Souta glanced at Alice and smiled. "Anyway, you still haven't answered my question."
"Ugh," Alice avoided his gaze, feeling a bit embarrassed. She hesitated before finally admitting, "I... I'm not sure if I can really call it a hobby or not, but I love trying different types of food."
"Food...?" Souta closed his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. He realized that despite spending so much time together, he hadn't noticed this about her before. She must have been doing it secretly while he was occupied with training or other matters.
"Um... Say something, Souta!" Alice urged, feeling uncomfortable with his silence.
Souta opened his eyes and glanced at her before giving her a thumbs up, a sign of encouragement.
"What does that mean?!" Alice questioned, still feeling unsure.
"I mean it's perfectly fine. There's nothing wrong with enjoying food. Besides, you're strong and capable of controlling your energy. You can burn off any excess calories using mana, so..." Souta gestured with both hands, trying to reassure her.
Alice turned her head away, focusing her attention on the performance on stage.
"Why so silent? There's nothing to be ashamed of. Look at me, I love drinking coffee, so much so that I even secretly opened a coffee shop in Ekatoe," Souta said, attempting to lighten the mood.
"Yeah..." Alice responded softly, her embarrassment evident in her tone. She had always been drawn to food ever since she was a child, but she found it difficult to express this passion openly. Growing up in the Heavenly Demon Palace, she was constantly reminded of the importance of maintaining proper etiquette and an elegant demeanor as a princess.
Souta glanced at her and smiled warmly. "Hmm... So that's why you tried all the street foods earlier. It makes sense now."
"Souta, please don't say any more," Alice pleaded, using her hand to block Souta's view.
"If that's what you wanted, you should've told me earlier," Souta said firmly, rising to his feet before taking hold of her wrist.
Alice's eyes widened as she felt herself being pulled along. Looking up at Souta, she heard his voice urging her, "Let's go! Let's try all the foods this place has to offer!"
The two of them left their seats and wandered around, sampling various foods from different stalls. By the time they returned to their lodging, it was already late at night.
Souta sat in a chair, poring over a paper in his hand. It contained the arrangement of the Panathenaic Festival, a document he had access to as a Grain Leader.
"Last day...? They only mentioned a march. After that, it's all blank. They're definitely hiding something," Souta remarked, his brows furrowing in concern.
"What could they be hiding?" Alice inquired, her curiosity piqued.
Souta shook his head. "I have no clue. I don't know what the higher-ups are thinking."
"Hmm..." Alice observed him from the side. "Can you explain what happened to your inner consciousness?"
"Well, something occurred in the Dream Realm that caused damage to it. But it's not severe, so there's no need to worry," Souta explained with a shrug of his shoulders.
"It's not severe?! Any damage to the inner consciousness is significant!" Alice exclaimed, her concern evident in her voice.
Souta sighed, attempting to clarify. "My inner consciousness itself is still intact. The issue lies with my monster orb, which was connected to it. This connection is hindering my ability to utilize a large amount of energy."
"Wait! Your energy pool is linked to your inner consciousness? Isn't that a crucial aspect of the sublime transformation for ascension?!" Alice's eyes widened in realization.
Souta glanced at her, surprised by her knowledge. "How do you know about that?"
"Did you forget that I'm a princess of the Heavenly Demon Palace? We have seventy Demon Pillars, which are equivalent to gods, so I know a little bit about them," Alice explained.
"I see..." Souta nodded in acknowledgment.
The connection between the energy pool and inner consciousness was crucial for gods. As a mortal, Souta's energy pool remained within his body, represented by his monster orb and [Nebula Heart]. He possessed two due to his Cosmic Body.
All gods linked their energy pool to their inner consciousness to prevent its destruction. While this connection didn't directly enhance their strength, it increased the flow of energy throughout their bodies.
Just like the previous incident when Saya took control of Souta's body to battle a third-stage monster. During that encounter, Saya effortlessly destroyed the monster orb of the creature, leading to its swift defeat. Had the monster's monster orb been connected to its inner consciousness, it would have endured far less damage, making it more challenging for Souta and the others to defeat.
Once a being managed to establish this connection, they could generate energy even if their energy pool was damaged. Souta reminisced about the time his energy pool suffered damage after consuming two monster potions in a battle. If his energy pool had been linked to his inner consciousness at that moment, he would have still been able to fight at full capacity despite the damage.
Souta also remembered a story Lumilia had told him about Bryan's capture by a noble family. These nobles attempted to extract energy from their captives as part of their nefarious schemes.
Souta turned to Alice, explaining, "My situation is reversed. It's my inner consciousness that's damaged, not the energy pool. Right now, if I attempt to use my energy, my inner consciousness vibrates painfully. But I have a method to repair it."
"Repair your inner consciousness?" Alice's confusion was evident. Repairing an energy pool was typically easier than fixing inner consciousness, which could sometimes be irreparable if the damage was severe.
"Yeah, there's no need to worry. Additionally, the connection between my inner consciousness and the monster orb is quite fragile. It's not yet perfected, which is why I'm experiencing this discomfort," Souta reassured her.
This development was made possible because of the Origin Seed, which had also caused his two elemental seeds to evolve differently from others.
Souta glanced at her and offered, "Do you want to see it? I can bring you into my inner consciousness if you want."
"Okay," Alice nodded, her curiosity piqued. She needed to see for herself if Souta truly was as fine as he claimed.
Souta extended his palm and instructed, "Hold my hand."
Alice complied, gripping his hand tightly. She closed her eyes and sensed a disturbance in her surroundings. When she opened her eyes again, she found herself in a completely different place—Souta's inner consciousness.
She looked up and couldn't help but gasp at the sight before her. In the sky, there loomed an enormous sphere of energy. Within this sphere, she beheld a plant adorned with two distinct colors. There were dozens of intricate magic circles scattered across the expansive sky.
"W-What?!" Alice exclaimed, utterly taken aback. The sheer abundance of inner spells alone was enough to astonish anyone. It became clear to her why Souta exhibited such versatility in battle.
Her astonishment swiftly turned to concern as she noticed the cracks in the air around them. Just as Souta had described, his inner consciousness was indeed damaged.
Souta, standing beside her, smiled and inquired, "What do you think?"
"It's truly remarkable, just as you described. But how do you plan to repair the damage?" Alice nodded in acknowledgment before posing her question.
"See that energy sphere?" Souta directed her attention to the massive energy sphere and elaborated, "My elemental seeds were fused along with my Dream Power. The shell containing them is constructed from the ability I gained after consuming the mythical-grade fruit - Divine Might. The fusion of my Elemental Power and Dream Power resulted in a unique form of energy. Somehow, this new power has the potential to repair the damage."
Alice listened intently to his explanation. Souta's Dream Power was elemental in nature, which might explain why the elemental seeds managed to fuse together with it so seamlessly. Their compatibility seemed promising.
"Have you tested your new power?" Alice inquired.
Souta shook his head, explaining that he couldn't afford to exert himself too much, as it would only exacerbate the damage.
"How long do you think it will take for you to repair the damage?" Alice pressed for more information.
"Probably two to three months. Without this new power, it would likely take much longer," Souta replied.
A thought occurred to Alice, and she turned to him, saying, "Then, what about the invitation to Walpurgis..."
"I will attend. We can't ignore the remnants of those witches. We need to understand their intentions," Souta declared firmly.
Indeed, with witches among his allies, it was inevitable that they would attract the attention of the remnants of Walpurgis Night. Souta needed to ascertain whether these witches would be allies or adversaries.
Exiting the inner consciousness, Souta reassured Alice of his well-being, though her concern lingered. Damage to the inner consciousness was not to be taken lightly.
"Speaking of Dream Power, what type did you acquire?" Souta asked, curiosity evident in his gaze.
"It's a manifestation type. With my Dream Power, I can sense and absorb the emotions of living beings, using them to enhance specific strengths of mine. Its utility is somewhat limited at present, but it promises to grow more potent as I advance in its mastery," Alice explained, detailing her Dream Power.
"You can absorb emotions... Is there a specific emotion for each enhancement?" Souta inquired.
"Yes, essentially every emotion has its unique enhancement. For instance, fear can bolster my energy, while happiness can augment my speed," Alice replied.
"I see..." Souta studied her expression before slowly remarking, "Your ability... Damn, you truly are a demon. Even your Dream Power has a demonic quality to it."
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