Published: January 22, 2026
“Listen, Fuuka, okay? Since people from other places are gathering today, you need to hold yourself back. Absolutely no gluttonous eating like usual, got it?”
“...? I’m not going to gorge myself.”
“Are you really sure you understand...?”
On the way to the invited restaurant, Fuuka, who was being scolded by Ms. Katina, appeared from a different alley along with Mr. Haruto and Mr. Huey, who were both smiling wryly behind her.
“Oh, isn’t that the Red Copper Twilight?”
Will called out as he noticed the four of them.
“Oh, it’s been a while, Wilkes! And everyone else! Oh, by the way, congrats on reaching the 94th floor.”
Mr. Haruto was the first to respond to Will’s voice, greeting us and congratulating us on clearing the 93rd layer.
“Thanks, Mr. Haruto. Are you guys heading to the Jade Gale’s place too?”
“Yeah, that’s right. Seems like we’re going to the same destination, so let’s go together.”
With those words from Mr. Haruto, the nine of us decided to head to the restaurant together.
As we walked tightly packed as nine, Fuuka came straight toward us.
“Orun, long time no see.”
“Long time no see, Fuuka.”
Although I hadn’t interacted face-to-face with Fuuka very often, and she didn’t seem like the type to start conversations, I was a little surprised she spoke to me first, but I responded anyway.
“Has anything changed recently?”
Fuuka looked intently at my face and asked.
Her expression was still as unreadable as ever, making her emotions difficult to decipher, but her eyes seemed serious.
At the very least, she didn’t look like she was trying to engage in small talk.
“Well... if I had to say something that’s changed, it’d probably be about the empire, right? There’s supposed to be a summit between the king and the emperor soon.”
“I don’t care about the empire right now... It’s not that, I mean, has anything changed about you personally?”
Even though the empire issue is the biggest recent event, she says she doesn’t care...
Well, I guess Fuuka doesn’t seem to pay much attention to that kind of thing.
“Me personally, huh? In that case, that thing... has definitely improved a lot.”
“That thing? You mean qi?”
Although Mr. Haruto forbade me from talking about qi, Fuuka already knew that Mr. Haruto was teaching me, so it wasn’t a problem.
I censored the word just in case, but Fuuka easily said it.
“Yeah, but is it okay if I talk about it?”
When I asked, Fuuka nodded and then spoke.
“Just hearing about it doesn’t really mean anything, so it’s fine. What else?”
She seemed eager to hear something else from me.
But I didn’t know what that “something” was.
“Sorry. I can’t think of anything else.”
When I said I had nothing else, Fuuka muttered, “...I see,” and then closed her mouth.
The conversation ended there for the moment, but she didn’t show any sign of leaving to join the others, so I decided to bring up a topic.
(Fuuka and food go together, right?)
“Have you ever been to the Gentle Breeze Pavilion we’re headed to now?”
When I asked Fuuka, she shook her head.
“That place is a shop targeting adventurers among the general public. I’ve been there a few times before, and the food was really good. The shop isn’t very large, but since it’s aimed at adventurers, many dishes are hearty and use ingredients that help recover from fatigue.”
After briefly explaining about Gentle Breeze Pavilion, Fuuka showed interest.
Her expression remained unchanged, but her eyes sparkled with curiosity.
Seeing that, I felt a little warm inside and shared with Fuuka some of my favorite hidden gem restaurants on the way to Gentle Breeze Pavilion.
â—‡
When we arrived at our destination, Gentle Breeze Pavilion, and entered, the members of Jade Gale were already gathered.
“Hey, we’ve been waiting. Welcome to Gentle Breeze Pavilion!”
As they noticed our arrival, a boyish woman with short emerald green hair greeted us on behalf of the group.
Her name was Loretta Weaver.
She was the ace of Jade Gale, and the person I had fought against in the opening round of the last martial arts tournament.