Survival Guide After Accidentally Kissing a Demon - Chapter 253

Chapter 253

Ashera must have heard it even more clearly. After all, his perception far surpassed hers.

“Are you hungry?”

Ashera suddenly asked.

As he spoke, his palm was already resting over her stomach through her cotton-linen nightgown.

A rumbling sound was coming from there.

“Yes. I’m hungry.”

Beili nodded honestly. “Are you going to take me out to eat?”

Ashera nodded and said softly, “Get changed.”

Beili took a black gauze shawl dress from her Spatial Bracelet and put it on.

Gold chains hung from the dress like a spiderweb, glimmering faintly.

It was another dress she had bought after arriving in Tilisha.

In Tilisha, one could only wear thin gauze dresses.

The slits on these dresses were usually cut very high, and the bodices were tailored to be extremely light and revealing. Only then would they not feel stifling in the scorching heat.

She casually combed through her hair and let it fall behind her, then left with Ashera.

Before Ashera could raise his hand, she took the initiative and held it.

“Ashera, I want mallow soup, and I want mint water too.”

Beili lifted her red eyes to him, her voice soft and delicate.

When she held his hand, Ashera’s fingertips paused slightly. Other than that, he showed no reaction.

“All right.”

He spoke softly.

“If this is a dream… I don’t want to wake up…”

the youth inside his body murmured.

…

The shops on both sides of the street were almost all empty, each one hung with a sign saying business was temporarily suspended.

After a great deal of searching, they finally found a restaurant that was still open. But the mallow soup they served was a strange color. What should have been a fresh green had become an eerie mixture of red and green.

Even the mint water was red, like fresh blood.

Beili stirred the thick soup in her bowl with her spoon, her brows drawing together.

Ashera did not eat human food, so he did not notice anything wrong.

It was only when he saw her frowning and not eating that he asked, “You don’t like it?”

“The color isn’t right.” She shook her head and put down the spoon. “Let’s go look at some other places.”

After leaving that shop, they searched for a long while, but most of the stores had closed.

As for the ones that had not, any food that used water in the process-whether for pickling, steaming, or boiling-ended up with a strange red tinge.

Some bolder people, however, were eating with great relish, and even swore that the food tasted exactly the same as before.

But just looking at food like that made Beili’s skin crawl. She did not dare eat it.

Still hungry, she and Ashera unknowingly walked to the riverside.

The riverside was much livelier than the streets. Both banks were crowded with people.

It rarely rained in Tilisha Imperial City. Only during winter nights would heavy rain fall. For that reason, although the city’s only river was not particularly wide, it had been dug very deep so it could store more water when the winter rains came.

But now…

The only river in Tilisha Imperial City had turned as red as fresh blood.

All the fish in the river had floated to the surface belly-up, pale white masses densely covering the water. A nauseating fishy stench faintly wafted from them.

The people gathered at the riverbank looked panicked, whispering among themselves as they discussed this bizarre incident.

Some had already gone down to the edge of the river, trying to scoop up the dead fish floating on the surface.

As if sensing something, Ashera’s brows drew together, and then he tilted his head slightly.

Beili was familiar with this gesture of his. Pinching his fingers, she asked, “Are you sensing the condition of the river water? Did you sense anything?”

At her question, Ashera’s brows slowly relaxed. He shook his head lightly and said, “No. I didn’t sense anything at all.”
Just like the food she had mentioned earlier, Ashera truly had not sensed anything unusual about it.

Except…

Just now, he had clearly felt a tiny bit of the Mana in his body being drawn away.

It was barely noticeable.

Like sunlight shining on the surface of a lake, the water was evaporating little by little, while the lake itself felt nothing at all.

“Is something… plundering Mana…?”

The boy’s voice drifted out softly.

Ashera’s gaze settled on the dark red river, its surface crowded with the pale bellies of dead fish.

“I remember you said yesterday that you wanted to leave this place, didn’t you?”

he asked.

At his words, Beili paused.

Leaving Tilisha Imperial City.

That had been an idea born from her conversation with Lance, all for the sake of avoiding Ashera.

But now that Ashera himself was already here, there was no longer any need to leave.

Besides-

He had just mentioned “yesterday.”

That proved that, between reality and the dream, Ashera had already begun to blur the line.

“I’m not in a hurry to leave for now…”

“Ashera-” she began, her tone softening. “I’m hungry, and I’m thirsty.”

Ashera did not eat human food. He could not feel hunger.

He could also go a very long time without rest, so he could not feel fatigue either.

To make the dream feel real, Beili could only place real-world factors like hunger and exhaustion onto herself.

If she went too long without eating, she would die. If she suffered a serious injury, she would die too.

Only, she would be dying in the dream. Outside the dream, she would wake up.

What she needed to do now was make Ashera accept everything about this dream world.

Then, naturally, he would remain here.

…

On the other side, Ashera withdrew his gaze from the blood-red river.

Lowering his eyes to the girl before him, he silently curved his lips and said,

“There is a place that has what you want to eat.”

“Where?”

Beili asked.

Then she saw Ashera raise his hand and point toward the soldiers who had appeared on the street.

They were knocking on doors one by one, entering homes to search through them, then taking away the clean food and water people had stored without the slightest courtesy.

…

Before long,

the two of them entered the palace of Tilisha.

They moved through the palace without obstruction, found the dining hall, and made their way to the kitchen.

After Ashera bewitched the chef, Beili finally got to eat a normal-colored, rich green mallow soup, along with cool mint water.

“How is it? Are you full?”

When she had eaten almost enough, Ashera came out of the storage room.

He walked up to her and, with natural ease, picked up the napkin on the table to wipe the corner of her lips.

Beili obediently waited for him to finish.

She was just about to pick up the mint water for another sip when she saw Ashera hand her a black pouch.

“There is water and food inside. Enough to last you several days.”

He spoke unhurriedly. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the chef standing blankly in the corner, and added,

“If you want freshly made food, we can bring this chef back with us too and have him cook for you every day.”

He was probably serious.

However-

“Last you several days.”

“Cook for you every day.”

Beili caught those phrases.

From the sound of it, he was not in any hurry to take her heart.

Or perhaps he was trying to lower her guard.

A faint smile surfaced on her face as Beili accepted the Spatial Pouch.

Then she reached out and gently hugged him.

Every time she took the initiative to act intimate, he was always pleased.

“There’s no need. This is the chef of the Tilisha Royal Family. If we take him away, there’ll be no one left to cook for them.”