“Um, so how many sticks would you like?” Alex asked Alina as he glared at the vendor.

The vendor, upon seeing his look, could not help but think,

“Bro, your girl just liked my place. Why are you looking so angry?”

“Give me 50.” Alina abruptly said as she fidgeted on the spot. “Make sure they are cooked well.”

“She’s a glutton!” Alex thought wryly to himself as he made sure that he did not show any expression of surprise on his face.

His eyes could not help but look at Alina’s slender body as he wondered on where all the food that she ate went.

Alina seemed to have noticed his stare as she said,

“Put your eyes in the right place. You may be my date, but that does not mean that you can undress me with your eyes.”

“Hey, I’m not doing that!” Alex blurted out as he shook his head quickly. He cringed inwardly as he realized that Alina is not really good with speaking with other people.

“Oh. I assumed that you were doing that when you gave me that stare.” Alina bluntly said, with her head facing the direction of the food.

“………”

Alex did not dare to strike a conversation with Alina right now, as he can see that Alina was entirely focused on waiting for the streetfood to be cooked.

He could not help but feel sorry for the vendor, as he could feel that Alina was glaring at the vendor, urging him to cook faster.

“Umm… so is this your first date?” Alex asked as he saw Alina fidgeting restlessly on the spot. “Because it is my first date too.”

“Its my first date. But so what? I want to eat now.” Alina seemed to be a child as she began to bounce restlessly on the spot.

“No, Alina’s not like a child.” Alex thought as he began to smile wryly.

“She is like a cat…”

Of course Alex did not dare to say this thought out loud, as he knew that it will be rude.

“Here’s your order!” The vendor said as he shoved 50 pieces of streetfood in front of Alex and Alina.

Alex could not help but praise the vendor, as he managed to endure the scary glare of a starving Alina.

At the instant that he paid for the streetfood, Alex heard a sound that made him and the vendor open their mouths in shock.

“Nom nom nom…” Each time a stick of streetfood was brought by Alina near her mouth, they suddenly disappear, as if they were suddenly wiped out.

This phenomenon was shocking, as Alina was still wearing her mask when she ‘ate’ the streetfood.

“Nom nom nom…”

“She is a… unique person.” The vendor said, as he struggled to find the right words to describe Alina.

“You can say that anytime.” Alex said as he took a bite of one stick of streetfood. “Oh! This actually tastes good!”

Alex could not help but get another stick of streetfood, but to his dismay, he found out that Alina already finished it all.

At that time, Alex already knew what he should do.

“Give us 50 more sticks.” Alex said as he saw Alina looking at him intently.

“Coming right up!” The vendor said as he flashed a competitive smile at Alina.

Both Alina and the vendor seemed to be fired up, as a brewing rivalry started to form.

“Hmph! Honey still tastes better!” Asteria muttered angrily, but it was quite obvious that her eyes were concentrated on the juicy and tender content of the streetfood.

“Mister vendor, cook another 50 pieces as take-home.” Alex said as he gave a smug look at Asteria. “There are some people that would love to taste your dishes.”

“Yosh sir!”

********************

“That was satisfying.” Alex murmumred as he patted his tummy.

How could he expect that streetfood could taste that good? Now Alex understood why Alina seemed to be really excited as she ate the streetfood earlier.

“Umm… so the way you ate earlier…” Alex trailed on his words as he struggled to find the right words. “It was certainly unique.”

“That way of my eating earlier was an application of my Esper Ability.” Alina replied, with her voice much warmer than before.

From the looks of it, her view of Alex had improved after he treated her with some food.

“So the way through this girl is through her stomach huh.” Alex thought inwardly as he continued talking with Alina.

“Wait, what is your Esper Ability anyway? Its fine if you don’t tell me, since that is your power.”

To Alex’s surprise, Alina actually gave him an answer. It seems like the food had really loosened her up.

“My Esper Ability is Weak Space Manipulation.” Alina said as she followed behind Alex. “It allows me to affect Space in small ways.”

Alina then pointed at the trash can nearby as she said,

“With my Weak Space Manipulation, I can cut the Space within my Range.” As if to prove her point, Alina made a slashing motion with her hands, which resulted in the trash can being cut in half.

“Cool…” Alex did not lie when he said this.

For him, seeing Alina using her ability on something else instead of him made Alex feel surreal.

He inwardly shivered as he imagined his body being bisected by that strike.

“It’s a good thing I was agile at that time.” Alex thought as he took a shuddering breath.

Alina then went silent after doing these things, which brought her and Alex back to an awkward silence.

“Umm, so let’s go to the next location now.” Alex said as he brought Alina to his next marked destination.

“Is it another foodstall?” It may be hidden, but Alex could hear a tinge of hope in Alina’s voice. He resisted a smirk as he shook his head.

“Sorry, but its not a foodstall. However, we will look for another one once this date has finished.”

“Okay.” Alina nodded her head obediently as she seemed happy with what Alex said.

“Hmmm, this Alina seems to be a good girlfriend material.” Asteria said as she gave a leery smile at Alex. “Aren’t you excited dating someone like her?”

“If I will not be bisected by her like that streetfood earlier, then being with Alina will be great.” Alex thought as he and Alina arrived at their next stop.

“Is this… the hospital?” Asteria muttered to herself as she scrunched her tiny nose.

Asteria then let out a laugh as she shook her head wryly. “Alex, you’re really dedicated on ruining your date huh.”

While Asteria was bemused by Alex’s antics, Alex was inwardly nervous. He glanced at the motionless Alina, as he waited for her reaction.

“Well, bringing a girl in a date to the hospital surely is a wrong move. I just hope Alina will not be that angry.” Alex though to himself as he braced for Alina’s reaction.

“Your choice of places sure is unique.” Alina mumbled as her head looked at the direction of the hospital.

Alex was about to give an apologetic smile to Alina when Alina suddenly said,

“I am supposed to go to this hospital tomorrow to visit some people… But since you have brought me here already, then I will just visit them now.” Alina’s ponytail swished as she rushed towards the hospital.

“Seriously?” Alex could not help but facepalm as he realized that his second attempt to make Alina angry at him failed again.

“Aren’t you joining me?” Alina paused in her tracks as he looked at Alex. “You brought me here, so you should join me too.”

“Wait, is it fine for me to join you?” Alex asked as he glanced at the insides of the hospital. “Maybe your friends would not want to see you with me.”

“Don’t worry. They won’t bite you.’ Alina bluntly said as she continued walking.

Alex could only shake his head as he followed her.

**************

“I thought this is your first time in this city. If that was the case, then how come you have friends here?” Alex off-handedly asked, not realizing that is sounded a little offensive.

“These friends of mine are in a different hospital not long ago.” Alina said as she turned left. “They were just recently transferred here.”

“Oh.” Before Alex could say more, he and Alina stopped in their tracks as they arrived in a large room.

In this room, Alex could see a dozen of children playing with the toys around them.

All these children wore hospital clothes, and the pale pallor on their faces showed their sickly constitution.

But these pale faces of their turned red as they saw Alina.

“Sis!” The children shouted in happiness as they surrounded Alina. All of them looked extremely happy as they tugged at her clothes.

“Sis, you look pretty now!”

“Sis, I want to wear your mask!”

“Sis, you smell like food! I want food!”

Alex’s face could not help but cramp as he saw the crowd of children around him and Alina.

Alex was particularly not good with children, as he felt that they were too mischievous and naughty.

At that point, Alex decided that he should leave Alina alone with the children. But before he could do so, he suddenly heard Alina talking to the children.

“All of you look so healthy! Are they feeding you well here?”

“What!” Alex could not help but stumble as he heard a sweet voice coming out from Alina.

This was way different from the cold, detached voice that she was using earlier.

It was too sweet, so much so that its like he was hearing a different person talking right now!

“Sis, all the food that they give us are bad!” One of the children complained as she tugged her dress. “They said we should just eat vegetables, but they always taste bad.”

“Don’t worry, your Big Sis will talk to them later.” Alina continued speaking in her sweet voice, which just made Alex more bewildered.

This spectacle with the children continued for an hour before Alina left them. But it was quite obvious from her body language that she was reluctant to leave.

“So, what is that?” Alex said as he and Alina left the room. “I could not fathom what just happened there.”

“Those children are experimental subjects for inhumane Esper experiments.” Alina said, with her voice back to the cold, detached mode. “I could not stomach what was happening to them, so I rescued them all.”

“Oh, so that is why they all call you Sis.” Alex nodded his head in understanding as he saw the delighted looks on their faces.

“But why the sweet voice though?” Of course there is no way that Alex would not ask about this part.

“Those children cry when they hear my original voice.” Alina said as she seemed to be embarrassed. “So to ensure that they won’t be scared of me, I always used a sweet voice in front of them.”

“You must really like children for you to do that” Alex said as he looked at Alina intently. “However, I still prefer to hear your real voice. It sounds like music to my ears.”

“……” Alina did not say anything when she heard what Alex said, but Alex swore that he saw a slight tinge of red in her ears.

“Well, that might be just my imagination…” Alex thought to himself as he and Alina left the hospital.

Alex then let out a sigh as he wondered on how Alina could be a cold-blooded executioner while also be a food-lover and a big sister.

“Does she have a split-personality or something? Nope, that’s too cliché.” Alex thought wearily as he brought Alina to their next stop.