The flurry of questions between Jin and Eira showed no signs of stopping.
"How exactly did you get to this continent from across the sea?"
Was it by ship, balloon, or airship? Eira’s answer caught him off guard.
"Via Warp Gate, obviously."
"Ah, I see..."
A hint of disappointment washed over Jin. If travel was restricted to Warp Gates, they were almost certainly under strict state supervision.
"Now it’s my turn. Jin, are you familiar with the geography of any continents besides this one? Actually, let me be blunt: do you know the Lauren Continent?"
"Hmm, I wonder. I think I know more about it than I do about this continent, at least."
"Hmph."
"Then, Eira-san, what brought you to this continent in the first place?"
"I was scouted."
"Scouted, you say?"
Eira gave a knowing smirk.
"I’ll give you a little bonus on that one. Even though the Mercana Principality claims to maintain national isolation, they still import magi-crystals and magi-devices. Or rather, they have no choice but to do so."
"I imagine so."
"At the same time, they publicly declare that they welcome and provide preferential treatment to intellectuals."
"I see..."
Jin recalled similar periods in Earth’s history. The Edo Shogunate had also maintained national isolation, yet they kept specific ports open to facilitate trade with nations like the Netherlands and China. Jin was unaware that the nuances of the term "national isolation" had caused a fair bit of controversy among historians in recent years, however.
"I thought it sounded like a dream—doing research to my heart's content in a brand-new land. So, I took the bait. That was six years ago. In short, I was naive."
Eira laughed self-deprecatingly, as if acknowledging that such a sweet deal was obviously too good to be true, before moving on to her next question.
"Are you perhaps from a country called Mitsuho?"
"Mitsuho, is it...? The name sounds familiar, I think."
Jin kept his response as vague as possible.
"Hmph, a bit of a slow reaction there. Well, fine. I suppose it’s too much to ask you to trust me all of a sudden."
"No, it’s not that..."
"It is, isn't it? No matter how you look at it, you're wary of me."
"..."
Jin had pegged Eira for a total research obsessive, but it turned out she possessed a surprisingly sharp intuition.
"Well, I won't deny it."
"Honest, at least. I'm suspicious of you too, so I guess we're even."
Just then, a knock sounded at the door. The two fell silent and listened.
"Jin-sama, Kachea-san is here. It seems she wishes to invite you to dinner."
"Ah, is it that time already?"
"We got quite carried away with our talk. Jin, let's exchange information like this again sometime."
With that, Eira stepped out of the bedroom. Kachea was standing right outside the door.
"...Eh?"
"Oh, it’s the little lady. You’re going to have dinner now, right? In that case, let’s go eat out. My treat."
Saying only that, Eira headed toward her own room without waiting for a reply, presumably to grab her purse.
"A-Ah... wha...?"
For some reason, Kachea stared at Eira’s retreating back, her face turning bright red.
"Hey, Kachea. Is it that time already? I just got so caught up in our discussion."
"C-Caught up...?"
Kachea's face flushed even deeper.
"J-Jin-san, in the bedroom... doing that sort of... thing..."
"Huh?"
"I'm so disappointed in you!"
"What? What is it? What’s wrong, Kachea?"
As Jin stepped closer, Kachea scrambled backward.
"D-Don't touch me!"
"What?"
"J-Jin-san, w-what were you doing... w-with that person...?"
"...Oh."
Even the dense Jin finally realized what Kachea was misunderstanding.
"Wait, Kachea. It's not what you think."
"W-What do you mean, it’s not what I think?! It couldn't be... any clearer!"
"Look, just listen..."
Just then, Eira returned. She had changed into a short-sleeved, summery one-piece dress and a hat.
"What's all the racket about?"
"Ah, Eira-san, perfect timing."
"Hmm?"
Jin explained that Kachea had the wrong idea simply because they had been talking privately in the bedroom. Eira seemed to grasp the situation immediately.
"Ahahaha! Little lady, what an amusing misunderstanding. I like men who are older, sturdy, smart, and dependable. Unfortunately, as far as Jin goes, he only meets the 'smart' requirement."
"..."
"O-Oh."
Tactless as the phrasing was, the misunderstanding seemed to have been cleared up.
"Now then, since you understand, let's go get some dinner."
Eira began walking with long, brisk strides. The one-piece dress didn't suit her in the slightest. Jin left Hope to look after the place and followed her. Kachea trailed behind a few paces later.
* * *
"This is the place I recommend."
After leaving the research wing, Eira headed straight for the shop. A lingering brightness still hung in the summer evening sky. The shop, located about a three-minute walk away, had a narrow storefront but was surprisingly deep and spacious inside.
"The cafeteria in the research wing isn't bad, but the menu repeats every three days."
While the menu changed daily, it apparently operated on a strict three-day rotation.
"Well, it's free, so I can't complain much. But every now and then, I just need to eat out. Now, what'll you have?"
"Let's see..."
There was a menu, but it was filled with names like "Summer Sky Set Meal," "Light Through the Clouds Set Meal," and "Gentle Breeze Afternoon Set Meal." Since the actual contents were unclear, Jin decided to go with the "Daily Recommended Set Meal," figuring it was the safest bet.
"Ho, you're quite the connoisseur. I'll have that too, then."
"I-I'll have that as well."
All three of them ended up ordering the same thing. After they placed their orders with the clerk, the food arrived in about five minutes.
"One of the best things about a set meal is how fast they serve it," Eira muttered to herself.
"Whoa..."
Jin's eyes widened.
Brown rice—likely 70% polished—suimono, grilled fish, and vegetable oshinko. Plus, a dish called Meat-Topopo, which was essentially nikujaga.
It was a shame there was no miso soup. Jin wondered if they had soy sauce but lacked miso. When he tried the suimono, it had a clean, salty flavor, so his guess was likely correct.
"But it's seasoned well with dashi, so it’s quite delicious even with just salt."
"...Based on the way you said that, you definitely know about soy sauce and miso, don't you?"
Eira saw right through him.
"Hmm, it seems I wasn't wrong. You're definitely from the Lauren Continent."
"It seems so."
In the face of Eira's confident assertion, Jin could only offer a vague, noncommittal nod.