Broom Star 3

"...Your question is really strange."

Maza didn't answer my question immediately, but it wasn't like she didn't understand the meaning of the question correctly.

My question was clearly beyond her expectations, to the point where she seemed to want to hide her surprise, but reacted too slowly, allowing me to catch the change in her facial expression.

It looked like she intended to play dumb... no, it probably wasn't that she intended to play dumb. Perhaps from her perspective, I couldn't possibly ask such a question, as transmigration novel culture would likely not be popular in the doomsday era. So she was probably doubting if she misunderstood my words.

Seeing this, I explained in detail why I asked the question just now.

After listening, she slowly calmed her expression and then fell into thought.

After a long while, she finally responded, "I'm sorry, I can't answer your question. Because even I haven't figured out what's going on."

"How can that be?" I was completely bewildered. "Was it your physical body that transmigrated, or only your soul? Isn't that something you can figure out immediately? The former or the latter, it should be very clear, right?"

"You're right, but..." she mused.

I quickly realized. Yes, generally speaking, whether one's own body had been replaced by another, one wouldn't even need to look in a mirror to know; they could sense it with their eyes closed. There was only one situation where the person involved would "not be able to figure it out."

"Can I understand it this way... the body you are currently using is very similar to your original body, as if it hasn't been replaced at all, but there are some subtle differences that make you suspicious?"

"...I can't say more for now." Her attitude was very guarded.

I retorted, "Didn't you say you would answer my question in exchange for food?"

Hearing this, her expression became a little conflicted. Unfortunately, after struggling, she still maintained her guard.

But this didn't seem like a guard against me learning extra information, but rather a guard against her question dragging me into something.

She had shown similar emotions many times before. Perhaps the changes that happened to her were so strange and unknown that she didn't want anyone else to get too involved until she was completely sure it was safe. From her perspective, this approach was understandable. According to her own account, she had, more than once, unknowingly dragged others into the disasters she brought with her, causing her to become suspicious and jumpy, with any slight disturbance touching her sensitive nerves.

"Alright... then at least answer me this, where did your handgun come from?" I could only change the question. "You can't possibly say you don't know about this too, can you?"

"I can answer this." Her expression relaxed slightly. "I stole it from the department responsible for maintaining local order."

"You stole it from the police station?" I was surprised. "Why would you risk stealing it?"

"My initial purpose wasn't to steal weapons." She explained calmly. "When I first arrived in this era yesterday, I knew nothing about my surroundings and desperately needed information to grasp whether my current situation was safe, but I didn't know where to investigate. After thinking about it, I simply infiltrated the place that maintained local order."

"You dared to infiltrate that kind of place right away... you're really bold enough to defy the heavens..." I looked at her with newfound respect.

"Since it's a place that maintains order, it must have the most knowledge about potential dangers in the area. Investigating there would be the most efficient." Her matter-of-fact attitude revealed a lawless aura. "Besides, my 'Blessing' is unmatched in escape, so if anything happened, I could transfer in time."

I felt the most efficient method should be to find an internet cafe, but I wasn't sure if she even knew how to use the internet.

"And then, you stumbled upon the room where guns and ammunition were kept while investigating, and just took it?" I asked curiously. "The official forces are hunting you now, were you discovered during your infiltration?"

"...Yes, I wasn't familiar with the security measures of this era, so..." she admitted reluctantly, seeming embarrassed that her infiltration was discovered.

I continued to inquire, "This morning you said that the reason you can't use your superpower now is because you forced yourself to use it after arriving in this era, ignoring your soul's trauma, was it to escape the pursuit of the official forces?"

"...No." She pursed her lips. "It's inconvenient for me to tell you the specific reason."

Although she didn't intend to tell me, she also didn't intend to lie to me. Perhaps the real reason was related to her lying covered in blood at the abandoned construction site. She likely judged that the real reason belonged to the category of "disasters that would bring me danger."

Doesn't this make me want to know even more?

I knew this couldn't be rushed, so I could only say something else: "Well... so, when I was talking to the police this morning, the reason you immediately understood that the serial killer the police were looking for was you, wasn't because you were actually that serial killer..."

"I have already learned about the basic public security situation of this era. 'A little girl wandering around with a real gun,' who else could it be? I confirmed this with you afterward." She said, a puzzled expression appearing on her face, and she touched her stomach again. "I just don't understand why I would be considered a serial killer."

So I was tricked by her at that time, and I didn't even know it.

I had underestimated her.

However, perhaps the questioning should stop here. She was still hungry.

I walked to the sofa, picked up the remote, turned on the TV, and said to her, "Let's stop here for now. You watch TV in the living room for a while, and I'll make you food soon."

"I understand."

Her gaze was immediately attracted by the colorful program on the screen, but she didn't show any novelty or surprise towards the television set itself.

I secretly observed her reaction, keeping it in mind, then turned and walked into the kitchen.

It was just a simple fried rice made by mixing various ingredients, and it didn't take me too much time. I was just worried if it might be too oily and salty, burdening her stomach. Should I add more rice to reduce the proportion of oil, salt, and ingredients? But she said her body was fine...

Never mind, I'll trust her for now.

Besides, if her stomach has problems later, I'll have an excuse to let her stay at my place for a few more days.

With this thought, I unhesitatingly increased the proportion of ingredients in the fried rice, and even went back to get some bibimbap sauce from the refrigerator to add more to the fried rice.

Soon, I walked out of the kitchen with two plates of deluxe fried rice.

And Maza, perhaps smelling the aroma of fried rice coming from the kitchen, had moved her gaze away from the TV program at some point, looking up expectantly in my direction.

As the saying goes, hunger is the best seasoning. Moreover, if she was truly born in a doomsday world with severe food shortages, her defenses against delicious food might be much lower than people who lived in peaceful times.

I heard that in the last century, when material conditions were not so abundant, even instant noodles were considered rare and luxurious delicacies, whereas nowadays, instant noodles are already considered quite mediocre in the eyes of the public.

I beckoned Maza to sit at the dining table, then placed one plate of deluxe fried rice in front of her and put a spoon into her hand.

She held the spoon, staring blankly at the deluxe fried rice, completely still.

"You can eat now." I reminded her. "Be careful, it's hot."

"Huh? Oh..." She was jolted awake but still stared intently at the fried rice.

After a good while, she swallowed, then picked up her spoon, scooping rice mixed with the side dishes and bringing it to her mouth, chewing slowly.

I stood by the table, silently watching her every move.

Halfway through chewing, she seemed to notice my gaze, frowned, and looked up, asking suspiciously, "Why are you staring at me? Aren't you eating?"

Hearing this, I picked up my own plate, took a bite of the fried rice, and said, "I just want to hear your evaluation."

"It's delicious," she replied demurely, then continued eating.

I had been expecting her to exclaim in surprise like a resident from another world encountering modern barbecue in a fantasy novel, but it seems I was overthinking it.

However, slowly, I noticed the corners of her mouth curve upwards slightly. Her entire body, which had been tense like a wary wild animal, gradually relaxed by more than half, and her knees, hidden beneath the table, began to shake slightly.

Her attention was entirely focused on the fried rice, her spoon moving faster and faster.

"Don't eat too fast, chew a few more times, be careful of indigestion," I finally couldn't help but remind her.

"Mm-hmm..." She nodded, eyes fixed on the food, slightly slowing her eating pace.

As she ate, a smile of pure happiness unconsciously bloomed on her face, her complexion becoming rosy.

Honestly, what was I even reminding her about?

But at this moment, she truly looked like a young girl in her prime, not the wary and indifferent transmigrator who feared being hurt by others and feared hurting others herself.

I had never considered how to make her smile, nor had I ever imagined that she would show such an expression.

This was the first time I had ever seen her smile.

I sat down opposite her and watched her eat for a long while. For me, this might be an unnecessary emotion, one that would hinder my actions when I needed to be cruel to her. But such a lovely smile, looking at it a few more times wouldn't bring divine retribution, right?