The next day, in the afternoon.
The weather around the Food Ward in the Divine Capital wasn't very good today. The sky was overcast, and a fine drizzle fell now and then.
So there weren't many people on the street. Every so often, someone hurried past beneath an oiled-paper umbrella or wrapped in a straw rain cape, with no intention of stopping.
And so!
There weren't many diners in the dining hall of Guests Always Come, either. All told, there were only a few tables of regulars from the neighborhood.
At that moment, in a private room on the second floor.
It was the same unassuming, old-fashioned two-story building. Inside the private room, the wooden structure had darkened with age, the threshold had been worn smooth and hollow by countless footsteps, and the delicate carved latticework on the windows had nearly been eaten through by insects.
The furnishings were just as simple—some might even say a little shabby.
There was only an old square elm table, a few round-backed chairs, and a burner in the corner releasing the rich fragrance of ordinary-quality incense meant to calm the mind. A wooden stand held a basin of hot water for washing one's hands and a towel. There were no other decorations.
Of course, there was also a fairly new screen made of ordinary birch, depicting a "fierce tiger" coming down a mountain. Who had painted the "fierce tiger" was anyone's guess.
At that moment, the dishes and cups on the table were empty.
"Ah!"
(╯▽╰) So good~~
The troublesome little girl immortal sat back, half-reclining in a round-backed chair, perfectly content. She rubbed her slightly bulging belly with one small hand, her jade-green eyes narrowing in pleasure like a satisfied cat.
"..."
Sitting across from her was, naturally, the same old woman