Toward evening, the sunset's lingering glow painted the sky over Philip's domain a magnificent orange-red.
Cui Ciyou had finished a day of "studying" and "working," yet he felt a strange disconnect between body and mind.
His morning Demon God Tongue lesson with Roxy had been a quiet, comforting pleasure.
The classroom had been filled with the inky scent of books and the faint, fresh fragrance that clung to Roxy.
Even time itself had seemed to slow into a leisurely drift.
The afternoon "torment" of teaching Alice her academic subjects, however, had been another matter entirely.
It had been a grueling battle of wits and wills against the energetic red-haired young lady and her peculiar logic.
Even Cui Ciyou had suffered one headache after another.
After leaving the Boreas estate, Cui Ciyou strolled toward the inn where Roxy was staying.
He stopped outside a small, elegantly decorated dessert shop on a street corner.
I promised Roxy all the desserts she wanted yesterday. I can't go back on my word. Whatever you do, you have to keep your promises, Cui Ciyou thought.
Cui Ciyou looked into the shop at the assorted desserts displayed on wooden shelves.
They were brightly colored, mostly extravagant in shape, and seemingly made with extremely "generous" quantities of ingredients.
Even through the door, he could smell their rich, almost cloying sweetness.
Yet after a single glance, Cui Ciyou's brow furrowed slightly.
To a transmigrator from modern Earth, with its highly developed culinary culture, these desserts looked rather... crude.
All appearance, no substance. They just pile on sugar and color, without the slightest understanding of depth or balance of flavor.
The exquisite array of pastries from his past life rose unbidden in Cui Ciyou's mind.
Whether crisp, crumbly cookies rich with buttery flavor, soft, moist chiffon cakes that melted