novelraw Chapter 766: Jasmine and Asuka Taiyaki
Chapter 766: Jasmine and Asuka Taiyaki
Deep within the Ocean's trench wafted darkness that light couldn't dispel. Crossing over the houses of marine creatures living on the seabed, one could finally catch a glimpse of that gorge as profound as a rift valley. The dust in the water gently surged, outlining the silhouette edge of a sea beast like an island.
And on the back of this massive sea beast, Fisher and Gou Wen's figures sat cross-legged facing each other, looking at the Whale-kin settlement gradually revealing itself below the trench. He finally opened his mouth and asked Gou Wen like so.
This wasn't Fisher's first time coming to the Whale-kin's trench. After all, his father-in-law and mother-in-law resided here. After resolving the World-Ending Prophecy, he had followed Jasmine here to visit.
This time visiting again after a long while, was based on Jasmine previously saying she felt unwell and needed to return to the seabed to ask Gou Wen to take a look.
However, it had already been over a month since she left land and returned to the trench, yet consistently no news returned. Just as Fisher was about to go search, Gou Wen took the initiative to come knocking, saying some unforeseen event occurred with Jasmine's body.
This gave Fisher a massive fright. He hurriedly left the Dragon Court, riding the sea beast together with Gou Wen to return to the seabed.
Hearing Fisher's incomparably worried voice, Gou Wen glanced at him, sighed and said,
"Have you ever seen another appearance of Jasmine before?"
"Another appearance?"
Fisher thought for a moment. In his mind surfaced the terrifying appearance of Jasmine in the Demon Dynasty, wanting to forcefully feast upon him cleanly, and also thought of the insatiable desire within the Dragon Court over this period of time...But with Gou Wen before him, he dared to think so but dared not answer so. Helplessly he asked,
"Can you describe it a bit more specifically?"
"...Previously when Jasmine's Curse flared up, symptoms akin to a split personality would always appear. At that time, Xuan Can and I both thought this was a protective mechanism that surfaced after Asuka lost her memory and her memories resurfaced. But now Dream Illusion is dead, the pollution is eliminated, yet this problem still hasn't lessened..."
Pausing for a moment, Gou Wen adjusted his phrasing, his tone also becoming more uncertain,
"Thus we suspect, back then when Ramastia rescued Asuka's soul, perhaps an error occurred."
"You mean Jasmine's soul actually isn't Asuka's, but Asuka's soul is still staying within Jasmine's body?"
"Ah... but we still aren't certain of the specific situation. Whether it's me or Xuan Can, neither of us understands much about souls. Any of my medical skills have no effect on the soul level. And ever since Jasmine secretly returned previously wanting me to diagnose this illness for her, I've been powerless."
Hearing this, Fisher couldn't help but grow nervous as well,
"Then you still said it wasn't serious previously? What about Jasmine now, does she have any symptoms right now?"
"Sigh..."
Speaking up to here, the expression on Gou Wen's face grew increasingly heavy. Those sighs were simply like heavy hammers hammering onto Fisher's heart, making him extremely anxious,
"What are you sighing for, speak."
"Sigh..."
"..."
Gou Wen spoke no more. Just as Fisher rolled up his sleeves preparing for a physical interrogation, the giant beast beneath them had already arrived above the Whale-kin settlement.
So actually Gou Wen's meaning was very obvious: you'll know when you get there.
The sea beast soundlessly moved down the trench. Very quickly they saw that brightly glittering golden palace exactly in the middle of surrounding caves where Whale-kin were soundly asleep. Gou Wen leaped off, Fisher also following closely behind. Glancing back at that incomparably massive sea beast behind him, Fisher even amiably patted its head to show gratitude.
"Wife, I'm back!"
"Excuse the intrusion, Auntie Xuan Can."
Although he didn't see Xuan Can, Fisher still greeted. Subsequently, he followed Gou Wen to the backyard full of worry, quickly arriving at the door of Jasmine's room—he had been here previously, so his memory of the structure was still profound.
"Jasmine, how are you doing?!"
Arriving at the door, Fisher deeply feared pushing open the door to see a Jasmine whose soul suffered the torment of a split personality. The water currents inside the room rapidly surged amidst Fisher's forceful door-opening action, blowing the azure water-gauze made of some translucent water grass inside the room to sway.
Behind the thin gauze, a massive bubble isolated the water currents, forming an environment no different from the surface deep inside the room.
The translucent thin gauze was cast with a shadow by the light. A back view of a Whale-kin who looked incomparably weak and frail was bending over, looking incomparably uncomfortable, making even Fisher's breathing in the water unavoidably stagnate.
"Jasmine?"
Fisher quickly walked up to the curtain canopy. While calling Jasmine's name, he gently reached out and lifted the curtain...
Entering his eyes, however, was an unfamiliar back view.
Yet seeing the one before his eyes, was a Whale-kin female looking to be of the same age as Jasmine, her hands even holding some aquatic food resembling a sea urchin. She had a bitter face. Hearing Fisher's call, she turned her head back. Upon seeing Gou Wen she became even more aggrieved,
"Uncle Gou Wen, you're finally here! Quickly make Jasmine stop eating! I... I'm scared!"
"It's alright, Bai Cui, you may leave, leave this here to us..." Gou Wen coughed lightly, subsequently raising his voice, "Jasmine, Fisher is here!"
"Teacher Fisher?!"
Fisher was slightly stunned, yet saw on the tabletop in Jasmine's room, heavily piled with a large pile of food: fish dishes, sea fruits, roasted shrimp meat and octopus, etc. Not only that, a layer of specialty chili peppers from the Southern Continent was also spread over every single dish. Who knows if it was because she stayed in the Dragon Court for too long that even her taste buds had changed...
And amidst that food, Jasmine, who had eaten until her cheeks were bulging and even had a bit of chili paste staining her lips, trembled all over upon hearing this. Turning her head back, after seeing Fisher's astonished expression, her face instantly turned panicked.
Unexpectedly she still harbored food inside her mouth, thus abruptly choked, making Jasmine cover her throat with a bright red face, almost unable to catch a breath, only slowly recovering with coughs after a good while.
Fisher gaped. Looking back at Gou Wen, he asked doubtfully,
"This..."
Gou Wen's face grew even more helpless. He had no choice but to frankly say,
"The situation is exactly this situation... Jasmine coming down previously was indeed because traces of Asuka's personality appeared within her body, the second personality appeared. To put it bluntly, Asuka and Jasmine's souls are both crammed inside Jasmine's current body, causing a great burden on her. Thus we thought of saving Asuka's soul out. It's not like there are no methods to let her resurrect, it's merely that..."
Jasmine arduously swallowed the food within her mouth, subsequently standing up to add,
"Ever since... since it appeared once previously, she seemingly hid herself. No matter how Dad and Mom tried she won't come out anymore."
Fisher finally regained his senses, knowing what the situation was right now.
Originally Gou Wen and Xuan Can thought Jasmine's soul was precisely Asuka's soul, thus the appearance of a second personality could also be explained as her lost memories reviving. But now the pollution was eliminated, Jasmine also understood Asuka's memories due to the dreamscape, yet that personality of Asuka still manifested. Only then did Gou Wen realize an error might have occurred back then when Ramastia rescued Asuka's soul from the Sea of Souls.
The souls in the Sea of Souls were boundless, especially since back then Asuka plummeted into the Sea of Souls harboring the mindset of certain death. Because of this, when salvaging, He perhaps brought up a soul that wasn't Asuka's.
In this way, Jasmine was that true pure soul, born as Xuan Can and Gou Wen's child, while Asuka's soul constantly hid within Jasmine's body, mutually affecting Jasmine's soul, occasionally manifesting, resulting in symptoms like a split personality...
But now that they knew this point, Gou Wen and Xuan Can naturally couldn't let Asuka continue sharing the body with Jasmine. This was unfair to both Jasmine and Asuka, thus they thought of extracting the soul, making them separate existences.
But unexpectedly, who knows if she knew of Gou Wen and Xuan Can's intentions, Asuka's soul completely hid herself from then on and didn't show herself.
"So it was like this... but back then when Jasmine returned to inform you, you should have informed me of this matter."
"We originally wanted to tell you, but Jasmine also didn't know the situation within her body at that time, merely feeling she was sick so she came back to take a look. Then, you know, the Whale-kin at the seabed and on the sea surface have different perceptions of time flow. This month to us is nothing more than a flick of a finger, having a discrepancy is also very normal..."
Gou Wen's explanation was reasonable. Indeed, to Whale-kin, this one month felt as brief as just finishing an examination, knowing the symptoms, and returning to inform the family members.
Yet to Fisher, this family member residing on the sea, it felt incredibly long.
Fisher rubbed the center of his brows, then asked,
"Then besides the appearance of Asuka's personality, are there any other symptoms?"
"You saw it as well, Jasmine became especially capable of eating, her food intake is especially large, saying she feels hungry no matter how she eats. Because of this, she almost finished all the food stored by the clan members. Because they sleep they don't eat much, truly don't know what they'll think when they wake up and see the hoarded food completely empty..."
So it was like this. No wonder the Whale-kin little girl who left just now had a face full of bitter expressions...
"Dad!"
Jasmine aggrievedly protested Gou Wen's bluntness, and Fisher also couldn't help but size up the current Jasmine.
Looking closely, the Jasmine before his eyes robustly gained a small circumference. One could imagine how she ate well over this month.
However Fisher didn't mind. After all previously apart from a certain part having surplus, the rest of Jasmine was still in the abject poverty stage, thus appearing somewhat uncoordinated.
At this moment eating slightly more solidly not only made her more coordinated, but also gave people a natural and healthy feeling, making people unavoidably want to reach out to rub her baby-fat little cheeks.
Fisher was somewhat unable to hold back his smile, but the Jasmine before his eyes was still pouting, saying anything more would be impolite, especially since, this matter was also related to Asuka.
Fisher straightened his expression, stroking his chin tentatively asking,
"So, the problem now is to call Asuka's soul out, and let her detach from Jasmine's body?"
"Exactly, but we have already tried all methods, whether talking with her, or taking out items she was familiar with, all to no avail... therefore, we can only let you, this 'Teacher Fisher', attempt it."
"I understand, let me think about how to do it... How about you go rest for a while first, you shouldn't have rested much this month right?"
Thinking, Fisher turned his head back to look at the somewhat exhausted Gou Wen behind him, suggesting like so.
"Mhm, then you think about it first, just tell us when there is progress."
Gou Wen yawned, not refusing either.
He had tried all methods previously but Asuka had no reaction. Conversely, there were some words perhaps not very appropriate to say before parents, but wouldn't be embarrassed to say before Fisher. Perhaps letting them be alone would have miraculous effects?
In this way perhaps it could also make Asuka appear again right?
Following Gou Wen's departure, Jasmine's face slightly reddened, watching Fisher carry a chair and sit before herself.
She was somewhat embarrassed, especially since Gou Wen just said those words previously, saying whatever she single-handedly was going to eat the Whale-kin into poverty...
But halting for just a moment, her eyes couldn't uncontrollably glance toward the delicious foods on the table again, an appearance of great temptation.
"Eat if you want to, Jasmine."
Seeing this, Fisher said like so.
"Really!"
"Ah, but eating like this really won't harm the body right?"
"N- No it won't! Aooowoo..."
Before finishing her words, Jasmine had already taken a bite of the prepared roasted fish, tearing off a large piece of snow-white fish meat.
To think they could even make roasted fish at the seabed, didn't know how it was operated.
But watching Jasmine feasting heartily, Fisher abruptly recalled the food eaten in Asuka's alternate world he saw within the dreamscape...
Right ah, they seemingly also had lots of fish over there, could it be...
"Jasmine, you tell me, does your sudden increase in food intake have to do with Asuka?"
"Hm... probably, yes?"
"I think so too..."
Thinking and thinking, Fisher's eyes abruptly brightened. He hammered his palm with his fist, guessing,
"Is it possible, your appetite's rise is actually because Asuka wants to eat a certain specific food. But because she hasn't eaten it all along, that appetite constantly hasn't subsided. If we find that specific food, not only can we resolve your symptoms, we can also make Asuka show herself."
"Eh? But, what exactly does that Miss Asuka want to eat? Are these foods not tasty?"
Jasmine picked up another boiled conch, skillfully using a fork to pry out the conch meat, dipping it in the prepared sauce before offering it to Fisher to taste.
Of course, she herself also had to properly enjoy. Thus she picked up another conch, eating until her small mouth was bulging full after prying out the conch meat.
This little glutton...
Fisher ate the conch meat personally fed by Jasmine, not knowing whether this was the illness spurred by Asuka or her innate nature anymore.
"Tasty, but isn't it the kind she wants to eat, the most special, the kind she wants to eat most... Wait, I seem to slightly know what she wants to eat, Jasmine."
But Jasmine didn't know what it was. She merely sat by the side, opening the carapace of a large red crab for Fisher again, scooping out the crab roe and mixing it with crab meat into a ball, subsequently picking it up placing it in Fisher's mouth letting him eat half, she herself eating the other half.
While chewing, listening to Fisher speak the following text.
"It's a kind of food called Taiyaki."
"Taiyaki? Is it this!"
Jasmine glanced at the table, raising the steamed red sea bream by the side, which was precisely Taiyaki (sea bream), subsequently acting exactly like unable to wait she raised a spoon and divided the fish meat.
"No... it shouldn't be this kind..."
Fisher was fed another mouthful of fish meat by Jasmine, his mouth instantly gaining a bit more delicious taste, making his thoughts also slow down a bit.
After pondering for a moment, he softly told the Jasmine beside him,
"I roughly know what to do, wait until I return bringing some raw materials over to make it properly, you'll know what it is."
Jasmine nodded, picking up another piece of fish meat placing it in Fisher's mouth letting him eat.
"Flour, eggs, sugar, salt, butter... These should be enough already."
When Fisher returned, the Jasmine beside him looked to finally be full, thus stood by the side helping Fisher out. But very quickly feeling hungry again, she hugged a small bowl of shredded squid and nibbled.
Honestly speaking, Fisher wasn't very worried about Jasmine's abruptly increased food intake, because originally Jasmine ate very little.
In the Dragon Court, even the most frail Raphaela after giving birth had a food intake two or three times that of Jasmine. You probably can know what kind of bird stomach Jasmine was.
But this wasn't determined by Jasmine's body. Fisher had previously asked Gou Wen, said it was because Whale-kin loved slumbering at the seabed, thus even after going ashore their physical constitution hadn't reversed, frequently eating according to the seabed's living routine, conversely causing the body to be affected.
Jasmine eating more wasn't a bad thing. It was merely that Whale-kin originally didn't prepare lots of food, most of the time still relying on the races above to feed, making Jasmine's feeding seem abrupt.
Jasmine reached out and fed Fisher a mouthful of shredded squid, subsequently asking somewhat doubtfully,
"Would she really like to eat this kind of thing?"
"Should be..." Fisher gave a faint smile. While mixing the dough, he nonchalantly brought up, "Jasmine, actually there is one matter I should apologize to you for."
"Eh, apologize? Why suddenly..."
"Asuka was once a very friendly and strong Transferred Person. Whether humans or other Transferred Persons, all benefited greatly due to her selfless dedication, and I am the same. And once receiving grace one thinks of repaying, but the dead are already gone. That guilt drove me wanting to compensate you who is deeply connected with her...
"It's not to say thinking like this is wrong, because I originally wanted to love you. It's merely that in this way, it's exactly like dying this affection because of Asuka, rather than because of you. Thus even if it's just a little bit, I don't want you Jasmine to feel you are someone's substitute and feel wronged."
The egg liquid wrapping the flour, honey, and starch turned into a delicacy. Fisher gently summoned the Fluid Sword. Under his manipulation, that Fluid Sword seemed to turn into a mold. Subsequently, that Fluid Sword turned into the mold shape he saw within the dreamscape.
"Are you going to place it inside?"
Jasmine bit the shredded squid. Listening to Fisher's words, yet smilingly she shook her head.
She swallowed the shredded squid. Immediately after extending her slender jade-like hands, she slowly poured the liquid from that bowl into the mold,
"It's okay, Teacher Fisher. Actually, perhaps Mom and Dad are just as conflicted as Teacher Fisher you are, because I know, that affection toward that person cannot be transferred to other individuals no matter what, even if telling oneself within one's inner heart that that existence is the identical person...
"And regarding myself, honestly speaking, I believe I wasn't as outstanding, as wise as her. The more I read her memories, the more it makes me feel ashamed of my inferiority, makes me doubt whether I am the person you all awaited and looked forward to... but now everything is clear, I can finally merely be Mom and Dad's child. Such a simple identity to me who is easily contented is perhaps much easier.
"Regarding her, I also have many words wanting to speak with her. We are both Teacher Fisher's students, she is far more outstanding than I am, yet also suffered far more wounds... I also want to ask, how did she endure so much bitterness in her memories, and why did she merely look at me without saying a single word...
"Now, everything has returned to the right track. I can be together with Mom and Dad, can live together with Teacher Fisher and Raphaela. This to me is already contented."
Hearing this, Fisher was slightly stunned. Amidst the haze, exactly like feeling the gaze of some existence from the perspective of the soul.
But when he regained his senses, he merely saw the final drop of semi-finished egg liquid being placed by Jasmine into several molds exactly identical to the Taiyaki in the dreamscape.
"..."
Remaining silent for a moment, Fisher reached out to close the Fluid Sword anew. Carving a heating magic upon the tabletop anew, finally he placed the Fluid Sword on top.
While roasting the Taiyaki within the Fluid Sword mold, Fisher carved a [Dream] magic below the Fluid Sword simultaneously, in preparation for communicating with her using this magic after Asuka's soul appeared.
Everything was ready. In an instant, following a fragrant scent of granulated sugar and eggs transmitting over, spreading the Fluid Sword open again revealed several already formed Taiyaki inside.
"Looks like the taste is very good..."
Jasmine licked her lips, just about to reach out to taste the flavor, but withdrew her hand exactly as if realizing something, saying doubtfully,
"But, she seemingly has no reaction eh... Did Teacher Fisher guess wrong?"
"I don't know..."
Fisher rubbed the back of his own head, feeling some doubt within his heart as well, not knowing whether his guess was erroneous or not.
Yet exactly in his peripheral vision, he saw as if an illusion that exactly before the table, a smear of faint scarlet mist surged past, bringing a trace of aura not belonging to this world.
Fisher's eye pupils shrunk slightly as he looked. He then vaguely saw exactly like a bit of soul aura surging within Jasmine's body, but that soul still didn't show its head, seemingly unwilling to come out just like that...
Why?
Could it be Asuka doesn't want to leave Jasmine's body?
Fisher was unable to understand despite much thought toward this.
But looking from this, Asuka's soul indeed reacted to the outside world...
Then, it's time for the [Dream] magic to exert its efficacy.
"Jasmine, get ready..."
"Eh? Eh?"
Jasmine was still looking at the made Taiyaki with eyes full of light. The Fisher by her side, however, stared at the faint soul fluctuations dissipating from within her body and abruptly activated the carved [Dream] magic.
"Buzz!"
Following an echo as if originating from the depths of the world, the surrounding environment abruptly wholly changed alongside the ascension of Fisher's soul.
"Ding ding ding..."
When Fisher opened his eyes anew using the soul's perspective, entering his eyes, was a dreamscape exactly identical to the alternate world scene he saw in the previous dreamscape.
People came and went in the noisy commercial street, yet all seemingly without faces. Solitarily Fisher stood blankly within a stall, with freshly roasted, still steaming Taiyaki laid out before him.
Fisher opened his mouth, turning his head to look at the Jasmine beside him, yet discovered she had already lost consciousness and collapsed onto the ground by the side.
"Jasmine?"
Fisher's face changed. Just as he was about to investigate why Jasmine's soul would faint, he abruptly discovered that by her lower abdomen, a tiny little soul vortex seemingly had already been locked on by the Spirit World, thereby making her soul slightly fragile. Only then did she faint under the effect of the dream magic.
This is...
Unbelievingly Fisher looked at the Spirit World fluctuation at her lower abdomen exactly similar to Raphaela's previously, instantly stunned on the spot.
Also right at this moment, Fisher abruptly noticed precisely within this dreamscape, standing outside that stall selling Taiyaki was an emaciated little girl wearing a watermelon hat and a worn-out elementary school uniform.
She looked rather worriedly at the Jasmine lying on the ground, opening her mouth and saying,
"This big sister is too weak, she must be hungry..."
"Asuka?"
Fisher widened his eyes. Looking at the soul not far away whose body and soul were similarly emaciated, he finally saw, the soul of Asuka residing within Jasmine's body.
At this moment the soul of Asuka, having experienced the unforeseen events a thousand years ago and then being salvaged by Ramastia, was already riddled with scars. That was why she constantly remained muddled within Jasmine's body, maintaining an appearance of seemingly awake yet seemingly asleep. Even at this moment within the dream magic, she was already an appearance of a child.
But, as long as she was extracted, based on his understanding of souls, Fisher felt confident in restoring her, and reconstructing her body using the methods of the Demi-Human Girl Con again...
Yet the apparently slim and small Asuka before his eyes took a step back hurriedly Exactly exactly like being frightened after hearing Fisher's call.
In order not to frighten her, Fisher had no choice but to change the subject, softly saying to the tiny Asuka,
"That... what exactly is wrong with her, I still don't quite understand, can you help me?"
"..."
After hearing Fisher's plea for help, that soul of Asuka finally halted her steps.
Even if she, exactly like a subconsciousness, tangled for a moment, yet was still driven to walk back by the kindness within her body. She walked before Fisher, carefully saying to Jasmine,
"This big sister definitely wasn't eating properly originally, after having a little baby her body will become even weaker... therefore, as long as giving her a bit more things to eat, her body definitely will get better. She is already this happy, getting her health back will be even better."
Following Asuka's tender childish voice sounding out, Fisher finally knew why Jasmine abruptly returned to the seabed and why her food intake abruptly increased.
Jasmine's physical discomfort was entirely because she was pregnant, and the manifestation of Asuka's soul as well as the increase in food intake was because Asuka's subconscious perceived Jasmine's body becoming weak, therefore urging her to eat a little more...
One must know the soul's craving for the physical body is continuous and ceaseless, any wandering soul craves a physical body to bear its consciousness.
Therefore the Sea of Souls endlessly locks onto newly born fetuses, therefore those Soul Loss Disease patients crazily approach souls...
Merely because the scorching heat of consciousness is but castles in the air without the physical body's bearing, does it drive one fervent soul after another to enter physical bodies belonging to them to compose their own stories.
Hence Fisher found it hard to imagine, Asuka's soul unexpectedly could coexist with Jasmine within her body for so long without any signs of a presumptuous guest usurping the host's role, to the extent of deceiving everyone, making everyone think Jasmine was her...
She just quietly stayed deep within this body like this, even only manifesting when Jasmine encountered danger, when her body became weak...
Thinking up to here, Fisher's expression was somewhat complicated. He merely looked at the increasingly slim and small Asuka before his eyes, seemingly forever cemented in the painful childhood memories, softly asking,
"Then isn't Asuka jealous?"
The tiny Asuka heard this and slightly froze, immediately and subsequently shaking her head anew. Lowering her head, pinching her fingers she said with a milky voice,
"I merely feel this big sister being able to have a Mom and Dad loving her so much, being able to have you constantly accompanying by her side, and being able to know so many companions, is truly great. I hope she can forever happily live on like this..."
"Then what about you?"
The tiny Asuka pursed her lips. Subconsciously she looked toward a direction, subsequently using her little finger to point at that massive tower over there,
"My home is over there. I... I'll go back after wandering around outside for a while."
Fisher lowered his gaze. Seemingly understanding nothing he pursued asking,
"Really? Then why did you constantly stop in front of my stall?"
"I..."
Somewhat embarrassed, Asuka took a step back. She glanced at the baked Taiyaki emitting aroma on the stall beside her, her voice also gradually becoming as faint as a mosquito's hum,
"Because my birthday is almost... almost here... I want to eat Taiyaki to celebrate my birthday... But the money Mom gives me to buy dinner every evening is too little, only several tens of yen... I saved for several days without eating dinner, wanting to come here to buy Taiyaki on my birthday... As a result one coin of the saved money went missing at school, therefore... don't have enough money to buy."
Within her tiny, withered hands, she tightly clutched several coins of very small denominations. Those tiny coins laying horizontally before her stomach emitting "grumble" sounds indicated her helplessness.
Fisher slowly closed his eyes. In the next second, he gently reached out to close Asuka's tiny palm. Subsequently he asked,
"How old is Asuka this year?"
"Almost se... seven years old..."
Looking at the little girl before his eyes lowering her head, tightly gripping those few coins standing before the sea bream stall, she seemingly had constantly stopped here. Even if many, many years had already passed, she was still unable to pass this day.
That day before her seventh birthday.
Fisher tightly gripped Asuka's emaciated hand. The him at this moment no longer spoke any other words hoping to persuade Asuka's soul to leave Jasmine's body.
He merely turned his head, picking up the baked Taiyaki on the tabletop, meticulously packing it into a paper box.
For some unknown reason, that Taiyaki on the stall was exactly identical to those few pieces Fisher and Jasmine roasted outside the dreamscape.
After completing all this, Fisher then slowly crouched anew, gently placing that paper box still emitting hot air into her hands.
Asuka slightly opened her mouth. Looking at the few pieces of desserts lying in that box that couldn't be more ordinary, she raised her head anew to look at the Fisher before her eyes.
And Fisher merely smiled. Using a skewer to pierce one piece of Taiyaki within it, he placed it before her mouth,
"It's my first time making it, taste it and see if it's delicious?"
Asuka tightly stared at the Taiyaki skewered by Fisher. Her eyes seemingly almost melting by that Taiyaki close at hand, even her lips trembled uncontrollably.
But even so, those lips still slowly opened, until barely able to accommodate one piece of Taiyaki.
Subsequently, Fisher gently fed it forward, that Taiyaki finally slowly entered her oral cavity.
"Crunch..."
The crispness of solidified egg liquid, the sweetness of granulated sugar, thirty percent heat, instantly erupted within her oral cavity.
This wasn't the void of a dream, but a dish personally made by Fisher.
Ordinary?
Whether in the alternate world or here, this was probably extremely simple dessert, snacks one would get tired of after eating too much...
However, chewing the flavor within the mouth that couldn't be more simple, the tears in the tiny Asuka's eyes grew increasingly numerous, until moistening the eyelashes, sliding down her cheeks bit by bit.
She still chewed, exactly like hating that she couldn't squeeze every bit of flavor from this Taiyaki dry...
"Wuuuu wuuuu wuuuu wuuuu wuuuu..."
"Is it delicious?"
"Deli... wuuuu... delicious... wuuuu wuuuu wuuuu..."
"That's good..."
The weeping sounds shattered the dead stillness of this patch of dreamscape. The rolling tears unsealed her frozen at the age of six, also symbolizing her hazy soul at this moment was recovering, progressively leaving chaos...
Merely at this moment, the Fisher before her was already unable to speak anything else, do anything else.
He merely watched the already tear-streaked soul of Karasawa Asuka before his eyes, sending her the blessing that should have been sent many years ago, yet arrived late at this moment.
Sincerely, he told Karasawa Asuka,
"Happy birthday, Asuka."
(End of Chapter)