The Max Level Hero Has Returned!

Chapter 1402.2

In the end, after suffering the humiliation of spitting out food for the first time in her life, her expression darkened.

Marky, who had rinsed her mouth with water, cautiously asked, “Ummm. Yuria, are you okay?”

Yuria soon began to cry. She seemed more frustrated by the fact that she couldn't accept the current situation.

Kouna and Reina, who had been in the virtual space, slowly got up from the utterly unbelievable situation.

Myuu, having been badly burned once on the first day, was now hiding, using Davey’s status as a shield and not coming near Yuria.

“What's wrong?”

“Why are they...”

Marky hesitated for a moment and then explained the situation. “Well...”

Everything was perfect, but the ingredient had suddenly changed strangely. The struggles Yuria had gone through to acquire that ingredient were enough to publish a book, so the shock was undoubtedly immense.

“B-but there’s still some left in the virtual space...”

“That's... fake. I can't be satisfied with food that has such a sense of disconnect!”

The ingredient Yuria had acquired could produce a similar taste. That ingredient inside the virtual space also had an overwhelming taste compared to ordinary ingredients, but it couldn't achieve the efficiency of a supreme-quality ingredient.

“Wait a moment...” Reina covered one ear with a hand and closed her eyes. Then, she slowly opened them. “I asked him.”

“W-what did Gracious Savior say?!” Yuria asked with difficulty, looking like she was about to burst into tears.

Reina, with a troubled face, prepared to tell her the truth. “You said you copied and transferred the data by resonating with the ingredient because the virtual space still lacks data, right?”

“Yes.”

“It seems the quality of the original ingredient significantly dropped during that process.”

The color from her eyes disappeared in an instant. In other words, the moment a high-quality ingredient was registered in the virtual space, the actual ingredient could no longer be used.

The expensive ingredient in the outside world had been rendered unusable. Long story short, she could give up ingredients in the real world and increase the amount she had, but only in the virtual world.

However, whether Yuria was willing to accept that was a different question.

Not in a billion years.

As she slumped to the floor with empty eyes, she cupped her cheeks with both hands and let out an ominous chuckle. “Heh... Hehehe... Hehehehe.

Everyone except her flinched and instinctively took a step or two back, sensing the madness radiating from her.

“I-is that so? I was a fool to not know that and just wasted this precious ingredient, wasn't I?” Yuria’s eyes trembled like those of a madman. “Ahahahaha. Oh, World Tree, my god. To think I was such an idiot! To think I didn't even think something like this could happen.”

Marky nodded her head with an anxious expression. She told Rinne, “Hey, do something about her.”

Yet, despite her desperate gesture, Rinne shook her head, seemingly resigned and aloof.

“I can't forgive... I can't forgive him!!” She stood up abruptly, infuriated to a degree that made one wonder if she had even been so angry at Elder Kon whom she'd seen in the Moon Forest in the past. “Gracious Savior has perfect memory! Do you think it makes sense that he forgot to tell me such an important caveat?”

“Do you think he did it on purpose? It would make sense, considering your usual misdemeanors.”

“This is way different from those meaningless antics I've gotten up to! I feel like my soul has been pulled out!” She panted, even shedding tears in her frustration. “I put in so much effort to get this...”

“Yuria, Rinne states that Rinne will stand against you if you become hostile toward Master Davey,” she firmly declared.

Yuria glared at her fiercely. “Hostile? Hah! What are you talking about? Gracious Savior is Gracious Savior. I have no intention of being hostile toward him.”

However, her smile was terribly fierce.

“Then what are you going to do?” one of them asked.

“I have to go talk to him! This isn't right, even if he's my gracious savior! It’s unbelievable how much trouble I went through to get this...”

Creak.

Just then, the door opened, and Davey appeared.

Rinne and Marky gulped, and Yuria’s eyes flashed with a fierce gleam once more.

“Yuria,” Davey called out.

“Yes, Gracious Savior.”

“I picked this up on the way.” Saying that, he lightly tossed a small box to her, and Yuria, who had been glaring at Davey, opened the box, only for her eyes to abruptly widen.

Marky was curious, seeing her reaction. “What is it? What could it be... Oh my goodness!”

“Ooh... Oh, Master Davey. Rinne evaluates Master Davey highly.”

Yuria’s eyes, which had been empty and colorless just a moment before, were suddenly sparkling. “Gracious Savior...”

“Also, this is the ingredient you requested. I picked this up on the way, too.”

“My goodness gracious!!!” Her eyes turned so wide they were about to pop out. She stared directly at Davey before declaring, “Gracious Savior, I love you! Please marry me!! I will feed you delicious food for the rest of your life... Aaaargh!!”

Tired of her outburst, Davey had grabbed her by the head, making her squeal.

Meanwhile, Kouna and Reina watched with deeply troubled expressions.

“There’s barely an opening as it is...” one remarked.

“Now we have to deal with that psycho too...” the other lamented.

Marky desperately tried to calm Kouna, who was the most wary. “Just bear it. It’s not like this is her first time acting like that, right? We’ve seen her do stuff like this before.”

“I can’t contain myself,” Yuria said. “Wait here a moment, Gracious Savior.”

He immediately grew wary. “What? Why??”

“I will finally complete the dish you tricked me into wasting.”

Watching her hum a tune and prepare the dish, he sighed and turned to leave.

That's when Kouna carefully grabbed his clothes by the hem.

“Kouna?”

“Ummm. I also have something I want to give you...” With her face flushed red, her head slightly lowered, and her eyes darting around nervously, she looked every bit like an enchanting temptress.

It was completely different from how blunt and awkward she used to be when expressing her emotions.

He wondered what she must have gone through in the meantime to undergo such a transformation.

Davey was momentarily silent, unsure what to say about her behavior.

She hesitantly added, “Or can I not...?”

“...Alright, I’ll have some...”

As her guardian, he couldn't completely push her away. Moreover, she simply wanted to make a delicious meal for her guardian.

The subtle atmosphere, which ensured Davey would only seem odd if he pried, felt uncomfortable.

He couldn’t help but think he'd let a fox into his home.

* * *

The Gourmet Research Society's kitchen was a place that was managed with absolute thoroughness.

Sling.

Kouna looked down at the knife in her hand with a nervous face.

This place, Tionis, was a world very different from her homeland, Earth. Naturally, she was quite unfamiliar with it. However, for her, this place was also somewhere her mind felt at ease, almost to the point where she could call it home now.

After all, the person who had promised to protect her as a guardian after she was abandoned following her family's problem was here.

She had learned a lot under Yuria's hardcore training. Even though Yuria was the greatest troublemaker in the territory and a mad psycho obsessed with gourmet food, not a single person doubted her skill.

She slowly placed the vegetables in her hand onto the cutting board and cautiously began to chop. While doing so, she couldn’t help but faintly smile.

Long ago, she rarely showed any emotion unless her life was on the line, yet whenever it involved Davey, she would be smiling before she even realized it.

She had no idea when that kind of behavior started. At the same time, she even thought her actions were repulsive. It was hard to accept the fact that she liked a man who already had multiple wives and even children.

Alas, the human heart couldn't be controlled by logic.

“It’s not like I asked for this.”

She felt it was unfair to her.

Regardless, Reina also showed signs of wanting to do something for Davey, busying herself making something.

Reina was similar to Kouna in some ways, but she was also different. Unlike Kouna, who liked Davey as a man, her feelings were closer to obsession than romantic affection.

Kouna thought it might be because Davey was the only person she, who suffered internally when around men, could comfortably interact with.

‘No matter what, I want to have more attention than Reina.’

She knew her thoughts were creepy and dark, but she couldn't easily grasp the sense of disconnect.

Kouna looked down at her body. She and him didn’t have a significant age difference. Of course, she knew his mental age was far greater than his biological age, but she was also somewhat of a special case.

It was then.

The power of the divine beast she had contracted with permeated her. She was experiencing the sensation she occasionally felt when she saw the future.

In that sensation...

She saw something, and her face flushed red. “Ah!”

Sizzle...

“Are you okay? That thing’s burning,” Reina asked worriedly, and Kouna hurriedly adjusted the heat and backed away.

“S-sorry. I was thinking about something else and let my mind wander for a moment...”

It was just for a moment.

She had seen a red sky. It was a beautiful, yet also sorrowful and eerie, place where a huge crimson lake stretched out.

The scene of Davey kissing her while she lay on the ground remained vividly etched in her mind. She knew very well how much he loved his three wives, and that he said he’d never take another woman into his heart.

She similarly recognized that the romantic affection she held would never be reciprocated.

Although the divine beast’s foresight wasn't absolutely accurate, and a transcendent being like Davey could escape outside its bounds and overturn its predictions at any time, she still felt excited and embarrassed.

She fanned her hot face to cool off and sat down. She stared at Davey, who was talking about something with the Gourmet Research Society.

She felt like her face was getting even redder.

Of course, because the scene was so shocking, she failed to see the other, more important thing.

They all did.