was sowhat odd, but she didn't press further. While curious, knowing when to stop was a form of social grace.
The originally planned eting ti was an hour earlier than their dining ti, and added to that was Erald Sparrow arriving an hour early, which ant they had to kill two hours before eating. Thus, what was called a shopping trip was actually just Mo He shopping by herself in this peculiar itinerary that lasted so long. Surprisingly, neither of them felt it was inappropriate; one continuously bought, while the other just watched, to the point where even their conversation faded away in the latter half of the excursion.
It wasn't until they sat down in the restaurant, facing each other at opposite ends of the dining table.
Perhaps it was a coincidence, but the hue of the sky was exactly the sa as when they t the day before, close to sunset. The semi-open restaurant did nothing to block the sky tinged with orange hues, allowing the sunlight to gild the dining table with a layer of gold.
The table was covered with a rather thick and very comfortable tablecloth. And in the middle of the tablecloth a basket was placed, holding a batch of freshly baked cream bread, steaming amidst the slightly cold spring weather.
Yet, neither of them made a move, just staring at each other as if waiting for the other to eat first.
"Should we... start eating?"
Seeing that the stalemate was not being broken by anyone else, Erald Sparrow took the initiative to speak up, then reached into the basket and grabbed a bun, biting into it.
Upon tasting it, she found the crust soft and delicate, and the cream filling richly milky and sweet, hitting the brain directly.
"It tastes good," she comnted.
Following that, Mo He also started to eat, taking small bites of another bun, her amber eyes gleaming after tasting it. Her actions of biting into the bread then sped up significantly.
Without a doubt, this bread was rely intended as a pre-dinner filler for clients, but whether in terms of ingredients or baking skills, it was well-refined, even leaving nothing to chance. This strive for perfection in every aspect, was also a mainstream trend in restaurants of the Magic Kingdom — after all, with little difference in raw materials and basic techniques, they could only fiercely compete in aspects like flavor and service.
Judging this in her mind, Erald Sparrow gradually swallowed the rest of her bread. Mo He almost finished her bread at the sa ti, her previously stiff expression softened a lot under the influence of the dessert, clearly enjoying it very much.
So, probably for this reason, Mo He took a second piece of bread from the basket.
She also finished this bread in front of Erald Sparrow.
Imdiately after, Mo He took a third piece of bread.
Erald Sparrow had to start analyzing whether the other party was "really hungry," but still didn't say anything to stop her.
This silence continued until the other party took the fourth piece of bread and, hesitatingly looking around, began trying to stuff all the remaining bread in the basket into her carry-on shoulder bag.
—"Stop, stop."
Erald Sparrow interrupted after a few pieces of bread had been stuffed, sowhat baffled, she asked, "What are you trying to do?"
"Mumble mumble."
"I can't understand, swallow the bread in your mouth before you talk."
—"To break even on the al." Perhaps because of Erald Sparrow's strange attitude, Mo He's response also beca less confident.
"What?" For a mont, all Erald Sparrow could utter was a question; she was at a loss for words.
"I, I did the math on the al costs, and according to the market price of these cream breads, we need to eat 37 pieces to break even," Mo He explained softly. "But it seems I can't eat that much, so I can only pack so away…"
Erald Sparrow was silent for a long ti.
She constantly analyzed the relationship between Mo He's actions and her words in her mind, contemplating the aning of the act of "breaking even before the al," and after a while, she finally spoke:
"This is pre-al bread."
"Pre-al?" Mo He initially responded with a puzzled question, and then her eyes gradually widened.
"It ans, this isn't the main al; it's just to tide you over before the actual al."
Erald Sparrow took a piece of bread that had slipped from Mo He's hand and put it back in the basket: "Not to ntion the feasibility of breaking even by eating at a restaurant… at the very least, even if you wanted to break even, it definitely wouldn't be by eating this."
As if to corroborate Erald Sparrow's statent, after she explained this "astonishing fact" to Mo He, several waiters approached their table and began setting down napkins, plates, and utensils in front of them…
Among them, one waiter glanced at the basket, now left with only a few pieces of bread, causing a slight pause in his action of placing the plates before Erald Sparrow. However, he soon abandoned his hesitant deanor and, with a polite smile, completed his task, then retired with the other waiters.
Perhaps he was not the only one who noticed the basket of bread, but during that period, no one spoke further about it, as if the basket had never existed from the beginning.
Because knowing when to remain silent is a social virtue.
After the waiters had left, only Erald Sparrow and Mo He remained at the table, staring at each other, and Erald Sparrow could notice that Mo He's face had turned a bit pale.
"You really don't have to worry about it."
She spoke reassuringly, "This restaurant must be famous, right? There must be many custors who are Magical Girls, so so people definitely eat a lot."
"…I don't know, a friend recomnded this place to ."
Mo He shook her head, "But Captain, I feel like I'm attempting to tackle sothing beyond my capabilities."
"Beyond capabilities?" Erald Sparrow was puzzled.
"These… tools?"
Bowing her head, she pointed at the neatly arranged, dozen different types of utensils on the table, Mo He looked perplexedly at Erald Sparrow: "What are these for?"
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