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Following Windblossom’s line of sight, the silver-haired ranger turned to look their way.

“So these are the teammates you’ve chosen?” Famichi’s gaze settled on Starry. The girl gave him a faint sense of familiarity, yet she was somehow different from the person he remembered. As for the boy standing behind her, he looked utterly ordinary, the kind of face that would disappear into a crowd and never be noticed again.

“That’s right.” She nodded.
“I understand.” Since she had already brought them here, he saw no reason to say anything more.
“Let’s head upstairs and talk.”
Windblossom turned back toward them and said, “Come on, follow him.”

Thus, under the watchful eyes of the surrounding players, the four of them headed up to the second floor one after another. A few people tried to sneak along behind them, hoping to slip through unnoticed, only to slam into an invisible barrier. One of them nearly lost his footing and fell over from the impact.

At the same time, Mentor Sheen rose from her seat. “My apologies, adventurers. That’s all for today. I have other matters to attend to, so please come back tomorrow.”

“What the hell? I’ve been waiting in line forever, and now you’re suddenly saying you’re busy?” one player complained.
“Yeah! It was almost my turn, and now you pull this?”
“What kind of nonsense is this?”
The mentor paid no attention to their protests and calmly replied, “If anyone is still here five minutes from now… I’ll personally escort you out.”

“…”

The players could only leave while grumbling and cursing under their breath. Naturally, Windblossom became the center of attention for causing all of this, and Starry and Zane, who had followed her upstairs, couldn’t escape the scrutiny either.

***

Compared to the first floor, the second floor felt far more spacious. The first thing that caught their eyes was a round table nearly three meters wide, surrounded by ten wooden chairs.

A single tea set sat atop the table, giving the room a neat and orderly appearance. Other than the table and chairs, there was almost nothing else. The hall felt remarkably empty. There were two small doors on each side of the room, though no one could tell what lay beyond them.

“Take a seat first.” Famichi casually pulled out a wooden chair and dropped himself into it.

Windblossom, Starry, and Zane sat down beside him in turn.

“Master, why exactly did you bring us here…?”
“No rush. Someone hasn’t arrived yet.” He wagged his index finger. “More importantly, my dear disciple~ why don’t you take out that chicken drumstick first? As food, it must be yearning to meet the person fate has chosen for it.”
“…Drama queen.” Windblossom sighed and took the item out.

The moment it appeared, Famichi snatched it away. Like a whirlwind sweeping through fallen leaves, less than ten seconds later only the bare bone remained. Every trace of grease had been stripped clean.

‘So fast! Just how many days had it been since he last ate!?’

“My disciple, your cooking has become even more exquisite!”

“You made this yourself?” Zane asked in surprise.

“Mm…” She looked a little embarrassed. “I learned a bit of cooking from my family, and I sometimes helped out at a restaurant. Plus, the bonuses from my Chef secondary profession make it much easier to create food like this.”

So that was it. Honestly, if this Twilight Ranger hadn’t eaten it at lightning speed, Zane would definitely have wanted to taste it himself.

“Disciple, you’re being far too modest! This is the kind of delicacy that even wealthy nobles rarely get the chance to enjoy!” Famichi praised while cleaning up the remains.

“…”

“You two youngsters probably don’t know this, do you? My disciple doesn’t cook very often. Even now, I can still remember that salted fish she made back then. It was unbelievably tender and delicious.”

“…”

“Just ignore him…” Windblossom said helplessly. “He’s basically a starving ghost.”

A starving ghost… For some reason, that description felt strangely apt.

As they chatted, another five minutes passed. Throughout the entire time, Famichi did nothing but rave endlessly about Windblossom’s cooking. By the end of it, Zane was seriously considering ordering takeout.

**Tap.**
**Tap.**
**Tap.**

Someone was coming upstairs. Only then did Famichi finally stop talking. Zane turned around and saw Mentor Sheen.

“He still hasn’t arrived?” Looking at the four people already seated around the table, she frowned in confusion.

“Not yet. Maybe he’s still drinking in Oceanrise Village?” the Twilight Ranger guessed.

‘Oceanrise Village? The person we are waiting for is some kind of drunkard?’

**Crack!**

“This idiot…” Sheen nearly crushed the stair railing in her grip.
Famichi wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. “He shouldn’t forget something this important. Let’s wait a little longer.”
“He’d better not have.” She rubbed her temples in irritation, then glanced toward the room on the right. “Koko still hasn’t come out?”
“Ever since this morning, she hasn’t come out of her room…”

**Creeeak—**

Before Famichi could finish speaking, the door was pushed open. A girl with short light-gray hair that reached her shoulders stepped out. She wore a loose long-sleeved shirt and baggy lantern pants. Her eyes were half-closed, as though she still hadn’t fully woken up.

Standing only about half the height of the door, she rubbed her eyes and muttered groggily, “Has it… started already?”

‘So there’s someone else here?’

Just from the description alone, it was obvious she wasn’t an ordinary person. This was the kind of genius responsible for technological development. Compared to that, her level and rank were far less important.

“No, the captain still hasn’t arrived.” Famichi shook his head.

“Then I’ll sleep a little longer…” she mumbled. As soon as she finished speaking, she swayed and toppled forward. Yet instead of hitting the floor, she landed steadily on… a flower nearly the size of a person!

The flower seemed almost sentient. Its petals unfolded and perfectly cradled half of Kokoni’s body. A moment later, her breathing became long and steady. She had already fallen asleep.

‘…What the hell?’

“Master, she is…?” Even Windblossom looked confused.
“Oh, I never mentioned it before. Your master here isn’t exactly unemployed.”
“I can tell. You’re busy stealing other people’s food all day.”
“…Disciple, you must have some serious misunderstanding about me.” Famichi sighed. “To put it simply, the two of them and I belong to the same mercenary group. The person we’re waiting for now is our captain. Once everyone’s here, we can pretty much get started.”

“…”

A bad feeling suddenly rose in Zane’s heart.

Another five minutes passed. There was still no sign of anyone. The atmosphere grew increasingly awkward. As for why… The scabbard at Sheen’s waist had already begun humming ominously, as though the sword inside could leap out at any moment.

“Stay calm, stay calm…” Famichi urged nervously.

Sheen’s face remained icy cold, looking as though she could explode at any second.

Time continued to pass. No one knew how much longer had gone by when a rich aroma of alcohol drifted in through the window. Along with that scent came a thoroughly drunken alcoholic.

One hand gripped the side of the window frame to keep his balance, while the other held a wine jar aloft.

**Gulp, gulp, gulp.**

“Ahhh… that’s the good stuff!”

“…”

Famichi’s entire body stiffened. He didn’t even dare breathe too loudly. Kokoni, meanwhile, remained fast asleep. As for Sheen, a sharp sword had somehow appeared in her hand without anyone noticing.

**Slash!**

A blue blaze erupted from her swing and shot straight toward the drunkard leaning against the window. The terrifying energy scorched everything along its path, carving a brilliant trail through the air like a flaming meteor forged from swordfire!

The man merely staggered drunkenly through the window. By the narrowest of margins, he slipped past the blue flames.

“Sheen… being this rough…” he slurred while swaying. “At this rate… no one’s ever going to marry you…”

**Whoosh!**

The flames on Sheen’s blade surged even higher than before, burning with even greater intensity.

Famichi looked as though he was about to cry. “Captain, please stop courting death! What are we supposed to do if the entire Guidance Hall gets blown up?!”