Ren studied the restaurant in detail. In fact, he spared no efforts to find a disarranged element. However, he found none. The empty plates glittered, and the wooden tables shone. Each table and chair was set in its proper place, positioned at the same distance and angle from each other. Everything seemed too symmetric, too perfect.

Ren inwardly made up his mind to meet the owner of the restaurant. Whoever the owner was, he or she had won his respect, friendship, and admiration.

“Nez-zi! I thought you had something to say.” Chinzu glared at the cat.

“Nehe, Ren…”

Ren snapped out of his admiration. He faced Nez with a serious expression. Before the cat could speak, he bowed.

“Nez, I’m sorry for my behavior yesterday.” Ren apologized sincerely. Despite passing the trial, he had ruined a great moment of celebration. Even if the trial no longer held much significance to him, he knew how much value it had with the Edahins. Ruining Nez’s great moment filled him with guilt, especially considering how much the cat had supported him without any questions.

His words shocked both Chinzu and Nez.

“…Neho?” The cat tilted its head. It groaned and continued, “This is not fair! I wanted to apologize first! I’m sorry, Ren. I spoke without thinking.”

Ren blinked, confused as to when it became a competition of apologies. However, he quickly recovered and smiled.

“Sure! It’s forgiven and forgotten!”

“Nehahaha! See Zuzi, everything’s over! You can’t stop me from eating anymore!” Nez pounced onto a table and shouted.

“We’re back! Two specials and one extra-special!”

Chinzu lightly rubbed the butterfly on her hand. Chinzu sat beside Nez and pointed at the seat opposite her.

“Had breakfast?”

“…No.” Ren sat down, a little saddened by displacing the chair from its perfect position.

He thought for a moment. He had a couple of doubts, and he decided to clarify them.

“Where are we?”

“A small town. I thought you’d be interested in this place.”

‘We’re no longer in Evergreen city?’ Ren's eyebrows slightly creased.

“How did we reach here? I don’t see any teleportation circles!”

“Do you like spicy food?” Chinzu smiled playfully, avoiding his question.

‘It’s a secret?’ Ren hid his annoyance. With his limited experience, he knew that there were at least two forms of teleportation. Both of them required ‘Teleportation Circles’, a term that Ren coined since he didn’t know the official name of those weird inscription-filled circles.

One form of teleportation was traveling from one Teleportation Circle to another Teleportation Circle. Ren and Nez used this method to travel to the trial. It required two Teleportation Circles, and anyone with basic energy control could operate it with ease. At least Ren could use it by himself.

Ren inferred that the second method was more complex. It consisted of teleporting directly to a Teleportation Circle from apparently any location. He had seen Kana execute it once.

Using these two examples as the core, Ren had inferred that at least one teleportation circle was necessary to perform teleportation. But Chinzu’s latest teleportation broke his assessment. It did not use any Teleportation Circles unless those circles were hidden.

This proved that he had much to learn in the field of Edahi’s magic, one that drastically differed from the magic in his homeland. Nevertheless, he felt glad. Maybe after some research, he might even be capable of teleporting back to his home.

“Yeah. I think I’m okay with spice.” He replied, returning from his line of thought.

“That’s great. Good luck.”

‘Good luck? What is she talking about?’ Ren felt a premonition. However, before he could continue his question, an unexpected guest stole his attention.

A girl in her late teens entered the restaurant through the back door. Carrying a tray, she carefully maneuvered through the network of tables. However, her appearance had captured Ren’s attention. She had neat blond hair and dark brown eyes. Along with her thin figure, she lacked any special features. However, this very fact intrigued Ren.

‘A human? Maybe an Ascended Human? No… her aura is ordinary. She has to be human! But weren’t humans expelled from the forest?’ Ren’s eyes narrowed. He carefully studied the teenager, searching for any abnormalities.

She approached Ren’s table. Placing the tray on the table, she distributed the dishes.

“Two Spicy Bowls and one Dea-”

“Nehahaha! Lord Nez appreciates your help! Aren’t you busy? We’ll handle the rest!” Nez laughed loudly.

“Okay, just be careful with-”

“Nohoho! I’ll take care of everything!”

The girl nodded and left. Throughout, she did not glance at Ren even once.

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“Zuzi, is she a human?” Ren asked, unable to suppress his curiosity.

Chinzu nodded, “Yes. That’s why I brought Ren-zi here. This is a town of humans.”

A cold glint flashed across Ren’s eyes.

‘Either we have left Everleaf forest or Piko lied.’ He took a deep breath to calm down. He refused to let his anger cloud his mind.

“Let’s eat! Ren, I ordered a special bowl for you. You cannot leave without completing it!” Nez transformed into a monkey. It pushed the largest bowl, along with a dish towards Ren. However, instead of the food, Ren was more intrigued by Nez's transformation.

‘That isn’t a Forbidden Skill. Is Nez using a Bloodline Skill? Interesting…’

The wafts of steam from the bowl caressed his face. It distracted his line of thought, reminding Ren of his empty stomach. However, a glance at the bowl instantly suppressed his hunger.

The bowl of red soup resembled a pool of lava. The bubbling surface screamed about its nearly boiling temperature. Ren could almost swear he saw flames dancing on its bubbling surface.

Besides the burning soup, there was a dish of red meatballs. Radiating blazing heat, their presence spiked the room’s temperature.

‘This isn’t food!’ Ren gulped. On one hand, the aroma aroused his appetite, but he didn’t dare experiment with his tongue.

“You must finish both of them! Nehaha, even if you die, you cannot leave without completing your food! Don’t worry about the water. I’ve already prepared many jars. Nehaha!” Nez cackled, pointing at the jars, spread throughout the restaurant.

The light in Ren’s eyes dimmed. Although he loved spicy food, he doubted if his tongue could handle burning flames. He hesitated and instinctively gulped again.

‘The cat’s having its revenge... Tongue, rest in peace.’ With an aura of martyrdom, he grasped a two-pronged fork and forced one flaming ball into his mouth.

He braced for ignition, but once he chewed, he knew that he wasn’t prepared for this dish.

The hotness of the dish caught him by surprise. It wasn't a painful experience. Instead, it was a pleasant surprise. The meatball was extremely spicy, the spiciest food he had ever tasted, but it wasn’t intolerable. Instead, the more he chewed it, the more the spiciness grew on him, and the more he loved it.

Indeed, he had found his first love! As his love grew without limits, it ascended to the next stage. He wanted to marry the meatball! Soon, he became one with the meatball, reaching the peak of bliss. He felt like he had become a wizened sage, understanding the intricacies of life itself.

‘This spicy meatball represents life. It is frightening at first, but the more you experience it, the more you enjoy it!’

Ren grinned in ecstasy. Not even in his past life had he remembered loving a dish to this extent. Optimistic, he dug into the flaming soup.

Nez’s eyes nearly popped out of its face. Returning to a cat, it leaped onto the table and snagged a blazing meatball.

After poking it a couple of times, Nez swallowed the fireball.

“NNNNNNNNAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!” With an earth-shattering scream, Nez zoomed into the air. Ren snapped out of his bliss, only to witness the panicked cat dive into a large jar.

Confused, Ren turned to awestruck Chinzu.

‘What’s going on? What happened to Nez? And Zuzi… why are you staring at me like that?’

“Zuzi?” Ren couldn’t make heads or tails of the situation.

“Ah! Ren-zi… You can continue. Just ignore us.” She dug into her food, but her flustered voice didn’t escape Ren’s notice.

‘Weird… Was there an enemy attack? No, I would've noticed. Maybe it’s a backlash to Nez's Bloodline Skill. But since when did Bloodline Skills have backlashes? Intriguing…’

Ren dug into his food, quickly forgetting the commotion.

‘Once I return, I must treat Nell to this amazing restaurant.’

----------------------------------------

A few minutes later, Ren lazily lounged on his chair. For the first time, he let himself indulge in food, something he would have never allowed in his past life.

‘That was the best! Ah! All good things must end. I must return to my task.’

“Zuzi? I’m curious... Do you know the closest exit to this forest?” He asked.

“Does Ren-zi plan to leave?” Chinzu’s reluctant tone caught Ren by surprise.

His eyes slightly narrowed. He grew suspicious of Chinzu. He had only met her twice. Despite being considered family, he doubted if their relationship was strong enough for her to miss him.

Thinking of this, he instinctively took caution and dropped his casual attitude.

“Maybe. I haven’t decided.”

“If Ren-zi says so. There are a few exits, but they are both difficult and dangerous to traverse.”

“Which one is the most common path?”

“No one usually leaves the forest. It’s barren wilderness outside, especially to any Practitioners.”

“Suppose I want to leave. Which path would I pick?”

“That depends. Does Ren-zi wish to return after leaving?”

Ren’s brows furrowed. He thought for a moment before replying.

“Yes.”

“Then I can only think of one path. Nine, no… ten days from today, there’s a specific route that’s available. If Ren-zi is lucky, Ren-zi can follow a tight schedule and return after a month. But if Ren-zi has the Edahi’s Travel Seal, then Ren-zi can travel without considerations.”

“And how do I get this Edahi’s Travel Seal?”

“Win the yearly Edahin Tournament.” Zuzi lightly rubbed the butterfly on her arm.

“Not interested,” Ren replied without hesitation. Participating in a tournament would just reveal his talent in Kyo. If hunters knew of his talent, leaving the forest would be the least of his concerns. However, he was unconvinced that there was only one exit to such a large forest.

“What about teleportation? Can’t someone just teleport out of this forest?” Ren hoped to rely on this broken ability that seemed to possessed no limitations.

Chinzu smiled wryly. She shook her head.

“It’s impossible.”

“Why?”

“If Ren-zi doesn’t know how I teleported here, then Ren-zi won’t understand the reason.”

Ren nodded, but he was disappointed.

‘Apparently, even teleportation has its limits. I can’t depend on it to return home. I’ll have to find another way. Now, that I’ve cleared most of my doubts, I should see what Zuzi is planning.’

“That was a great meal! Let’s return?” Ren probed. Inwardly, he doubted if she would agree.

“Before we leave, can I take Ren-zi for a tour?”

‘As expected.’ He smiled and replied, “Sure.”

Chinzu also smiled. She tapped the jar, and a dispirited cat exited the jar. Seeing Nez’s depressed expression, Ren was reminded of its weird shout.

“Are you okay?” He asked, still unclear of the circumstances around the previous commotion.

Nez glared at him. It dashed towards the exit, ignoring his question.

“How did I offend you?” Shrugging, he followed the cat.

Chinzu giggled before placing a few purple crystals on the table. Seeing her reaction, Ren's confusion grew.

'What are they hiding from me? What did I miss?'

----------------------------------------

A few minutes after they left, a blond teenager arrived at the table. She removed the empty dishes, noticing that one set was untouched.

However, it wasn’t their ‘Death by Flames’ combo. That infamous dish had been emptied!

‘The Honored Guest ate it? What a powerful tongue! God tongue!’ It took her a minute to calm down. She removed the dishes and replaced the jar before cleaning the table with her voluminous set of rags.

Wiping each and every corner, she ensured that not a speck of dirt escaped her noticed. Following this, she meticulously cleaned the chairs before arranging them carefully.

After completing her work, she smiled.

‘Perfect, as all things should be! Since there’s no one, I’ll clean the floor again!’ Grasping a mop, she resumed her work.

Bam!

The door swung open, and a pot-bellied man rushed into the restaurant.

“Della! Did you see that blue-haired boy?”

“The Honored Guest? Yes. He ate at our place.” Della stopped mopping and wiped the sweat on her face.

The man rushed towards her, an excited smile plastered on his face.

“Did you poison him?” He asked, grabbing her shoulders.