Someone asks.
“Why does an immortal being need to have meals?” they say.
However, that perspective merely views the act of eating as a means for sustaining life.
Eating is like a ritual that every being with a physical body must perform.
Originally, the beings existing in this material plane cannot create something from nothing.
If one is donned in the guise of a finite being, that is, if one possesses a body made of matter, it is only natural from this world’s standpoint that they should eat.
Luke also remembers Renie’s assertion clearly.
It’s like advice from a senior.
He must have contemplated this matter sufficiently after already receiving immortality.
After all, as it pertains to his own body, he must have thought deeply about it more than anyone else.
In response to those who say that eating is unnecessary, he recalls how Renie retorted, “Is it really just ‘starving’ because you have gained an immortal body? Don’t you have anything better to do?”
Indeed, it is a valid point.
Just because Renie possessed immortality, it did not mean she had to endure starvation.
Even aside from that, Luke had personally derived reasonable reasons concerning the necessity of meals for immortals.
First of all, for him, eating is akin to absorbing mana.
Mana is not merely a resource for using magic.
Mana is, in fact, life energy, the basic unit that constitutes the body, and furthermore, all that makes up the material plane.
Therefore, mana is also the substance that comprises an immortal’s body existing in the material plane. If by any chance they lose the body that exists in the material plane, they must continue to operate mana directly and undergo the reconstruction of the body in order to maintain their existence in the material plane.
Moreover, eating is far more economical, efficient, and stable than reconstructing the body directly from mana.
In addition, eating itself is quite enjoyable.
Choosing to eat until satisfied versus consuming the mana barely held within the Circle to form the body.
If he were to weigh the two on a balance, it was naturally a far better choice for Luke to eat.
There was no need to clutch his hungry stomach.
Well, even our beloved saintess, who loved eating so much, had shown a time when she had to starve herself as an immortal when unable to procure food in the past.
Because of that, later on, she developed a strong aversion to eating while others did so without her, and on occasions when Kail would steal Renie’s snacks, he often had to endure her displeasure for some time.
Ha, those were troublesome times.
But now, they are all just memories.
Thinking back on that, Luke gazed at the hamburger.
The hamburger was in his sight as soon as he left the hospital, and considering he could hardly endure his hunger, the hamburger—a relatively quickly served food—seemed like quite a good option, prompting Luke to suggest hamburgers for the group’s meal.
Luke’s suggestion was accepted without a moment’s hesitation, and thus, each of them found their ordered hamburgers and sandwiches placed before them.
As Luke unwrapped the packaging of the hamburger he ordered, he casually glanced at Pyris’s hamburger beside him.
She had made a greedy choice and selected the largest size of hamburger.
Looking at it now, it was nearly the size of her face.
Luke wanted to ask, “Are you really okay with that?” but before he could, Pyris had already grabbed the hamburger with both hands and took a huge bite.
And seeing her so happy, he decided to refrain from scolding her.
Turning his gaze back to his own hamburger, Luke took a comparatively small bite, contrasting with Pyris.
Eating a hamburger is invariably messy, but Luke, as if to not permit even that, continued his meal with an elegant and upright posture, cautious of getting sauce on his lips.
“Mm.”
Originally, he did not make any noise while eating, but since he opened his eyes in this era, he had found himself inadvertently letting out sounds of admiration while eating, and it showed no signs of being easily fixable.
If the taste of food in this era could be likened to the level of violence, then foods from 5,000 years ago would be comparable to a simple punch from an average person, while modern food felt like a powerful straight hit delivered by the past hero Kail Propston using all his strength into a punch.
It was as natural a physiological reaction as groaning from the impact of an attack.
The delightful taste of the rich sauce combined with the refreshing vegetables and the juicy flavor of the meat patty was extraordinarily stimulating anytime one ate it.
The hamburger made by Dayton wasn’t bad either, but it couldn’t really compare to one bought from a shop.
This sauce was something Dayton could not possibly replicate.
Moreover, this “Ruchen Burger & Sand” place was so famous that one could find it all over the continent, with many branches.
How surprised Luke had been at first!
Having little understanding of brands, he thought that the “Ruchen Burger & Sand” establishment was a shop run by brothers or family.
Otherwise, they wouldn’t have named shops with completely identical names just a few blocks apart.
So, when he asked Yerna while passing in front of one, “It seems Ruchen must have many siblings,” she had looked at him with an expression of utter confusion.
After hearing the explanation, Yerna laughed and ruffled Luke’s hair.
She tousled it so much that the hair he had painstakingly arranged became a complete mess, which made it quite a hassle to fix it later.
Unlike in his past, his hair had a natural curl now, and if it wasn’t arranged, it would become exceedingly difficult to untangle.
Tangling hair is naturally not good for hair quality, and damaged hair meant a detriment to the magical materials he was painstakingly nurturing.
Thus, even though Yerna was Yerna, he couldn’t help but express his dissatisfaction, saying, “I wish you wouldn’t ruffle it so aggressively in the future.”
However, upon hearing that, Yerna smiled brightly, finding his expression cute.
While continuing to eat, reminiscing about the past troublesome moments, Luke noticed Pyris, covered in sauce around her mouth, sparkling her eyes wildly as she chewed her hamburger.
“Pyris, aren’t you getting too much sauce on your mouth?”
“Uh?”
When Luke asked, Pyris, who had nearly buried her face in the hamburger, lifted her head.
At that moment, Pyris’s face was smeared with hamburger sauce, looking as if the sauce on her face was a makeup potion known as “lotion.”
Well, it was unavoidable since Pyris had obtained physical form to experience new sensations through her meals, but still, it seemed excessive, so when Luke wiped her mouth with his hand, Pyris unexpectedly opened her mouth and licked the sauce off Luke’s hand.
“Ugh!”
Startled by the sudden sensation of his hand being licked, Luke recoiled, while Pyris simply grinned and resumed burying her face in the hamburger.
“……”
‘It looks like I must wipe off the sauce after the meal…’
With a slightly embarrassed expression, as he looked ahead, he suddenly noticed Yerna, who was not eating, watching him and Pyris with a smile.
Seeing her smile reminded him of how she used to mess up his hair in the past, and he looked at her with a questioning expression.
“Why are you smiling? Did I get something on my face?”
Yerna shook her head and answered.
“No.”
She quickly pulled out her cellphone and took a picture of Luke and Pyris.
They say pictures are what remains? She wanted to leave as many memories as possible while with Luke.
It would be proof of Luke’s existence in the world.
-Click.
Thus, Luke and Pyris turned to look at Yerna with curious expressions.
“Hm?”
“Um?”
Looking at it, indeed their actions were entirely different.
Pyris, holding onto her huge hamburger with both hands, was devouring it messily, while Luke, with a comparatively smaller hamburger, had chosen two and was holding one in one hand, eating it neatly without getting it on him.
Yet, their expressions were strikingly similar.
“Indeed, you look so much alike.”
——–
After finishing the meal, Pyris rubbed her full belly, smiling contentedly, and Diana also enjoyed having the stimulating taste unique to branded hamburgers after a long time.
It wasn’t that she disliked the hamburgers that her brother usually made; she just sometimes craved the sweetness of this particular sauce-laden hamburger.
Perhaps because they were full, the children occasionally nodded off, appearing sleepy.
Luke, having just woken up from a deep sleep after what seemed like ages, didn’t feel particularly tired, but Diana and Pyris did not seem to share the same sentiment.
Luke took hold of Yerna’s hand with one hand and held onto Pyris with the other.
Meanwhile, Diana was completely asleep on Dayton’s back, eyes closed.
It was a peaceful daily life in Beriton.
However, having skipped three days, that daily life would come to an end today.
Luke turned his gaze toward the distant World Tree, feeling a sense of longing, and spoke to Yerna.
“It feels too disappointing to go back just like this. I really wanted to visit the World Tree at least once.”
“… Really?”
Yerna then cast a glance at Dayton.
Dayton nodded as if he already knew, carrying Diana on his back and leading the way.
Luke tilted his head in slight confusion at that action, but soon couldn’t hide his joy at Yerna’s suggestion.
“Then, Luke, shall we hurry over there before it gets dark? How about it?”
“Really? That sounds great!”
What was there to be thankful for? To him, it was just this much.
Yerna smiled back at Luke’s happy expression, and then suddenly recalled something she had neglected to hand him while watching his meal with rapt attention earlier.
Yerna took something out of her pocket and showed it to Luke.
“Hey, is this yours, Luke? I found it while tidying up the hospital room.”
“Uh? This is….”
The Dinekis brooch, the very one he had enchanted and given to Shirud.
Even though it had now wilted completely.
