Chapter 65: The Siren Call of Delight

(TL Note: Author immediately abandoned his distinction between the two Higokumaru's after using it for part of a chapter...)

(TL Note: Uh forgot to upload this chap today. I only sent chap 66 instead whoops. fell asleep thinking I did not need to manually publish it!) ദ്ദി ˉ͈̀꒳ˉ͈́ )✧

"You're finally awake!"

"The fried tofu's all gone now!"

When Higokumaru emerged from her swoon, she found Higokumaru chowing down nonstop, talking with her mouth full.

"Let me go!"

As Higokumaru stared at this version of herself, fear flickered in her eyes, and she tried to break away...

But she soon realized she was tangled up, like a puppy on a leash... A rope was looped around Higokumaru's fox-like neck.

"Let you go? Not so fast. It all depends on how you behave now!" Higokumaru tightened her grip on the rope, looking smugly at her counterpart from another world.

Now, Higokumaru's power was completely suppressed, leaving her no different from an ordinary little fox.

She couldn't possibly resist even a simple rope.

"Who exactly are you?" Higokumaru glared angrily at Higokumaru, We're clearly the same, but how can you just... be with humans like this?

And look at this! As a mighty Herrscher, you're actually recognizing a human... a gene warrior? Your big sister?

You've really let yourself go, haven't you?!

"Who I am? I'm another version of you. You'll understand eventually—I'm doing this for your own good!" Higokumaru looked at Higokumaru with a face full of 'I'm-thinking-of-your-best-interests', only making Higokumaru angrier.

But Higokumaru, now stripped of her power, could only seethe with fury—she was incapable of anything else.

"All right, Higokumaru... let me handle this!"

The Gyakushinn Miko, carrying the last plate of fried tofu, approached Higokumaru.

"Oh..." Upon hearing Big Sister's words, Higokumaru obediently nodded.

Gyakushinn Miko approached Higokumaru, crouched down, and looked at the girl before her... She looked exactly like Higokumaru. But then again... they were indeed one and the same Herrscher.

Since they were the same person, then... surely their preferences should be the same as well, right?

"Higokumaru, would you like some fried tofu?"

Gyakushinn Miko picked up a piece of fried tofu and offered it to Higokumaru.

"Pah! Don't give me a chance to recover my strength, or I'll tear you to pieces and eat you!" Higokumaru glared at Gyakushinn Miko, spitting out a furious threat.

Even now, Higokumaru couldn't forget...

That moment when this woman's sword had pierced her most intimate area!

Although the power of the Herrscher had long since healed her, the excruciating pain had left an indelible shadow on Higokumaru's young heart.

Looking at the woman before her, Higokumaru longed to grind her bones into dust and scatter them to the wind.

There was no way she'd eat his food.

"Higokumaru, if you dare threaten Big Sister again, was my beating not enough?" Before Higokumaru could even respond, the Higokumaru beside her chimed in pointedly.

Little did Higokumaru know that "Big Sister" wasn't his to bully.

"Alright... Higokumaru, it's alright! Higokumaru... This is fried tofu. Don't you want to try it? It's really delicious!"

"Take your stinking food away. I, Higokumaru, would rather starve than eat your food! Don't think a piece of who knows what kind of tofu can make me surrender! Do you think every Herrscher is as disgraceful as her?"

As Higokumaru spoke, she shot a glance at Higokumaru beside Gyakushinn Miko, clearly referring to her as the disgrace.

"You sure you won't eat it?"

"I won't!" Higokumaru's attitude was rock-solid.

"Is that so... And now?" Gyakushinn Miko prodded.

The moment Higokumaru began to respond, Gyakushinn Miko swiftly picked up a piece of fried tofu and stuffed it into Higokumaru's fox-like mouth.

"You..."

Higokumaru froze, her senses overwhelmed. Before she could react, the tofu had already found its way into her mouth. This couldn't be allowed... Higokumaru hastily prepared to spit it out.

But just as she was about to, Gyakushinn Miko's preparation room transformed into a fading vision of the fried tofu heaven. Higokumaru found herself in a place that seemed to be a tofu paradise, with each piece of playful fried tofu entering her mouth and... making her feel as if her soul was ascending to another level.

Higokumaru drifted into ecstasy, fully immersed in the sublime realm of the fried tofu's delight.

This... this is what I've always desired. For 50,000 years, no longer alone in the darkness, countless fried tofus by my side. My inner darkness, my destructive desires, my twisted... all have found redemption.

The Gyakushinn Miko watched Higokumaru take just one bite of the fried tofu and felt as if she herself had consumed aphrodisiac medicine.

She suddenly... felt an unmistakable surge of... desire!

But I didn't administer any drugs, did I?

Or could it be... that I've somehow unconsciously mastered the fantasy-level art of cooking like in Food Wars?

"Are you alright? Higokumaru?" The Gyakushinn Miko quickly shook the little fox, whose posture was unstable.

"I'm fine... Really... It was just so delicious. Is there more? I want to eat more. So... that fox wasn't lying to me. Fried tofu really does taste this good! Compared to fried tofu... what does the duty of a Herrscher matter?"

Higokumaru had an epiphany!

What did the destruction of civilizations or being an envoy of Honkai matter? It couldn't compare to the importance of fried tofu.

"A little more, a little more! But... once you've eaten my fried tofu, you're my little fox now, understand?" Observing Higokumaru's completely different reaction, the Gyakushinn Miko couldn't help but marvel again... Fried tofu was truly a culinary marvel.

Conquering one Herrscher after another, all thanks to fried tofu! she thought.

Higokumaru, however, paid no heed to the Gyakushinn Miko's words, focusing intently on devouring the delicious fried tofu instead.

While the Gyakushinn Miko was buying Higokumaru off with fried tofu, Higokumaru had already left the Gyakushinn Miko's side and come to Yae Sakura's.

Looking at the young "big sister" before her without fox ears, Higokumaru felt like she had many things she wanted to say to her.

However, standing in front of Yae Sakura, she suddenly didn't know what to say anymore.

"B... big sister, do you eat... fish? I... I'll go to the river and catch some for you..." As Higokumaru stared at the young girl before her, she suddenly started stuttering, saying words that weren't what she meant to say.

Higokumaru didn't want to say that, but as soon as she opened her mouth, the words turned into this. Higokumaru didn't know why either.

"Eh? Eat fish? No need! Also... I'm not your big sister, am I? And I'm only 16... Look at my head, there aren't any ears. Don't mistake me for someone else, okay?"

Hearing Higokumaru's voice, Yae Sakura initially thought she had mistaken Yae Sakura for the Gyakushinn Miko.

Though they appeared identical now, shouldn't the ears on their heads make them easily distinguishable?

Could they really be mistaken for each other?

"No... I'm not... Ah! Forget it."

Higokumaru struggled with what to say but ultimately gave up in exasperation.

The sudden appearance of two "big sisters" should have been cause for celebration, but... Higokumaru found herself utterly at a loss on how to interact with this young "big sister".