Chapter 007: Where the Moon Parts Ways (Part Two)

Shock always arrives unexpectedly, much like an uninvited “surprise.”
The gentle morning sunlight streamed through the bright skylight, spilling onto the glistening, honeyed surface of the fruit pudding cake at Precia’s fingertips. Already a masterpiece in color, aroma, and taste, the cake became even more enticing beneath the spring dawn’s embellishment—so alluring that it stirred a craving, a “lips-are-ready-to-taste” feeling (see Autumn Lexicon), and naturally, the little greedy cat, Ai, was no exception.

“Happy birthday, Ai—so, are you satisfied with the small birthday cake your mother specially prepared for you?” Precia’s mother asked, half teasing, half earnest, with obvious enjoyment in her voice.

Knowing full well her not-so-old mom’s girlish heart had not faded, Ai barely had time to protest the embarrassingly affectionate nickname. Hastily, she patted her “conscience” and launched into her performance, shyly nodding while her mouth spun out extravagant praise:

“Mmm~ mmm~ Mother, you are absolutely the most beautiful and virtuous home chef in the world. Even in the endless depths of the dimensional sea, you are undoubtedly the queen of human feminine power!”

Why is it like this… For the first time, I am about to taste my most beloved pudding cake; for the first time (and unless fate intervenes, probably the last), I am about to celebrate the third birthday of my childhood. These two delightful events happened to coincide, and together, they should have created countless joys for me. I should have been blessed with a happiness as dreamlike as this. But why… Why has it become like this?

The so-called heroes who “won’t bend for five bushels of rice”—they definitely… hmm, don’t exist. In times of hunger, it is only reasonable and forgivable for people to set aside their pride and yield to delicious food. This is called advancing by retreating, a great wisdom awakened by gastronomy; though it seems on the surface to be a concession of integrity, it is in fact a cunning victory of the palate! Yes, yes, so I needn’t feel any unnecessary hesitation, shame, or guilt for this—instead, I should be deeply proud of myself for devising such a perfect strategy~ Yes, yes, yes, I am not at fault. The blame lies with the food itself for tempting me with its sweet aroma, all for the sake of vanquishing the sinful “devil’s fruit”—I am compelled to cast aside my dignity, bearing the shame for a greater cause.

Moreover, “losing integrity because of eating” and “eating away one’s integrity” are absolutely not the same! In essence, the former merely drops integrity on the ground, lost; the latter swallows it into the stomach, gone. Hmph, that’s right—even if all my integrity falls away, it doesn’t mean it’s vanished without a trace—I can always pick it up afterwards~

Precia’s mother, the instigator, could hardly have imagined that her casual question would trigger such a complex and subtle shift in Ai’s emotions. Meanwhile, Precia, suffering another bout of “girl syndrome,” rested her chin in one hand, covered her face, pressed her heart with the other, tilted her head and lowered her eyes, instantly transforming into a bashful maiden with a heart fluttering like a startled fawn—still intoxicated by Ai’s “heartfelt” flattery. Judging by the look of things, it would be some time before she could extricate herself—it’s enough to make one dizzy, and surely outsiders would be equally bemused. Truly, these two are mother and child… Even their talent for wild imagination, timing, spontaneity, and persistence are in perfect sync—remarkable, really.

Between the two, it was Ai, deeply “poisoned” by food, who came to her senses first. While her mother was still lost in her “beautiful inner world,” Ai, shedding her last shreds of dignity and correcting her attitude, impatiently forced her attention back to the birthday cake.

“Come to think of it, these days leading up to my birthday have been truly fulfilling. If it weren’t for the fruit pudding cake you made, Mother, reminding me, I might have missed my birthday this year (New Era Year 33, March 5th)—ugh, in that case, I would have had to painfully accept the reality that I’d forever lose the precious opportunity to enjoy a birthday cake as a matter of course. My life would become incomplete, robbed of a necessary happiness~”

“Your life isn’t nearly as fragile as all that! What’s fragile is your twisted sense of values. Don’t give up so easily, you fool!” Precia’s mother, summoned back from her reverie by Ai’s absurd, complaint-laden monologue, could only feel both exasperated and amused. Hands on her waist, she glared at her own child—who had managed to scare herself, trembling pitifully. She couldn’t help but grumble, “And stop equating ‘birthday’ with ‘cake’! I don’t recall ever raising a child whose brain is filled only with pudding cake like some greedy kitten! Normally, when people think of birthdays—no matter how lacking in common sense—they first think of ‘wishes’ or ‘gifts’, right? What on earth is this superhuman logic circuit of yours?!”

“Hmm? ‘Gift’?” At the sound of those two key words, Ai’s “appetite” was once more piqued; a tuft of hair on her head stood straight up like a charged antenna, swaying energetically.

“Oh~ (rising and falling tone) So this is the true meaning of a ‘post-meal surprise’? As expected of my mother—truly, she’s not to be underestimated!”

“I really don’t want to be respected as ‘not to be underestimated’ over such trivial matters…” Precia, distressed by her own involuntarily rising sarcasm, rubbed her forehead with a peculiar expression. With practiced steadiness, she reached for a gift box beside her on the dining chair—a moderately sized, perfectly square box with sharp-cornered edges and packed with sincere intent.

And then—

A scream resounded across southern Midchilda, echoing through the entire ancient courtyard—a truly catastrophic cry burst forth…

—Heavens! A mother sabotages her child, and succeeds! [Of course, these aren’t Ai’s exact words (laugh), the mystery (in every sense) will be revealed in the next chapter.]