A flashy feast

After they settled the many survivors in a nearby town, the Kakushi soon arrived and completed the handover with the local police.

That spared Xia Xi and the other two a good deal of follow-up work.

By the time they sat down at a food stall Uzui knew well, it was already the following evening.

Kojiro, the Kanoto-ranked swordsman, had wanted to join this "victory feast" too, but his injuries were too severe, and the Kakushi had insisted on taking him to a nearby Wisteria House to recuperate.

The Butterfly Mansion at headquarters was too far away, so they could only send him to a nearby private establishment affiliated with the Demon Slayer Corps first.

The food stall where the three of them sat was on the edge of town.

Yet it was quite sizable, brightly lit and bustling with life even late at night.

As Uzui put it, this was his home turf.

Whenever he finished a mission near Yamanashi and had time to spare, he would occasionally come here to treat himself to a meal.

Now that he had come to accept Xia Xi and Kanae to some extent, he had naturally brought them along.

"Post-mission exhaustion must be soothed with flashy food!"

He greeted the owner like an old friend, took the menu, and smoothly pointed out a whole string of dishes.

Every so often, he spouted some melodramatic ninja wisdom that nobody else could make sense of.

Fortunately, the owner had known him for a long time. Otherwise, he might have mistaken him for a customer looking to cause trouble.

And that was not all.

He paid absolutely no mind to the curious looks the surrounding diners cast at his flashy clothes and ninja outfit.

Instead, he smiled and nodded at a few familiar vendors, showing off his new hair accessories and manicure.

"Uzui really is a confident person."

"I don't think I could be so at ease."

Seeing how Tengen Uzui completely ignored everyone's stares and even flaunted his charms like a peacock, Kanae chuckled.

Beside Xia Xi, she whispered, "He doesn't seem like a ninja at all."

Xia Xi said, "That's not confidence. That's narcissism mixed with delusions of grandeur."

"Oh, and three salt-grilled sauries, oden with daikon, yakisoba with double pork, sweet rolled omelets, fried chicken bites... bring the edamame first, and three flasks of sake!"

They had barely sat down when Uzui remembered he had two extra people with him this time and raised his arm to call toward the counter again.

"Hey, shouldn't the host let his guests look at the menu?"

One of the diners teased him with a laugh.

"Tengen, are those two your colleagues? Are they those ninja fellows too?"

Uzui flashed him a confident smile. "Old man Okamoto, everything I ordered is the flashiest... the tastiest food here! Trust the great Uzui's taste!"

"Bah, it's all just stuff you like."

The man raised his cup in a distant toast from across the tables, then went back to joking and chatting with his friends.

The ninja laughed heartily and slapped Xia Xi on the back. "Hahahaha! Don't listen to that old geezer. The great Uzui hasn't even ordered his favorite pufferfish sashimi this time!"

Xia Xi had just lifted his cup and taken a sip of hot tea. That slap nearly knocked it right back out of him.

The girl kept covering her mouth and chuckling beside him.

Xia Xi rolled his eyes at the towering ninja next to him, then leaned back in his wooden chair and gradually relaxed.

The izakaya hummed with conversation.

The brisk sounds of cooking and the clear clink of dishes came from the kitchen.

The roasted aroma drifting from the grill, the warm steam rising from the oden, even the tiny ripples as sake was poured into a cup...

They almost gave Xia Xi the illusion that he was somewhere outside the game.

Everything here feels far too real.

It's clearly an action game built around combat, yet they insist on spending all this processing power on realistic rendering and NPC AI...

Cradling his hot tea, Xia Xi's gaze drifted slightly out of focus.

He was not checking his system panel. He had simply remembered something from his past.

Sometimes, between work and gaming, he would head out alone into lively streets and alleyways to find something delicious and treat himself.

Even when he sat alone in a corner.

There would be strangers around him, people he had never met and would never cross paths with again, happily chatting, imagining their futures, and recounting their pasts.

For a little while, it made him feel that he was not the only person in that city.

It was the flavor of a brief respite amid a busy life.

The flavor of voices and food from the kitchen.

And the flavor of being alive.

"Pretty lively, huh?"

Uzui slid a cup of sake toward him, drawing Xia Xi out of his thoughts.

He pointed at the gourd at Xia Xi's waist. "Don't tell me you're underage and don't drink. You're carrying that old woman's sake gourd, after all."

Xia Xi took a small sip.

As a beverage, it was a little harsh; as liquor, it seemed rather bland and lacking in flavor.

"Just like Nikaido's shochu. Nothing special."

Tengen perked up. "What, you don't like shochu or sake?"

"Don't tell me you prefer those fizzy, foamy beers, Kurumaji. Or the plum wine the ladies love?"

"Surely not that combustible oolong the Westerners drink, the stuff that catches fire when you light it?"

Xia Xi took another sip of tea.

"I like ice-cold cola," he said flatly.

What's that supposed to be?

Xia Xi said, "Maybe if you live another few decades, you'll find out."

Uzui: (´･_･)?

A passing diner laughed and chimed in. "Tengen, there's something you don't know! It's a rare treat from the West, like that ca... ca..."

"Coffee," his companion supplied.

"Right, right! Like coffee, croquettes, and curry. Good stuff only rich people get to taste!"

"Sounds like you come from money, young man! Hahaha!"

With that, he clinked cups with Tengen.

Then he and his companion staggered off, swaying drunkenly.

Xia Xi: ?

Wait, you can actually get cola here?

Holding his cup, Uzui could not help taking a closer look at Xia Xi.

Kurumaji... used to be a rich young master?

Most people joined the Demon Slayer Corps either for revenge or for its enormous pay.

Looks like he's the former.

Then he turned his gaze to Kanae.

Come to think of it, she doesn't carry herself like someone from an ordinary family either. Was she once the daughter of a wealthy household too?

The girl smiled and shook her head. "I'm not much of a drinker."

Uzui thought, Do I look like some dull jerk who would force an injured girl to drink?

The ninja silently took a gulp of sake.

"Kurumaji, what are your plans next? Want to team up with the great Uzui?"

Xia Xi took a bite of the chicken skewer that had just arrived.

Not bad.

"I'll pass," he declined. "I still have a lot of training to do."

Remembering the many Breathing Styles Xia Xi had displayed earlier.

Uzui more or less understood what he had in mind.

Kanae thought of the same thing and asked gently, "Are you going to train in Flame Breathing next, Kurumaji?"

Xia Xi nodded, his words muffled as he chewed.

"I plan to develop my own Breathing Style eventually. Learning several different schools now is preparation for that."

Flame?

So it really is all five?

He's learning the five great breathing styles just to create his own derivative style?

What kind of monster comes up with that?

With all that time and energy, he could have taken a single Breathing Style to a much higher level already. Why go to all that trouble?

Uzui felt as though the yakitori in his hand had lost its flavor.

But Xia Xi continued.

"Speaking of which, the Sound Breathing and Flower Breathing you practice were derived from Thunder Breathing and Water Breathing, right?"

"Do you have any advice or experience I could learn from?"

Both of them froze.

How had he... identified their Breathing Styles so accurately?