Nova found himself in a bright and colorful city.
Mune let out a long sigh while stretching.
『Phew… So convenient! So, let's go eat some delicious food!』[Mune]
Mune walked off without waiting for Nova.
『Ah! Wait up!』[Nova]
He walked alongside Mune on the right side of the street on the sidewalk.
『Hmm… Are you doing anything next week?』[Mune]
『Huh? Just class, right? If you're taking a break from Raidagems, I will too.』[Nova]
『Well, tomorrow is the first day of Drasil week...』[Mune]
Nova suddenly realized something crucial.
Drasil week is an entire ten days of vacation that was given to the Kingdom in thanks to the history of humanity and the great Creator that gave humans the power to protect themselves.
『...Oh. I uh… I'll go visit home for a bit then, I guess.』[Nova]
『Are you gonna stay with your parents for a bit?』[Mune]
『No. My parents aren't normally at home. I'm just gonna go and clean up before going back to the dorms.』[Nova]
『Hmm…? Take me with you.』[Mune]
『Huh? Why?!』[Nova]
『I don't have anything better to do, so let's hang out.』[Mune]
『...I mean, I guess.』[Nova]
Nova thought of all his new friends going back to meet up with their family.
『...Maybe it'll be fun!』[Nova]
Mune nodded.
『Alright. Let's go in here. This place is my favorite.』[Mune]
They turned into an alleyway that was dimly lit by string lights and red lanterns above them.
『...Woah.』[Nova]
『How often do you go here? Everything here is tailored for mages, so you should visit here often.』[Mune]
『Just once for a field trip.』[Nova]
They carefully went up a set of stairs that were dimly illuminated by the string lights.
『Hmm…? I heard some rumors amongst the fourth years… Are you one of the two houseless first years?』[Mune]
『Yeah. It was weird transitioning to this school.』[Nova]
『...I'm sure it would be.』[Mune]
They got to the top of the stairs, where there was a big red oriental gate that led up to a poorly lit oriental building.
『...It's kind of dark...』[Nova]
『Well, the food speaks for itself. I prefer the lack of light.』[Mune]
They headed over to the sliding screen door and opened it before heading in.
『...Huh?』[Nova]
When he went inside, he didn't smell or detect any sign of it being a restaurant.
『Oi! Granny! You here?』[Mune]
A short elderly woman with white curly hair and round glasses walked out from a back room.
『Who are you to speak to me-?!』
She adjusted her glasses.
『...Mune?』
Her cranky face turned into a big wide smile.
『Good evening, Granny Rika.』[Mune]
『You silly kid! Why didn't you call?!』[Granny Rika]
He had an awkward smile on his face as he began to chuckle nervously.
『Haha...ha… I just woke up...』[Mune]
She walked up to him and began to pinch his cheeks.
『Ow… Granny…!』[Mune]
『Silly boy! I took care to make sure you didn't have a bad sleep schedule since you were a kid, and now you ruin all of my hard work.』[Granny Rika]
『Heh… So, can we get something to eat, granny?』[Mune]
『We..?』[Granny Rika]
She turned over and looked at Nova.
『Ah! A young man! Are you from the same school as Mune?』[Granny Rika]
Nova awkwardly laughed, scratching the back of his head.
『I'm an underclassmen of his. He told me we'd be going out to go get some food.』[Nova]
『Ah, of course! I'll treat you to some delicious high mana dense foods!』[Granny Rika]
She walked away into the backroom.
『...Take a seat wherever!』[Granny Rika]
Mune nodded and took a right turn, sitting in a decently spacious room with a floor level table.
They pulled out a floor chair and sat down in front of a paper screen wall.
『...I missed this place.』[Mune]
He seemed to have a content look on his face.
『Do you not visit often?』[Nova]
『Nope. Taking a teleport service takes Cryst I could be saving, and taking anything else takes too long. That's why you're convenient.』[Mune]
Nova began to awkwardly laugh when he heard this.
「Ha..ha… I guess all I am is just a convenient ride?」[Nova]
『Don't get me wrong, you're a great underclassman. Just happens that you conveniently have a teleportation ability. 』[Mune]
『Haha…. right...』[Nova]
Mune grabbed the paper screen wall next to him and pulled the wall open.
『It's a nice night out, isn't it?』[Mune]
Nova stared outside at the full moon, with a koi pond reflecting the moon's light on shimmering water.
『...It is.』[Nova]
『Keh. I was raised by Granny Rika and my Gramps when I was left at their doorstep at a young age.』[Mune]
Nova wasn't prepared for Mune to drop that on him, then and there.
『...I see...』[Nova]
『Well, it isn't so bad. At least I didn't grow up on the streets.』[Mune]
『Ah...Where is your grandpa?』[Nova]
『He's an adventurer. He goes off every few years for some undefined amount of time and comes back later.』[Mune]
『Oh. Okay! Let me meet him when he comes back!』[Nova]
Mune laughed to himself.
『Sure. I'll bring you back here.』[Mune]
Granny Rika came by with two trays of food.
『Here you go, kids! It's my specialty.』[Granny Rika]
She put a traditional Tsukikaze styled dinner in front of them.
There was cured salmon, miso soup, some pickled cucumbers, fried tempura with tartar sauce and furikake rice.
『Thank you, Granny.』[Mune]
He helped her put down the trays onto the tables.
『Alright! Hurry up and eat, then you can just sleep here!』[Granny Rika]
『 Huh? But-』[Nova]
『No! I insist! It's already so late! There are shady people on the streets at night, after all!』[Granny Rika]
Nova wanted to tell her that he could just teleport back to the academy, but she walked off.
『Okay! You can just leave it in the sink once you're done, Mune! Granny is going to sleep now!』[Granny Rika]
『Right. Good night, granny.』[Mune]
Mune had a smirk on his face.
『Well, whatever. This place is a popular inn as well. Might as well get a nice change of pace before we go visit your home tomorrow.』[Mune]
Nova felt a bit dragged along, but he couldn't help but smile when exposed to the two of them.
『...Sure.』[Nova]
Nova took a bite of the food before he suddenly felt a huge rushing feeling assault him.
「Nova! Start circulating your mana! Maximum power!」[Reischneid]
「Hmm?!」[Nova]
He began to do as Reischneid said, quickly burning his mana away.
『...Oh. You already know what to do!』[Mune]
Nova's mana seemed to overflow, threatening to blow his mana veins up.
『...Is this… what mana dense food means?!』[Nova]
『Well, of course. Don't worry about your mana veins blowing up. It won't actually happen, even if it feels like it.』[Mune]
『GAAAAAAAH?!』[Nova]
Nova's cries of anguish continued for a while, until he depleted the excess mana.
『...Hmm? She put a lot less mana into this. I guess it was out of consideration for you.』[Mune]
Nova stared at the food in fear of the remaining portions of the meal.
『...Thank you for the meal.』[Nova]
Mune smiled at Nova.
『Glad you like it.』[Mune]