Takatsuki looked at the dozen or so girls eating and drinking heartily in the living room of the villa, then turned to the girl sitting upright beside him.
Compared to the younger girls, Misha was not only more mature but also older than them.
"Aren't you going to eat something?"
Misha just shook her head.
"I'm not hungry yet. What are you planning to do next, Mr. Takatsuki?"
Takatsuki grinned at the girl's direct question: "I'm not in a hurry, but you are. Why? Don't you believe what I said before?"
Misha still shook her head in response to Takatsuki's question: "It's just too good to be true, and... although not as generous as you, Mr. Takatsuki, some people have given us food before."
Was Misha trying to say that others also had good intentions? Not exactly...
"And then what happened?"
Misha gave a bitter smile: "Rice balls mixed with blades and stones were considered good. If it weren't for a few of us who could detoxify, we might have lost many companions by now."
"No wonder you were so wary before."
Takatsuki recalled how cautious these Cursed Children were when he first took out the food. Only one girl came out and ate two bites first, and only after she nodded did the others start eating.
At first, he thought the girl was being ostracized or something, but now it seemed that she was the one with the detoxification ability.
Gastrea viruses are all products of various creatures in nature amplifying their abilities. It's not uncommon for animals in nature to secrete detoxifying body fluids, so it's normal for them to have such abilities.
"But you can rest assured, just as I said outside, I am helping you not out of pure goodwill, but as a transaction. I will provide you with food and lodging, and you will work for me."
There is no goodwill without reason in the world. Pure girls who don't understand anything might think there are more good people in this world and accept others' kindness without guard.
But these girls in front of him have been hurt by those so-called "good intentions" before, making it difficult for them to trust such things again. And in Takatsuki's opinion, goodwill is also a very cheap thing.
After all, true goodwill is completely selfless, not seeking anything in return, and can even turn into resentment. It's better to have a direct transaction.
"Mr. Takatsuki, aren't you afraid of us turning into Gastrea?"
Cursed Children possess physical abilities and regenerative capabilities far exceeding those of humans. With such powerful existences, is there truly no one who wants to exploit their power for profit?
How could that be?
There is only one reason why those people dare not use them or even abandon them: the Gastrea virus erosion rate in Cursed Children will turn them into Gastrea once it rises to 50%.
And this is also why people in this world fear and loathe them, because in their eyes, these Cursed Children are not human, but the same species as Gastrea.
Only organizations like IISO and some powerful individuals dare to use the power of Cursed Children to fight against Gastrea, because they are confident that even if their Cursed Children mutate, they can still deal with them.
Takatsuki was the same, but he couldn't say such words.
"As long as you work under me, I will naturally ensure that you will not turn into Gastrea."
Misha gave Takatsuki a deep look, but didn't say much. In her opinion, Takatsuki was probably just influential and powerful enough to obtain inhibitors.
However, so-called inhibitors can only suppress, not completely prevent.
Even so, Misha was already satisfied. After all, they had been living a life of hunger, and even working for others was far better than their original lives.
Seeing the little girl who had been wary of him now relaxing, Takatsuki asked with a hint of amusement, "What? Aren't you curious about what kind of work I want you to do?"
"No matter what kind of work it is, I think it will be much better than the original life of not having enough to eat and constantly being afraid."
One can only say that although Misha felt she had experienced a lot, she was still too naive. After all, the ugliness of human nature was far more exaggerated than she imagined.
Of course, Takatsuki was not such a person, but he also saw no need to explain.
"Is that so? However, the work I offer is not simple. If you do it well, you might become world-renowned figures. If you don't do it well, you'll probably become enemies of the world."
"Aren't we Cursed Children already enemies of the world?"
"It's much more exaggerated than that."
Takatsuki shook his head: "Your work is very simple and very troublesome, and that is..."
"Saving the world..."
...
Misha felt dizzy. She had never thought that the first boss, leader, or superior she encountered in her life would be such a person.
Saving the world?
Is this a task a human can come up with?
But inevitably, she couldn't help but yearn for the world her new boss spoke of.
A world where humans no longer fear Cursed Children, a world no longer threatened by Gastrea.
Putting everything else aside, just these two points alone made it impossible for her to refuse.
Although, as long as there are people in this world, there will be conflicts.
Even with a common enemy, humans will not stop endless internal strife, and after losing the enemy, they will fight to the death.
But this was too far away for Misha.
She even wanted to ask Takatsuki how to do it now, but her rationality told her that this was impossible.
Such a thing, let alone a lifetime of struggle, would probably not be completed in hundreds of years.
But she had no way to ask Takatsuki, because Takatsuki seemed to have suddenly rushed into the inner room with some urgent matter, and she could only absentmindedly fill her stomach with her "family."
"Misha-nee, what's wrong? Is that big brother a good person?"
While Misha was staring blankly, a girl beside her, who was poking a steak with a fork, asked with some concern.
Misha glanced at the girl beside her, Mizuki Reiko, who was also the youngest among them.
Ten years had passed since the outbreak of the Gastrea War. The oldest Cursed Child was ten years old, and Misha had just turned ten this year, while Reiko was only eight years old.
"I'm fine. As for that big brother... he should... be a good person."
Misha looked at her other "family" members who had turned their gaze towards her, thought for a moment, and still gave this evaluation. Unlike her maturity, many of those present only recognized good and bad, as if the world was black and white.
Given the current situation and Takatsuki's actions, in order not to let others misunderstand, Misha gave this evaluation and buried another evaluation deep in her heart.
He's also a strange person...
And what about Takatsuki, who was currently being evaluated as a strange person by Misha?
He came to his previous bedroom and looked at Fu Hua, who was groaning on the bed, with a speechless expression.
"Takatsuki... am I going to die?"
Although not completely immobile, she was basically in a weak state.
"I didn't expect a world without Honkai Energy to affect you so much..."
Takatsuki checked Fu Hua's body as soon as he came in. The previous Honkai Consciousness's proxy fighting had indeed overdrawn Fu Hua's body, but Fu Hua herself had the Garuda gene, which allowed for extremely fast recovery. Coupled with some potions Takatsuki fed her, she was basically fine.
The only reason she was paralyzed on the bed now was that her own consciousness, her spirit, was very weak, making it difficult to drive this powerful body.
"As a Herrscher of Consciousness, after losing Honkai Energy, even my movements are affected... Herrscher of Sentience."