"You are the healer," Xue stated indifferently. "Where do I get a damp cloth?"

The healer closed her book, giving Xue a blank stare.

It's the broody handsome boy that everyone talks about.

She sighed, angling her body to one side, allowing her to peek into her own clinic. She instantly recognised Cecil Lan, the female student who is always visiting her clinic, leaning on the table, assessing a wound on her arm.

She looked back at Xue, raising her eyebrow.

This rascal, he knows I'm the healer.

Yet, he still wants to take charge and treat an injured person himself.

The healer crossed her arms, nudging her head to the right. "Cloth is on the third bottom drawer on your right."

"Bathroom on your left," she nudged her head to the left. "Make it quick."

Xue walked away, not responding to the healer.

She leaned against the wall, shaking her head as she opened her book, reading where she left off.

A minute passed, and the healer looked inside the room, impatient. Cecil was sweeping her hair to the side, looking absolutely beautiful, her eyelashes fluttering.

Meanwhile, the man opposite her was frozen in place.

It was apparent they were having an intimate moment.

The healer rolled her eyes, closing her book and walking away.

These students, always using the clinics and injuries as an excuse to flirt.

Later, when she returned to her clinic, which was finally empty, she realised a container was gone.

"That silly girl," the healer clicked her tongue. "You ran off with my things."

***

The healer was having her lunch break, strolling around in the academy. The teachers would know where to find her if they had an injured student.

She sat down at the bench in the academy's garden, reading up on a new medical study.

"Did you hear? Cecil Lan stole Xue's heart away."

"That Xue? That Xue we know that belongs to Hana?!"

"Wasn't Cecil Lan with Kai?"

"That was ages ago! And Kai is a completely different person now!"

"I have long supported Cecil to be with Xue anyway, it doesn't make a difference to me."

"No, no! Don't you see the problem here? She stole Xue from Hana, stole!"

"How terrible. I always viewed Cecil Lan as a mature and cool woman, to think she was such a schemer..."

The healer massaged her head, she was here to get some peace and quiet to read an interesting medical study, not to listen to some useless gossip!

The healer stood up, preparing to shift to a bench further away. Suddenly, a red-haired woman ran past the healer, and she couldn't help but look up.

"Stop talking bad about Cecil!"

"Ha-Hana! You heard us...?"

"You were talking so loudly, everyone could hear you!"

"Hey, aren't we on your side, Hana? Cecil Lan stole Xue from you! Why are you talking as if we are in the wrong?"

"That's right, we...we are standing up for you!"

"You are wrong! Completely wrong! Cecil didn't steal Xue from me, Xue was hers in the first place!"

"...?!"

"You talk bad about Cecil one more time, I...I won't let you off!"

"If Cecil didn't steal Xue from you...then what was between you and him in the first place?"

"What are you talking about? Xue is like my big brother, and Cecil is my best friend, and they are the two people I looooove most in the whole world!"

The healer shook her head once more, shiffing away to a bench further away, sparing herself from the pointless gossip.

***

"Betrayal should be far from your mind," the healer stated calmly. "Cecil Lan."

"...?"

Cecil was confused. "It's betrayal no matter how I look at it."

"You flirting with that man, Xue?" The healer asked with a deadpan, shaking her head. "It wouldn't mean anything like betrayal."

"I-I didn't flirt--it's not flirting!" Cecil burst out, agitated. "Not. Flirting."

The healer gauged Cecil's reaction, realising that Cecil wasn't lying.

She really wasn't flirting at all.

The healer regarded Cecil with askance, thinking about the situation she encountered in the clinic that day again, and she had an epiphany. 

“So that’s it,” the healer snapped her fingers together, an amused smirk on her lips. “It’s one-sided, probably unrequited.” 

“One-sided? Unrequited? What are you talking about?” 

The expression on Cecil’s face was one of utter cluelessness. 

The smirk disappeared from the healer’s lips, and her expression back to a deadpan. 

This girl...she is hopelessly dense. 

The healer reached out, patting on Cecil’s shoulder and she sighed in an empathetic manner. It was as if she was expressing her condolences. 

“I pity that man,” the healer shook her head, still muttering as she walked back to her table. “The dense ones are always the hardest to catch.” 

Cecil frowned, the confused look still on her face as she observed the healer. “If there isn’t anything else, I’ll take my leave now.” 

The healer simply waved at her to go on. 

Cecil bowed, leaving in a hurry. 

The healer leaned back into her seat, crossing her arms, looking out the window. “Pitiful young man, and he seems pretty possessive as well.”

The healer sighed, shaking her head. “What a sad case.” 

***

Xue sneezed. 

“Xue, you sneezed?” 

“...I did.” 

“But you rarely sneeze!” Hana gasped, looking at Xue with a cheeky smile. “Someone must be talking about you!” 

If Xue knew it was the healer back at the clinic pitying him because of unrequited love, Xue would have been at a loss for words. 

“Xue, Hana!” Cecil jogged towards them with a wave, panting slightly. “Thank you...for waiting.”

Xue wasn't the type to bother with clothes, hence, he simply picked the academy's formal uniform that Kai wore for the school trip to Cecil's hometown. 

His outfit consisted of a collared long-sleeved shirt, black pants and white boots. The shirt was a mixture of colours, ranging from black and white, with red diamond-shaped designs. It had buttons on its sides and the school's symbol was imprinted on the shiny, golden buttons. 

Whereas, Hana wore a sleeveless, sapphire blue dress with multiple slits, covering her exposed legs with leggings along with her black shoes. She also wore black gloves that reached up her arms, and she pinned part of her hair up with the hair stick that Xue bought for her back in their hometown. 

Hana hurriedly wrapped her arms around Cecil and Xue, dragging them along. The two of them had already grown used to Hana’s excitement, allowing themselves to be pulled without any qualms. 

“Where do you want to go first?”  

“Wherever you want, Hana.” 

“Eat then! Let’s go eat first!” 

***

Hana was in a bubbly mood as she stuffed the food into her mouth, munching it heartily. Cecil watched in amazement as the heroine grabbed at the food swiftly with her chopsticks. Sometimes, she gave up and ended up using the fork and spoon provided to grab a bigger portion. 

To say that she had a voracious appetite was an understatement. 

Cecil was seated opposite Xue, with Hana in the middle of them.

“Your appetite is great as usual, Hana.” 

"Mmmm!"

Hana swallowed her food, taking the serviette provided to clean her mouth before she took a sip of her tea.

“The dumpling tastes so good!” Hana gasped, taking not one, but a few pieces of the shrimp and placing it onto her own plate.

Cecil placed the dumpling into her mouth, nodding along with Hana’s words. 

The dumpling is indeed delicious. 

The dough was neither too thick nor thin, and the filling was seasoned just right. Whether it was the juicy meat, to the fresh taste of the various vegetables inside the filling, the ingredients complemented one another. 

“I wonder how they cooked it…” Hana trailed off, taking another bite of the dumpling.

A waitress passed their table at that moment, her hair tied into a neat bun. She refilled their tea and she overheard Hana’s words, her slim hands pausing.

The waitress recognised the three people at her table, they were the people who played a major role in saving this town when it was invaded by corpses. Even the manager had pulled aside and warned her to be polite to them, and not anger them in any manner. 

Fortunately, unlike other customers, these three weren’t demanding or prideful, hence, the waitress had a good impression about them. 

“Miss, you are curious about how the dumpling is made?” 

“Yes! Do you know how it’s made?” Hana chirped, her eyes round and bright. 

“I will call my manager here, to see if he would allow you to have a chat with the chef.” 

Hana gasped, amazed. “You can do that?!” 

“Of course,” the waitress smiled, carrying the teapot away. “I’ll do it right now.”

The waitress walked off in a brisk manner, her eyes searching for her manager.

Cecil glanced at Hana, surprised. “Hana, you are interested in cooking?” 

“Mmmm…” Hana glanced down, contemplating before she beamed at Cecil. “I don’t know if I am, but if I can make delicious food for myself, I can eat delicious food everyday!” 

Cecil laughed.

It’s only Hana that will come up with such a reason to enjoy cooking.

Hana giggled, looking at Xue and she blinked in confusion. “Xue, you don’t like delicious food?” 

Xue was glaring at the food on his plate, his chopsticks hanging in the air. 

Kai: “Don’t put the ginger on the dumpling.” 

Alric: “No tomatoes, pl-please…”

Zasiok: “I’m allergic to seafood.”

Leonaut: “I’m allergic to everything except meat and rice.” 

The soul fragments gave Leonaut a look. 

Leonaut smirked, shrugging.

“No, I like them,” Xue sighed, eating his food. “Who doesn’t like delicious food?”

The soul fragments in his head started to make disgruntled noises, and Leonaut joined in just to annoy Xue further. 

If Xue could keep the link connection blocked the entire time, he would. Unfortunately, doing that requires effort, since it was similar to building a wall around his mind. 

“Why do you look like you swallowed something bitter then?” Hana tilted her head, pouting.

“Not me.” Xue muttered out, and the conversation was brought to an end when the manager appeared beside them.

The manager hurried to their table, more than eager to serve them. Without any hesitation, he brought Hana to the kitchen to have a chat with the chef. 

Knowing that Hana was a trouble magnet, Cecil specifically requested the manager to take good care of her. The manager wholly accepted her request, his response sincere.

He would rather die than offend these three! 

Even Xue threw in some words as well, wanting the manager to ensure that he really takes good care of Hana.

The manager felt nervous.

How hard could it be? Taking care of a beauty?

With Hana exploring the kitchen, Cecil and Xue had the table to themselves, and Cecil had an inkling as to why Xue appeared this gloomy while eating the food. 

"They don't like the food?" Cecil questioned.

Xue nodded, irked.

Cecil sighed, taking a spoon and placing a small portion of the dishes together on it. She proceeded to push the spoon towards Xue, staring right into his grey eyes.

"Stop being picky," Cecil nudged the spoon towards Xue, still looking at him. "All of you."

They both knew she was speaking to the alters within him.

Xue blinked, realising Cecil was feeding him.

He didn't feel as irritated anymore.

Of course, he wouldn't reject such a gesture now, he was more than happy to eat the food offered to him by Cecil.

He moved closer, wanting to open his mouth when he heard the soul fragments rejoicing in his mind.

Kai: "Cecil is feeding us!"

Alric: "Wi-with her own spoon!"

Zasiok: "She even carefully poured to sauce on for us..."

Leonaut: "I take everything back, I'm not allergic to anything anymore."

Xue narrowed his eyes, grabbing Cecil's spoon and stuffing the food into his mouth by himself instead. Cecil was shocked by Xue's sudden action, and his glare, her mouth gaping open when she finally realised that she was actually feeding Xue.

I...I have done committed a very serious offence!

This position should only belong to Hana!

Wh-what have I done?!

Xue handed the spoon back to Cecil, and Cecil quietly took it, seating back down on her seat.

"I'm sorry, it was inappropriate to...feed you like that."

Xue chewed on his food, for once, feeling satisfied at the indignant noises in his head for once.

"Don't be sorry."

"Oh."

"Just do it next time."

"Oh--oh?" Cecil glanced up at Xue. "Next time?"

Xue stared at Cecil, no longer feeling irritated, the indifferent look back on his face.

"Ah, I see," Cecil nodded in understanding. "You must be saying when Hana is around, I should ask her instead. I understand, Xue."

His face twisted in puzzlement.

"Why do you need to--"

"Esteemed customers! We sincerely apologise!"

The waitress startled the two of them as she appeared beside the table, panting heavily. Apparently, she had sprinted out of the kitchen all the way to their table.

"Wh-what are you apologising for?" Cecil frowned, before standing up in shock. "Is it Hana?! What happened to her?"

Xue stood up with his spear, his expression dark.

"Th-that is, Miss Katae, she..." the waitress inhaled deeply, catching her breath. "She is being overwhelmed by the chefs! They are fighting over her!"

"..."

"...what?"

***

Pt. 1

《 start 》

Ohhh, so these are the ingredients use for the dumpling!

There are other ingredients they never used as well!

I wonder what they are called?

Pork.

Mushrooms.

Chives.

Carrots.

There's so many!

They are letting me taste them too! Yay!

Hmmm...ever since I drank the Widerlich, my taste is more sensitive than usual.

They are asking me what I taste in this dish?

Since I tasted all the ingredients, I can tell them now!

《 stop 》

***

Pt. 2

《 start 》

Do it next time.

When they are not around.

When we are alone.

When there is only two of us.

《 stop 》

***

Author's note: Can I just say, my worst enemy in writing other than the character's name, are the outfits of the characters 😂😂😂. I am not an aesthetic person by nature(but I can appreciate them). Hence, the lack of outfit descriptions are apparent in the story (along with appearance), and I have a pet peeve for using pictures to "show" what I am describing in a story.

Basically, it's a big mess, yeah. But hey...I'm at least trying to improve now and it makes me wanna puke blood :D.