This is not the date I wanted.

It seemed as if she could imagine the scene of Erya lying alone on the sofa in the living room at night, eating snacks and drinking beer. Mengyue couldn't help but frown and sighed helplessly.

"Never mind...it's better than expected anyway."

The stench was rampant, cockroaches were lurking, and there was a pile of unwashed dishes in the sink - such a terrible scene did not happen, which was a blessing in disguise. Meng Yue comforted herself in this way while rolling up her sleeves.

"Hey!"

After wiping the stove, Shidao picked up the shopping bag. Fortunately, they bought a lot of things today with the purpose of replenishing the food at home, otherwise it would be really difficult for a good cook to cook without rice.

"Well... I was originally planning to make some simple home-cooked meals. But this kitchen doesn't even have a decent kitchen knife, so the ingredients I can handle are really limited."

Seeing that the vegetables and meat in the bag were basically useless, Meng Yue couldn't help but cross her arms and think deeply.

"How about miso porridge?"

Shidao suggested. It takes very little time to make, and it is light and easy to absorb, which is very suitable for Erya who is now on an empty stomach.

"Yeah, that's fine. Then I'll just...ah, there's only one pot."

Once again realizing the simplicity of Erya's kitchen, Meng Yue sighed and thought for a moment. She rearranged the ingredients in the shopping bag, took out a clean plastic bag, tore it open and spread it on the stove, and took out a few pieces of seaweed.

"I'll just make some rice balls. Shidou, don't add miso after the rice is cooked, give me some."

"learn."

After deciding on the dish, Shidao put the raw rice into a small pot, washed it, and then heated it to cook. After a few minutes, when the rice was steaming with a light fragrance, Shidao turned off the fire and scooped a few more spoonfuls of the cooked rice onto the plastic bag.

"Hey, Mengyue, can I ask you a question?"

Pour an appropriate amount of water into the pot again and heat it on low heat. Taking advantage of the break, Shidou said casually.

"Go ahead."

"Is Niya... an elf?"

"pretty close."

Meng Yue mixed the prepared sushi vinegar and rice and answered in a calm tone.

"It goes without saying that his appearance doesn't match his actual age. The spirit power of an elf will suppress aging. Although we can't draw a conclusion based on this alone, it is a coincidence that not long ago, an elf escaped from the DEM company with your help and hid in Tiangong City."

"I?"

Shidou was a little surprised.

"It's normal that you don't know. You lost your memory because you went berserk at that time. To be honest, your attack happened to hit the DEM transport ship flying over Tiangong City. I don't know if it was a coincidence or intentional."

After tearing the seaweed into pieces of appropriate size, Mengyue glanced at Shidao, washed her hands, and continued.

"This house has been uninhabited for a long time. Although considering Erya's sloppy personality, many rooms lack signs of life. And the comic magazines piled in the corridor are also wrong."

"What happened to the books?"

Shidou asked in confusion. Apart from feeling it was very messy, he didn't feel anything strange.

"The gap between dates."

Meng Yue explained.

"There's really no clue in those single volumes. But there's a big gap in the serialized weekly magazines. I took a quick look at it and found that most of the comics were from several years ago, but the latest one was this month. In other words, that guy was in an environment where he couldn't read comics for a long time. And this time coincides with the time when the elf escaped from DEM."

But having said that, such details are generally hard to notice except for people like Mengyue who love reading comics.

"That's it..."

After hearing Meng Yue's explanation, Shidao nodded in sudden realization.

"But Shidou, I'm surprised that you noticed Nia's abnormality. You've grown a lot without realizing it."

“Well, well…”

Shidao nodded somewhat guiltily. He just asked casually because he felt a little bit uncomfortable, but he didn't expect Mengyue to have thought so much about it from the beginning.

After coughing dryly, Shidou didn't dwell on this issue any longer and changed the subject.

"If Nia is an elf, shouldn't we contact Kotori first?"

"Not yet. After all, it's just our guess that Erya is an elf. If it's true, the best situation is to wait for Erya to confront us himself."

Meng Yue shook her head. If Niya was really an elf, then it would be hard to say that it was a coincidence that she fainted from hunger on the street and happened to meet Shidao who had the ability to seal elves and herself who was an elf.

"learn."

"Hey, are you done? I'm so hungry..."

Erya's wailing could be heard from outside the kitchen.

"It will be ready soon, just wait a moment."

After turning around and answering, Meng Yue shrugged and said.

"Anyway, let's feed that guy first."

"Feed me... That's true."

Hearing Mengyue's words, Shidao couldn't help but smile bitterly. But it was true that when they were at home, Mengyue and Shidao were the only ones who prepared meals for the elves in the kitchen. For them, this was something they were used to.

The two of them finished their work. Shidao added green onions, miso, and a little sake to the cooked rice porridge for seasoning, and finally beat an egg. Mengyue squeezed salad dressing and meat floss into the rice balls as fillings, and then wrapped them with seaweed and arranged them.

Although it's a bit monotonous, it's the best we can do due to limited time and conditions.

"Oooooh-ooooooh!"

While eating the food prepared by the two, Erya let out an incomprehensible exclamation.

“Delicious, so delicious!”

He finished the miso porridge in less than five minutes, and then started to chew the rice balls made by Mengyue in big mouthfuls. Erya was like a disaster victim who found a spring in the desert, and tears of emotion flowed from the corners of his eyes.

How long has this guy not eaten? Seeing Erya's exaggerated reaction, Meng Yue thought speechlessly.

But I cannot deny that as a chef, it is quite satisfying to see her enjoying his food.

"Ah - how happy. I haven't had such a warm meal for a week."

Touching his flat belly, Erya sighed with satisfaction.

"Thank you for the treat. Young man, Bilijiang, please allow me to take off my clothes to express my gratitude."

"Wait, wait a minute! Why did it come to the point of taking off clothes?"

Shidou shouted hurriedly at Nia who started to take off her coat as soon as she finished speaking.

"Hmm? In comics, it's common sense to take off your clothes after eating a dish to show how delicious it is."

"Don't confuse comics with reality!"

"Pah!" Meng Yue said unhappily as she pulled out the paper fan and slapped Erya on the head without hesitation.

"In reality, doing this is just pure nymphomaniac."

"Hmm... that's an exaggeration, Bili-chan. Shouldn't people have some dreams?"

Although it didn't hurt much, Erya still touched his head and said in a wronged manner.

"Is your dream to go to the police station and eat pork chop rice?"

"I'm sorry. I was just kidding!"

Seeing Mengyue picking up the phone and preparing to dial a number, Erya decisively sat down on the bed and apologized.

Maybe the two of them got along surprisingly well. Shidao smiled bitterly, picked up the dishes and walked towards the kitchen.

"Then after you wash the dishes, we'll go back. Next time, remember to eat well before you starve."

"I left some rice balls in the kitchen. If you're still hungry later, you can eat those. If that doesn't work, you'll have to order takeout."

"Ah, wait a minute!"

Just as Mengyue and Shidao stood up and prepared to leave the room, Niya suddenly called them.

"What's wrong? Is there anything else?"

Shidou asked in confusion.

"No, no. As I said earlier, I don't have an assistant, so the deadline is a little bit close. So can you stay and help me? Just simple work will do. I will pay you!"

As he spoke, Erya pointed to the comic manuscript on his workbench.

"Eh? No, no! I have never touched a manuscript like this before. I can't take the responsibility if it gets dirty."

Shidou quickly waved his hand to refuse.

"OK! Stay a little longer then."

"Meng Yue?"

Shidao looked at Mengyue in surprise. The other party hinted at him to agree quickly.

Yes, if Erya is really an elf, then it is very likely that he wants to convey some message and deliberately wants to keep us.

After figuring out Meng Yue's intentions, Shidou hesitated for a moment before he exhaled and muttered softly.

"I understand... If it's just a simple life..."

"Just erasing the pencil lines, of course."

Seeing Shidou nod, Niya, who was lying on the bed, quickly replied, and then raised her hands and cheered.

"Great! As expected of Bilijiang, the answer is so straightforward."

"It's okay. I also want to see the manuscript as soon as possible."

Meng Yue shrugged and replied with a smile.

"Besides, the only one who agreed to help was Shidou, not me."

"puff--!"

Shidou almost tripped over the comics on the ground. He looked at Mengyue who looked as if it had nothing to do with him, and his eyes widened in surprise.

Oh my god, Mengyue, you actually betrayed me.

"I see. Then young man, come and get to work."

"Wait--"

Before Shidou could say anything, Niya jumped off the bed and pulled Shidou into her studio. Compared with her bedroom, this place was obviously much more spacious. There were many painting tools and art books placed inside, and it also had a more professional atmosphere.

Seeing this, Shidou began to get nervous.

"Young man, please sit there."

"Oh……"

It was too late to regret now, so Shidou sighed and obediently sat on the workbench that Niya pointed to.

"Let me be clear, it's just a scratch."

"It's okay! I know."

Niya waved her hand to show her understanding, put on her glasses, and handed Shidou several manuscripts that had already been traced.

"Then young man, erase the draft a little, and then paint the areas marked with × black."

"You didn't hear what I just said!"

Shidou said that he wanted to overturn the table and leave.

"It's okay. There's not much difference in difficulty between the two jobs. Anyone with good hands can do it. Just paint the details with a fine brush first, and then use a thick brush to finish the rest."

"It would be strange if there was no difference! It's okay to scratch the line, but can you really leave it to a newbie like me to paint it black?!"

"No problem. Although this is just my guess, young man, you have used painting tools before, right?"

“…! Why, why did you say that suddenly…”

Hearing Nia's words, Shidou's body suddenly stiffened, and he looked away and spoke vaguely.

Seeing Shidou's honest reaction, Niya's mouth curled up slightly.

"Young man, do you know that people who don't know anything about comics don't call 'erasing something with an eraser' 'erasing lines' or 'black parts' 'blackening'?"

Shidou held his breath for a moment.

"That's probably what happened. When I was in junior high school, I drew characters specifically to perfect my own original characters. I know, I just drew them in pencil on a notebook at first, but then one day I saw pens and inks specifically for drawing comics in a stationery store, and I couldn't help but want to give it a try."

"!? Ah, no, I..."