Chapter 54: 54 | Open Your Mouth And Say ‘Ah’
Her eyes widened behind her glasses. It was a look of pure, unadulterated shock.
She looked up at Dexter in complete disbelief.
Then, she looked back down at the food in her bowl.
Then, she looked back at Dexter again, her mouth slightly open.
She clearly wanted to ask him how a human being could possibly create something that tasted this incredible.
Unfortunately for her, she could not speak, and her vocal cords remained destroyed. Nor did she have the patience or the time right now to pull out her phone and type a message.
So, she simply abandoned all questions and continued eating.
A second spoon went in.
Then a third spoon.
Then a fourth spoon.
As she ate, a powerful, warm current of energy began to flow smoothly through her throat and down into her stomach. From there, it radiated outward like a gentle wave, reaching into every single corner of her body.
Her damaged, scarred meridians which had been cold and painful for years began to tremble slightly.
A feeling of intense warmth, comfort, and a pleasant tingling sensation spread rapidly throughout her limbs.
The tiny, jagged cracks within her mana pathways actually began to repair themselves, the energy of the rice acting like a warm, soothing salve that sealed the old wounds.
Lyra’s eyes widened even further at the sensation.
Without a single second of hesitation, she began eating even faster, her spoon practically becoming a blur as she scooped the glowing rice into her mouth.
At that moment, Dexter had already walked down the hallway to fetch the other two girls.
He gently pushed Mira’s wheelchair out of her room, guiding her toward the dining table, before walking back to help Selene to her seat.
Just as he was about to let go of Selene’s arm after guiding her safely onto her chair—
A small, cold hand suddenly reached out and grabbed his wrist.
Dexter froze in place.
Selene was holding his hand tightly.
Not only that, she was squeezing his wrist gently, her fingers wrapping completely around it.
A shocked, confused expression appeared on Dexter’s face.
Usually, due to her extreme sensitivity to temperature and her painful condition, Selene never allowed anyone to touch her if she could avoid it. Even he was rarely allowed to touch her, unless there was absolutely no one else available to help her move around the house.
He had always respected her boundaries, only guiding her occasionally when necessary.
But now...
She was the one who had actively reached out and grabbed him.
He waited for a moment, then carefully tried to remove his hand so he could sit down.
However, the moment he gently pulled back—
She tightened her grip, catching his hand again and refusing to let go.
Dexter blinked in surprise. His confusion only grew as he looked at her calm face.
"Selene...?" he asked softly.
She remained completely silent for a few seconds, her head tilted slightly downward, before she spoke in a soft, quiet whisper.
"...Warm."
Dexter blinked again.
"Warm?"
She nodded her head slightly, her silver hair shifting over her shoulders.
"You’re very warm... and comfortable today."
His eyes widened in sudden realization.
Then, he immediately thought about his newly evolved Ancient Flame Demon Bloodline.
Selene’s body, due to her mysterious, chronic illness, constantly emitted a freezing, painful energy that made her feel cold to the bone.
Perhaps... the natural, warm energy constantly radiating from his evolved fire bloodline was acting as a natural counter, soothing her condition and making her feel comfortable for the first time.
It was the only logical explanation he could think of.
Eventually, after a long moment, Selene slowly loosened her grip, letting his hand go.
Dexter gently guided her hand toward the handle of her spoon.
Although she was completely blind, once her fingers touched the edge of the wooden table and the spoon, she was highly independent and could feed herself without any issues.
He then sat down on the chair beside Mira.
At that exact moment—
Selene took her very first bite of the glowing rice.
She froze instantly.
Her blind, pale eyes widened slightly.
The incredible, rich flavor of the Origin Sun Fruit and the Diamond Rice exploded inside her mouth, a perfect balance of sweetness and warmth.
A deep, soothing warmth spread rapidly through her physical body. The cold, frozen meridians inside her chest began to thaw, the old, damaged pathways healing slowly under the gentle influence of the Millennium Blood Ginseng.
Without saying a single word, she immediately took another spoonful.
Then another.
Then another.
Dexter smiled warmly as he watched her. The healing effects of the Grade Four meal seemed to be even better and more immediate than he had originally expected.
Meanwhile, Mira was sitting in her wheelchair, her brows furrowed in a deep frown.
She looked at Lyra, who was practically inhaling her food.
Then, she looked at Selene, who was eating with an unusual, quiet intensity.
Both girls were behaving as though they had completely lost their minds.
"Why are you two behaving like uncultured monkeys?" Mira asked sharply.
Neither of them replied to her. They did not even look up as they ignored her. They simply continued eating their food.
Dexter almost burst into loud laughter at the scene.
"Uncultured monkeys? Where did you even learn such an insult, Mira?" he asked, amused.
Mira turned her head and glared at him immediately.
"You should have seen me in my prime," she said proudly, raising her chin. "My vocabulary was far more refined than yours."
Dexter chuckled softly.
"I’m sure your insults in your prime could make grown men sit down and cry."
Mira snorted softly, turning her head away.
Then, she looked down at the steaming bowl of rice sitting in front of her. She looked at it suspiciously, her eyes narrowing at the glowing silver petals and the starlight drifting from the plate.
Dexter scooped up a small spoonful of the warm rice.
"Open up. Say Ah."
Mira’s face flushed slightly, and she glared at him with intense annoyance.
She absolutely hated it when he treated her like a helpless child. Especially when he used that patronizing tone and said, "Ah."
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