I, Yuhaka, am hungry!

Yoshino's eyes sparkled as she stared at the scene before her, her mouth slightly agape in surprise. Yoshina, held in Yoshino's hand, also let out a sigh of amazement at the sight before her.

"Oh my god! I never expected Youyou's family to describe such a scene~ To be honest, it's completely unexpected~"

Hearing their words, Yuhka immediately put on a proud expression, hands on her hips, swaying her large tail, looking like she was practically pointing her nose to the sky. Seeing Yuhka's proud demeanor, Tokisaki Kurumi couldn't help but pat her trembling cat ears. Then, Tokisaki Kurumi spoke to Yuhka and the others:

"Alright, Yuyu, you can go and wander around with Yoshino and the others. I'll go tell Nia about what happened today. We can have a welcome party for Yoshino and the others during dinner time."

After hearing Kurumi Tokisaki's words, Yuhaka nodded in understanding and said:

"Youyou understands~ OwO~"

As she spoke, Yuhaka took Yoshino's little hand and said, "Yoshino, let's go OwO/~", before leading Yoshino to other islands to play and collect some ingredients.

Before Yoshino could react, Yuhaka pulled her away like a kite.

Kurumi Tokisaki couldn't help but sigh as she watched the two leave. Indeed, the friendship between little girls was truly touching. To be honest, Kurumi was starting to doubt the passage of time, but now wasn't the time...

Thinking this, Tokisaki Kurumi went to find Honjou Nia and told her about what had happened that day, wondering how things were going in other places.

...On Yuhaka's side...

Yuhaka, who brought Yoshino along, arrived at an island with a coral plateau, a type of landmass in the New World. Yoshino and the others looked at the coral eggs floating in the air like snowflakes and couldn't help but feel very excited. Obviously, the scene here was very attractive to Yoshino and the others.

Seeing Yoshino and Yoshina's excited expressions, Yuhaka said to them:

"Is Yoshino going to go find ingredients with Yuuyu?"

"...Ingredients?"

Hearing Yuhaka's words, Yoshino looked at him with a curious expression. Then, Yuhaka took Yoshino's small hand and led her to find ingredients. On the way, Yoshino couldn't help but open her mouth slightly in surprise when she saw the coral trees around her. Those things that looked like giant corals could be seen all around this area, giving people a feeling of arriving at an underwater dragon palace. In addition, the flying elves that looked like glowing jellyfish floating in the air gave people a fairy-like feeling.

Of course, Yuhaka was also looking for shellfish to eat with Yoshino. In some small pools, Yuhaka was also looking for food in the water, and Yoshino was doing the same. However, to avoid getting their clothes wet, Yoshino took off her shoes and white pantyhose and put them on a dry rock.

She also lifted her skirt slightly and tied a knot to prevent the hem from touching the water.

Yoshino, who was holding Yoshino, spoke to Yoshino:

"Over there, Yoshino, there's a seashell over there~"

Hearing Yoshino's words, Yoshino looked in the direction the other girl was pointing. Then she saw a seashell lying in the water with small stones stuck to it, occasionally opening its shell. Seeing this, Yoshino carefully walked towards it. After all, there were slippery moss and sharp stones underwater, so it was better to be careful.

After carefully approaching the clam with the stone stuck to it, the clam, as if noticing Yoshino, closed its shell, but it was of no use.

After Yoshino reached out and picked up the shellfish from the water, her eyes lit up. The reason was simple: something on the shell, resembling jade, caught her attention and looked sparkly.

Yoshino, who had picked up a seashell, asked Yuhaka, who was fishing underwater:

"Youyou, what is this?"

Hearing Yoshino's words, Yuhaka leaped out of the water, carrying a fish that looked like an anglerfish. After shaking the water off his head, Yuhaka squinted at the shellfish in Yoshino's hands not far away, then said with a look of sudden realization:

"Oh oh oh~ Sticky Stone Shell OwO~"

Upon hearing Yuhaka's words, Yoshino looked at the shellfish in her hand with a puzzled expression. The shellfish was covered with various small stones and gemstones. Although she had never heard of such a shellfish before, after seeing the various stones stuck to it, Yoshino roughly understood why it was called that.

Just like its name suggests, this type of shellfish will stick stones and gravel to its shell for camouflage and to increase its defense capabilities, making it difficult for some predators to catch. Of course, such a defense method is basically useless against humans. In addition to sticking stones, some shellfish will also stick underwater jade and gold, which makes them exquisite props that resemble works of art.

Besides being called the "sticky stone clam," it also has another name: the "stone armor clam." As for the taste, it's generally quite good, and Yuhaka also catches and eats it.

Hearing Yuhaka's explanation of the Clamshell, Yoshino and Yoshina nodded in agreement. Then, Yoshina looked curiously at the Clamshell that Yoshino had brought out, which was covered in many jade stones, and asked:

"So, the clam shell that Yoshino got is still worth something, right?"

Regarding Yoshino's question, Yuhaka looked at the Sticky Stone Shell in Yoshino's hand and pondered for a moment before saying:

"Hmm...maybe OO?"

Yoshina was stunned when she heard Yuhaka's words. She obviously did not expect Yuhaka to answer like that.

P.S.: Finally, I can go to bed early.

Volume 1 [Lazy to Divide into Chapters]: Chapter 1357 [Taking Yoshino to Find Ingredients (Part 2)]

After Yuhaka took out a clam shell covered in gold dust from the dimensional hole, Yoshina understood why Yuhaka had said "probably". Looking at the clam shell that could emit golden light, Yoshina felt like her eyes were about to be blinded, even though she was just a hand puppet.

After placing the lanternfish on the ground, Yuhaka used the gold dust-covered clam shell on his hand to deliver a heavy blow to the head of the struggling lanternfish. Instantly, the lanternfish's head began to spit out tiny coins, and it died.

Seeing how Yuhaka knocked out the lanternfish in his hand with a clam covered in gold dust, Yoshina couldn't help but feel ashamed.

Knocked out by this method, Yoshina didn't know what to say.

.................................................. ..............................

After collecting the ingredients they wanted in this area, Yuhaka led Yoshino and the others to the location of the next ingredient. As the Coral Highlands are an ecosystem, there are quite a few aquatic creatures.

Finding seafood here is no easier than on the islands, and the environment here is much nicer, making it the perfect place to bring Yoshino and the others.

In a spacious area teeming with herbivores, Yuhaka brought Yoshino here in search of food. Of course, Yuhaka's target was not the large herbivores here, but the lily squid living in the nearby pond.

Yoshina looked at Yuhaka with a puzzled expression as he came out with a fishing rod and asked, "..."

"YuYu-chan... what are you planning to fish for?"

Regarding Yoshino's question, Yuhaka also said to the other party:

"Youyou is getting ready to fish for lily squid~ OwO"

Hearing Yuhaka's words, Yoshino roughly knew what Yuhaka wanted to fish for. However, it was the first time that Yoshino had ever caught a squid with a fishing rod. It was the same for them. It was the first time that they knew that squid could be caught by fishing. After all, children who didn't know would think that they were caught with a large net or raised in captivity.

Seeing Yuhaka holding a bait that looked like a shrimp, Yoshina could also see that the tail of the shrimp bait had rings of barbed metal structures, which could be seen as being used to hook the squid's soft body.

After watching Yuhaka cast the bait into the water with his fishing rod, Yoshino looked over at Yoshino as if she wanted to say something, but Yoshino noticed that Yoshino's attention was not on Yuhaka, but on the herbivorous dragons in the distance.

Seeing this, Yoshino looked puzzled. After all, Yoshino didn't think those herbivorous dragons were very interesting. Could it be that Yoshino was hungry and wanted to eat barbecue?

However, Yoshino soon realized that Yoshino wasn't looking at the herbivorous dragons, but rather at the things on their backs.

Yoshino's eyes lit up as she looked at the fluffy, peculiar birds. Clearly, those fluffy, doll-like little birds were very attractive to her.

Yoshino's reaction didn't surprise Yoshino too much, since the fluffy little bird that looked like a fluffy ball was quite attractive to a little girl like Yoshino.

Then Yoshina turned to look at Yuhaka and asked:

"Hey~ Yoyo-chan, what's that fluffy little bird?"

Upon hearing Yoshina's question, Yuhaka turned to look at her. After seeing the bird Yoshina was pointing to, Yuhaka knew what she was referring to.

"That's a soft-feathered waterhen! OwO~"

"chicken?"

Upon hearing Yuhaka's answer, Yoshina's mouth dropped open. Well... she really couldn't connect those fluffy, adorable little creatures with domestic chickens in real life. Of course, if they were chicks, it would be acceptable.

Yoshino, upon hearing Yuhka's words, looked at him with a curious expression and asked:

"Um, can't they fly?"

Yuhaka nodded in response to Yoshino's question, indicating that they could not fly.

"Can't fly, but can run incredibly fast~ OwO~"

Indeed, just as Yuhaka said, although the fluffy rail cannot fly, its well-developed long legs allow it to run very fast.

Yoshino and Yoshina couldn't tell that the Soft-feathered Rails were very fast runners until they saw one of them stand up and stretch its body. With a thud, they saw the Soft-feathered Rails' long legs, which made them look like they were more than half its height. This made Yoshino and Yoshina have an "OxO?!" expression on their faces.

They must be quite amazed that those seemingly soft little creatures have such long legs, right?

Yoshino was disillusioned by the short, scrawny appearance of the Soft-feathered Rail, while Yuhaka, sensing movement on his fishing rod, began reeling in his line.

Yuhaka then grabbed a squid shaped like an upside-down lily and stuffed it into his dimensional portal.

Just like its name suggests, these lily squid are shaped like an upside-down lily flower, hence the name.

In terms of taste, it's similar to regular squid, and the texture is also good. It's great for sashimi.

While Yuhaka continued fishing for lily squid, he noticed how curious Yoshino and the others were about the feathered waterfowl. So, Yuhaka let out a cry of kinship to the feathered waterfowl.

"Chirp chirp—O3O!"

As Yuhaka made a call similar to that of a plover, the plovers not far away all stood up and looked around as if searching for the source of the sound.

Seeing this, Yoshino and the others also looked puzzled. Then they turned their heads to see what Yuhaka was doing, making a sound like a feathered pheasant. With Yuhaka's call again, the feathered pheasants waddled their long legs and ran towards Yuhaka.

"OxO?!"

Seeing the fluffy waterhens running towards them with "aggressive" manner, Yoshino looked frightened. She obviously didn't expect these fluffy waterhens to run towards her.

Soon, the long-legged finches ran to Yuhaka and the others and looked at Yoshino with a puzzled expression. These finches, raised by Yuhaka, had basically never seen anyone else except Yuhaka.

Yoshino looked bewildered as a group of fluffy waterhens surrounded them. Just then, a small bucket of feed was handed to her. Following its direction, she saw it was Yuhaka who had given her the bucket. A little confused, she asked:

"What's this?"

"This is feed for the feathered rails~ OwO/, take it and feed them~"

Upon hearing Yuhaka's words, Yoshino took the small bucket of feed that Yuhaka handed her and then tried to feed the feathered rails that were surrounding them.

When the finches saw food, they rushed over without any fear of Yuhka and Yoshino. After all, these finches were brought by Yuhka and she had fed them, so they weren't really afraid of her.

Watching the fluffy waterhens rushing over and pecking at the feed on the ground, Yoshino couldn't help but smile happily. Yoshina, standing beside her, felt relieved to see Yoshino looking a little happy. In the past, Yoshino had always lived in fear and trembling. Because of her kind nature, Yoshino had never fought against the AST (Anti-Elf Force).

To be honest, this made Yoshino feel very sorry for her. Now, if Yoshino didn't have to worry about those troubles and could live happily, Yoshino would be willing to do anything.

Volume 1 [Lazy to Divide into Chapters]: Chapter 1358 [This plot twist was too cheap!]

While Yoshino was fishing for squid in Yuhaka, Yoshino was feeding the finches that came over. Under Yoshino's feeding, the finches gradually became bolder. Even when Yoshino touched them, they continued to peck at the feed on the ground. Some of the bolder finches even ran onto Yuhaka, as if they were using Yuhaka as a new means of transportation, just like those herbivorous dragons.

Yuhaka didn't care too much, provided that those feathered pheasants didn't poop on her, otherwise she would definitely get some small fried chicken nuggets.

After successfully catching the lily squid, Yuhaka took Yoshino back with him. Yoshino bid farewell to the feathered pheasants and then left with Yuhaka.

.................................................. ......................

Standing in front of Yuhaka's large villa in the Imaginary Space, Yoshino and Yoshina looked on with admiration. Although they had seen the big house when they first arrived in this space, it was too far away for them to get a good look before Yuhaka took them to the Coral Highlands to collect ingredients.

But now it seems that Yoshino and Yoshina also think that Yuhaka's house is super big. Yoshina turned to look at Yuhaka and said:

"Youyou-chan? Could it be that you're a rich person?"

Upon hearing Yoshina's words, Yuhaka looked at her with a puzzled expression, as if he didn't understand what Yoshina was talking about.

After Yhaka led Yoshino and the others into his home, they saw the simple decor. To put it bluntly, there wasn't much decoration. After all, Yhaka's house only had some furniture, and there were hardly any decorations. The only decoration was probably a small coral tree.

When Yuhka brought Yoshino and the others back, Tokisaki Kurumi and Honjou Nia also came out. Upon seeing strangers, Yoshino instinctively hid behind Yuhka, clearly appearing shy. Tokisaki Kurumi and Honjou Nia were not surprised by Yoshino's actions, as they were already familiar with the information on other Spirits, including Yoshino.

Upon seeing Yoshino, Honjou Nia's eyes lit up. After all, Yoshino's easy-to-bully appearance made Honjou Nia awaken her auntie tendencies. Well... in terms of age, Honjou Nia certainly fits that description.

However, in order not to scare Yoshino away, Nia Honjou had no choice but to keep her temper in check.