In the silence that flowed, the servants who entered with another knock cleared the empty dishes on the table and prepared a warm, steaming soup and crab meat ravioli.

Everyone resumed their meal with joyful faces, but Suji couldn’t easily escape her thoughts about 〈Messiah〉.

“Let’s have the meal first. It’s a rare occasion.”

With Elaine’s gentle urging, Suji belatedly realized that she wasn’t tasting anything. She was mechanically putting food in her mouth, but that was it.

“Ah…… Thank you.”

“Daphne, you lose your appetite first when your thoughts get complicated.”

Suji glanced at him, who knew her habits that even she herself wasn’t aware of, and then looked down at the ravioli.

Even though she was clearly eating this, she couldn’t recall what it tasted like at all.

Suji scooped up the dumpling-like ravioli with a spoon and carefully chewed it, savoring it along with the cream sauce smeared on it.

The rich taste of crab meat inside the thin pasta dough filled her mouth, along with the aroma of truffles and the soft texture of the cream.

It was she who had always said to separate work and rest.

But here she was, being the first to do this again.

“Thank you for pointing it out. It’s really delicious. A taste I couldn’t experience when I only ate convenience foods.”

When Suji spoke to Elaine with sincerity, he brought the bowl he hadn’t even touched and placed it in front of Suji.

They had just talked about ideal types.

His sudden attentiveness and Pace’s gaze looking this way as if searching for something to tease her about were bothering her.

“……It’s a course meal and I have more to eat, so Elaine, you eat more.”

As Suji refused and pushed the bowl away, Elaine pushed it back towards Suji.

“You don’t like the next dish that’s coming out. It would be better for you to have more of this.”

“……Me?”

“Ostrich egg and mushroom espuma. Both of them.”

Suji blinked.

She already knew that he was uncannily perceptive of her tastes.

To the point where he could guess her alcohol preferences that she had never properly tried, and whip up dishes that perfectly suit her palate.

But could he tell just by looking at the menu of a restaurant he was visiting for the first time? A menu that hadn’t even come out yet. With ingredients she had never tasted before.

She was grateful for his thoughtfulness, but there was no need to go this far in guessing and taking care of her.

Suji pushed the ravioli bowl back towards him once more.

“Don’t worry. I can eat anything deliciously.”

“I understand.”

Elaine finally backed down.

Just then, with another knock, the door opened and the servants entered.

“Indeed, how will this marital quarrel end?”

“Elaine’s magic show, show, show! Will he, who prides himself as an expert in predicting the team leader’s tastes, succeed again this time? All eyes are on him!”

Amidst Saint and Pace’s fuss, the servants cleared the empty dishes and set down a few dishes, including a potato frittata.

When Suji gave a look to the two who were acting noisily, Pace, who received the food before her, turned his gaze to the food.

“Hm? The egg doesn’t have a fishy smell and it’s not bad?”

But Suji glared at the ostrich eggshell decorating one side of the main dish and quietly pushed it away.

“Why? It tastes fine, Team Leader.”

Saint also recommended it, saying it wasn’t bad, but Suji shook her head.

It wasn’t because of the taste or smell, but the appearance of the huge ostrich egg looked exactly like an egg-shaped monster. Her appetite plummeted.

She had no intention of ruining other people’s appetites, so she didn’t say it out loud.

She turned her gaze and looked at Elaine, who seemed to have anticipated it.

‘How?’

When questions piled up one by one, there came a moment when she realized that the tower of those questions was no longer natural.

Suji propped her chin and stared intently at Elaine, who continued his meal as if nothing had happened.

“Why aren’t you eating? Is it another victory for Elaine!”

“Have you reached a point where just looking at Elaine’s face makes you full?”

Ignoring Saint and Pace’s teasing remarks with one ear, Suji didn’t take her eyes off Elaine, who was asking for the next menu to be brought first.

Something.

There was something.

Something that seemed within grasp.

Clearly, there was something that couldn’t be understood with common sense.

The scenes she had seen in 〈Laurel〉. Preparing two shield-sized shields as if knowing the next monster and climbing the tower. And his insight into dishes she had never eaten before, piercing through her tastes.

The moment countless thoughts were entangled, trying to draw a conclusion, Elaine gently smiled and asked,

“After all, is my face closer to your ideal type than Pace’s?”

Suji finally realized that while the team members were emptying a plate, she had been staring at his face endlessly.

“That’s not it……”

“You don’t like it?”

She didn’t know he had a personality to say such things so nonchalantly.

“You have a more brazen side than you look, Elaine.”

“I think I’m getting more and more brazen, even in my own opinion.”

Suji forcibly tore her gaze away from his beautiful face, which had a slight smile.

It was true that he was handsome enough to brighten the surroundings with just a small smile. So it made sense for him to have a fan club and for everyone to praise him so highly.

But even though he was that good-looking, he wouldn’t be unaware of his own handsomeness, and she felt there was no need for her to add compliments.

“Ah, I want to hear the answer too! Pace or Elaine?”

Again.

Even Pace joined in.

Suji sighed deeply, thinking it was tiresome.

It was really a trivial question. She didn’t want to answer.

“Both of you are handsome. Satisfied? Now stop talking about it. You’re adults, both of you.”

She shook her head and emptied the ravioli plate that Elaine had pushed in front of her.

It seemed like she was about to reach a conclusion.

As her concentration was disrupted, the deepening thoughts instantly dissipated.

For now, she focused on the meal.

The dishes that followed were all delightful to the eyes and mouth.

Suji enjoyed the course meal, leaving her complex thoughts behind.

“Lastly, you can choose between coffee or tea. What would you like?”

When they ordered coffee, the chef who had first greeted them entered again, taking off his hat and bowing in greeting.

“How was the meal? Did you enjoy it?”

“Ah…… It was really delicious.”

Suji answered sincerely.

There was a dish that made her a bit uncomfortable for personal reasons, but other than that, she had been eating with constant exclamations of admiration.

She hadn’t expected to be able to enjoy such a feast when she started climbing the tower again, so she thought she enjoyed it even more.

The chef seemed to hesitate for a moment, crumpling the hat in her hand, and then opened her mouth.

“Your complexion has really improved a lot compared to when I saw you before.”

Suji was startled and widened her eyes.

“You know me?”

“I used to work at the restaurant when I was younger. Affiliated with the academy.”

“Ah…….”

Suji belatedly examined her face closely and felt there was a familiar corner.

When she entered the academy, her mother had already passed away.

It was a time when she only wanted to become stronger every day. When she wanted to graduate as soon as possible. So she didn’t wish for anything other than avenging her mother.

Compared to then, she had really improved a lot now.

She had colleagues she could trust, rely on, and discuss the direction to move forward together, and she was learning to walk a bit slower.

Even in the face of imminent danger of death, she had gained enough composure to hold onto hope and live on.

Although she hadn’t found the solution yet.

Suji abruptly stood up from her seat and clasped the chef’s hands.

“I’m sorry for not remembering.”

“No, it’s impossible to remember everyone individually.”

“Even so, Chef, there must have been so many students…… and you recognized me.”

“You’re Daphne. I paid more attention to you because you were the same age as my child. You were so diligent.”

That time when she didn’t know how to make friends, when she didn’t even have the desire to make friends. She didn’t go to the cafeteria often because even eating there felt awkward.

Still, she was grateful that someone had watched over her during that time.

In a way, it was an insignificant connection, but it was nice to have someone who remembered her childhood that she had to endure.

“Thank you.”

“Please visit again. You’re always welcome. I’m a d-dryad member.”

“I will really come again.”

“Of course. C-can I get an au-autograph?”

The chef, who seemed to have gotten much better than when they first met, stuttered again as if she had become nervous.

Suji readily signed the paper and handed it to her.

As they exited the building, the chef and two employees followed them out, saying they had prepared in advance, and handed them tightly packed food.

Suji tried to pay extra, but they strongly refused, so she ended up accepting the food.

“Team Leader, you have fans like this everywhere.”

“A mother like no other.”

It was really like that.

If it weren’t for the four members of the party whose strength stats were not inferior to others, it would have been an amount of food that ordinary people couldn’t even carry.

Suji blankly looked at the fragrant paper bags and tilted her head towards the tower.

“I just thought of a place where there are quite a few starving people. Let’s go and eat together.”

The team members, who quickly understood her intention, nodded.

She was about to summon the unicorn again when she sensed a presence not far away.

“Can I join in too?”

The one who appeared in the vacant lot in front of the store, saying those words, was a tall figure with blue eyes and blonde hair.