They sat facing each other, each on his own bed.
The afternoon light filtered lazily through the window, gliding across the floor and striking the edges of the metallic beds, reflecting with a slight coolness. The scent of rice still lingered in the air—warm, simple, betraying its presence despite the silence of the room.
Then—
Grumble…
A low, shy, but unmistakable sound.
shimoro froze for a fraction of a second. His eyes slid downward as if his own body had betrayed him before an opponent. He tried to ignore it, but his stomach was not cooperating.
ryo, who was half-reclining, turned slowly and looked at him out of the corner of his eye.
"There is food," he said indifferently. "If you want."
shimoro tightened his lips.
"I don't want any."
He then tried to stand up.
His foot touched the floor, and in the next instant, his face contorted. Pain surged suddenly, sharp, as if something had yanked the tendons inside his leg. His body shook, and he was forced to sit back down, his breathing ragged.
Before he could speak—
ryo moved faster than shimoro could notice.
He grabbed the rice plate with one hand, and with the other, he forced shimoro's mouth open with overwhelming strength.
"Heh—?!"
ryo gave shimoro no time. He poured a quantity of rice directly into his mouth.
The rice was warm and delicious.
And certainly, sudden and unavoidable.
shimoro was forced to chew. He swallowed. Then he swallowed his saliva again.
His eyes widened with anger, matched only by the happiness he felt at finally eating natural food…
"Y—!"
shimoro didn't finish his sentence; instead, he snatched a pillow from behind him and threw it with all his might while finishing his words:
"You cheater!!"
ryo was smiling.
He placed the plate calmly on the bed beside him, then raised his arm and easily parried the pillow, sending it reflecting into the air. ryo caught it and threw it back toward shimoro. Without hesitation, shimoro punched it mid-air, but ryo leaned forward slightly and headbutted it.
It bounced back again.
shimoro punched it once more.
At this point, something changed in ryo's gaze.
A smile… different from the one before.
It was a smile filled with blind confidence.
The EIU flowed through his EIU Channels like a silent flash. It did not storm, it did not roar, and it did not rage. It simply flowed. It reached his right fist and transformed into a faint, dense white aura.
ryo's fist moved to perform a single punch.
The punch made no sound.
But the pillow took off like a projectile, its speed doubled, and it collided directly with shimoro's hand.
Bakh!
shimoro gasped, recoiling from the impact.
"You cheated again, you cheater!" he shouted, furious.
ryo laughed. A clear, short laugh, as if something simple in the world was still working exactly as it should be.
shimoro gradually calmed down. He began to breathe… inhale, exhale… then he looked at the food. He began to eat in silence.
After the first spoonful, he raised his head.
"I have some questions."
ryo did not turn.
"Like what?"
"Who was that young man? You were talking to him as if you knew him."
He paused for a moment.
"And why were you near Tatsuma Village… where I live?"
The room went quiet. Even the light seemed stiller.
ryo sighed.
"Hah…"
ryo ran his hand through his hair.
"Do you really want to know all this, you idiot?"
shimoro looked at him directly. No anger. No hesitation.
"Yes."
About a month ago…
In the Green Earthia Kingdom.
The alleys were narrow, damp, smelling of metal, oil, and fresh air… ryo was moving gracefully, his steps calculated, his eyes never ceasing their scan.
ryo moved from one alley to another, trying to gather information that might lead him to his goal… and exploring the strange kingdom.
Then he heard the voices of humans.
The voices of three people.
ryo hid in the shadows, his expression turning to one of listening.
The first was a man wearing heavy iron armor, an iron sword at his waist, and a hand shield hanging on his back. His hair was black, his features ordinary, but his confidence was high.
"We will definitely finish off that trivial fish."
The second was a girl. Her long black hair was loose, her eyes blue, and her skin dark. A bow was on her back, and her tone was full of disdain.
"Only fools believe that the arabisel forest is scary."
She smiled mockingly, as if she underestimated the red scale fish because of its innocent-sounding name…
"In the end… it's just a fish."
The third was another young man. His black hair was styled upwards, his skin yellow, gloves on his hands, and a cigarette between his lips. A dark metallic alloy containing strange fragments and sharp geometric lines on its frame hung at his waist… it was a short, heavy pistol, closer to an industrial tool… his voice was calm, and smoke came out with every word from his mouth.
"We will head in from the eastern side tonight."
He puffed out smoke.
"We will take the spoils from the forest, Tara… ryoski."
The armored man, ryoski, moved slightly.
"Understood, Leader Kardashian."
Meanwhile, the girl, Tara, smiled with great confidence.
"As long as there are spoils, I'm with you. The red scale fish is mine."
Leader Kardashian threw the cigarette on the ground and crushed it with his foot.
"Its scales are precious… and hard."
He looked up.
"We won't leave it."
ryo, in the shadows, looked at his ordinary iron sword…
But suddenly, Kardashian's words came out with crushing coldness.
"Also, don't think I haven't noticed you, you hiding rat."
ryo was shocked and then moved quickly in a hurry…
But Kardashian did not move.
"Don't go after him."
Until ryo reached the edge of the alleys, panting slightly…
"His sense of observation is strong… extremely strong. And it seems that place has monsters as well…"
He whispered to himself.
"This will be fun."
Sound returned to the room.
"…That's everything that happened," ryo said while shimoro ate in front of him. "Mr. Questioner."
shimoro stopped eating.
"If the armored ryoski… was right…"
He thought for a moment.
"Did we steal the monster from them? Or something like that, as he said?"
ryo smiled. A confident smile.
"We found it ourselves."
Then he added without hesitation:
"But we borrowed information from a squad of fools."
shimoro exhaled and gave a small, natural laugh.
"That's the usual ryo…"
Then he raised his gaze and asked clearly:
"But you…"
He stopped.
"You still haven't told me… why were you near Tatsuma Village?"
To be continued