“With more practice, you will do fine,” Sitos says, walking into the living room.

Oh, look who decided to show up. Drugo is right behind him.

“Hey, Sitos,” I say. He freezes the moment he notices me. “You haven’t forgotten about our bet, right? Why don’t you tell everyone here how I finally beat you in a fight?”

“What?!” Hiro exclaims. “Ya beat Sitos in a duel? When did this happen? Is this true, Sitos?”

“Yes, is it true, Sitos?” Luna asks, appearing from the kitchen.

“Uh…yes,” Sitos responds with his head turned away. “It was late morning without any weapons with a one-hit rule.”

“Ohh. So that’s why your face’s red and Kai’s knuckles are torn,” Hiro says.

“I see. Well, dinner’s almost ready. Kai, Hiro, clear the table,” Luna says. “Take a break from studying. You don’t need to learn it all at once.”

“Studying?” Sitos asks.

“Yep,” I answer while cleaning up the table. “I’m helping out a bit before I move out.”

“I see, that is great to hear,” Sitos says with a smile. He chuckles quietly.

Is he happy because he will be able to keep his number two spot? Hiro and I set his stuff on the ground near our storage.

“Today, Marin and I went all-out on dinner because we thought it was gonna be Kai’s last dinner with us. But, he’ll still be visiting from time to time. Still, we’re going to celebrate today because he’s gonna skipping two years to join a 4th year team!” Luna exclaim as she brings out plates.

“Wow, a 4th year team? That is impressive, Kai. Congratulations,” Sitos says with a smile.

I reciprocate with a smile. I never thought I would be given another compliment by Sitos in the same day. “Hehe, thanks!”

Luna continues, “We’ve prepared a full-course meal starting with the appetizer. We have fried squid to share and a fish soup with vegetables.”

I drool as Marin and Luna bring out our meals. The other four of us take our seats at the table.

“Sorry, Kai. I put carrots in this soup because I thought something else someone told me was true,” Luna informs with a smile as she sets my soup in front of me. Sitos has his head lowered.

“I’ll take ‘em off your hands, Kai. I love me some carrots,” Hiro says and scoops into my bowl and transfers the chopped carrots into his soup.

“Lunaster and Marinster, are you gonna join us?” Drugo asks.

“We will later. We’re gonna finish preparing the main course. Start without us,” Luna says.

I sip some soup in between each bite of the fried squid. So good! This reminds me of my first day at the Academy, when I ate something awful, followed by something delicious. The experience today isn’t quite as extreme.

The story Drugo told me has me thinking. I was lucky to have Emdos by my side growing up. I can’t imagine how hard it must have been for Hiro and Drugo. What about Luna, Marin, and Sitos? There are so many things about them I don’t know. Hiro, too. It’s hard to see what’s under all that energy. They’re my friends, but at the same time, they’re strangers. I don’t understand what makes them tick and who they are beyond what they present. They must feel the same way about me.

I’m not ready to share everything about myself because it includes talking about my Mana, the thing that Emdos told me to never tell anyone. Everyone has their own secrets that they don’t want to reveal. But I can talk about everything else. It should be the same for them too, right?

“What’s the Royal District like, Sitos? I ask.

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“Where is this coming from?”

“Well, you know, it would be nice to hear more about how you grew up.”

“I see. It is only fair that I share since you told us a little bit about Emdos,” Sitos says. “My parents are pretty wealthy, and we lived in this huge mansion. I have an older brother, an older sister, and a younger brother. Our servants lived with us, too, that did work around the mansion. I think my dad is one of the king’s close aides, but I am not sure.”

“He’s close ta the king? That’s kinda cool,” Hiro says with his mouth full.

“Yes, I suppose. Well, two years ago, he hired some weapon specialist from the army to train me. I do not know what to tell you about the Royal District because I stayed inside.”

“Stayed inside all the time?” I ask. “You never went out to restaurants or other shops?”

“That is not entirely accurate. We had a spacious courtyard, and I went there to train. I did not venture outside of our property. All the things I ever wanted were brought to me, except for food, which was cooked in-house. A team of chefs made the same dishes on rotation every week, so there was not much variety. I long grew tired of eating the same thing. My dad did not want to hire new chefs because he did not want to spend more than necessary on food no matter how much I begged. It really was awful.”

Uh-oh. Hiro’s face twitches as he chews on something.

He gulps and then stands up. “Are ya serious? Ya had a big house, slept in a warm bed, got trainin’, had servants, and a team of chefs that made ya a buncha food, butcha still have somethin’ ta complain ‘bout? Not enough variety? Oh, boohoo! Ya spoiled dickwad.”

“Are you jealous, donkey? Like those filthy beggars I walked by on my way to the Academy,” Sitos says and laughs.

I scramble to stand up and grab Hiro, but it’s too late.

“Ahhh!” he exclaims and leaps toward Sitos.

Sitos stands up and dodges before he’s caught by Hiro, who crashes into the chair instead. I seize the opportunity to restrain Hiro from behind.

“Lemme go! He went too far!” Hiro exclaims while trying to break free.

“What’s going on?!” Luna exclaims as she rushes over. Marin follows closely behind her.

This reminds me of my first year with reversed roles. What’s Drugo doing now? He’s usually on top of these conflicts. The moment I look over, Drugo wraps one arm around Sitos and slugs him in the gut with the other. I gape. Hiro stops struggling.

“Guh!” Sitos interjects, grimacing. He curls over while holding onto his stomach. ‘Dru-Drugo…you…”

Drugo lets go of him as he drops to his knees and then throws up on the ground.

“Sorry, Sitoster. You said something you shouldn’t have,” Drugo says without a drop of remorse in his voice.

“I look away for one second, and you boys are fighting again!” Luna exclaims. “I expected better from you, Drugo.”

“Sorry, Lunaster.”

Luna sighs and says, “Can you tell me what happened?”

Drugo explains while the rest of us get settled back in our seats in silence. He also briefly mentions his background that included Hiro too. Sitos stays on the ground with his head lowered.

“I see. Thank you, Drugo,” Luna says. “So, everything’s Sitos’s fault, again.”

Sitos looks up and says, “What do you mean ag—“

He stops talking when his eyes meet Luna’s glare and then lowers his head.

“I have a solution for this that will satisfy you two. I’ll put Sitos on a restricted diet after today until further notice.”

“Restricted di—“ Sitos raises his voice but is stopped by Luna’s glare again.

“Now, Sitos. You know you’re in the wrong here, right?”

“Yes…” Sitos says.

“Apologize to Hiro and Drugo.”

Sitos looks at Hiro and Drugo before saying, “I am really sorry. I did not know your pasts and said something I should not have.”

“Hmph,” Hiro interjects and crosses his arms.

“Apology accepted, Sitoster,” Drugo says and helps him to his feet.

“Great,” Luna says with a smile. “Let’s get back to dinner and continue Kai’s celebration. The main course’s ready. Sitos, clean up your mess.”

“Yes…” Sitos says.

Luna and Marin bring out our dinners. More soup! Everyone has their own bowl, which is much bigger than the fish soup. The contents of Sitos’s soups looks a little different, but that’s not my problem. He’s still on the floor cleaning up his puke.

“This soup was made with half chicken and half fish broth with noodles, pieces of chicken and fish, and some veggies,” Luna informs. “Careful, it’s hot.”

I scoop up some soup and blow it on it before sipping it. I say, “This is great.”

“Happy you like it.”

“Kai, it’s your turn ta tell us more ‘bout Emdos!” Hiro exclaims in his usual cheeriness.

“Hmm…there’s not that much to tell. Apparently, he was good friends with my parents, and they were Adventurers together. He told me that my parents died in an accident a year after I was born, so he quit being an Adventurer and raised me.”

“What does he look like? Is he strong?” Hiro asks.

Luna smiles and chuckles while stirring her soup. A few of us notice but say nothing. I ignore her and respond, “He has brown hair a little longer than mine, a mustache, and a beard. And yeah, he’s really strong! I’ve only seen him fight a few times, but I watched him effortlessly take care of thieves and stuff. What’s your story, Luna?”

She’s still smiling to herself and chuckling while stirring her soup.

“Luna?” I ask. “What’s funny?”

She looks up and responds, “It’s nothing. A friend of my mom raised me in a village called Lycorias. It’s on the south-western edge of Drosera next to Elbar’s border.”

“What happened to your mom and dad?” I ask.

“I didn’t have a dad, and my mom died when I was six,” she explains in an unusually cheery voice and smile, laughing afterward.

What’s wrong with her? That’s not how someone should act talking about their dead mom. I would inquire more about the circumstances of her death, but this might be too personal right now.

Sitos finally joins us at the table and says, “Thank you for the meal. I am sorry again for my previous behavior.”

“You’re welcome, Sitos. I expect you to finish everything,” Luna says with a wide grin.

I curl my lips inward, putting together what I saw earlier with the jar and dirt-covered hands.

“Why does my dinner look different?” Sitos asks. “More leaves are floating on top.”

He slurps up some soup and some vegetables. No reaction yet. “I am not complaining. This is good. You said there were noodles?”

My palms sweat as Sitos picks up his chopsticks. He lowers his head, scooping up the contents of his soup into his mouth. He furrows his eyebrows while chewing. “These noodles taste funny.”

“Oh, those aren’t noodles,” Luna says calmly. Only after Sitos is done chewing, she says, “Those are worms.”

“What?” Sitos interjects, his face turning pale.

“Remember. I expect you to finish everything. And there’s still dessert. If you throw up, you have to eat them fresh from the ground.”

Sitos makes gagging sounds with both of his hands over his mouth. He maintains composure after a struggle. “I thought you said my special diet starts tomorrow. You are telling me I am going to be eating worms every day?”

“Oh, no. This is a separate issue. This is for lying to me today. You do remember, right?”

Sitos lowers his head. “Yes…”

Hiro bursts out laughing. “Serves ya right, dickwad! Ya wanted variety, right?”

Sitos grunts and glares at Hiro.

“Dickwad, stop staring and eat your food,” Luna says.

He snarls while staring at the bowl in front of him. After several seconds, he picks up his utensils and continues eating.

I laugh to myself. Sitos had it coming, but I feel sorry for him. It reminds me of my struggle with the breakfast Emdos prepared. I go ahead and enjoy my meal, too, now that it’s had some time to cool down.