This was all coming from the mirror’s power-up method. I still didn’t really understand why, but eating food now increased a new level that was separate from regular levels—it might be called the “food level.” It felt a bit like the system that Itsuki had described once. Eating food I had prepared caused experience to be earned and a separate level and status to increase. It looked like the type of food that was eaten changed the status that increased, but I still wasn’t sure how that all worked either.

Basically, I wanted to stuff them with high-quality, high-capability, highly efficient food and raise that food level as quickly as possible.

Even better, feeding vassal weapon holders with a careful eye to their enhancement would let me enhance them even without them being a hero. This was pretty convenient. I was up for anything that involved enhancing my allies. The mirror knew what I liked!

“I know this is enhancement . . . but it isn’t easy,” Ethnobalt said, finally finishing the plate in front of him.

“We should have some medicine on hand to aid with digestion,” I said.

“The people in your village would make short work of all this, I think,” Ethnobalt commented.

“Yeah, I bet they would.” If everyone at home could get a boost from eating like this, that would have been a great reason to cook for them. There would be some long faces at home when I told them about this feast.

“Hmmm. I’m going to have to experiment on everyone here in Kizuna’s world in order to feed them once I get back. Otherwise, they may defeat me,” I said.

“Defeat you at what, exactly?” Ethnobalt asked.

I took some of the food over to L’Arc too.

L’Arc and his table had been stuffing themselves to start with, but they were reaching their limit now. Therese was already tapped out. She liked jelly, so I’d made some for her that looked like gemstones—she’d like them so much she forgot about pacing herself and filled up too quickly.

“I’m stuffed and yet this flavor makes me want to keep on eating. That’s cheating, kiddo!” L’Arc complained.

“I’m really starting to have a good time,” Sadeena said. “My skin feels so lustrous.” She was being literal too—there was a strange glow coming off her. S’yne, meanwhile, was also stuffing her face! It probably wasn’t my place to comment, being the one stuffing her, but I had to wonder where she was fitting it all in that slender body of hers. Filo and Sadeena were big girls—in their original forms, at least—so that went some way to explaining it, but S’yne was positively petite. I had difficulty imagining her tucking quite so much away.