"Now that you mention it, I just noticed it too."
Fu Zhu also looked up at the night sky. It seemed that his brief departure from Amphoreus had given Lygus an opportunity to change the weather back.
But it wasn't a big problem. Now that he was back, Lygus's good days were numbered.
However, Fu Zhu wasn't in a hurry to change the weather. He would just rest for the night, and when he woke up, he would lock the weather back to daytime when it was naturally refreshed.
Seeing that Fu Zhu's group intended to stay, the village chief immediately volunteered to prepare dinner.
March 7th felt it was too much to ask an old man to prepare a meal for so many people all by himself, so she quickly stood up to help. The chief didn't refuse.
In the end, everyone except Fu Zhu and Evernight, including Mem, went with the village chief to prepare the evening meal.
"I thought you'd always stick with March."
Fu Zhu sat in his chair and glanced at Evernight, who had walked over and sat down in the empty seat beside him.
Evernight shot him a glare, folding the umbrella she kept open even in the dark. That pair of beautiful eyes rolled at Fu Zhu.
"If I didn't have something to say to you, I wouldn't want to be anywhere near you."
Although Evernight's words sounded cold, Fu Zhu didn't mind. She was a bit of a tsundere, so you just had to take the opposite of what she said. And even if she wasn't being a tsundere... he'd just take it as the opposite anyway!
Who could argue? She was "March 7th," after all.
---o---
Evernight secretly glanced at Fu Zhu and, seeing that he wasn't angry, quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
Her feelings for Fu Zhu were complex. She possessed all of March's memories, and the experiences March had shared with Fu Zhu felt no different from her own. It was just that she had no desire to compete with herself.
Gathering her thoughts, Evernight spoke again.
"When Cyrene and Mem were talking earlier, you must have noticed something was off, right?"
"Mhm."
"I don't understand Mem's words, but just from what Cyrene said, they must have known each other for a long time. But according to you, this should be their 'first' time meeting. Also, I need to remind you of something else. I sensed an identical thread of causality on both of them. This is a very rare situation."
Evernight's words immediately piqued Fu Zhu's curiosity.
"How so?"
Evernight thought for a moment, then shared her speculation with Fu Zhu.
"Either their situation is similar to mine and March 7th's, or they are literally the same person!"
Fu Zhu was a bit lost. Weren't Evernight and March 7th the same person?
Evernight saw his confusion and explained, "Strictly speaking, I am not a complete 'March 7th.' I am merely an 'Obsession' born to protect her, and from various other factors. I was born from her, so my causality is the same as March's. Does that make it clearer?"
---o---
"Got it."
Evernight's explanation was very clear, and Fu Zhu understood at once. This, however, only made him more curious about Cyrene and Mem.
Thinking back carefully, and interpreting it according to Evernight's words, it seemed the relationship between those two might be connected to some things he'd learned before.
First, he knew that Amphoreus had undergone numerous cycles.
Second, Cyrene had said that he would return to the beginning from the future to leave a prophecy. This sounded a bit like a causal loop.
So, could Cyrene and Mem be in a similar situation? For example, was the Mem of this world the Cyrene of the next?
A number of theories instantly popped into Fu Zhu's mind, but none of them had any solid evidence to back them up.
After telling Fu Zhu everything she knew, Evernight quietly stood up and left the courtyard, heading off to see how March's preparations were going and leaving Fu Zhu alone to his thoughts.
A short while later, a burst of cheerful noise interrupted his musings. He looked up to see March 7th and the others walking over with various delicious dishes. Even Mem was helping, flying over with a small basket of fruit.
"Fu Zhu, time to eat!"
March 7th cheerfully laid out the food on the table, then pulled Fu Zhu over to sit next to her. Evernight had intended to sit next to March, but after receiving a pointed look from her, she sat down on Fu Zhu's other side instead.
Cyrene had also wanted to sit next to Fu Zhu, but seeing that Evernight had already taken the other spot, she opted for the seat directly opposite him. The moment she sat down, she picked up a piece of food with her chopsticks and placed it in Fu Zhu's bowl.
---o---
"Here, try this. This is my specialty!"
Fu Zhu's expression froze. The moment Cyrene placed the food in his bowl, he could distinctly feel the "killing intent" emanating from his left and right.
My dear Cyrene, are you trying to plot my demise?!
But faced with someone's kindness, Fu Zhu couldn't very well scowl and say something unpleasant. He could only say thank you and quietly eat.
March 7th, not to be outdone, quickly followed suit, placing a piece of food into his bowl.
"You try this too! This is a dish I think is delicious!"
On the other side, Evernight couldn't help but sigh and facepalm upon hearing March's words.
March, oh March, couldn't you at least put a piece of food in his bowl out of concern for his health? "A dish you think is delicious"? You've already lost this round, haven't you?
Evernight felt she had to intervene. She too picked up a piece of food and placed it in Fu Zhu's bowl.
"Earlier, when March was preparing dinner, she said you absolutely had to try this. It's good for the kidneys."
Fu Zhu's head shot up, his face a mask of solemnity.
"My body has never been deficient and is in no need of supplements. However, this is March's kind thought, and it cannot be wasted."
Fu Zhu first issued a health declaration, then began to vigorously attack the "kidney-nourishing" dish Evernight had mentioned.
Meanwhile, the village chief, who had been content to act as a background character, stared at the dish Fu Zhu was eating and fell into deep thought.
Isn't that a diuretic? How did it become 'good for the kidneys'?
But he didn't dare say it out loud, afraid that if he did, he wouldn't get to eat any of the other dishes.
The entire table of five people, plus one unidentified creature, were all piling food into Fu Zhu's bowl, all except for him. If he didn't pick up his pace, he'd be left with nothing but plain rice!
---o---
After dinner, the village chief arranged rooms for everyone.
Just as Fu Zhu entered his room, planning to get some sleep and reset the weather, March 7th suddenly burst in. She pounced, knocking him onto the bed and sprawling on his chest, though he wasn't sure what she was trying to do.
"What's wrong?"
Fu Zhu reached out and cupped March's face, thinking she was here for some affection. But when he lifted her little face, he found her eyelids drooping in a clear show of annoyance.
"Honey, be honest with me. While you were off on your own, did you go and provoke a lot of other beautiful girls?"
Author's PS: Apologies, the previous passage about Khaslana being surprised that Cyrene didn't die was poorly written by me. I will go back and revise it later. It will likely be changed to Khaslana being surprised that the village wasn't destroyed.