Time to Eat!

The morning light was faint, and the dampness of the night hadn’t quite faded. Every breath carried the fresh scent of grass and trees. A cool breeze brushed by, instantly waking up a brain that was still a bit groggy.

The wooden broom swept across the stone path, stroke after stroke. Scratching at the messy bangs on his forehead, Kashuu Kiyomitsu let out a long breath, a satisfied grin spreading as he admired his cleaning handiwork. There were faint shadows under his eyes.

Not bad at all!

He secretly gave himself a thumbs-up.

Even sweeping the floor, he could make it look this clean and pretty.

“Ha…”

Squinting, he let out a slow yawn.

Ever since the Saniwa taught him how to play games, he couldn’t sleep a wink last night. His mind was buzzing with the thrilling sound effects and visuals from just two short rounds.

So, he pulled an all-nighter, dragging along Hirano Toushirou, who was also wide awake. The two of them battled it out in the gaming canyon.

The result? Predictable.

They lost six matches in a row. Their gameplay was so bad, their teammates practically roasted their ancestors’ graves.

“Sigh…”

Tucking the broom and dustpan neatly to the side, Kashuu Kiyomitsu let out a wistful sigh, absentmindedly rubbing his now-shorter nails.

Last night, he’d gotten a bit too heated.

In a fit of frustration, he’d chopped off his thumbnails—the ones that kept messing up his controls.

Playing with the Saniwa was way more fun. He could just chill and still win.

Not like now—losing at games and losing his pretty nails.

When he played with the Saniwa, even if they lost, he was happy. He could rack up assists like nobody’s business. Sometimes, the Saniwa would even let him snag a kill, so his endgame score looked pretty decent.

“Ah…”

His eyes caught a glimpse of a figure hurrying past the corridor. Kashuu Kiyomitsu waved enthusiastically, calling out to stop them.

“Yamanbakiri!”

Hearing the shout, Yamanbakiri Kunihiro paused, turning with a head full of question marks. “What’s up?”

Hands clasped behind his back, Kashuu Kiyomitsu fidgeted nervously, fingers tightening and loosening. After hesitating for a few seconds, he ventured, “Are you heading to see the Saniwa?”

I’m coming too!

—

Knock knock.

The door sounded.

Lin Ge had gotten up early today, a rare feat. He was scribbling furiously at his desk. Hearing the knock, he didn’t even look up, just hollered, “Come in!”

The wooden door slid open, revealing two figures.

One was the familiar Yamanbakiri Kunihiro. The other was Kashuu Kiyomitsu, his gaming buddy from their five-man squad.

“Up this early for work?” Yamanbakiri Kunihiro asked, a bit surprised.

From what he knew, the Lord wasn’t exactly bursting with passion for work.

When Lin Ge first arrived at the Honmaru, he’d been curious about the government-supplied plants that could be fast-grown— but only on the first day. After that, every time Yamanbakiri came to drag him to the fields, the Saniwa needed ages to psych himself up.

Got something on your mind?

Still stressing about yesterday?

Guiltily snapping his notebook shut, Lin Ge cleared his throat lightly.

“Nah, nothing like that. The paperwork… I already finished and uploaded it last night.”

Once he’d sorted out his feelings, how could he possibly sleep?

He’d climbed out of bed, powered through the files he’d planned to tackle today, and then wandered around the Honmaru, stirring up some mischief. When he got back, his brain was still buzzing, so he grabbed a blank notebook and started scribbling and sketching, plotting his 108 Strategies to Chase Strawberry Shortcake.

Until dawn.

As a kid, he’d taken a few years of drawing lessons. Simple chibi doodles? He could handle those no problem.

Every page of his plan had a matching illustration—sunglasses Strawberry Shortcake, blindfold Strawberry Shortcake, and even the limited-edition original Strawberry Shortcake.

As for the mischief he’d caused…

Heh heh.

He’d snuck a bucket of bullfrogs into Tsurumaru Kuninaga’s room.

Sure, he’d nearly died doing it, but it was all about staying true to his roots.

The whole thing was a bit of a fluke. After wrapping up his work early, Lin Ge was too restless to sit still. Slipping on his sandals, he drifted through the Honmaru like a ghost.

He figured he needed some cool air to chill out.

Otherwise… he might’ve impulsively sent Gojo Satoru an 800-word love confession.

He could always write another essay. But getting rejected by Strawberry Shortcake? That’d be a total loss.

They’d known each other for barely a week. Lin Ge took a hard look at himself and realized… for now… he didn’t exactly have any standout qualities.

Except maybe his ability to eat like a champ.

But would Strawberry Shortcake say yes just because he was a bottomless pit?

No need to even think about it.

No chance.

If he flipped the script—say, someone he’d known for less than a week suddenly poured their heart out to him—Lin Ge would probably think they were a bit flaky.

Strawberry Shortcake was the exception, of course.

Heh heh.

As he wandered, he suddenly remembered he still “owed” Tsurumaru Kuninaga a bucket of bullfrogs.

—

Tsurumaru Kuninaga’s room was in the back courtyard. Following the Honmaru map Yamanbakiri had given him that afternoon, Lin Ge crept over silently.

The entire Honmaru seemed fast asleep, save for him. The corridor was lit by a few warm yellow lanterns, casting Lin Ge’s shadow long behind him.

Lin Ge felt like he was the coolest guy right now.

If the situation allowed, he’d have belted out a solo of “Lone Warrior.”

Keeping his sandals as quiet as possible, he made his way to his target—Tsurumaru Kuninaga’s room.

He gave the redwood door a gentle push. It opened. Lin Ge cackled inwardly.

The white-haired dude doesn’t even lock his door!

Talk about making it easy!

The lights were still on, and he could see a small lump in the middle of the bed.

Half of Tsurumaru Kuninaga’s face was buried under the blanket, his slightly long white hair fanned out on the pillow. Asleep, he looked harmless, like some holy angel.

He was out cold. Lin Ge got right up to the bed, and the guy didn’t even stir.

Sly as a fox, Lin Ge slid a red plastic bucket under the bed.

He’d bought it that afternoon from the Saniwa shop—a medium-sized batch of bullfrogs, a whole tub of ‘em. The product page even boasted, “Super lively! Caught and shipped fresh!”

Stuff from the shop arrived instantly, filed into his inventory as an email. One click, and he could grab it. Crazy convenient.

Heh heh.

A huge grin spread across his face.

Without hesitation, he popped the lid off the red bucket, locking eyes with a dozen pairs of shiny black peepers inside.

Pinching one frog between his fingers, Lin Ge gave Tsurumaru Kuninaga’s shoulder a nudge, letting out a devilish whisper.

“Time to eat!”