“About…half full…”
“Only half…!”
And now another helping was brought for her.
“It occurred to me that since Tsutsumi’s physical powers of regeneration are unusually high, the ability of her soul to regenerate must be high as well. I decided to test that through direct application of healing magic. I applied some very small abrasions to Tsutsumi’s soul, but her soul recovered immediately.”
“That’s right. You can use magic to see people’s souls, can’t you?”
“Even I was worried about messing something up in there, so I had to demonstrate that it was safe first. Tsutsumi’s soul appears to be quite sturdy,” Psycho said, explaining her conclusions. “If monsters exist outside rationality, it may not be all that far-fetched to think of Tsutsumi as a monster.”
“Well, whatever Tsutsumi is, that doesn’t change how friggin’ cute she is.”
“Certainly not.”
The four stared at Tsutsumi as she ate. She was now finishing her fourth plate.
“How full is your stomach now, Tsutsumi?”
“About…half full…”
“That’s the same as before!”
Even after eating so much, Tsutsumi still only felt half full. Maybe she was always hungry, Homura thought, and no matter how much she ate, she never ran out of room. This really did go beyond any rational explanation. Apparently there had been things capable of bending the laws of physics all along, even back on Earth.
“I guess this means we had some kind of magic even where we came from.”
Homura suddenly paused. Did that mean…
“What about my own abilities?” she asked. How could they explain a supernatural power like hers?
“That I don’t know. It’s not like you’re a product of genetic manipulation, are you?”
“Nope, I was born the normal way, with a mom and dad.”
“I thought so…”
What a mystery.
“But there’s no use wondering why. It would be better to focus your attention on how to deal with it.”
Homura watched as Tsutsumi reached for her fifth plate. Tsutsumi was still chowing down in silence when a well-built man who had also been sitting in the loft suddenly spoke up.
“Well lookee here, if it isn’t the five famous rookies.” There was an unpleasant undertone in his voice. “You got awfully big heads for a bunch of girls who barely made a little splash. I think it’s time I knocked you down a peg or two.”
They could have guessed as much based on the man’s crude behavior, but there was a glittering silver sword badge on his lapel. He set his mug of beer down on the table and spoke once more.
“An eating contest! Me versus that little one with the big appetite! Let’s see who can eat who under the table first!”
There were as many empty plates sitting on the table before the man as there were before Tsutsumi.
An eating contest? Homura wanted to ask why the hell the guy would want to do something like that, but it seemed like too much trouble, so she just kept quiet instead.
“I think the contest already started while you were still yammering,” said Homura.
Tsutsumi didn’t seem to care why she was suddenly in a eating contest—let alone against someone several times her size. She just kept eating.
“Finally! Let’s teach those dirty, disrespectful silver badges a lesson. Get ’em, Tsutsumi!” Psycho said, throwing even more fuel onto the fire.
“You know you don’t have to, Tsutsumi.”
“But I’m the…speed-eating…king…”
“I’m pretty sure that’s not true, but if you really want to, go ahead.” It was Tsutsumi’s stomach, after all. “Just be careful not to draw too much attention to yourself…”
Homura couldn’t shake her concern… This man had challenged them out of nowhere. This was starting to get out of control.
“Hey, what’s happening?! Are you having an eating contest?!”
“Against this tiny little girl?!”
At some point, they had attracted a throng of spectators. The loft was pretty raucous now. A fight was a fight, after all, even if it was just eating. It seemed like any kind of competition was enough to get the soldiers worked up.
“Go, Tsutsumi!”
“Attagirl!”
Homura and Psycho cheered Tsutsumi on as they ate their own food. Jin and Proto, however, seemed less than amused.
“Can’t you three eat quietly…?”
“Humans are impossible to understand.”
At first, the man pulled ahead through a sheer burst of speed, but Tsutsumi continued to zealously work away at her food at the same exact speed, her own steady pace never slowing.
“I think I’m starting to feel sick just watching them…”
“You and me both.”
Just as they were both about to reach the double digits, the man finally noticed there was something strange about Tsutsumi.
“Hold on, you little gnome. You’re cheating, aren’t you?!” the man shouted, his drunken face growing even ruddier.
He wasn’t exactly wrong, of course. The amount of food Tsutsumi was putting away made no sense for someone her size. Just as Psycho had conjectured, the only explanation seemed to be that the food was disappearing somewhere else.
“She hasn’t gotten any bigger at all, has she…?”
“What did I tell you? There must be something special about Tsutsumi’s body.”
While Psycho was satisfied with the results of her experiment, the heckling in the room was growing louder.
“You’re just mad because you’re losing!”
“And against a child. You oughtta be ashamed!”
The crowd was also drunk and didn’t seem to suspect Tsutsumi.
“…”
Tsutsumi, meanwhile, just ignored the commotion and kept chowing down. The man lost his temper and stood up.
“You’re not really eating at all, are you?! Would you stop moving your hand for a second!”
He staggered toward Tsutsumi and tried to grab her hand, which was rapidly shuttling back and forth between her mouth and the plate. Unfortunately…
“O-ow, dammit!”
Tsutsumi avoided him easily and then grabbed his arm and twisted. It was never a good idea to get between Tsutsumi and her food. As Tsutsumi twisted the man’s arm, however, he caught a glimpse of her face, lurking beneath her hood. As well as her oddly colored skin.
The man’s red face suddenly turned white, and fear filled his eyes—as if he had just caught sight of a monster.
It was dark in this corner of the loft. Steam filled the air, and the patrons were drunk. Most of them never managed to get a good look at Tsutsumi. But from up close, it was impossible not to put two and two together.
It was too late now. Jin stood up, ready to silence the man.
“Y… You—”
The man was about to say something—when he suddenly went weak in the knees and collapsed to the floor. At first, Homura and the others were unsure what had happened.
“What did I tell you about getting so drunk in public?”
It was Seigrat, who was now standing behind the collapsed man.
“Seigrat!”
Seigrat gave them a sly, exaggerated wink. Drunk or not, it was unlikely the man had just happened to pass out with such convenient timing. Homura had no idea what Seigrat had done, but he had clearly handled the situation for them.
Some of the crowd laughed at the drunken man. Some were annoyed the eating contest had been interrupted. Others cheered Seigrat’s sudden appearance. The dark and dismal corner of the tavern bustled with renewed commotion.
“We already know the situation, but you girls need to be more careful,” Seigrat whispered, scolding them. There was an anxious expression on his face. “When I heard all five of you were heading out together, I got worried and decided to follow you, and I’m sure glad now that I did.”
Apparently, Seigrat had been worried enough to keep an eye on them. While Homura was relieved for the moment, it was a reminder of the dangerous position they were in, always needing to be watched.
“Why not just make our existence public, then?” said Psycho. “We’re the ones being told to go out there and hunt down the Dark Lord. Why should we have to stay inside all day, where it’s boring?”
“You say that…but you don’t seem very interested in behaving yourselves while out on missions, either,” Seigrat said, his face growing distressed. “In any case, things are tense right now. Rumors of the Dark Lord’s return are spreading. It makes sense to expect a reaction like this.”
Seigrat hoisted the man to his feet and shuffled him back to his companions.
“If you’re not careful, you’re not going to be able to horse around and enjoy meals with your friends like this anymore. Look around you. Do you see how much attention you’ve already drawn? Can you even eat in peace here anymore?”
The area of the loft where Homura and the others were sitting remained crowded and raucous even now that the eating competition was over. They had gotten swept up in the fun, but they had originally chosen these seats precisely so Tsutsumi and Proto would not stand out.
The corner of Seigrat’s mouth suddenly twisted up into a smirk.
“So…I guess you’ll all just need to get stronger and add a few more accomplishments to your name. Enough so that no one can complain anymore. Enough to silence any hostility and prejudice.”
As one of the strongest men in Galdorssia, Seigrat had a proposal for them.
“Why don’t I train you?”