Chapter Fourteen: Favorability 100 (Please Vote and Add to Favorites)

“Ugh~”
Clutching the utility pole, Su Mo retched violently, nearly bringing up yesterday’s leftovers.
He rubbed his aching, swollen stomach. Never did he imagine he’d one day be troubled by overeating. To accompany the foodie maiden Toka on her date, even though she was mostly the one devouring food nonstop, Su Mo was coerced into eating quite a lot himself.
He glanced at Toka’s flat stomach—a belly that had contained enough food for a family of three for several days, yet it remained flat as ever. One could scarcely believe such a slender frame could hold so much; truly, she was a bottomless pit.
Had Su Mo not finally reached his limit and forcibly dragged Toka away from the gourmet street, he seriously suspected she’d bankrupt every snack shop before leaving.
“Su Mo, are you alright?” Toka, with a skewer of octopus balls in each hand, devoured them heartily as she asked.
“I’m fine!”
Su Mo shook his head, smiling wryly at the girl. “Toka, you’ve eaten so much already. How can you still keep eating?”
“Delicious things are never enough—why would I ever stop?” Toka tilted her head, finishing the last skewer and turning incredulous eyes on Su Mo.
To her, food was so delectable, one could never have enough.
Well, the world of foodies is beyond ordinary understanding.
As Su Mo debated whether to continue accompanying Toka, fearing he’d develop an aversion to eating if this kept up, cheerful music played at the end of the street.
There, a round spinning wheel stood—much like a prize wheel—beside boxes wrapped in ornate packaging. A long line had already formed in front of the lottery stand.
“Su Mo, Su Mo, what’s that? So many people, it looks so lively!” Toka called, her face full of curiosity. After this date, she’d dropped her guard against humanity completely and was fascinated by anything novel.
“Probably a lottery stand or something,” Su Mo replied offhandedly. But the next scene made the corners of his mouth twitch, for two familiar figures stood at the lottery table. One, with twin tails bound by white ribbons, was none other than Kotori Itsuka, currently in her “little sister mode,” her face beaming as she charmed and greeted guests.
The other was Miss Rei Murasame, with white hair and deep dark circles under her eyes.
Before Su Mo could react, Toka had already run towards them.
“So, what’s this for?” Toka pointed at the large prize wheel divided into sections, curiosity brimming in her voice.
“It’s a lottery event held by the gourmet street to thank customers. Whichever section the pointer lands on, you win the corresponding prize,” Rei Murasame explained in a sleepy tone.
“Is that so? What kind of prizes are there?” Toka bit her finger, curious as a child.
“What do you like?” Kotori interjected.
“What do I like?” Toka tried to recall, though she’d only just entered the human world and had few favorites. But soon her eyes lit up and she replied, “I like soybean flour bread.”
For a foodie, the favorite thing is always food.
And as someone who tasted human food for the first time, Toka was particularly obsessed with soybean flour bread. Despite sampling countless delicacies since, she couldn’t forget its flavor.
“I see!” Kotori nodded, then quietly slipped away.
At last, Su Mo stepped forward, gazing helplessly at Rei Murasame. Hadn’t they agreed not to interfere with his date? Why take matters into their own hands again? What was the meaning of this?
“So, want to give it a try?” Rei Murasame ignored Su Mo, addressing Toka.
“Mhm!”
Toka nodded frantically like a pecking chick, then looked up at the wheel. “Do I spin this?”
“No, it’s another one!”
As Rei Murasame spoke, Kotori, who had left, suddenly pushed out a brand-new wheel. When Su Mo saw it, he was speechless.
The entire wheel had only two colors—or perhaps, for the less sharp-eyed, it looked like just one. The winning area covered almost the entire wheel, with only a tiny, bean-sprout-sized sliver representing “Thank you for participating” stubbornly squeezed in.
How was this any different from just giving the prize away?
Su Mo couldn’t help but admire Kotori’s ingenuity—what an elaborate setup.
Naturally, Toka won the prize.
And the prize—
An enormous soybean flour bread pillow!
“Wow!”
Seeing the pillow, as tall as a person, Toka salivated uncontrollably, then leapt onto it, mouth open wide. Before Su Mo could say “That’s not edible,” she had already taken a big bite.
……………………
As the sun set, Su Mo and Toka stood side by side at a scenic spot overlooking the city. From this vantage, they could take in the entire panorama of Tengong City—a breathtaking view that made one lose themselves in admiration. Thanks to Kotori, they’d found such a rare place for their date.
“Su Mo, thank you!”
Toka gazed at the amber-lit city streets and homes, then turned to Su Mo and smiled. “How wonderful—dating is, how should I put it, really interesting. I’m so happy today.”
On her face was a carefree, genuine smile.
Hearing this, Su Mo looked at Toka. Their gazes met, and he recalled their first encounter yesterday, when Toka’s face was shrouded in despair and melancholy, wary and distrustful of the world—a stark contrast to now.
“Really, you don’t need to feel this way. I’ve told you, not all humans hate spirits. There’s still beauty in this world.” Su Mo had worked so hard to ensure Toka wouldn’t see humanity as an enemy.
“Yes, today was so meaningful to me. For the first time, I felt the world was gentle, interesting, and full of delicious soybean flour bread.” Toka hugged her prize pillow tightly, but her smile slowly faded. “I never imagined that, when I appeared in this world, I would destroy such wonderful things.”
Su Mo held his breath, a sense of foreboding rising in his heart.
As expected, Toka’s expression turned sorrowful. “So, it’s better if I don’t exist. Every time I enter this world, I cause a space quake. It would be better if I didn’t appear at all.”
According to Kotori’s explanation, spirits lived in a place called the Neighboring Realm, while humans inhabited the Present World.
Whenever a spirit descended from the Neighboring Realm to the Present World, the resulting disturbance triggered a space quake. The severity varied, but from Toka’s case, it seemed spirits could control their own quakes—though, lacking common sense, they rarely did so intentionally, letting quakes happen as they would.
Clearly, after recognizing the beauty of the human world, Toka now felt guilty for her past actions—a kind, adorable girl indeed.
“No!”
Su Mo suddenly spoke, facing Toka with solemnity. “None of this is your fault. You didn’t know any of this before. Just like today, you didn’t cause any disaster, did you? And if you’re afraid of triggering space quakes again, then don’t go back to the Neighboring Realm. Stay here forever—wouldn’t that solve everything?”
“Really? I can really live in this world? But if I stay here, there’ll be so many troubles. I know nothing about this world, I don’t know how anything works, I have nowhere to sleep, nothing to eat, and those AST members might come looking for me…”
“Leave all that to me.”
Without hesitation, Su Mo interrupted, reaching out to Toka with a firm gesture. “Even if the whole world denies you, I’ll affirm you above it all.”
“All you need to do is take my hand!”
Toka lowered her face, silently pondering for a while, then slowly raised her head and extended her hand.
As their hands clasped, the sensation sent a shiver through Su Mo’s heart. At the same time, a prompt sounded in his mind.
[Favorability: 100]
Seeing the notification, signaling the completion of his first task—raising a spirit’s favorability to one hundred percent—Su Mo was overwhelmed with excitement.
At that moment, Toka looked up, cheeks flushed, and whispered, “Su Mo… could we… go on another date together someday?”
“Anytime you like!”
Su Mo replied earnestly, resolving in his heart to protect this world’s most precious foodie girl.