Anime, infinite dimension starting from Mahou no Yakumo

"...Can I...?...Yes, can I...eat?" the girl asked in disbelief.

"Of course I can, otherwise why would I do all this? But seeing that you've been sitting still and not saying a word, I figured you might not be hungry yet, so I waited a little longer."

However, the girl didn't react when she heard him say that.

Even in this quiet room, you could clearly hear the sound of her swallowing and the rumbling of her hungry stomach.

But she still didn't move; instead, she restrained herself and hugged her legs tightly.

And so, the two remained locked in a stalemate for a while, until the girl seemed unable to hold on any longer and finally asked:

"...Do you have any...requests?...Yes, do you want to hit me? Or do you want to...do something else...Stabbing me is fine too...but could you be gentler...If possible, I...don't want to be used as...experimental weapons...it hurts."

Now it was Mahiro's turn to be speechless.

What has this child been through...? Is it hell?

He sighed helplessly.

"Why would I use you to do these things? I told you from the beginning that I wouldn't hurt you."

This was the third time he had repeated this phrase.

This time, however, the girl responded even faster than before.

"Because...I am a Gastrea...."

As if to remind him, she slowly raised her head, meeting his gaze for the first time, revealing her crimson eyes without reservation.

"Gastrea? Although I haven't encountered one directly, I've seen quite a few pictures and videos in the last two days. Without a doubt, you're not a Gastrea, but a human. You're quite a cute girl... provided you're clean first, hmm."

Makoto crossed his arms and began to seriously comment on the girl.

Although he looked disheveled, with his hair like weeds and even tangled in many places, there was no doubt that the child was indeed quite cute and had delicate features.

However, after giving his comments, he couldn't help but joke:

"Could it be that you, like Saya, have altered my cognitive processes? That you can see me, a Gastrea, as a human?"

Clearly, the girl didn't understand his joke from "Saya no Uta".

Instead, she looked at him with some hesitation.

"I...am human...?"

She could hardly believe it, let alone being called cute.

I remember those people; they called themselves ugly monsters...

There's nothing we can do about it; after all, she's been called a Gastrea so many times that she's come to believe she's not human.

Just like the Goebbels effect, if repeated thousands of times, even a lie can become the truth.

At the same time, the words of countless people will greatly accelerate this process.

"Sigh, no doubt about it. According to animal classification, you are a genuine human, the same species as me. Or do you think I'm not human either?"

"No...no..."

The girl quickly shook her head.

How could such a handsome older brother not be human? Rather, I, being so filthy, am unworthy of such high praise.

"Alright, let's discuss philosophical and biological questions later. If you don't eat soon, the food will get cold."

"...Why...?"

The girl didn't move, but instead murmured as if choking back tears, "...Why...why are you so good to me...?"

She has been constantly plagued by malice and verbal abuse.

For the first time in my life, I was treated so gently and spoken to so kindly.

Even her own mother had never been so gentle with her, calling her a monster and eventually abandoning her on the street to fend for herself.

"Why? That's a good question."

Mahiro thought about it for a moment seriously, "If I had to say, there's no special reason, it's just simple sympathy."

"Sympathy?"

"Yes, just like when people see cats and dogs on the street, they can't help but feed them, right? Let alone a little girl who has suffered a tragedy. I'm sorry, I can't just stand by and watch without doing anything."

It was just like my first encounter with Kisara Tendo.

He could have simply ignored it and walked away, but in the end, he couldn't help but step in to help.

"......"

The girl found it hard to understand his words, or rather, he seemed to be completely different from those adults.

He's like a weirdo.

As a result, she lowered her guard a little.

Slowly, he stood up from the corner and walked unsteadily toward the coffee table.

"Oh ho, want to eat now? But it's not quite time yet."

As the girl approached the coffee table, she eagerly reached for the rice. Just as she was about to touch it, she could feel the intense heat in her fingertips, but Mahiro grabbed her wrist.

"....ah!"

The girl's eyes immediately filled with terror, or rather, there was nothing but fear in them. She struggled violently, trying to break free and escape!

But due to hunger, he was too weak to resist.

"do not move!"

Mahiro used a little force and said, "It's not like I'm not letting you eat, but how can you eat with such dirty hands? Come wash your hands with me first!"

That's right.

He cares a lot about hygiene.

Making the girl eat without taking a shower is already the limit of my tolerance.

You can't not even wash your hands.

So, ignoring her objections, he forcibly took the girl to the sink and turned on the tap to wash her.

As the dark sewage gradually flowed into the sewer and the hand sanitizer level gradually dropped, the girl's hands were finally cleaned.

Her small, delicate hands, free of any scars, fair and flawless, looked just like those of a wealthy young lady.

But that's just a figure of speech.

That was simply due to the powerful healing ability of the gastroenteritis, which kept the girl's hands in perfect condition.

However, the girl, who had been forced to wash her hands, felt unsure of what to do with them, fearing that she would get them dirty again.

He stood there awkwardly, seemingly waiting for his next instruction.

"Alright, you don't need to stand here anymore, go and eat."

Upon receiving the order, the girl's crimson eyes flickered, finally revealing a glimmer of light—a longing for food.

Even after receiving his permission, she staggered back to the table and grabbed rice with her hands, putting it directly into her mouth.

The moment she took the food, her red eyes widened and sparkled with a strange light.

Delicious...

This is the best food she has ever eaten in her life!

Ignoring whether the rice underneath was hot, he grabbed it and shoved it into his mouth.

So much so that no other side dishes are needed; they just cling to that bowl of rice.

Mahiro didn't say anything, but occasionally picked up a few pieces of food with his chopsticks and put them into the girl's bowl.

Only then would she wolf down the rice and vegetables together.

In less than a minute, the girl finished eating, even drinking the bowl of soup he had just served her.

Clearly, such a small amount of food was far from enough to fill her stomach, which had been empty for so long.

However, Mahiro didn't intend to serve the girl a second bowl; after all, she had been hungry for so long, and eating too much at once would make her burst...

Perhaps the cursed child's constitution is so strong that he doesn't need to consider such things, but he also doesn't need to gamble on them.

After finishing her meal, the girl stood there blankly, becoming dazed again, as if waiting for her fate.

This was the first time she had ever eaten such delicious food, and she felt that even if it were her last meal, it wouldn't matter.

After all, being able to eat such delicious food was already a fulfilling life for her, and she dared not ask for anything more.

"....Thanks....."

The girl bent down to express her gratitude, feeling that she had to do so, and thus uttered the word "thank you" for the first time in her life.

She never imagined that she would use that word on someone else in her lifetime.

"You're welcome, but you haven't eaten normally for a long time, so you can only eat this much at a time. Is that alright?"

"No problem... What's next? Are you going to start hitting me?"

"...?"

The girl's sudden question startled him slightly.

"If possible... could you wait a moment before hitting me? I don't want to throw up this delicious food. It's okay if you kill me afterwards, I won't run away, okay?"

The girl became even more flustered as she said those words, her tone even conveying a pleading tone, as if she were prepared to die.

For some reason, a strong feeling of suffocation, as if unable to breathe, arose in Mahiro's heart.

Such a young child, just to save the food in his stomach, uttered words of despair...

To be honest, for a moment, Makoto didn't know how to respond to the girl.

If there were cigarettes, he would even want to smoke one; it was just too oppressive.

Has anyone ever seen such a messed-up, dog-shit world?

Anyway, he had never seen anything like it. Even the darkest Fourth Research Institute had never been this dark.

After a long while, and after the girl had been staring at him for a long time, Mahiro finally composed himself and asked:

"Now that we can communicate, can you tell me your name? Or do you not have a name?"

"....have."

"what is it call?"

The girl's lips parted slightly, as if she hesitated, then closed tightly again after a moment, as if she couldn't say it.

After repeating this process several times, a barely audible sound finally emerged.

"...Ren...Ren...sheng...Zhaoxia..."

"Rinsheng morning glow..."

Upon hearing this name, Mahiro's first thought was of the katana-wielding loli who followed a bald man in an anime.

Could it be her...?

Thinking about it that way, they do look somewhat similar, especially that long, black hair that almost reaches their waist...

Moreover, it seems he has a special connection with the surname Mibu. The first person in the original world to reach home base was Mibu, and now he's encountered another Mibu.

However, whether they are truly destined to be together depends on the girl's choice next.

Mahiro suddenly sat up, startling the girl, who involuntarily shrank her shoulders, thinking he was about to attack.

But as promised, she did not retreat a single step and stood there firmly.

However, the expected punches or kicks did not come; instead, a question was asked.

"Little Rensheng, do you want to stay?"

"ah....?"

Mibu Asaka seemed unable to understand the meaning of the sentence, and made a blank sound.

"What I mean is, I'm short of someone to help me clean, so if you want to stay, you could help me clean up from time to time."

"Of course, if you don't want to, you can turn around and leave. I won't make things difficult for you, and I certainly won't hit you."