Chapter 16

It was midnight when I woke up.

My stomach grumbled, as expected.

If I had fainted, it would have been nice to just stay that way until morning. Then I could have just had breakfast.

Plus, since I was drained of energy and used my Saint Power again, my head started to throb.

I seriously contemplated whether to head back to bed or fill my stomach again.

The conclusion came easily. I couldn’t sleep well when I was hungry.

I hadn’t been this fussily hungry in my previous life. But then again, there’s a huge difference between metabolism in your 30s and 20s.

I might not be in my teens, but I was at an age where I used up energy like crazy.

Plus, in Korean years, I was technically 20, but I’m still just 19. I was still at that age where I’d shove everything in my mouth.

Clutching my hungry belly, I headed toward the Interview Room.

There should be some hidden ramen I bought last time. Ria had strongly insisted on stocking up on a few cans of tuna too, so there should be more than enough—

“——Ugh.”

But unfortunately.

The light in the Interview Room was brightly lit. The glow leaking from the crack under the door was a strong indication that someone was inside.

…No matter how much the convent guarantees a minimum of personal freedom in modern society, the rules are much stricter than in the secular world. Roaming around at night is off-limits for now.

It’s probably because loud gatherings in other rooms might turn chaotic. They must have strict rules in place to prevent any disturbances.

Though no one is specifically out patrolling at night, still.

What to do?

If someone is in the Interview Room at this hour, it’s likely to be the Sister Warden. Besides me, there shouldn’t be anyone else sneaking into the Interview Room at night, or it must be a very important guest to come visiting at this hour.

Either way, it wasn’t the kind of situation where I could knock on the door and ask if I could cook the hidden ramen because I was too hungry.

The thought that I might not solve my hunger made my nose tingle.

When I was about to turn my feet away,

Bang.

“Eek!?”

The door suddenly flung open, causing me to yelp.

As I, who had never experienced a hamster’s scream as it was lifted onto human hands, quickly turned my head to make some excuse—

The overwhelming smell wafting from the open door almost knocked me out.

A slightly spicy, definitely not cooked with natural ingredients, pungent soup aroma. The delicious sound of bubbling and boiling.

This smell, while I hadn’t been able to inhale it for a long time, was utterly unforgettable.

“…Bagged ramen.”

That’s right. The rich aroma that couldn’t possibly come from pouring boiling water into a cup noodle. The sounds of it bubbling live, unlike just pouring hot water like brewing tea. And alongside it, a faint scent of eggs cooking.

To someone like me who was already super hungry, that smell was irresistible. I couldn’t help but turn my head towards the open door.

“Oh, I was just about to call for you.”

Standing on the other side of the open door was none other than Ria.

Seeing her there sparked a lot of thoughts in my mind.

Isn’t it a bit too risky to openly boil ramen in a pot on the table at this hour?

Or more so, where did she even find the portable stove and pot? Did she steal them from the kitchen?

But I was too hungry to throw up all those questions.

Grrr.

Having caught a whiff of the delicious scent, I was already halfway to losing my sanity and stepped into the Interview Room before I knew it.

“H-how did you even prepare all this?”

As soon as I entered and asked, almost forgetting I was going to ask anything,

“Oh, that.”

Well, I didn’t wait for the answer since I was already sitting down.

Actually, I sat down and then got up again. It was hard to check the pot’s contents while just sitting.

Perfectly rounded egg yolks sat inside, untouched. Two of them. They weren’t hard-boiled, rather softly set, not at all cracky.

I was somewhat moved and, like some odd character from nowhere, scooped up the pot’s contents with a slotted spoon. Placing it attractively in front of me, the steam rising hit me right in the face.

It had a blatantly fattening look, but I was satisfied. The fact that I hadn’t scooped both eggs was a result of my rapidly diminishing sanity.

“I’m going to eat well.”

I said that as I lifted my chopsticks. By the time Ria had seated herself, I had already broken the yolk and let it drizzle over the noodles, shoveling a big mouthful into my mouth.

“Phew, haah.”

Rolling the scorching noodles around in my mouth, I breathed in and out to cool them. The rich texture of the semi-cooked egg yolk first hit my tongue, providing a smooth and rich egg flavor, while the instant ramen soup dissolved into the noodles, delivering an unbearable heat alongside its unique artificial spiciness.

…Delicious.

I sniffled while chewing the ramen, then moved my chopsticks for another bite.

“Hey, hey, you’re going to burn your mouth. Slow down.”

“But I have to hurry up and finish it, right?”

If I got caught while eating, I wouldn’t be able to leave anything behind, would I?

That was my intention, but my mouth was too full of hot noodles for me to articulate properly. I could actually complete the last few words after swallowing my food.

“That’s unlikely, so relax.”

Although I didn’t know how she understood me, Ria comfortably sat on her chair and said that.

Seeing me freeze while lifting my next bite, Ria laughed as if blown away by my reaction.

“You’ve been like this all along, right? Sneaking snacks after everyone else went to sleep at night. What did you do for years?”

I slurped the ramen into my mouth with a frown.

Ria said it’s fine, so this time I chewed more leisurely. Vaguely, after three bites, I felt a little better. It was still hot, but I could handle it.

“What are you saying? I was just following the rules.”

“No, but think about it. There are unavoidable exceptions in this world, you know? No matter how strict the Sister Warden is, if a person is hungry and can’t eat, wouldn’t they still get a meal?”

“……”

Oh, is that so?

I figured the Sister Warden would be sleeping at night, so I didn’t want to disturb her unnecessarily.

Honestly, when it’s just the two of us eating—No, it’s obvious that the Sister Warden would be just watching me without eating. Plus, if I showed any signs of relaxation, she’d probably have something to nag about.

“…I just find it easier to eat alone.”

So I answered, somewhat defensively.

With a snobbish expression, I grabbed a few strands of ramen and stuffed them into my mouth, only for Ria to stand up, as if realizing something ridiculous, and took my bowl away.

“Ah…!”

Was she going to grab my bowl away from me? This wicked—before I could think that, Ria added another egg to my bowl from the pot kept warm. The bowl was filled with noodles and broth.

But heroines are still heroines. Yeah, they need to have these sweet sides to connect with the protagonist. Otherwise, where’s the tsundere charm?

Quickly adjusting my mental evaluation, I halved the slightly more cooked egg with my chopsticks.

“The Sister Warden was surprised when I mentioned you. Then she felt really sorry. I think she’ll probably talk to you separately tomorrow.”

“…Really?”

I blinked at Ria’s words.

Ria took her bowl and reasonably filled hers with some broth and noodles.

As she moved, seemingly pausing as if she realized something was amiss, she smiled and said,

“Need some kimchi?”

When I eagerly nodded, Ria fetched a small container of side dish from the fridge.

“I had saved some from dinner earlier. I almost forgot.”

“……”

Hearing that almost moved me. The tickle in my nose wasn’t due to the spiciness of the ramen. While the noodles might be a bit spicy for foreigners, I was Korean. My looks might be unusual for Korea, but still.

We had a moment of silence while we ate.

Well, I was the one eating more diligently. I was so close to starving that just escaping from feeling faint didn’t mean my hunger had completely vanished.

“About that guy.”

“Huh?”

“That patient who was brought in.”

“Oh.”

I blinked and put down my chopsticks.

“Is he okay?”

“As good as he was the last time I saw him. He came back to himself almost right after you fainted. No, I don’t think he even fainted given that situation.”

“He wasn’t in shock?”

Actually, just being alive was a miracle in that scenario. It was remarkable he didn’t die from excessive blood loss, but honestly, he’d already been in a shocky state before that. Well, it wouldn’t be surprising if those who’ve survived got cut in half in the world.

“Yeah. They say the girl beside you who got knocked about by the impact is also okay.”

“That’s a relief.”

I said this as I picked up my chopsticks again.

“……”

After that, the slurping sounds echoed in the Interview Room. This time, I was the one making most of the noise. Ria seemed to have lost her appetite since she had already eaten dinner.

Seated across me, she picked at her portion, but it seemed more for the sake of etiquette than any genuine desire to eat, as the amount she’d taken couldn’t have been even half a serving.

I rose from my seat again to check the pot. Did she only boil two servings? The noodles were almost down to the last strand.

“There’s rice in the fridge. It hasn’t been too long since I put it in, so it should still be just cold rice. Is that okay?”

“Ah, then I’ll get it—”

“No.”

Even before I could twist my body to the side after rising, Ria had quickly stood up and went over to the fridge, bringing back a container filled with white rice.

“…What’s wrong? Is there something?”

She had been acting strangely nice to me and had prepared all this. Something felt very suspicious. Did something go wrong?

Of course, I didn’t stop eating. I dished the cold rice in my bowl, then poured piping hot broth over it. Steaming broth seeped through the cold rice, making it slightly thicker.

“No, it’s just—”

As I grabbed my spoon, Ria seemed to hesitate, but after a momentary resolution, she opened her mouth.

“I’m sorry.”

“Sorry?”

At those words, a chill ran down my back.

“What’s going on? So suddenly?”

When I asked out of fear, Ria blinked her eyes.

“Huh?”

“What in the world did you do? Did you drop something heavy while moving or something?”

I asked while patting my body here and there.

“No, hey.”

After apologizing first, when I reacted like this, Ria looked a bit put off.

But it wasn’t the situation to keep making a fuss about that, so Ria took a deep breath, as if to gather her thoughts.

“No, it’s not because of that. I didn’t just move it haphazardly, I used proper equipment to carry it.”

“Is that so?”

Hesitating, I resumed my seat and answered.

Still maintaining a slightly wary demeanor, I picked up my spoon again.

“So, what was the apology for?”

“…Well, you fainted because of me, right?”

“Huh?”

“Especially since you had been fine until you went to sleep. You even took a proper shower in the Shower Room.”

As I stared blankly at Ria, she scratched her head as if frustrated and muttered,

“I thought maybe it was all my fault for pushing you hard, causing your fatigue to accumulate and making you faint.”

“Ah.”

I finally understood Ria’s attitude and nodded.

“That’s alright.”

I replied, after scooping up a spoonful of rice with the broth, blowing on it as I answered.

“It’s not your fault, is it?”

“…Really?”

“You can’t know when something like that will happen and what training will go down. If soldiers are training and the enemy attacks, are they going to complain about having had the training?”

When I heard this from a military instructor, I got really mad, but thinking back, that instructor didn’t cook ramen with an egg for me.

Surely, people need to eat something to think rationally, right?

“Well, I’d say it’s more like you ended up in a trap, but it’s too late to go back now.”

I said.

“Now if I tried to run away, Ria would be too scared to bolt.”

And I took a bite of that rice where the broth had soaked in well.

Ah, the warmth, unlike the noodles, washed over me. Truly, a Korean meal had to involve rice to feel complete.

“Oh, is that so…”

Ria answered in a slightly deflated voice, as if something bothered her a bit.

“Should I finish the rice?”

“I don’t get where you put it all.”

“A human’s stomach can stretch more than you think. Did you sleep through biology class?”

“…Huh.”

Even with my provocation, Ria only let out an exasperated sound without refuting me.