"Have a peach..."
Gwen leaned the long blade in his hand against a colorless chair, then took a peach from the fruit bowl in his office within the World Bubble and held it out to Yom.
"...Thank you."
Seeing the pink, plump, juicy peach in Gwen's palm—one glance enough to make her think of sweet juice and crisp flesh, making her mouth water instinctively—Yom accepted it and thanked him.
After carefully examining the peach, Yom followed some habit deep within her heart. She parted her lips slightly and bit into it.
Her pearly teeth sank in, and the full flesh fell into her mouth. Sweet juice, just as she had expected, flowed across her tongue, bringing Yom the happiness of satisfying her appetite.
Yet tears once again slid down from the corners of Yom's eyes.
Ignoring those tears, Yom simply ate the peach in her hand bite by bite.
By the time she reached the end, even Yom's table manners had somewhat ruined her aloof aura.
Sensing the sorrow emanating from the depths of Yom's soul, Gwen exchanged glances with Alicia and Eden. They shook their heads slightly and did nothing, merely waiting quietly for Yom to finish while leaving her some private space.
"..."
Mechanically repeating the motion of opening her mouth and biting down, Yom eventually bit into something different from the flesh—the pit—and finally came back to herself.
Blankly looking at the peach pit in her hand, Yom swept herself with Imaginary energy. The juice that had stained her face because of her earlier poor manners immediately vanished, and her damaged aloof demeanor was restored in an instant.
"My apologies. I lost my composure."
Yom apologized to the three of them, then turned her gaze toward Gwen and pursed her lips.
"And... thank you for the peach.