Amane never once thought she could have a simple smile just by eating and dining delicious foods.
Let alone imagining sharing them with people who genuinely care about her.
For the longest time, she never thought she would have been freed to even be able to taste the happiness from simple meals and care for a single Recipepe.
It wasn't that her parents didn't provide her with exquisitely beautiful dishes from their fruits and cafe parlor.
It wasn't that her student council president position was unfulfilling.
It was just…something that had been missing.
Something that she had lost behind her back ever since she was roped into the ruthless Recipepe thievery of the Bundoru Gang.
Heck, she never thought she would get brainwashed into unwittingly doing their dirty crimes of pilfering the deliciousness and smiles from people and Recipepes alike. And she never knew such a duty was always in the wrong.
All she dwelt in was utter loneliness, regardless of how many Recipepes she had abducted into the tainted Recipe-Bon.
Until…she encountered Precious, Spicy and Yum-Yum.
Of course, being the phantom thief Gentlu meant that she would heavily disagree with people who would herald the passion of food. Wasn't the purpose of food for being hoarded, at least according to the rapacious Godatz?
But fighting against the three of them gave her some new insight she never had before.
Precious vowed to protect food as they bring smiles. Spicy desired to protect food that has intertwined her with the beauty of friendship. And Yum-Yum swore to protect food that has beget joy to both her family, friends and customers alike.
Back then as Gentlu, when Yui came to her to preach about "Food is smiles", she wanted to fight against this philosophy so badly. Yet…at the same time she conflicted with so much ambivalence that she called herself out.
When Yum-Yum Drain shattered her mask, for the first time of regaining control, even if it was so brief, she was forced to rethink whether stealing the flavors that connect people together is right or wrong.
What do delicious smiles mean to her after all? Are they for robbing…or sharing?
She couldn't be even more regretful when she defencelessly let Narcistoru toy with her as if she was his ragged marionette to get her invisible strings repaired. The atrocity he did was just to keep her to himself…for his sheer amusement, instead of giving her a delicious smile.
It was truly disgusting, not gonna lie. Especially with that aggressive elbow choke he did to her.
Except…why would Yui, Kokone and Ran bothered saving such a wretched person, who had betrayed their trust as their student council president, at all?
Because…
Precious, no, Yui…always upholds the principle of protecting everyone's happiness over her own, which is…to accentuate the fact that…everyone deserves… "Food is smiles"...including her…and with her firm but warm fists like hot piping rice, she and the others have set her free…
If it wasn't because of Yui's firm and selfless philosophy, she wouldn't even have made out of the whole Bundoru Gang ordeal alive…
Without them, she wouldn't have remembered the true meaning of tasting food at all. It's not about robbing them all for yourself. It's not about how you can savor them all by yourself selfishly. Instead…
It's about bringing forth smiles for both humans and fairies alike, by the mere kind act of sharing and dividing with your own hearts.
Now, being accepted slowly into the team, it warms her heart to watch them exclaim and appreciate how scrumptious and enjoyable food is.
Yui always exclaims "Deliciousmiles~" whenever her taste buds click or seeing how Kome-Kome is happily munching something well-made that can speed up the fox child's growth.
Rosemary always gets exhilarated in an exaggeratedly but pleasing way with a wide smile on his face when he relaxes with the flavorful delicacies.
Kokone and Pam-Pam always slowly nibble on breads with varied flavors. It is clear that their shared love for bread has brought them mutual happiness for each other, like two combined halves of a heart-shaped bread.
Ran and Mem-Mem both passionately dig in their irresistible ramen filled with kelp broth and robust meat and other side dishes, and Mem-Mem approves of Ran enthusiastically praising how mouth-watering it is while also remarking that it would be amazing if others get to know how palatable it is just like they do from the inside of their hearts.
A single fruit cake that used to taste repetitively mundane, as Amane forks and takes a bite with the company of her friends as she gently savors inside her mouth, now emanates a strong redolence of enriched sweetness, brimming with felice.
A fruit cake Recipepe gleefully appears and flies around joyously as she continues to enjoy the sweetness that is induced by both the cake's craft and also the companionship from her dear friends.
Yui is right.
Food really brings out the most delicious smiles after all.
