William pushed open the guild hall doors, and the world went sideways.
"SURPRISE!"
Hanami's voice led the charge, and behind her came everyone else — civilians, guildmasters, captains, nobles, higher-ups Kai didn't have names for yet — all of them surging forward at once, all of them shouting some variation of *surprise* or *congratulations* like it was the only word they knew. William froze in the doorway for exactly one heartbeat before the crowd swallowed him whole, hands grabbing his, shaking it, pumping it, refusing to let go.
He was smiling the whole time. Not his usual polished, professional smile — something looser, something that kept slipping into an actual laugh between every "thank you, thank you, very kind of you."
Behind him, Kai, Aria, Rin, and Lila got caught in the blast radius.
A hand seized Kai's before he could brace for it. Big man. Gray in the beard, one eye set slightly crooked, the kind of build that suggested he'd broken things with it professionally.
"I have never," the man said, shaking Kai's arm like he was trying to start an engine, "seen a monk move like that in my life!"
"Oh," Kai said, blinking. "Thank you—"
"That footwork! That adaptation speed! You handled pressure like a man twice your age!"
Kai smiled politely, still not entirely sure who he was talking to. Behind him, Aria, Rin, and Lila had all gone very still, watching with the particular horror of people who knew exactly who this man was and were waiting to see how badly this was about to go.
"I had good teachers," Kai said.
The man — Parker, apparently, judging by the guildmaster now leaning in to murmur something in his ear — kept grinning right up until the murmuring stopped. Then his face did something complicated.
"...Wait. *The* Kai?"
"I think so," Kai said.
Parker's grip somehow got tighter. "You're even better in person!"
Before Kai could figure out what that meant, a woman in a crisp white coat had already cut sideways through the crowd, aura amplifier in one hand and a recording crystal in the other, and planted herself directly in front of Aria and Lila.
"Rosia White, Magnara Daily! Question — how does it feel, coming from legendary families, bringing your names back to the forefront as women?"
Lila's whole face lit up like a lantern. She actually jumped for the amplifier.
"Oh! I have so many thoughts on—"
There was a flash of white light and a faint smell of ozone. Rosia was simply gone. Somewhere outside, a scream traveled rapidly away at what could only be described as light speed.
William strolled back in a moment later, adjusting one glove, smiling like nothing had happened.
"I want to thank everyone for coming and congratulating me," he said. "This is all still very new to me. I remember taking my exams at nineteen — feels just like yesterday." A pause, warm and easy. "But my rookies are tired, and they just want to eat. So please, let them enjoy their win and their food in peace."
He looked around the room, smile sharpening just slightly at the edges.
"And if anyone doesn't — I'll just Light Muti you like I did Ms. White."
The whole guild hall lost it. Even the nobles were wiping their eyes.
That was when Hanami grabbed Kai's wrist and started hauling him toward the food counter — which made Aria's mood sour by exactly one degree, though she'd have denied it if asked. Hanami waved William and the rest of Squad Three over without breaking stride, already talking before they'd even arrived.
"I knew you guys were going to be hungry," she said, spreading her arms over a table absolutely buried in trays, "so I stayed up all night learning everyone's home cuisines, just for today! As William's left-hand woman—" she giggled "—it's my job to make sure you all, and the ladies especially, are fed and have everything you need to be a Seeker. So — I hope you enjoy."
She glanced sideways at Kai as she said it, a little too pointedly for it to be nothing. Kai, predictably, noticed absolutely none of it.
Instead he stood up, looked at the twenty feet of food laid out in front of him, and announced, with the solemnity of a man declaring war:
"About time. This monk is getting hungry, and looking at all this meat and all these different foods—" he pointed at the table like it owed him something "—I want it. Now."
Lila snorted into her sleeve. Aria pinched the bridge of her nose. William just sighed the sigh of a man who had clearly seen this before.
"First," Hanami announced, lifting a massive bread bowl with both hands, steam pouring off it, "a Janoahian staple — Forge Bread Bowl. Dense, crusty, aura-yeasted bread, hollowed out and filled with iron pepper beef stew, charred onions, root mash, a thick reduced gravy, a little melted Britannia hard cheese on top, chopped herbs, black salt, and a streak of fire oil."
Kai's mouth was already watering. Lila didn't even wait for an invitation — she dug straight in.
"Thank you, Sister Hanami!"
Kai raised his hand like he was requesting an audience with royalty. Hanami and Aria both laughed at him before Hanami slid the bowl across anyway.
"Next up," she said, already reaching for the second dish, "Rotis Sauce Chicken — marinated in spice honey, fermented peppers, and Mason's spatchcock oil, then grilled and served over cracked grains with herb rice."
Kai snatched it before she'd even finished the sentence. His first bowl was already empty. Nobody at the table could explain how.
Hanami giggled and kept going. "From Rajistan — Lotus Curry Broth. Bone-based, though you can use vegetables if you'd rather. Crocus gives it that sweet-spicy edge, then lotus stem, clarified butter, turmeric, a hint of ginger, served over mantra rice with fire-roasted flatbread, seared lamb — or fish, if you prefer — and a cooling herb yogurt to bring the heat back down."
The smell alone made Kai stop chewing mid-bite. He looked at the bowl. Looked at everything he was already eating. Then, without a shred of shame, added the curry on top of all of it.
The table dissolved into laughter.
Hanami turned next toward Rin. "For you — a few from Chun. Soul Steam Buns, soft and filled with braised pork, jade greens, mushrooms, five spices from five different nations, black sauce, and Chun's famous chundou oil, served with duck, eel, and spirit shrimp. Then Ink Rice Dumplings — dyed with squid ink, minced river fish inside, scallions, pickled greens, black vinegar, pepper oil, and a light moy sauce glaze. And—" she slid a cup across last "—I almost forgot. Black coffee. Hope you like it."
Rin looked over the spread without any particular hurry, then allowed himself the faintest smirk.
"We'll see."
Hanami turned to Aria next, practically glowing. "For the lightning goddess from Vinlan — Frost Smoked Salmon, served with coarse rye, pickled onions, snow cream, and diced herb salt, plus something heavier — Flame Roast with Snowberry Reduction. The meat's seared hard, basted in marrow butter, and the sauce is reduced berries, mead, black pepper, and smoked herb, served with root mash, carrots, and charred cabbage."
Aria took a bite, and something in her posture eased just slightly.
"Not bad," she admitted. "Reminds me of home."
By the second bite she'd stopped talking entirely, lost in it the same way Kai had been three dishes ago.
William was next, and he was already sitting up straighter in anticipation.
"For you, boss — the usual. Knight's Pie, heavy crust, filled with Sharper's beef, salted onions, mushrooms, ale gravy, pepper root, and herbs. Crown Broth with Tear Bread on the side — tears apart easy. And Hearth Pie, flatbread under tomato sauce, buried in Britannia flaked cheese and chopped meat with greens, baked twelve to fifteen minutes until the cheese melts and the crust toasts, then cut into eight slices."
William's whole face lit up like a child's on a holiday morning.
"Yay!"
Even Aria, mid-bite, glanced over just to witness it.
"And lastly," Hanami said, turning to address the whole room, "for everyone else in the guild — Sun Roast Beef with Janoahian gravy, crusted peppers, Lisa Roman herbs, rendered fat, onion gravy, and root vegetables. And, straight from Africanus — a dish I've been trying to master for years, ever since I fell in love with the culture — the Lake Fish Pepper Platter. A whole lake fish, cooked with chili, citrus, herbs, and smoke oil, grilled onions, five different meats seared in sweet honey spice, served with flatbread, grains, and a cooling herb dip."
The room exploded. People surged the counter like the food might vanish if they blinked.
"Slow down," Hanami laughed, already refilling trays, "there's enough to go around!"
And in the middle of all of it, Kai looked up, and for just a second, everything went quiet in his head even though the room around him hadn't.
He'd never felt this before. Not once. Not in the temple, not anywhere.
*So this is what having a family feels like,* he thought. *Being appreciated. Being seen for the work you put in.*
His grip tightened around his utensil, not from effort but from something warmer than that.
*I love this feeling. I'll work even harder — to keep earning food like this. Friends like this. Mentors like this. A family like this.*
Across the room, Rin had already slipped away with his plate, vanishing toward the stairs so smoothly that Kai only caught the tail end of it and shook his head. Aria was still working steadily through her plate like it was a personal challenge. Lila had gathered a small crowd and was mid-story, making half the table laugh. William just sat there, plate in front of him, soaking in the noise like it was sunlight.
Kai smiled, picked his spoon back up, and kept eating.