***

Bringing in dishes one by one, the plates were slowly accumulating next to Paimon and Iris, who had devoured their respective meals in an instant.

Until finally Mona's tofu had arrived.

"F-Fine! Since my soon to be disciple bought me this, I shall...with great difficulty...accept this meal as an offering instead of kowtowing. You are exempt of it. Be grateful."

"Yeah, yeah..." Yomite laughed, digging into his own meal, "I guess I should thank you then..."

"W-Wow... it's... incredible...!" She exhaled in astonishment.

The tofu was soft and tender, exactly to her liking. It was also seasoned with salt and pepper, which made it even more appetizing than regular food. The salad was also rather simple yet flawless.

"Thank you for this...I don't know when was the last time I ate something like this..."

Mona averted her gaze from him, feeling her cheeks grow warm at her words.

She never thanked anyone for anything, nor did she have any friends, but it wasn't a bad feeling to receive something...

Paimon couldn't help but snicker at her.

"Hehe! And this is nothing! Good Tattoo also knows how to cook himself! It's hundred times better than this!"

"A...hundred times better...? Is that even possible?"

"Of course it is! He's amazing when he's actually not being lazy and trying."

"Okay, I feel like you're overestimating me there...I know how to cook but that's about it...and...it doesn't take much effort to do so." Yomite shrugged.

Mona smiled, "Well, when it comes to me, I only cook as most efficiently as I can to save up without trying to make the dish delicious! So my cooking isn't exactly great, but It's enough to make me survive. I'm quite curious though, were you the on—"

"—What's this...why's it so noisy in here? Who're you intruders?" A low growl interrupted her, instantly silencing everyone present.

As they looked up, they saw a short man with dark blue-green hair, pale skin, and golden irises laying on a branch of the tree that grew on the roof of the Wangshu inn.

None of them were aware that someone was with them on the roof.

His golden irises swept over all of them before he frowned "Leave. This is your last warning."

"How rude... interrupting us in the middle of a meal..."

"Who's this little punk to tell us to leave! Paimon's not done with her skewers yet! We're not leaving!"

"Hmph. Leave at once after you finish then." The man demanded, before disappearing into thin air.

"Uwaaah! He disappeared! Paimon is scared! W-Was that a ghost!?"

"Maybe he teleported? There is bound to be other people capable of doing that other than Lumine." Yomite noted.

"Oya? No silly, not a ghost. Wasn't that the Conqueror of Demons? I thought he was out on patrol in these hours." Hu Tao mused.

"Do you know this person?" Lumine asked, "He seemed as if he was in constant pain when he was speaking..."

"He also seemed very rude to Paimon! Rude enough to earn himself an ugly nickname!"

"Well~ Usually this stuff would be a tip top secret, but I can make an exception for my friends! So his name is Xiao, and he is an Adeptus who hangs out in this place. I've seen him a few times before, but he's su~per unfriendly and mostly stays alone!"

"I've looked into him real quick and he's very powerful, but he doesn't seem to mean any harm to us." Mona explained, "Adepti are holy beasts and we ought to respect their wishes. We should finish eating as soon as possible and leave. If I had known there would be an Adeptus here, I would not have come, but there are a few things that are impossible to predict."

Just now, when Yomite saw Xiao, the Adeptus for the first time, there was this inexplicable feeling forming within his chest.

There was this...

Cringe...forming within...historical

There was this edgy feeling, Yomite was getting from him...an emo...

This depressed and rude individual, feeling pain...with deep voice...a bit too cocky...Albeit too short...

"I think I found him!" Yomite announced and stood up from his chair, "I found Sasuke! He exists! Come back Sasuke!"

"Yum-Yum? What did you find? A 'Sasuke'? Is that some sort of a flower?"

"Perhaps he needs to pee~ He sometimes acts out on impulse and says things randomly, leave him alone B-B."

"Eh...? B...B?"

"It's shortened for Barbara, right? So I'll be calling you B-B, now that you're part of the gang!" Hu Tao explained.

"Ah, then allow me to call you something nice as well...Let's see...ah! A Walnut!"

"...Uh...Walnut...? That's a bit..." Hu Tao replied awkwardly.

"It's perfect! Isn't it? It's so fitting! Your hair is as brown as a walnut and even your name means 'A Walnut' isn't that right?"

Hu Tao rubbed the back of her neck, "Umm...yeah. Sure...I suppose?" In the end she agreed, trying not to seem too awkward.

"Goodness me, I'm so good at giving people nicknames. I'm glad you like it, my friend!" Barbara giggled, continuing to eat.

When Hu Tao noticed Barbara wasn't paying attention, she leaned towards Yomite and whispered, "H-Hey...Assistant...could you perhaps tell her not to call me that...I'm pretty bad with that type of a girl..."

"Forget it...she calls me Yum-Yum which is way, waaay worse...so just deal with it...embrace it, my little Walnut." He poked her stomach with his finger.

"Hnngh!? No, no, no! You're not allowed to call me that either!" She pushed away his hand and pouted.

"Alright, alright..." Yomite relented.