Chapter 7: Crying and Fussing

“Gurgle…”

It sounded like something just made a noise—like… the sound of a stomach growling.

Yuri instinctively rubbed her own little belly. No, if her stomach had growled, there was no way she wouldn’t have felt it.

Besides her, there was another person here.

Wait… to be exact, there was still a soul floating around. But honestly, can a projection even get hungry?

She glanced over at Iris. A sudden flush of red spread rapidly across the little Evil God’s face.

“W-What are you staring at?” Iris suddenly raised her voice, panic clear in her tone. “I… I didn’t make any noise.”

She hadn’t said anything, and yet this girl confessed right away.

Truly surprising.

So, even projections can get hungry?

Not quite sure, she looked over once more. Sweeping her gaze across Iris’s delicate face, she thought she saw a bit of glistening at the corner of her mouth.

Was it just her imagination? Yuri tried rubbing her eyes, but that shimmering at the corner of Iris’s mouth was still there.

Hmm… it wasn’t an illusion.

Could it be that Iris was so tempted by an ordinary roast rabbit that she was… about to cry?

How long exactly had she been sealed inside that stone coffin?

Thinking it over, if she herself had been locked up in a dark place, with nothing to eat for who knows how long, and then finally regained her freedom—only to have a golden, crispy, aromatic roast rabbit placed before her—she’d probably make the same expression as Iris.

But Iris was only a projection right now. No matter how much she wanted it, she could only stare longingly.

When the rabbit was almost done roasting, Yuri took out her short knife, washed it clean with clear river water, then sliced off a rabbit leg.

She bit off a piece and put it in her mouth. The meat was tender, juicy, and springy. Even without any seasoning, it still tasted great.

“Gurgle…”

The noise from beside her drew Yuri’s attention again. The flush on Iris’s face deepened.

“W-What are you looking at me for? It’s just a rabbit! This kind of lowly food, I-I-I… I’m not interested at all.”

The little Evil God stammered her excuse, but while she spoke, her eyes never left the rabbit leg in Yuri’s hand.

Yuri didn’t call her out. She just kept putting pieces of rabbit leg into her mouth.

“Hmm, it’s really good.”

Another distinct gurgle rang out. This time, a trace of irritation flashed across the little Evil God’s face.

“Shut up.”

She threw a punch at her own stomach—but her fist passed straight through.

For a moment, it looked like there was a little shimmer at the corner of Iris’s eye.

Hmm… it was the first time Yuri had seen someone get angry at their own stomach.

Finishing the rabbit leg in her hand, Yuri sliced off a palm-sized piece of meat from the roast rabbit.

Instead of eating it right away, Yuri tried holding it out to Iris.

“Eh?”

Iris was clearly stunned, then forced herself to look indifferent and turned her face away. “Don’t think I need that. Take it away, take it away. I-I-I… I really don’t need it.”

“Oh, then I’ll take it away.”

Just as she started to move her hand, Iris—who’d been protesting a second ago—couldn’t sit still anymore. She reached out, trying to grab her.

“Well… since you’re offering, I suppose I can reluctantly accept.”

Before Yuri could respond, Iris opened her mouth wide and took a bite—her mouth closing over both the meat and Yuri’s fingers.

It looked like a heartwarming feeding scene, but in reality, Yuri didn’t feel any bite at all. Similarly, Iris had only made a motion of eating.

She was still herself, the meat was still meat—there was simply no way for them to make contact.

“Uu…”

Realizing this, the little Evil God let out a whimper, then curled up and hugged her head, merging into the shadow of the campfire.

It seemed like she’d gone into hiding.

She was just a projection after all—there was no way she could actually eat.

Yuri had only meant to tease Iris with this action, but unexpectedly, Iris really did bite down.

In that moment, her desire for food might have outweighed her awareness of her own situation, making her forget she was nothing but a projection.

And then, reality shattered that illusion without mercy.

Yuri popped the rabbit meat into her own mouth. Mmm, it was absolutely delicious. What a pity someone didn’t get to enjoy it.

Staring at the fluffy white bundle in front of her, Yuri thought: rather than the self-proclaimed Evil God, she looked more like the neighbor’s girl—unable to eat, secretly wiping away tears.

Was this girl really an Evil God?

But Iris had said before that foreign gods like her were all called Evil Gods.

Still, her title of [Abyssal Predator] did fit Yuri’s image of an Evil God. Yet after seeing this fluffy white bundle with her own eyes, Yuri’s impression of Evil Gods was a little… shattered.

If she wasn’t trying to steal her body, Iris could actually pass for a cute little white-haired loli.

While Yuri was chewing on rabbit meat, Iris—who had been curled up in a ball—suddenly straightened up.

Oh? Back to normal so quickly?

In the next second, Iris leaned in close. Their faces were almost touching.

Eh?

What was she doing?

Before Yuri could react, Iris bared her sharp little fangs, her eyes fierce, and shouted in a threatening voice.

“You stubborn thing! Hand over your body already! Just let me take control for a moment, okay? Just for a taste, give it to me!”

This crying and fussing… so noisy.

Apparently driven mad by hunger, Iris opened her mouth and started biting at Yuri’s head.

But of course, Yuri still didn’t feel a thing.

She kept slicing off rabbit meat and eating it. Meanwhile, Iris continued gnawing on her head, not letting up.

Hmm… taking back what she said earlier—this girl was not cute at all. She was, in fact, incredibly annoying.

After Yuri finished off the whole rabbit, Iris, still hugging her head, gradually quieted down.

Then, as if she’d suddenly realized how ridiculous she’d just been, she hugged her head and curled up into a ball again.

Hmm…

Hard to comment.

“By the way, Iris,” Yuri took the initiative to break the silence, “do you remember how long you were locked up?”

Poor thing, being imprisoned for so long was bound to cause a few mental issues.

Hearing her voice, Iris slowly let go of her head and sat upright.

“If you’re asking that, I don’t really know.

Before I woke up, I must’ve slept for a very long time. After I woke, I was trapped in that pitch-black place, unable to sense any change in time from the outside world.”

She’d been trapped so long, she’d lost her sense of time altogether.

As for how long ago the era of the gods was from now, Yuri had no idea. It could’ve been tens of thousands of years.

To be sealed in a stone coffin for ten thousand years before finally escaping—it was no wonder she made such an expression.

Yuri fell silent for a moment. Meeting Iris’s gaze, she suddenly thought of another possibility—maybe one that would stop Iris from coveting her body.

“If we could find your remains, you wouldn’t need my body to resurrect, right?”

If that was possible, there’d be no need to seize her body by force. In fact, Iris might even offer to help her search for her remains—maybe even beg for her help.

But, since Yuri could think of it, there was no way Iris wouldn’t have.

Yet she hadn’t mentioned her own remains from the start. Could it be… they no longer existed?