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lORD wINDMASTER CAN YOU READ THIS?

[ Takes a little while to get this reply written- ]

Yes, I can read it! Is everything alright, your highness? Why are you writing here?

[ We have the communication array! Much more convenient than typing out messages! And why are you text-shouting?? ]

I'M FINE, I J
/+
I DONT KNOW HOW TO FIX THIS TEXT I'M SORRY
ALSO i ran out of energy oh it's working again
anywa y i was just wondering if there was anything you wanted from the market.

That's alright! Please take your time to write carefully.

[ What was all that?! He was concerned!! ]

It's never bad to have more honey, is it? You should pick the ingredients for the dishes you would like this evening, too.

[ No, stop, Xie Lian doesn't know how to cook! Quickly, another message! ] Wait, I have a grocery list!

[ He doesn't need to say "wait" or anything, but he still writes and sends out messages like they're telepathically chatting still. ]

[ A short while later that is definitely not Shi Qingxuan thinking of and writing a list after checking the kitchen— ]

Here it is! We need peppers, a little more ginger, cabbage, and green onions. Of course, please pick up anything else you would like as well! I'll give you more energy once you're back. [ And chroma! A win-win. ] I must have underestimated how much I gave you this morning. I'm sorry.

[Wow, he has a whole list! What a smart idea, Xie Lian should try doing that too!]

Alright, I will make sure to find everything listed. And do not worry about the energy! I usually have none at all, there's no need to apologize for changing that.

[He's gonna come back with Exactly everything on the list--also a brand new fruit knife, because it was cute.]

[ They can even have a little shared list to keep track of everything...

Shi Qingxuan still feels a little bad for not giving him enough energy. They could be talking normally if he did! Oh well, he'll just leave all of that to Xie Lian for now.

Oh, maybe he'll be hungry when he gets home? He's still not totally sure how hungry Xie Lian gets, but it is a while still until dinner... Maybe he should start putting together some snacks. Then they can have fresh tea when he's home...

Shi Qingxuan is still messing around in the kitchen when the door opens and Xie Lian comes back. ]

Welcome home! How did it go? Did you have enough for everything?

[It sure feels nice to have someone to come home to...he enjoyed that with San Lang as well, so really it's nice to have Shi Qingxuan doing the same thing here.]

I'm back! And I bought everything on the list, there's no need to worry on that front. There was even enough to buy a little extra—

[He heads into the kitchen once his shoes are off, setting the bag on the counter and pulling everything out.]

What are you making in here? It's a little early to be making dinner, isn't it?

[ Well. The plan was the make a snack. A good, proper snack, but what is a snack, even? Shi Wudu was never one for snacks, so he always made him either proper meals or treats - and even that was centuries ago. Then with Ming-xiong, he's sad to say that even if he had cooked something for him in the past, a full meal is a snack when it comes to his appetite.

So what's he doing?

Turning around, smiling, and passing Xie Lian a little bowl of prepared almonds. ]

I was thinking, if you're low on spiritual powers, you might be hungry when you come home as well, so I wanted to make a snack for you.

[ His tone is nothing but bright and a bit accomplished. Behind him, various assorted seasonings and utensils laid out seem to say, "Peeled, cooked almonds weren't his first choice."

But he's not focused on that; he's more interested in whatever Xie Lian brought home! He continues talking as he help to sort out the various groceries. ]

Thank you for going shopping. With this, we won't need to cut anything back when it comes to dinner!

What is the "little extra" you bought?

[Considering his own total lack of cooking knowledge, and his general lack of taste, Xie Lian doesn't question the bowl of almonds at all. If anything, he's just grateful to have been thought of!]

Ah, thank you! That's really kind of you...and you cooked these yourself?

[Gonna eat a few right now, yes-]

There was a sale on kitchen utensils at the store, so I went ahead and bought a fruit knife. Can you imagine there being a knife specifically made for fruit? I think it's rather cute though, with its size.

I did! How are they? They're just something small before dinner.

[ And they're plain, but do almonds really need seasonings on them? (Does Shi Qingxuan even know Xie Lian isn't even tasting them?)

At the mention of the new knife, Shi Qingxuan pauses what he's doing to look back-

Oh! ] What a little knife!

[ So small and delicate! Who would need a knife just for fruit? But it's still very small, and he can see why Xie Lian called it cute. Even if there's not much inherently "cute" about it besides its size. ]

It is rather dainty, isn't it? Do you think it's called that because it was made for peeling fruits? [ ???? He really has no idea, but honestly, it is a cute knife and it's made nicely - and it was on sale! So, he can confidently say: ] It's a good find! Let's put it with the others!

They're very good! The perfect thing for a snack.

[Size-wise, at least? It's hard to mess up plain almonds though, they're probably fine.

Also he brightens a little more when Shi Qingxuan agrees with him on the knife.]

That would make sense, wouldn't it? But then I wonder if they have vegetable knives, too? I didn't see any at the sale, anyway. [A mystery!] Maybe I could use it after dinner, and peel some fruit for us to share?

[ There's no skin on them, so good enough?? ]

That sounds wonderful! [ He claps his hands together at the thought. Also: Xie Lian won't be able to get creative with peeling fruits. ] It will already be useful! Next time we go shopping, we should see if there are vegetable knives to match your fruit knife somewhere. If they're a set, we should get both, don't you think?

[Good enough!! Also wow, have more faith in his cooking skills--]

That's a good idea! We could buy one of every kind, and have a full kitchen knife set. [how many kinds even are there] Oh, speaking of which, what were you planning to make tonight? I could help you with it! Maybe something using that cabbage?

[Setting down his almonds as he heads over to look at ingredients...he's ready to work!]

That's right! Then we'll be fully prepared if we ever need a specialty knife. [ Do they need specialty knives.

Xie Lian is offering to help, and...well! As long as he follows a recipe, it should be fine? Though Shi Qingxuan doesn't have a recipe; he's been making their meals based on memory. Centuries' old memory... Of his childhood...

Ah, it should be fine. They can cook together and both improve at the same time! Half of cooking is trial and error as you go! ]

The cabbage? Initially, I was thinking that we could slice it up and cook it with some mushrooms and ginger. We still have some mushrooms left, so we can use them tonight. [ And maybe toss in some other vegetables, too? Make it tasty! ]

As for the rest, we still have some pork, and I can make a soup, too. [ He trails off in thought, thinking of a menu, before turning to Xie Lian again. ] But what would you like to eat? Did you have something you wanted to use the cabbage for?

Oh, mushrooms and ginger sound nice! Maybe some beef, while we're at it?

[Everyone loves meat after all! He's already started digging through the super cool magical fridge while they discuss this. Mushrooms, mushroom, where are those—oh there they are.]

I didn't really have any ideas of my own—just a stir-fry of some sort, that's always easy enough to do. Or a soup...

[Hmmmm should they still make soup? Thinking about that...with the fridge still wide open.]

A stir-fry sounds very good. That won't take long at all to make. [ Once they have the ingredients prepared, anyway. ] There's no reason not to have soup as well, either. Unless you're not hungry enough for soup?

[ What's wrong with leaving the fridge open, it's not like we can't regulate our own body temperature- oh wait, can Xie-xiong still do that? If he has to eat, he probably does get cold still. Shi Qingxuan carefully closes it... ]

Just the stir-fry is enough for me, though I'm never against more food.

[Oh the door's getting closed on him...Xie Lian blinks at the the fridge with a bemused look, mushrooms still in hand, before giving Shi Qingxuan an awkward little smile.]

...Would you like soup?

[ But will you be hungry for it or not-? Ah, never mind. In the end, he just smiles, saying- ]

It will help round out the meal, don't you think? Let's have soup, too.

[ Oh. Seeing that look, he looks back at him. ]

Ah, did I close it too soon? I'm sorry.

[ ?? ]

[It's nothing, it's nothing! He shakes his head, taking the mushrooms and cabbage over to start chopping.]

Alright! You can leave the knifework to me. We'll have a delicious dinner in no time at all!

[Chopping things is one task Xie Lian never messes up, at least!]

Shi-san. I hope you've been doing well.
I have good news and bad news that I'd like to report.
Firstly, despite my jesting, I'd like to report that Eiji Biwasaka is a reliable ally. Though his ego may be massive, he has the skills to back it up. When it comes to matters of gathering information, there is no one more resourceful.
Secondly, my power to suppress brainwashing... It doesn't appear to be gone, but it would seem that its effects here have diminished significantly. I could not find any way to alleviate the symptoms of the moon phases. This may be due to the fact that our very genetic makeup appears to have been affected by our coming here. I hope to look into methods to retain my humanity in the coming months.

Shikishima-xiong.

It's good to hear from you! Please don't worry about Sir Biwasaka. I never looked down on him. He must be a very close friend of yours, and I'm glad that we can count such a skilled and dependable person as an ally. Gathering information is incredibly useful in our current situation.

Although with regards to your abilities, I have to say, that's rather troubling. While it's undeniable that our physiology is affected by the moon phases, to think that your ability can't even touch the mental effects that go along with them may mean your ability has been weakened, but it may also mean the power of the moon phases is simply more than it can handle.

If it's the second case, I wonder if there might be a way to even that out and limit the moons' influence. I would like to look into different methods to help people limit the effects of the moon phases as well, and I will do what I can to help you keep a clear head here. We'll find something!

By the way: For the record, my own abilities seem to work just fine still, but I do notice that using them drains my chroma supply. I'm still going to use them, but I can't guarantee my chroma will last as long as my own spiritual power does. That's a little distressing as well, to be honest with you; I can sense my spiritual power, but I can't sense the chroma.

I see; that may explain why my own abilities have been dulled, at least in part. It seems chroma is something that everything in this world operates on, whether one is native to this world or not. To put it another way, it almost feels like this world is trying to... assimilate us? For lack of a better term. The natives have been extraordinarily unhelpful in helping me understand how this works - and how to stop it - but I suppose that's only to be expected, given that they need our compliance. To that end, I've also been slightly concerned about the privacy of our communications, truth be told.

Regarding chroma depletion, if it helps, Biwasaka-senpai and I have been testing the boundaries of what can earn one chroma. I've been getting by with minimal physical contact - even something as simple as a pat on the head will help to gather chroma, though, admittedly, the amount it gives leaves something to be desired.

[ He has full faith in his knife skills!! Someone who loves blades so much can't be bad! ]

In that case, I'll set up the rest!

[ Getting the seasonings together! Always a very important task. Not making anything too spicy! ]

It's fun cooking together, isn't it?

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