CHAPTER 19: 19: SHARING FOOD

Caelan gave her a piece of square biscuit, still unopened.

"You know, thanks for giving me this. You’re not so stingy after all."

After all, Aria had written this male lead’s character to be someone who didn’t share his precious food with anyone except the destined heroine.

It’s the apocalypse, any food is a luxury.

"I will make sure this favor is returned. I’ll give you the food as I promised, as soon as you send me to City C. I will not be eating your food for free. I’ll pay you later for this biscuit at its market price."

Aria said it to make sure her deal with the male lead was clear.

She wanted to eat the unopened biscuit without feeling like she was stealing someone else’s food.

Caelan gave her a brief glance, barely lasting a second, and then continued scanning the surroundings.

He went into the convenience store, leaving Aria behind with an invisible question mark above her head.

What?

Isn’t she just thoughtfully reminding him of their deal?

The male lead didn’t even appreciate it.

What a stinky man, Aria thought, and took a small bite of the biscuit.

It felt so soft the moment she tasted it, making her frown.

After another look at the packaging, she noticed a small hole in the wrapper and saw that the biscuit had expired last year.

It alarmed and unsettled her.

Being someone who wasn’t used to eating expired food, she couldn’t help but feel disturbed.

"Fluff Ball, can I use the Train Mall to buy food now?" Aria asked, her tone slightly pleading in her mind.

"Denied, Host. Insufficient level for Host. According to your current Host Level, only the train station can access the Train Mall Market, and buying food works the same way."

"Stingy." Aria complained, not satisfied with this.

Her stomach kept grumbling, and she was holding a piece of expired biscuit.

Does she have to eat this expired food?

You don’t have a choice. You’re hungry, right? That was a soft whisper coming from the back of her mind.

After thinking for several long seconds, Aria decided to comfort her stomach first. She gulped it down and dared to take another bite.

She wouldn’t die easily from eating something expired, right?

The taste wasn’t that different, but it was much softer, lacking the usual firmness of a biscuit.

"Well, it’s better than nothing." Aria thought, following the male lead into the convenience store.

Inside the convenience store, there seemed to be nothing worth finding.

Trash, broken glass, discarded plastic, spoiled food, decayed corpses, and unidentified objects made the whole place a complete mess.

However, when Aria came in, she saw the male lead Caelan still searching for something.

It made her notice how often she saw him hunting for food.

He must be hungry, and the biscuit she was holding felt warm in her hand.

Aria walked toward the male lead and crouched down beside him.

Then she poked him, which made him stop searching the drawer cabinet.

"Mnn?" Caelan turned, staring down at her.

"Here..." Aria handed him half of the biscuit, sharing her expired food, and added with an awkward smile.

"I will fulfill my promise to you, as long as you make sure I can go back to City C tomorrow. I’ll give you the food you need, but not right now. And, this is yours to begin with, so... here. You can have half of it. I’ll still pay you for the full one, though."

Aria handed him the half biscuit pieces, pushing them toward him with a smile, as if to say she was a kind one who could share her food.

Caelan raised one eyebrow slightly and chuckled lowly, then eventually ignored her without uttering another word.

What? What is that? Aria asked herself in her mind as she followed behind, but she accidentally stepped on what seemed to be a dead mutant rat.

"Ah!" She was utterly shocked and felt a bit disgusted.

Caelan heard her weak scream stop and paused on his tracks.

He turned to see the young woman carefully tiptoeing in her doll shoes, which looked rather ridiculous.

Afraid of stepping on dirt and debris, what a squeamish woman this person was.

"Go back to the car."

"What are you looking for? If it’s food, then we can share this."

Aria didn’t bother with what Caelan’s said and followed him again, like his little shadow.

After tagging along, she saw him pick up a small black dog-shaped keychain, a small yellow pencil for drawing, and even a black ballpen, which he tested on a flat board.

Too bad it was out of ink, so it didn’t work.

Aria suddenly asked herself if the male lead had become a scrap collector.

Why is he collecting all these casual things?

"Souvenirs."

"Souvenirs? These... they don’t even work, and that one’s dirty, what kind of liquid is that?" Aria commented, clearly unable to believe it.

A sticky liquid lay on the cashier’s desk, too dark to tell its color.

Caelan narrowed his differently colored eyes as he stared hard at it.

He didn’t dare touch the liquid, which reeked of an odor he knew all too well, the blood of an infected human.

It was still fresh, not dry at all. At that, his eyes darkened with the realization, making him suddenly alert.

Aria had no idea that the male lead was now observing the surroundings again, as she was busy thinking about arriving at City C tomorrow.

Her lips curved into a hopeful smile as she spoke joyfully to him.

"If you want souvenirs for your relatives or friends back at your base, I can give you some from City C. Mine will surely be nicer and better than these things."

"Shh... quiet."

"Quiet... what—!" At the raise of the male lead’s right arm in front of her eyes, Aria gasped weakly, stunned.

It was quite big and thick.

Her entire attention was drawn to this arm, with strong, beefy muscles.

Surprisingly, they looked too good and were not unpleasant to look at.

"Your muscles are impressively meaty."

When Aria said it out loud and realized she had been so bold and daring, she felt half embarrassed and didn’t dare look at him.

The male lead beside her fell silent, and an awkward atmosphere raise into the picture.

After a few moments of silence, they heard the sound of things falling inside the staff room.