"Good for you, Nori. Now you have meat to feed your entire village."

"W-wha . . . WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!" Nori screamed at the top of her lungs, her mouth wide open, tears and snot streaming down her face.

"She's so happy that she's crying," Evie commented at the side while Ren crossed his hand and nodded.

"Solving your food crisis," Princess Lorelai answered Nori with a straight face. "No need to thank me."

"N-n-n-no . . ." Nori stuttered, visibly shaken by the turn of events. "K-killing a giant purple worm is bad enough, but to actually eat them . . ."

Nori took a mouthful of air before she let out another roar of indignation, red veins popping from her eyes.

"Giant Purple Worms," Nori declared with intensity in her voice, her eyes wide with horror and disbelief, "are revered as sacred creatures in these lands, ancient beings woven into the very fabric of this realm. They serve as one of the few sources of air that allowed living in this underworld! Killing one is not just a mere act; it is a crime against the natural balance, an offense punishable by the harshest of penalties –– death!

"To consume the flesh of a Giant Purple Worm," she continued, her voice quivering with genuine terror, "is to invite upon a curse, a curse that stretches across generations. It heralds a century of misfortune, a hundred years tainted by the wrath of the very forces that govern our existence in these forsaken lands."

"Oh, I'm surprised that this meat tastes delicious despite the ugly appearance of that worm," Elena remarked casually while expertly barbecuing the meat on a grill.

"Truly an exotic taste," Princess Lorelai nodded in agreement, savoring each bite with unexpected delight.

Ren and Evie chimed in, affirming the unexpected palatability of the Giant Purple Worm meat. To their astonishment, consuming it even granted them a temporary boost in agility, enhancing their speed for the next hour.

"Hoi! Are you even listening to me?!" Nori shouted at them. Her frustration was blowing over the roof. She almost came out of her skin from indignation. "And where did you even got that grilling pan?!"

Elena smirked. "Ehehehe. You'll be surprised that it's not just a grilling pan I brought. I have plenty more cooking tools. All kinds, really. Want to see?"

Nori's knees weakened, and she slumped onto the ground, realization hitting her hard. "This is impossible . . . surface dwellers really are idiots and shameless . . ."

"How rude," Princess Lorelai spat, a chunk of meat flying out from her mouth. She quickly wiped her lips and cleared her throat, regaining some of her poise back.

"Listen here, kid," she said seriously. "I believe that these sacred beings exist to serve their people. They are happy to make you happy, even if it means sacrificing their lives."

". . . R-really?" Nori stared at Lorelai with tear-strained, trembling eyes.

The Princess nodded and handed Nori a whole chunk of meat. "That's right. They want to serve you, and it's best to be served hot."

Nori was silent for a moment before she burst out crying. "WaaAh!"

"Hey, stop making it worse," Elena said and bumped the Princess to the side, taking over. "Allow me."

Elena dangled the piece of meat in front of Nori, the enticing aroma quickly capturing the hungry child's attention.

"Do you want it or not? They're tasty, you know. If you don't want it, then it's no problem for us. We'll just eat it all. But don't blame us afterward if you starve to death, mm-kay~?"

When Nori didn't budge, Elena got up and smiled evilly. "More for me then."

As Elena was about to leave, Nori grabbed her clothes with shaking hands and meekly said, "J-just . . . a little then."

Elena's lips curved, and her eye turned crescent. "What? I can't hear you?"

Ren gave her a whack. "Stop teasing the child and give it to her. The sooner she's fed, the sooner we leave."

Elena only stuck out her tongue while Ren handed the meat to Nori.

"Here. Eat it or throw it. I don't really care."

When the meat was finally in Nori's hands, she paused. It felt like a long, long time since the last time she ate, and tears welled in her eyes once more.

"Ah, Ren, you made her cry again," Elena said while rubbing her injured head.

Princess Lorelai shook her head and clicked her tongue. "What are you doing, Ren?"

Evie stifled a laugh behind her fingers and teased, "Bully . . ."

"Wha . . ." Ren's face went slightly red, and he was about to open his mouth to say something when Nori beat him to it.

"Thank you," she said, tears streaming down her face while she ate every chunk like there was no tomorrow. She was crying, sniffing, and hiccupping while eating, and the words that flowed out of her mouth were choked.

"It's been so long since I had last eaten meat. Though this is wrong . . . though this is a sacred creature . . . why does it taste so GoOoOdD?!"

"Really," Ren sighed and crossed his arms. "Make up your mind if you're going to eat or cry."

"For someone who's hungry, you sure are loud and energetic," Evie commented.

Princess Lorelai laughed. "The most delicious things are often the ones that aren't allowed to eat. Ahahaha."

"I don't think that's right," Ren deadpanned.

"Anyway, you speak like you haven't eaten meat in a long time," Elena chimed in.

Nori nodded, "Un . . . about a hundred years now."

. . .

. . .

HUH?!

"Are you kidding me?" Ren bellowed.

"Just how old are you?" Evie asked, her eyes wide with disbelief.

"That's not important! Rather, how are you even alive without food for so long?!" Elena questioned her hands on her hips.

Princess Lorelai only briefly stared at Nori and shook her head in pity. "Poor child," she said, her voice laced with sympathy. Then, she pointed at the meat on the grilling pan. "Are you going to eat that?"

Nori punched her own chest to dislodge the meat and gobbled down another piece, talking between bites.

"You surface dwellers probably don't know. Time here is different than on the surface, and demons and devils have an extremely long lifespan. Plus, we can survive on little food for years, you know?"