Claw Mark's Lunch

The Material Realm was once a vibrant place covered by oceans and green fields.

However, due to a cataclysmic event long ago, the landscape of the Material Realm underwent tremendous changes. The oceans shrank, the land shifted, and now, only vast, lifeless Wasteland cover the surface of the Material Realm.

There is no ordinary vegetation here, only some plants adapted to the extreme water scarcity struggling to survive; there are no decent animal communities, only insects digging for food and small creatures that hunt these insects for survival, and basically no native large animals can be seen.

Worst of all, even with such a deplorable environment, countless, even barren Aberrant Beast still roam this cursed land, devouring everything in sight, living or dead, like harvesters, repeatedly reaping and licking the barren soil.

No human could survive here. Anyone who dared to conquer this endless Wasteland was considered a fool, and most of them ended up in the mouths of Aberrant Beast. To survive, people had no choice but to gather in cities for warmth and eventually, with the help of the Kingdom, they built cities and relied on them for survival.

Of course, these things are all ancient stories for this boundless Wasteland.

On a high slope far from human cities, deep in the heart of the Wasteland, a white castle suddenly rose up.

The castle was like something out of a fairy tale—pure white, orderly, and magnificent. Around the castle was a vast grassland, and even a small human village. Some people lived in this paradise-like land, farming, herding, raising livestock, and living a peaceful and prosperous life.

If someone were to ask these humans where they came from and how they established such a business here, the answer would most likely be the same: they did not build the castle; they were simply stranded in the Wasteland and were taken in and sheltered by the castle's owner.

These humans mostly came from various human cities, leaving for the Wasteland for a variety of reasons. Some were in debt, committed crimes, or offended powerful figures; others tried to reach other cities in small armored vehicles from the black market, only to encounter natural disasters or man-made calamities along the way; still others couldn't survive in their original cities and wanted to commit suicide... Undoubtedly, most humans who entered the Wasteland would not live to see this castle, but there would always be a lucky few who would stumble upon it by chance. As the number of such people increased, a village gradually formed.

Of course, there are also those who leave the city and enter the Wasteland simply to seek excitement and adventure, but these people are also unwilling to live under the protection of this castle. Most of them regard this place as a rest stop, where they will rest and replenish their supplies before leaving again, and most of them never return.

As for why the castle's owners would kindly shelter these humans, the people living here weren't really sure. However, there was one reason that made them believe, or convince themselves to believe, that the castle's owners were a group of magical girls.

That's right. Although it sounds strange, there is a group of magical girls who do not live in human cities or Magic Kingdom at all. Instead, they went to the Wasteland to build a castle and live there.

Since they are magical girls, their protection of humans must stem from kindness and compassion, taking in these poor souls out of pity for ordinary people... right?

"Ugh, this tastes awful! No, lately the milk produced in the village has been getting thinner and thinner. It has no flavor at all and smells awful. This isn't milk at all; it's cow urine!"

Inside the towering castle, in a bright hall resembling a dining room, a girl with brown curly hair, the ends slightly yellowed, slammed her cup heavily on the table, her face full of reproach. "Are these villagers even working properly? I feel like Semi could do a better job farming and raising cattle than these lazybones!"

"What do you mean by saying I could do a better job than them?"

Sitting across the long table, the Black Cat Fairy, who had been grooming itself, looked up at the sound, its expression one of surprise. "When did I fall so low as to have to be your slave?"

No, that's not what I meant.

Seeing that it seemed a little unhappy, the brown-haired girl shook her head and explained, "I just wanted to say that you, as Fairy, do farm work better than them. After all, I've eaten the oranges you grew before, and they tasted pretty good."

"Oh, so you're talking about the fruit I grow."

Semi nodded upon hearing this. "Of course! I've lived in the Interrealm for so many years, I definitely know more about how to grow things in this godforsaken place than they do... Wait, that's not right, I've never let you taste any of the oranges I grew, have I? How do you know what they taste like?"

"Ah."

What does 'ah' mean?

"I forgot, didn't you give it to me yourself?" The girl blinked innocently.

"I absolutely didn't give it to you! You clearly ate it yourself, didn't you? You fat bastard!" Semi screamed.

"Huh? What did you call me? You stinky cat!"

Upon hearing Semi's insults, the girl immediately became angry. "Where am I fat? I've already told you I just like to eat, I'm not fat at all, okay?"

Strictly speaking, the girl's figure is indeed quite far from "obese." Although her face is visibly chubby and her exposed arms are relatively fleshy, she can only be described as "plump" rather than "obese."

"Fat woman, fat woman, fat woman, fat woman!"

However, Semi didn't have time to argue about such definitions. Instead, he repeated himself repeatedly, slamming his paw on the table. "Give me back my oranges! You thief!"

"... Ah, good, very good."

The girl remained silent for a long time, then suddenly let out a cold laugh, "You asked for this."

After saying that, she conjured a pot from somewhere, snapped her fingers, and the pot instantly filled with water. Then, she pointed sharply in Semi's direction, and a huge magical hand grabbed Semi, who was not far away, and threw him into the pot full of water.

After doing all this, she pressed the pot lid up, lit a fire under the pot, and stood aside to start chopping vegetables that she didn't know where they came from.

"What are you doing! You bastard!" Semi scratched frantically at the locked pot lid in terror.

"Soup." The girl chuckled sinisterly, "I've always wanted to know what soup made with Fairy would taste like!"

"Stop! You're murdering your comrade!"

Semi called out for a while, but seeing that the girl still didn't respond, he had to soften his tone. "You can't really do that, can you? I don't want your oranges back, I'll forgive you this time, okay?"

But the girl showed no intention of giving up.

So Semi could only pound on the pot lid and scream, "Hey, Golden Snake! Stop just standing there and watch, come save me!"

Its scream woke up another girl who was lying on a chair nearby.

The girl called "Golden Snake" was originally wearing an eye patch, seemingly asleep, with her long golden twin tails trailing on the ground. After hearing Semi's scream, she reluctantly and silently pulled off the eye patch, revealing a pair of lifeless, dead fish eyes staring wearily at the restaurant ceiling.

"... You guys are so noisy."

She opened her mouth, her voice slightly hoarse, and said, "Can't you just let me catch up on some sleep?"

Is now the time to catch up on sleep?

Semi shouted, "Help me! I'm about to be boiled alive by that idiot Brown Pelican!"

Upon hearing this, the Golden Snake finally propped itself up as a symbolic act, looked at the scene not far away with a weary expression, and after confirming that the "live cooking" in front of it was not a hallucination, rolled its eyes slightly.

"... Good riddance."

After saying that, she pulled her eye mask back up and lay back down.

"Hey! Golden Snake!"

Semi's screams suddenly became even more pitiful.

Fortunately, there's always a way out. Just when Semi was about to despair about his situation, the restaurant door not far away suddenly opened.

Immediately afterwards, three figures walked in with uneven steps.

Leading the way was a girl dressed in a pure white princess gown, with long, fluffy light purple hair and a strikingly kind smile on her face, looking quite pitiful.

Parallel to her was a girl dressed in a jet-black school uniform, with her black hair tied in a high ponytail. She looked like a child, but her face showed a weariness and dejection that did not match her age.

Following behind the two was a girl wearing a tattered Daoist robe, with long, flowing black hair and a somewhat carefree demeanor; she was undoubtedly Yuan.

However, for some unknown reason, one of his eyes was covered by an eye patch, and his complexion was sickly pale, making him appear quite weak.

The three girls entered the restaurant and took their seats. Even though none of them spoke, the girl in the black school uniform glanced at the Brown Pelican, causing him to subconsciously release the lid of the pot beside him and let Semi out.

"Xiao He! She bullied me!"

Semi, as if finding a savior, threw himself into the girl's arms, ignoring his soaking wet clothes. The girl, without any sign of disgust, caught him and gently stroked his back.

"You can't always argue with your companions, Xiao Hei." However, her words immediately deflated Semi, who had just been smug.

It seemed a little aggrieved and wanted to say something, but when it felt the hand stroking its back, it simply snuggled closer to the other person and made a "purring" sound.

"Brown Pelican, did you bully Semi again?"

The girl in the school uniform showed no intention of blaming the brown-haired girl. Instead, the purple-haired girl, sitting at the head of the long table, picked up her teacup, looked at the girl, and said with a hint of reproach, "You can't do that. I told you, we're all family here, we should get along well."

"But boss, it was Semi who insulted me first..."

The girl called Brown Pelican seemed to want to argue a bit more, but seeing the purple-haired girl's slightly puffed-out cheeks, her attitude softened in the end. "Sigh, alright, it's my fault."

"Yes, that's more like it."

The purple-haired girl clapped her hands, her face breaking into a smile again, "Today is a rare day for everyone to get together for a meal. No matter what conflicts we have, arguing is absolutely wrong."

"So, why were you specifically calling me and Brown Pelican back?"

Seemingly unconcerned by the purple-haired girl's words, the girl previously known as "Golden Snake" had somehow sat up, now looking drowsy as she puffed on a pipe, trying to light it with both hands. "You know, leader, I'm not like those idle bunch; I have a lot of important business to attend to."

"Yes, of course I know."

The purple-haired girl nodded with a smile, "However, Snake, it's precisely because of your abilities that I feel most at ease. Without you, this matter definitely couldn't be accomplished, which is why I specifically called you back. Please forgive me."

"... I see."

Golden Snake lit his pipe, took a deep drag, and exhaled a cloud of smoke. "Since you've said so, what else do I have to question? I'm only curious about what kind of thing could make you value it so much."

"Of course, that's a very important thing, but before we talk about work, I think we should first relax and enjoy lunch, shouldn't we?"

The purple-haired girl took a sip of her milk tea. "Let's call everyone else over. We'll talk about it after we finish eating."

No one responded to her.

Golden Snake smoked his cigarette, Brown Pelican lay on the table looking at her resentfully, the girl in the school uniform silently stroked Semi, and Iris turned to the side and drank the beverage in her cup in one gulp.

"Hmm, aren't we going to eat first?"

With a slightly belated realization, the purple-haired girl tilted her head, a perfectly timed look of confusion on her adorable face. "I discussed today's lunch menu with the chefs well in advance. I can guarantee that everyone will enjoy their meal!"

No, it's not a matter of whether it tastes good or not.

Golden Snake exhaled a smoke ring. "However, Chief, we came all this way because we're really curious about what we're going to do, so we don't want to bring this up after dinner."

"Uh-huh."

The Brown Pelican, who was lying on the table, nodded in agreement. "I'd like to know first too."

"Huh? Even the Brown Pelican thinks so?"

The purple-haired girl's eyes widened slightly. "This is truly unexpected... But if we arrange things now, the food in the kitchen might get cold... Hmm, well then, I'll try to explain it as briefly as possible."

She gestured to Yuan beside her, "Everyone should remember that last month, Yuan's mission to Fangting City failed. The Beast Source had already been taken by Emerald through a transaction, so she had no way to proceed."

Facing everyone's gaze, Yuan simply scratched her cheek and laughed awkwardly twice.

"I know."

The Golden Snake's lifeless eyes regained some light. "Not only did he fail to seize the Beast Source, but he also failed to accomplish any of the secondary objectives. It makes one wonder if this guy has already defected to the enemy."

"What? Are we going to criticize this violent old woman?"

The Brown Pelican, who was lying on the table, smiled and raised his hand, "I'll vote in favor first."

"No, I'm bringing this up not to continue criticizing Yuan."

The purple-haired girl simply shook her head, her expression calm. "In fact, although her mission failed, she did bring back useful information: the Beast Source has fallen into the hands of that bookworm... cough cough, into Emerald's hands."

"After verification by our informants, we can now confirm that this news is true, and the Beast Source was secretly transported back to the Kingdom by Emerald a few days ago, and is now in a secret laboratory in Luen Nore."

She spread her hands, revealing an expression that seemed to be calculating something. "Emerald probably hasn't had any motivation to move this Beast Source for a long time, and she's unlikely to tell that person about its existence. In other words, this Beast Source will probably remain in Luen Nore for the foreseeable future."

"I see."

The Brown Pelican, whose face was half-pressed against the table, spoke up, "So, next we can leak this information to the Royal Court and expose the Emerald's secret?"

"No, quite the opposite. We need to cover for her and prevent the Royal Court from discovering anything."

The purple-haired girl smiled and shook her head, then looked at the girl in the school uniform beside her. "Black Cat, you can tell the rest of the story."

She took the initiative to hand over the speaking position, and everyone's attention then turned to the girl called "Black Cat".

She raised her slightly dejected eyes, her golden vertical pupils swirling with unfathomable emotions. Her gaze swept across the faces of everyone present before she released her hand from the Fairy's body.

"Brown Pelican, Golden Snake."

She read out two names, her expression turning serious, and said, "The three of us will go together to Luen Nore and bring back that Beast Source."

"Ah?"

These words made the previously limp Brown Pelican shudder and immediately sit up. "What do you mean?"

"I haven't received any news recently about any transactions between us and the Research Institute, or rather, we shouldn't have any financial dealings with the Research Institute."

The Golden Snake seemed to understand something, but it leaned forward slightly, as if to confirm, and asked, "What exactly do you mean by 'bring back'?"

"This year's qualification exam will be held in Luen Nore, so security personnel will be deployed to the exam venue."

The Black Cat spoke expressionlessly, without any emotional fluctuation, as if it were merely stating its lunch plans:

"We can use a feint attack on the examination site to force them to mobilize more manpower, and then quickly raid the Research Institute to reclaim the 'Beast Source'."