Space twisted for the briefest moment.
Akira and Erina reappeared in the private dining room of the Totsuki Resort, exactly where they had been before the teleportation.
Akira was still seated at the table.
Erina was leaning over him, one hand gripping his wrist as if she had been trying to drag him somewhere.
For a frozen second, they remained in that exact position—
Erina's fingers still wrapped around his wrist, both of them blinking in mild disorientation.
Then the door burst open.
Hisako rushed in, eyes wide with concern.
"Erina-sama! What happened?! I heard shouting and then sudden silence—"
She stopped mid-sentence, staring at the scene:
Erina holding Akira's hand, both of them looking slightly dazed.
Erina quickly released Akira's wrist as if it had burned her.
"It's nothing," she said, forcing her usual composed tone. "We were just… talking."
Hisako's gaze shifted to Akira, narrowing slightly.
Recognition flashed across her face.
"You… You're the boy from back then."
Akira tilted his head.
"From back where?"
Hisako's frown deepened.
"The cooking competition when you were children. The one where Erina-sama ran away after tasting your dish."
Akira smiled.
"Oh? You watched it? Were you also there?"
Erina coughed, trying to regain control.
Her cheeks colored faintly, but she quickly recovered her Nakiri composure.
"Hisako, this is Hoshino Akira. He is… my fiancé."
Hisako's eyes widened.
"He is your fiancé?!"
Before Hisako could launch into protective questioning, Erina raised a hand.
"We still have things to discuss. You may leave for now."
Hisako hesitated, clearly wanting to argue.
"But Erina-sama, you were screaming earlier—"
"It was nothing," Erina insisted, voice firm. "We were just talking. You can go."
Hisako gave Akira one last suspicious look, bowed politely, and reluctantly left the room, closing the door behind her.
The moment she was gone, Akira let out a small breath and leaned back in his chair.
"…That was awkward."
Erina sat down across from him, trying to regain her dignity, though her mind was still spinning from everything that had happened in the Toriko world.
Akira was about to say something when the server quietly entered with their lunch.
The aroma of carefully prepared dishes filled the room.
Erina stared at the plates, suddenly hesitant.
Akira noticed but said nothing for now.
He simply thought to himself,
"I should check on Erika…"
Through the telepathic link, he sent a quick message to Selena.
"Hey sis, how's Erika?"
Selena replied lightly,
"She's fine. Just got back to the school. She's tired but safe. For now, just finish this meeting first."
Akira nodded.
"Okay."
He was hungry after all, and the food smelled delicious.
They sat down at the table as the server placed the dishes in front of them.
Erina hesitated for a moment, then asked,
"How is Erika?"
Akira answered casually while picking up his chopsticks.
"She's fine, safely back at school."
They began eating.
Akira took a bite and nodded appreciatively.
"Hmm. It tastes good. As expected of Totsuki."
Erina, however, was frowning slightly, poking at her food with obvious distraction.
Akira noticed.
"What is it?"
Erina hesitated, then said quietly,
"…This tastes bland."
Akira raised an eyebrow.
"Really? It tastes good to me. I guess you're just picky because of your God Tongue."
Erina shook her head, looking genuinely unsettled.
"No… I ate this exact dish before. It tasted good back then. Now it just feels… flat. Like something is missing."
Akira put down his chopsticks, his expression turning thoughtful.
"Has the taste changed, or can you not taste it at all?"
Erina replied quickly,
"No, I can taste it fine. It tastes exactly as I remember… but it doesn't feel like much anymore."
Akira's mind raced.
"Is this my fault? Did eating Toriko world food cause some kind of change?"
Even Erina seemed to reach the same conclusion.
"Did something change in me? Am I mutating because of those Gourmet Cells?"
Akira looked at her more carefully, his Mystic Eyes searching for any changes in her.
After a moment, he shook his head.
"I don't see any Appetite Energy or unusual changes. But just in case, give me a drop of your blood when I leave. I'll run some tests."
Erina blinked, a bit flustered.
"Why?"
"So I can check properly," Akira said simply. "Better safe than sorry."
Erina hesitated, then nodded.
"…Okay."
They continued eating in relative silence for a while.
Akira stared at her for a moment… then grinned with a mischievous glint in his eye.
"So… want to test my El Burdigato Supreme again?"
Erina nearly choked.
"What?"
Akira grinned wider.
"Well, I want the points. It's important to me."
Erina's face flushed with a mix of embarrassment and indignation.
"I will not! It was disgusting!"
Akira tilted his head, looking genuinely confused.
"No? Surely you liked it, right?"
Erina snapped,
"No!"
As they argued back and forth like old rivals, they completely forgot to talk about the engagement.
In a hidden monitoring room, Nakiri Senzaemon watched the scene on the screen with confusion.
"Weren't they just arguing like enemies a moment ago?"
Then he chuckled softly.
"But I'm happy they're getting along… in their own way."
The lunch continued.
Akira and Erina went through course after course, but Erina's reaction to all of them was the same.
The dishes were flawless.
And yet, they left no impression.
Akira enjoyed himself.
He could cook better, but he was too lazy to make meals this elaborate for himself.
His everyday meals were never this fancy, so once in a while was nice.
After they finished eating, the door opened once more.
Nakiri Senzaemon entered with his usual calm, imposing presence.
"How did it go?" he asked, his deep voice carrying through the room.
Akira looked up with a casual grin.
"Oh, old man, there you are."
Erina shot Akira an accusing glare before turning to her grandfather.
"Grandfather, why didn't you answer my calls?"
Senzaemon stroked his beard calmly.
"I was busy with something. Did you have a good time?"
Akira nodded cheerfully.
"Yeah. It was a very impactful adventure."
Senzaemon raised an eyebrow, clearly confused.
Erina quickly interjected, her voice perfectly composed.
"He means the food was exceptionally good."
Senzaemon's expression softened into understanding.
"Ohh… I see."
He was about to steer the conversation toward the engagement when Akira stood up.
"Sorry, but I have something to do after this, so I'll be leaving now."
Senzaemon nodded graciously.
"Very well. We can talk about the rest later."
Erina also rose, though she added pointedly,
"I'm tired too… but Grandfather, we have a lot to talk about after this."
Before leaving, Akira shook hands with Senzaemon.
When he reached Erina, he secretly pricked her finger with a tiny, almost invisible needle of magic, drawing a drop of blood into a hidden vial.
Erina felt a tiny sting.
She realized what he did, frowned, and shot him a sharp glare.
Akira just smiled innocently.
"Old man, we really do have a lot to talk about. And don't forget to taste the Silphium I sent you, okay?"
With that, he gave a small wave and left the room.
Erina watched him go, then turned back to her grandfather with a serious expression.
"Grandfather… now, we have even more things to talk about."
After leaving Totsuki Resort, Akira got back into the car he had arrived in.
He really wanted to teleport back home, but the car and chauffeur borrowed from Erika's family were still waiting, so he chose not to.
He simply got in and let them drive him back home.
By the time he arrived, Erika was already there, still in her school uniform, sitting on the couch with a tired but expectant look.
"So, how did it go with Erina—"
Before she could finish, Akira rushed forward and pulled her into a tight hug, burying his face against her shoulder.
"Erika… I'm so tired…"
Erika blinked in surprise, but her expression quickly softened.
She gently patted the back of his head.
"It's fine," she murmured. "You can rest now."
Akira mumbled something incoherent and immediately went limp against her, already drifting off.
Erika sighed, half fond, half exasperated.
"At least go sleep in your room…"
But he was hugging her tightly, and she didn't really want to let go either.
With some careful maneuvering, she guided them both down onto the couch, letting him rest his head against her chest.
Since she was equally exhausted from the long adventure, it didn't take long for her to fall asleep too, one arm wrapped protectively around him.
Selena watched them from her throne, a small pout on her lips.
"Seriously… at least greet me or something."
She glanced at the system screen, where the quest window was open with Completed on it and the unclaimed rewards still waiting.
"And they didn't even check the rewards…"
Her expression softened as she watched them sleeping peacefully together.
"Well… it was an intense day. Letting them rest is fine."
She leaned back, a mischievous little smile forming as she thought back to everything that had happened.
"Hehe… everything went according to plan anyway… well, better than expected."
She looked at a photo on a screen of Akira, Erika, and Erina in the Toriko world.
"My brother formed a genuine bond with Nakiri Erina, and the foods from the Gourmet World will make sure she forms one with him too."
She then sighed.
"Hmm, I wonder how it will go…"
Her gaze shifted to another screen—a world that looked almost exactly like Earth, except its moon was shattered into a distinctive crescent shape.
"Well… it's almost time for the new world quest too."
Then she looked back at the sleeping pair and smiled gently.
"We can talk about the rest after they wake up."