Lunch break.
Cafeteria.
I leaned back on my chair, chewing on a bite of rice, and across from me Ariana and Livia were chatting like old friends who'd known each other for years — not two girls who only spoke properly for the very first time yesterday.
And Livia… was eating pancakes.
My pancakes.
She was practically glowing.
Apparently she woke up before dawn, ran straight to the diner I'd mentioned inside the dungeon, ate breakfast there, packed lunch too, and was already planning dinner.
She wasn't just satisfied — she was converted.
"I swear, I'm going to eat every meal there from now on," she declared dramatically, hands cupped around her cheeks. "It's cheap, it's delicious, and it's actually filling. I don't think I've ever eaten anything this good — and affordable — in my life!"
Ariana laughed. "I told you, didn't I? Lucien's cooking is cheating."
I couldn't stop grinning.
Couldn't.
Because floating in front of my face, translucent and smug, was the system window:
