Light leaked from her fingertips. It wasn't an explosion. It wasn't overflowing. Like morning dew settling on grass leaves, soft and quiet. From Irina's palms, a green light spread gently outward. For a moment, no one in the Ginkgo Tavern spoke. Kuroki Satoru stood behind the counter, slowly lowering the hand that held out the fourth bowl of dissolved-element condensation soup. It was white. An ordinary-looking clear white broth made only from salt and magic boar bones. But at the rim of the bowl, a faint green light wavered—now it was quietly spilling from Irina's hands. Gotts, wrapped in a blanket on the stone floor, opened one eye. "...That's beautiful," Gotts said, his voice drowsy. Strangely, no one corrected him. "Yeah," Noppo answered shortly. Chibi nodded silently. A rare thirty seconds passed where all three fell quiet at once. The morning breeze from the Ende Sea passed through the frameless doorway of the Ginkgo Tavern, gently stirring Irina's silver hair. Kuroki closed his research notebook with a soft pat. "I'll hold a dinner party tonight, before sunset," Kuroki said. One second. Two seconds. "Huh?" Gotts sat up. "What?" Noppo's voice came. "Eh?" Chibi added. The three spoke with a time delay. And from behind the counter, where Dorg Harven sat with his arms crossed against the backrest, the man with salt-and-pepper hair lifted his head slightly. "What does that mean in this situation?" Dorg asked. Kuroki glanced at Irina once, then answered while checking the strings of his apron. "If everyone eats dishes infused with dissolved elements at maximum density, Irina's key—the control of the magical power stabilizing inside her—will be completely established. Probably," Kuroki said. Everyone shouted at once: "Probably!?" "I did say probably," Gotts said. "But I failed three times and succeeded on the fourth. The calculation is that the real attempt will also succeed." "You're going for it with one success out of four attempts!? Wait, wait, wait!! One!! Just one success!!!" Gotts slammed the table. The pot lid rattled with a clang. "Cooking is all about reproducibility," Kuroki said quietly. When Kuroki replied calmly, a silence fell that no one could argue against. His logic as a chef was sound. If he followed the same procedure four times and succeeded on the fourth, the fifth would also succeed. That was logic. Only, everyone wisely avoided mentioning what the first through third attempts had been. Irina stared intently at her own hands. The green light was still there. It hadn't disappeared. It wasn't exploding. Just quietly, gently wavering. "...Can I use it again?" Irina asked, her voice barely a whisper. Kuroki was already heading toward the kitchen, but answered without turning around. "You can. Tonight is the test." Gotts whispered something to Noppo in a low voice. "Kuroki really trusts that girl, doesn't he?" "Yeah," Noppo replied. When the two turned back, Kuroki's ears were just slightly red. No one pointed it out. --- Gotts took the ingredient list, reviewed it three times, then recoiled. "Three kilos of magic boar loin, two bottles of shadow moth wing powder, ash-scaled lizard fat... all of this right now!?" Gotts exclaimed. Shadow moths were magical beasts inhabiting the lower levels of the Forbidden Tower, with wingspans of about two meters, and their wing powder was a rare material containing high concentrations of dissolved elements. Ash-scaled lizards were three-meter-long magical beasts appearing at the edges of the Tower Shadow Wasteland, and their fat had high affinity with dissolved elements. In short, these weren't ordinary ingredients. "It would be appropriate to ask the adventurers," Kuroki said. "You got it!! I'll go get them risking my life for the Ginkgo Tavern's food!!" Gotts shouted. "I didn't say risking your life," Noppo said. "But we're going anyway," Chibi said. "We're going," Noppo confirmed. The three jumped up and ran toward the frameless doorway. Then Chibi came to an abrupt stop just before the frame. "...Without a door, I don't know when to exit!!" Chibi cried out. Everyone froze for a beat. Gotts and Noppo turned back to look at Chibi, and all three stared at the frame. No door. Just the frame. It had been smashed by the claws last night and left as is. Three seconds later, the three simply stepped over the frame and left. Kuroki continued his prep work while confirming the now-quiet dining hall. Only Dorg and Irina remained. Dorg sat at the counter with his arms still crossed. "Can I help with anything?" Dorg asked. "Could you peel the potatoes?" Kuroki said. There was a brief silence. The Steel Lattice Waterend Branch Commander, once renowned as a gold-rank adventurer and still the cornerstone of the village's defense, picked up a knife and began silently peeling potatoes. Irina sat beside him and started the same task. The peels coming from Dorg's hands didn't break once. They came off in long, continuous strips. It was craftsman's work. "...You're very skilled," Irina said softly. Dorg paused his hands for just a moment, then resumed. "I had a lot of kitchen duty when I was young." That was all. But fragments of more ordinary days—before he lost his eye in the Forbidden Tower—were packed into that single sentence. Irina nodded and continued peeling. Potatoes accumulated on both their plates. The Ginkgo Tavern was quiet. Then, from the frameless doorway, the sound of hurried footsteps tumbled in. "From the northwest!! From the tower direction!! A horde of claws!! At least a hundred!! They'll arrive before sunset!!!" the lookout cried. It was the village lookout. His face pale, he stopped at the edge of the frame—hesitated for just a moment at the absence of a door—then rolled in. Dorg stood up and confirmed the lookout's face with his single eye. Not the face of someone lying. Over a hundred ash-covered claws—magical beasts said to possess intelligence—were coming from the Tower Shadow Wasteland and would arrive before sunset. It was the truth. At that moment, Gotts and the others returned from the frame, carrying ingredients. Gotts, holding magic boar loin in both hands, made eye contact with the lookout. "There was a time limit!!" Gotts shouted. "It was always there," Noppo said. "I didn't know!!!" Gotts cried. Kuroki quietly retied his apron strings, his expression calm. "Then I'll hold the dinner party in reverse calculation at dusk. There's plenty of time," Kuroki said. "There isn't plenty of time!!" Dorg protested. "I'll make it plenty," Kuroki said. He said it with finality. The stillness that followed filled the entire dining hall. Everyone who had tried to object swallowed their next words, struck by the weight of Kuroki's statement. The lookout glanced back toward the outside of the frame, seeming uncertain. "Is this dining hall sane?" "Would you like to eat something before you deploy?" Kuroki asked, turning to Gotts and the others. Gotts, Noppo, Chibi, and Dorg lined up silently at the counter in order. They waited in a single line. Kuroki distributed meat sandwiches to everyone—magic boar loin sliced thin and placed between bread, baked in five minutes. Hot. Fat glistened on them. Dorg took one and ate a bite. Gotts ate a bite. Everyone fell silent. "I'll protect this place with my life!!!" Gotts shouted and bolted out. Noppo and Chibi followed. Dorg stood up with half the sandwich still in his mouth and left to give defense orders. Only Kuroki and Irina remained in the Ginkgo Tavern. "Your job today is to eat the food," Kuroki said without turning around. As he started the kitchen fire. "Shouldn't you run away?" Irina asked. "You shouldn't run away. Your job is to eat. Do it beside the kitchen," Kuroki said. It wasn't running. It was a role. Irina said, "...Understood," and entered beside the kitchen. Kuroki didn't turn around, but confirmed with his back that she had come in. --- As evening fell, the sound of intermittent combat began reaching them from outside. Boom. Crash. In the distance, Gotts's voice: "I got one—!!!" Closer, the low growl of magical beasts. From the frameless doorway of the Ginkgo Tavern, the sounds of battle flowed in along with the red light of dusk. Still, Kuroki's hands didn't stop. Three large pots were lined up. Two frying pans. The flame color had reached unprecedented temperatures. Magic boar loin simmered slowly in a large pot. Each time shadow moth wing powder—a glittering silver powder containing high concentrations of dissolved elements—was added in small amounts, the broth took on a faint green tint. Ash-scaled lizard fat melted quietly in another pot, functioning as an affinity agent for dissolved elements. The ingredients that had been tested separately until now were gathering in one dish for the first time tonight. And from Kuroki's hands, a faint green light continuously seeped out. From the back of his left hand holding the knife—the hand with small burn scars—as naturally as breathing. "You're glowing right now," Irina said quietly from beside the kitchen. "I know," Kuroki answered. It was his first such answer. Until now, Kuroki had kept saying "It might be your imagination" or "I haven't confirmed it." Tonight, for the first time, he answered with awareness. He was glowing. He knew it. He couldn't stop it. But—maybe it wasn't a bad thing. Thirty-eight years of a chef's instincts were clearly sensing something tonight. At that moment, just a head poked through the frameless frame. "Kuroki—!! Give me a little more time—!! I'll take them all down in thirty minutes—!!" Gotts shouted. "The cooking will be done in forty minutes," Kuroki said. "Then I'll take them down in thirty-five minutes!!!" Gotts yelled. His head withdrew with zero-basis enthusiasm. "...Why?" Noppo's retort came from a distance. Irina let out a small laugh. Just a little. But she definitely laughed. "Could you set up the tables?" Kuroki asked Irina. Irina nodded and left the kitchen. She righted fallen chairs, straightened tilted tables, and carefully spread tablecloths. In the meantime, injured adventurers kept coming through the frame. Some holding their arms, some walking carefully favoring their shoulders. Some collapsed into chairs. When Dorg said, "Shouldn't we treat the wounds first?" the battered adventurers spoke in unison. "Food first!!!" they all cried. Everyone began taking their seats under their own power. Their trust in Kuroki moved their tired bodies. Just as Irina was spreading the last tablecloth, dissolved elements leaked from her fingertips. The cloth floated in the air. Irina gasped. She took a breath. Closed her eyes, then opened them. She slowly reached out and gently drew the floating cloth toward her, spreading it carefully on the table. It didn't explode. It didn't disappear. She moved it by will. For the first time. Kuroki's back saw it. Boom! A massive sound erupted outside. "I got them all!! Exactly forty minutes!!!" Gotts's scream reached them from beyond the frame. Everyone was seated. Dorg sat in the back. Gotts, Noppo, and Chibi rushed in covered in mud. Kuroki began serving the dishes. He handed Irina just one plate. "Can you carry it?" Kuroki asked. "...I'll try," Irina said. Irina held the plate carefully with both hands. She walked slowly. One step at a time. Careful even of the slight unevenness in the floor. Everyone watched without a sound. Gotts clenched his fists. Noppo leaned forward. Chibi half-rose from his seat. Irina set the plate on the table. A small clink. It didn't break. "I didn't break a single plate," Irina said. Silence for one second. "Growth—!!!!" everyone shouted. Cheers erupted through the shop. Even the injured adventurers joined in. Gotts stood up with both hands raised. Noppo murmured, "Finally." Chibi shouted, "I witnessed it!!" Dorg, arms still crossed, narrowed his single eye slightly. "That's good," Kuroki said simply.