Chapter 410: Gina's Humble Dream, Kirishima Touka's Guess
The situation was likely quite different for Kirishima Touka, who had visited the restaurant that morning only to leave shortly after. Now, she sat in her classroom during the last period of the day, a pen held loosely in her hand. Her gaze was fixed on a problem in her notebook, but her mind was elsewhere, completely consumed by the memory of that place, of that flavor. Even hours later, the taste lingered in her memory—a sensation both strangely familiar and utterly alien.
'What was that… And that feeling… it was… Hmm?!'
A sudden, startling realization struck her. She remembered with perfect clarity: it was a human restaurant, and what she had tasted was human cuisine. But that wasn't the crucial part.
The key was that she… she had actually found it fragrant. Not merely a pleasant smell, but the kind of deep, enticing aroma that awakens hunger. She had actually felt an appetite for human food.
The thought was so shocking that Kirishima Touka shot to her feet, the legs of her chair scraping loudly against the floor. The abrupt motion startled her teacher, who paused mid-lecture.
"Kirishima-san, is something wrong?" he asked, his expression a mixture of confusion and concern.
Touka collected herself, her voice a soft murmur. "Teacher, I need to go to the restroom."
"Oh. Go on, then."
"Thank you, Teacher."
No one questioned it. Touka's typically cool and reserved demeanor was well-known. She rarely spoke out of turn, her grades were excellent, and she was always serious in class, which had earned her a good reputation among her peers and instructors.
She didn't walk; she ran. Down the hall and into the empty restroom, she rushed to the sinks and splashed cold water on her face, the shock of it doing little to calm her racing heart. Needing absolute confirmation, she didn't even bother returning to the classroom. Skipping class was something she almost never did, but this was too important. She ran straight out of the school and towards the nearest convenience store.
At this time of day, the lunch rush was long over. The freshly baked yakisoba bread and other hot items, which would have been snatched up hours ago, now sat cooling on the shelves. Touka stood at the entrance, took a deep, deliberate breath, and immediately frowned. The rich, yeasty smell of bread filled the air, and while she could certainly perceive it, it stirred nothing within her. There was no appetite, no flicker of hunger—nothing like the overwhelming sensation she'd experienced at the restaurant that morning.
"Welcome! Can I help you find something, young lady?" the clerk called out.
Kirishima Touka simply shook her head and walked away, leaving the staff member momentarily startled before shrugging it off, assuming she had other errands to run.
But as Touka walked away, her heart hammered against her ribs. A wild, unbelievable possibility began to take root in her mind. 'Could it be? The food from that restaurant… is it something I can actually eat?!'
The thought alone was enough to fill her with a desperate, trembling anticipation for the end of the school day. She had to go back tonight. There were some things she absolutely needed to verify.
Meanwhile, at Koyo Girl's Academy, the day progressed uneventfully until the lunch bell rang. In the faculty office, Hiratsuka Shizuka was still engrossed in a manga volume. At one point, she had even recommended it to Kure Yakusha, who politely promised to read it when she had time.
Stretching her arms over her head with a lazy yawn, Shizuka mused aloud, "I have no idea what to eat for lunch…"
Kure Yakusha looked up from her work, an eyebrow raised in confusion. "Shizuka, didn't you just eat an entire box of macarons and a cake roll?"
"Those were snacks," Shizuka declared without a hint of shame. "Well, I'm heading out. See you this afternoon."
"See you this afternoon."
Watching Shizuka's retreating back, Yakusha let out a soft sigh. "That girl… does she have any idea that her perpetually single status might have something to do with that monstrous appetite, on top of her personality? Ah, whatever. Shion can be the one to tell her…"
On the school rooftop, Soryuin Akemi and the others had once again managed to coax Kasugano Sora out to join them for lunch. Sora didn't particularly mind, but she couldn't shake the feeling that the rooftop was a magnet for all sorts of strange occurrences.
Uehara Ayaka glanced at Gina, who was happily munching on a piece of bread. She seemed to hesitate for a moment, then decided against speaking. Gina, however, noticed her look.
"Ayaka, what is it? Is there something you want to say?" she asked, her expression puzzled.
"Uh… Gina, you're a huge fan of Kaolan, right?"
The moment she heard the name, Gina's eyes lit up with fervent excitement. She nodded vigorously. "Yes, yes! Kaolan, the Thai God of War, is the absolute king—"
"Okay, stop right there!" the other four chorused, cutting her off.
Kasugano Sora gave Gina a subtle look. Having attended the All-Out Elimination Tournament, she had seen Kaolan Wongsawat fight. He was undeniably powerful, but that didn't change the fact that the man had the emotional range of a brick wall.
Sakura Hibiki tilted her head. "So, Ayaka, what's this about? Did you become a fan of his too?"
Uehara Ayaka's eyes went flat. "No. Impossible. I just wanted to mention that Kaolan is currently training at my family's gym."
"Ohh…" the other four responded in a perfectly synchronized, utterly unimpressed tone.
The flat reaction hung in the air for a moment before the words finally registered with Gina. Her eyes widened, and she shot upright. "Wait, what did you just say?! Kaolan! The Thai God of War, Kaolan Wongsawat, is training at your family's gym?!"
Ayaka nodded calmly. "That's right. When I got home last night, my older sister pulled me aside to ask about Ren. She said she'd never seen anyone with such incredible fighting techniques and physical conditioning."
Gina paused, confused. "So, Ren went to the gym. What does that have to do with Kaolan?"
"Kaolan was there too," Ayaka said casually. "They're friends, and they were sparring. Apparently, the result left my sister a little stunned."
"Eh?" came another synchronized sound of surprise.
"Because Kaolan didn't even have a chance to fight back," Ayaka explained. "He was completely overwhelmed, a one-sided lesson in humility. My sister said Kaolan explained that he and Ren are friends, and he'd asked him to be his sparring partner."
Gina's expression was blank. "No way… I mean, I heard from him on the phone that he couldn't beat Ren, but to not even have room to fight back at all…"
Ayaka pulled out her phone. "It's true. My sister even showed me the surveillance footage when she got home. She sent me the video and asked me to burn it to a disc or something today…"
"I want to see!" the four girls demanded in unison.
A corner of Ayaka's mouth twitched. She found the video, and a moment later, five heads were huddled together, peering intently at the small screen. The second Gina confirmed it was really Kaolan, she started to squeal with excitement, only to be shushed by the others.
For the next few minutes, they watched in silent awe, gaining a new understanding of what high-level combat truly was. The video was sped up, but even then, the disparity was clear.
When it was over, Gina stared blankly at the bread bag in her hand. "Ren… he's too strong… That's Kaolan…"
Ayaka sighed. "My sister grilled me with questions all last night, but how am I supposed to know anything? Then this morning, she told me to ask Ren when he's planning on coming to the gym again."
Kasugano Sora, who had been quiet until now, spoke up softly. "I can ask him when I get home… But is it okay for Kaolan to stay here for so long?"
"He said he's planning to stay for a while," Ayaka replied, shaking her head. "He'll be splitting his time between the Silverman Gym and the boxing gym. His daily training regimen sounds insane…"
Gina's eyes suddenly lit up, and she turned to Sora with a look of desperate appeal. "Sora! The next time Ren goes to the gym, please, you have to tell me!"
Sora nodded slowly. "I can, but… are you just going to watch them practice?"
"Yes! This is my lifelong wish! Please!" Gina begged, clasping her hands together.
The other four girls stared at her.
"That's a pretty humble lifelong wish…" they muttered in unison.
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