Adelle felt like molten lava was rolling around in her stomach.

It was a familiar sensation, something she had gotten used to at this point. She had always been saved by god’s grace till now, but it seemed that her luck had ran o-

A bowl of soup landed on the ground.

"What…?" She muttered hoarsely.

She couldn't comprehend what had just happened.

'...Food appeared out of thin air…?' Her mind was bursting with questions.

But, even though she was starving, she was still alert.

She measured the situation in front of her. The only people who could teleport stuff, or make themselves invisible to do something like this, were the awakened.

But why would the awakened even try to do something like this?

Even though the thought that this could be a ploy made by a slave dealer passed through her mind, she quickly dismissed it.

No awakened would be poor or desperate enough to delve into slave trading. Even if they were, they'd be one of the top shots, not assigned to menial labor like this.

Not to mention, there were far more efficient methods, especially against a weak, defenseless, and malnourished teenager.

She, who wasn't too familiar with the world of the Awakened, couldn't think of any reason that an Awakened, one who was blessed by the fickle gods themselves, would do something like this.

In the end, her hunger overwhelmed her concerns and she ravenously consumed the soup.

'...I should've eaten slower.' She thought while looking at the empty bowl.

She sighed, and looked around her. She didn't know who or what had given her this food, but she wanted to thank them.

Especially because she hadn't already fainted, which meant this probably wasn't the work of a slave dealer.

If this food was given by an awakened with the ability to turn invisible, they should still be somewhere around here, right?

Even if the food was instead teleported by an Awakened instead, they'd still probably be observing her, right?

She hoped so.

"Thank you…" She croaked.

***

I looked at the downcast girl, who had a small bar which was only half filled present on the top of her head.

Her expression looked quite realistic, and it made my heart heavy.

"Thank you…" A voice that was barely a whisper reached my ears.

I didn't know why, but I had an intense urge to pat her when I saw her being so thankful.

So I, with my fingers that had been trained by years of mobile games, skillfully changed the perspective to the top of her head and tapped it.

***

"Ehhh?" She spluttered, while instinctively curling up towards the wall.

'W- What was that?!' She screamed internally, goosebumps popping up all over her body.

She felt nothing else even after a few minutes passed, and she finally regained a semblance of calmness.

She took deep breaths in while thinking about what just happened.

She had thanked the mysterious stranger who had given her the soup, and a second later, a burst of wind engulfed her from the top of her head.

It had nearly made her get a heart attack.

It was a miracle she was even still alive.

Just what the hell was happening?