This… Is Hell!!

Magic?

Natasha, still busy in the kitchen, paused and glanced back. He's not going to pull out that flaming sword in front of the children, is he? Or is the flame controllable? Or maybe something else…

Shu bent down to the children's level and raised a hand dramatically.

"Look, there's nothing in my hand, right?" He might have called it magic, but the performance was pure sleight of hand. The theatrics of a magic show were just too perfect…

"Right!" the children near the front chorused, peering at his empty hand.

Shu chuckled, then raised his voice. "So, what would you like me to make appear?"

"Homu!!"

As expected, the children shouted in unison. Even Bronya and Sora looked over, their attention captured.

"Homu, you say?" Shu held out his other hand, bringing both together in front of him. "Is one enough?"

"Enough!" the children yelled after a moment's hesitation.

"Are you sure it's enough?" Shu raised his clasped hands slightly, leaning down and looking directly at Adam.

"Uh…" Adam shifted uncomfortably under his gaze. "Not enough?" he ventured.

"Then how many?" Shu asked, his eyes narrowing.

Adam: …You're asking me?

"One for everyone?"

Shu smiled. "You said it."

Adam blinked, looking at Shu, then at the children behind him. There were dozens of them. One Homu each… That was a lot of Homu. Was this really magic?

Shu raised his clasped hands, then pulled them apart sharply.

A bright, but not blinding, light filled the room. And then, as if from nowhere, dozens of Homu plushies, each about thirty centimeters tall, appeared in mid-air.

"Wow! It's really Homu!!"

"And Bronya!"

"Himeko! My favorite!"

"So many! It's really magic!"

Accompanied by a chorus of adorable "boing" sounds, the Homu plushies rained down, landing perfectly in the outstretched hands of every child.

The room filled with joyous laughter, and Shu felt his spirits lift, the lingering sadness in his heart dispelled by this pure, unadulterated joy.

This was the simplest form of happiness, the purest expression of childhood delight.

He watched them share their Homu plushies, a soft smile on his face. Creating dozens of plushies cost about the same as creating a few guns, but the return was immeasurable.

A child's world was simple. They didn't overthink things. If you were kind to them, you were a good person. They wouldn't believe in magic, because they knew magic didn't exist. But if you proved it existed, their still-developing worldview would accept it without question.

Almost half of the expended [Prayers] flowed back to him, a warm, invigorating sensation.

…Who's cutting onions… no, wait, that's chili peppers!

"Cough!" Shu choked on the pungent aroma of chili peppers wafting from the kitchen. Natasha emerged, carrying a large bowl.

"Dinner's ready!" She placed the bowl, filled with reddish food, on the table, then eyed the Homu plushies in the children's hands. "Two minutes to put those away and wash your hands! Then come and eat!"

Whoa, fierce! She must have been annoyed by the children's earlier… insightful comments.

The children scattered, rushing to their rooms to deposit their plushies, then raced back to the sink.

Shu relaxed, joining the children at the sink to wash his hands, then peered into the bowl on the table.

Yikes. Chili pepper hell.

He swallowed, then glanced at the other dish Mei was carrying. While not as intensely red, it was clearly also packed with chili peppers.

He looked at Mei, now sporting an apron and wielding a ladle like a cafeteria lady. "Is there anything… less spicy?"

Mei shook her head apologetically. "Miss Natasha said the children here enjoy spicy food, and there's a lot of chili peppers in the kitchen, so…"

"Right, I get it…" Shu sighed dramatically, covering his eyes. Of course. It's ARC City. Spicy food it is. It's not like I can't eat it. I'm practically a chili pepper champion! I can eat an entire bucket of extra-spicy instant noodles without even breaking a sweat!

That was his internal pep talk, anyway. He opened his eyes and looked at the food again. Nope. Still hell. What fresh hell is this?!

The children lined up to receive their bowls. Sora and Bronya were distributing bowls and serving food. Shu contemplated filling a bowl with plain rice and water just to survive the meal.

"…Mr. Shu," Natasha said, approaching him while the children were still lining up. "Did everyone receive a… plush toy?"

Shu nodded. "Yes, everyone. I even have one for Lyle."

Natasha nodded, then, as the children reached the food, she murmured, "Thank you."

"Oh, you're welcome…" Shu, surprised by her gratitude, responded softly.

Natasha, seemingly not hearing him, began serving the children with practiced ease.

Good news: No shaky hands.

Bad news: It was the spicy stuff he dreaded.

Shu's eye twitched. He couldn't bring himself to face this culinary inferno.

"By the way, Lyle…" he said, remembering the two self-imposed prisoners in the time-out room.

Natasha paused. "I'll set aside portions for him."

And Kiana! I can skip a meal, but Kiana will actually die if she doesn't eat! She'll eat me alive!

"Actually, I'll take theirs to them," Shu said, sighing and requesting two bowls from Sora and Bronya.

"Kiana's portion," he added, eyeing the standard child-sized serving.

Bronya glanced at the remaining food, estimating there would be plenty left over, then filled the bowls with heaping mounds of plain rice.

Sora's visible eye widened in surprise.