In a cave in the snowy mountains at night, Sigurd brought a bowl of noodle soup with beaten eggs and diced ham and placed it in front of Kiana.

"Here, eat."

The boy looked at her with a cold and disdainful gaze, as if looking at trash, and said maliciously.

Rubbing her reddened cheeks, Kiana, who had been staring at Sigurd with teary eyes one moment and then showed a flattering smile the next, accepted the bowl of noodles with a face-licking expression.

"Thank you, Sigurd! Sigurd is so nice!"

Slurp!

That was the sound of happily eating noodles—using a fork designed for children. It was perfectly normal for Westerners not to use chopsticks.

Seeing Kiana obediently eating the noodles, Sigurd turned his head and continued to think about what he was considering earlier.

Right, in the previous chapter's ending, I was thinking about leaving Kiana...

"Sigurd, I'm done. Give me another bowl!"

Sigurd's face turned gloomy as he turned around.

He saw the silver-haired girl with greasy lips holding an empty bowl that was clean and without a single drop of soup left. She stared at him with her blue eyes, filled with "delicious" and "want more."

"Serve it yourself. If you can't wait, you can just take the pot."

"Oh my! Sigurd, what are you saying? I'm a lady, I won't do something so impolite... Give me a cloth, this pot is a bit hot, I'll pick it up directly and burn my hand."

Looking at the pair of chubby hands reaching out in front of him, Sigurd took a deep breath, lowered his head, and revealed a kind smile.

Instead of handing her a cloth, he offered a pair of dead fish eyes filled with danger and darkness.

And then he grabbed those chubby little hands.

"Come on, it's actually not hot. Who needs a cloth? Just pick it up. What? You don't believe me? It's fine, I'll show you personally."

Sigurd said in a very friendly manner, matching those malicious dead fish eyes, resembling a scene from a horror movie with a deranged killer.

Kiana immediately broke out in a cold sweat but still tried to maintain her composure.

"Sigurd! Calm down, just calm down! Don't do anything crazy, I'm not someone you can easily bully... Ah! Stop it, stop it! It's getting too close! That place is off-limits! I'm sorry! I'm sorry, isn't that enough!?"

In the split second before he was about to place those chubby little hands onto the pot, Sigurd stopped.

"What did you do wrong?"

"I- I- It's- it's- Bougainvillea Island-"

"Don't act cute."

"Oh."

Sigurd let go of Kiana's hands, picked up a bowl, served the noodles, and handed it to Kiana.

Then, in the relieved expression on Kiana's face, Sigurd spoke slowly.

"First, you did wrong by disturbing my thoughts. It's not just for me, but for anyone who is seriously working, it is impolite to disturb them. Try to avoid doing it, understand?"

"I understand, I know."

"You answer so readily, are you just placating me?"

"No, no, I'm really listening attentively!"

Kiana held the bowl and defended herself with her head held high.

Sigurd stared at her for a moment and continued.

"I'll assume you're really listening. Second, it's impolite to wolf down your food. Broadly speaking, any behavior that lacks restraint and is excessively indulgent is an uncivilized act. I know modern people often talk about liberating their nature, freedom of personality, and all that, but nature and freedom are different from having manners."

In Kiana's half-understanding and bewildered expression, Sigurd took out a clean cloth and wiped away the grease from the corners of her mouth. Then he continued.

"In our lives, we come into contact with a great many people, and only a few can truly understand and accept us. This applies to everyone. The way strangers look at you and treat you depends on your image. And your image comes half from your appearance and half from your manners."

"I believe you will be outstanding in appearance, now and in the future. But manners come from restraining your words and actions in front of strangers, even those you dislike. It sounds easy but is difficult to practice. But I hope you can do it because good manners are essential to becoming... well, forget it. Just remember not to go straight for the pot when eating."

Kiana's eyes began to spin, clearly indicating that she didn't quite grasp the deeper teachings and cultivation. Sigurd realized his temple was throbbing, a sensation akin to playing the zither for cows.

Considering that Kiana had already shouldered many burdens, perhaps it was more important for her to live wilfully, freely, and happily.

"Sigh."

Watching Kiana blissfully enjoy her noodles, completely engrossed in the meal, Sigurd let out a soft sigh. Well, let it be. We have a long way to go, and I'll figure out how to educate her later.

Slurp!

"So delicious!"

Using two words that give him a strong sense of déjà vu as her closing remark, Kiana patted her slightly bulging belly, her face glowing with happiness.

Sigurd threw the bowl and fork into the pot, covered them with snow, and placed them back on the fire to boil away the greasiness.

Then he patted Kiana's head, signaling her to stay alert, and said:

"I haven't asked how you're feeling now, if there's any discomfort anywhere?"

"I feel great, actually. I think I even have a bit more strength, but it's probably just my imagination, right?"

Kiana replied with a cheerful smile.

But Sigurd felt that it might not be an illusion. Perhaps the active Honkai energy had also strengthened Kiana's young body. However, his understanding of Honkai energy was still in a stage of unfamiliarity, so he couldn't determine whether this change was good or bad.

Sigurd pushed that thought to the back of his mind and asked, "So, what did your investigation reveal? Did you find any signs of human presence? Or did you see any other notable landmarks?"

"No- Oh! Well, if you insist, there were some strange-looking mountains in that direction. They seemed like they had been blasted apart by some kind of cannon, with peculiar shapes."

"Which means, there wasn't much to find. It's a bit troublesome because if we can't find any signs, it's hard to determine the direction to proceed."

Sigurd muttered to himself, knowing deep down that those strange mountains might not be as strange as they appeared. They could have been destroyed by either Kiana or Siegfried.

Honkai energy truly was a miraculous and dangerous power.

However, if that was the case, at least they hadn't strayed too far from their original path. Finding the correct direction to go shouldn't be too difficult. Plus, Sigurd had prepared enough supplies, so he didn't need to worry too much about getting lost or running out of provisions.

Just then, Kiana suddenly looked at him with a puzzled expression.

"Huh? Since that uncle who saved us has been here, why didn't you ask him for directions?"

Sigurd leaned back, looking up at the sky.

Indeed, how could he forget to ask Siegfried for directions?

"I forgot."

Sigurd replied honestly.

Kiana clapped her hands and laughed, saying, "You called me a dumbass, but it seems like you're the dumbass here!"

"...Go to sleep."

Sigurd had no words to retort, so he simply said those two words.

As for Kiana's teasing, well, it was indeed his mistake, so let her laugh.

Kiana seemed to have a different opinion about Sigurd's suggestion. She bent her legs and hugged her knees, tilting her head to look at Sigurd, and said, "I just woke up, I don't want to sleep. What should we do?"

"...Actually, I'm not sleepy either."

After Siegfried's reminder, Sigurd understood that his clear-mindedness wasn't just a result of the fever subsiding. It was the result of Honkai energy strengthening his body.

In the few days since their arrival, this was the time when his physical and mental state was at its best, with no signs of drowsiness.