The witches' relationships grew ever closer in the lounge.
Witches after training were exceptionally easy to get along with. Perhaps training had already worn away their terrifying desire and interest in battle, leaving behind only calm, joke-taking, highly sociable [surface witches].
They fostered close friendships, and the ritual that served as proof of it was this:
"Tonight's late-night snack—let's each make one specialty dish and share it, shall we?"
Cooking was an important part of witch socializing.
Although they were apex omnivores who could even eat carrion, gnaw on sand and soil, chew minerals, and gulp down several liters of seawater at once to replenish both moisture and salt, their pursuit of fine food could be traced all the way back to the era of the oldest witches.
Back in those days, when meat boiled in plain water counted as a delicacy, the first historically verifiable document recorded by the oldest Eastern witch group stated:
[Xu entered the forest and chanced upon an item. Its taste was sweet. She divided it into two or three portions.]
Through a certain [witch-specific archaeological method], the Eastern witches learned that their ancestor had discovered honey, plums, and peppercorns—three resources in total, though witch magic had altered the earth's veins and caused foods that should not have existed to appear. They had been made into a sauce and shared among the other witches in the group.
Sharing food was a social custom common to witches of both East and West.
Naturally, Jiang Han responded. She also wanted to see what dishes Ovi and the others would make.
She herself planned to make a classic tofu fish soup, so she called out loudly:
"Is anyone else making soup?"
Chen Ligu raised her hand.
"I'm making grated daikon with orange vinegar, oven-roasted beef short ribs with