“Hm? Hey, Mira. Didn't those two say they were headed back?”

  “I think they did? It doesn't look like that was the case though.”

  When Kiki and I arrived at the Gate, we were surprised to find Luci and Setsuna waiting for us there.

  “Oh, I didn't see you guys there,” Luci said while standing up, brushing the dirt off her pants. “I'm gd to see you're doing better now, Mira.”

  Sure enough, after Kiki helped me for a bit, I was back to walking on my own again.

  “Mm.” Setsuna, who was leaning against a nearby tree, briefly raised her hand to greet us. “I'm gettin’ a bit hungry, you guys wanna grab a bite real quick?”

  “Already? It hasn't been very long since breakfast, but I guess I'm down for that,” I shrugged.

  Now that the topic's relevent, I noticed that ever since I first woke up in Pristel, eating’s been a little wierd for me. I haven't really gotten hungry before, but at the same time I've never felt fully satisfied while eating. Add that to my somewhat above average strength and endurance, and the fact that I can go several days without eating, and it really makes me wonder what's going on with this body…

  “Sure! I've still gotta make up for the lost time I've spent thinking my sister here's been dead, what better time is there to do that than brunch?” Kino put her arm around my shoulder with a big smile on her face. After our talk earlier, she's seemed just generally a lot happier than she was before, a change I'm definitely happy about.

  Still, she called me her sister… She's done that a few times before, but now that I have my memories as her brother back, it just feels a little weird now. It's probably going to take a lot of getting used to before I'm truly comfortable again as a woman. Though it is a little strange that I need to adjust now just because of my recovered memories, and not back when I first woke up in this body and hadn't gotten used to it yet.

  “I'll go,” Luci was the st to answer. “I'm happy going anywhere with Mira. Besides, I've been taught to almost never refuse an invitation from a nation's leader, let alone a friend.”

  Setsuna seemed to have been starting off into the distance for a few moments now, but upon hearing Luci's response she shook her head as her lips curled into a small smile.

  “That's that settled then.” She wasted no time in reopening the Gate, stopping to wave us through. “How do pancakes sound?”

  “Sounds good.” Kiki and I both responded the same way as we stepped through.

  “Pan… cakes? Must be another Earth thing…” Luci shook her head, likely learning a little about Earth and its cultures from Setsuna while I was with Kiki. Speaking of Earth…

  “By the way, does this world even have a name?” I asked once we were all through and Setsuna had closed the Gate. “I know this continent is called Chinoko, but what about the rest of the world? Assuming that the continent and the oceans surrounding it aren't the entire world of course.”

  “It doesn't have a name, though at least that's better than calling it Earth of all things,” Luci chuckled, finding something funny. “Seriously, who names their pnet after dirt? Anyway, for all we know, Chinoko could very well be the only continent out there. With creatures like leviathans and krakens, sea travel is too dangerous for even the strongest adventures to attempt. The weakest monster in the ocean is literally A rank, and they're everywhere. I honestly have good reason to belive that the only thing safely traveling out there is a dragon.”

  “Not exactly the answer I expected, but I guess it makes sense,” I nodded. “So, we going now?”

  “Uh-uh. Not like it was you we were waiting on or anything,” Setsuna said as she started walking off. “The pce we usually go to for lunch usually does all-you-can-eat pancakes this time of day, so we should hurry up before they switch to the lunch menu.”

  After that, the rest of us followed her to the restaurant in silence. When we arrived, we sat in a four-person booth against the wall. After that a waiter came by, took the order from Setsuna, and came back a few minutes ter with our ptes.

  Each of us had a stack of about six pancakes topped with a chunk of butter and a healthy serving of syrup. I also noticed blue chunks in the pancakes that I confirmed to be blueberries after a brief taste-test.

  “So these are the legendary pancakes!” Luci excimed after tasting them herself, her eyes almost sparkling. “I've never had anything like this!”

  “Well, as you assumed earlier, they are from Earth, so that's only expected,” Kiki proudly puffed out her chest as if she was the one who cooked these, but if the memories I just got back are anything to go off, she couldn't toast a slice of bread without burning it, let alone cook pancakes this good. “You know, I've heard pancakes can actually help you grow faster.”

  “...Really?” It wasn't Luci that responded this time, but Setsuna. “...You better not be pulling my leg.”

  “I don't think there's much leg to pull…”

  “Hey!”

  This kind of banter between the two is pretty common so we just ignored it and got to eating. About an hour ter, Luci and Kiki we already finished as the waiter came by with the tenth or so round of ptes for me and Setsuna. It's turned into a sort of competition between us. Setsuna seemed to actually believe Kiki’s comment on pancakes helping someone grow, and at the same time, she thought I was trying to eat more than her and didn't want to lose. I, on the other hand, was simply trying to see if there was a limit to how much I could eat.

  About five more rounds, and Setsuna finally tapped out.

  “You know they don't actually make you taller, right? I was joking when I said that…”

  “I know! Just… wanted to make sure. Besides… how the hell is she still eating over there!”

  “Where do you put all of that…?” Luci asked while rubbing a hand on my stomach, as if that would give her an answer.

  “Who knows?” I simply shrugged in response and finished my pte.

  I still wasn't feeling close to full after fifteen ptes, so I got a sixteenth one for good measure - and to make sure I won this little competition - and sure enough, it still wasn't enough, so I stopped there. At this point it's safe to assume I had no limit.

  We thanked the waiter, who was covered in sweat for some reason, and put an end to our pancake brunch.

  Alpy376