A gentle breeze stirred around Mana.
At first, it was faint—barely enough to lift the strands of hair clinging to her forehead. But within moments, it intensified. The breeze turned into gusts. The gusts became a storm.
WHOOSH—!!
Wind roared through the tavern like a lion unleashed, howling with wild energy. Loose papers scattered. Dishes trembled. Even the windows rattled in protest, straining against the unseen force surging from Mana's body.
Dust and flour swirled in the air, engulfing the room in a haze.
Then, as quickly as it came, the wind died.
Silence.
Anne blinked through the dissipating dust, her heart hammering in her chest.
"W-What was that…?"
Her gaze locked on Mana—whose clothes were gently fluttering, the hem of her coat slightly torn, her hair whipping about like she had stood in the heart of a storm.
She had activated it.
Teaching the Pulse.
A phenomenon known only to the select few who carried the Nakiri bloodline.
A manifestation of the divine judgment of the God's Tongue.
When a dish was truly delicious—so sublime that it reached the very soul—it triggered a spiritual reaction from the taster. A shockwave of culinary ecstasy that could be felt by those around them.
And now, Mana—who had rejected every dish she'd tasted for years—had released it from a few spoonfuls of vegetable fried rice.
Anne could hardly breathe.
Zane's Comet Fried Rice… had awakened the God's Tongue.
Mana's shoulders rose and fell, her breath heavy.
She stared at the now half-empty plate of fried rice, eyes wide, glassy with tears.
"Delicious…" she whispered.
"It's really… truly delicious."
She laughed softly through the tears, wiping them with the back of her hand, only for more to fall.
"How can this be?" she murmured. "Just spinach, bok choy, lard, salt… How is this possible?"
"How can such humble ingredients… break through my God's Tongue?"
But it had.
Not through opulence or extravagance, but through warmth, soul, and mastery.
She leaned forward, gripping the spoon with both hands like a starving woman.
"More… I need more!"
The composed, elegant WGO leader was gone.
What replaced her was someone wild—someone desperate, consumed by hunger and joy.
Spoon after spoon vanished into her mouth.
Anne watched, stunned, as Mana devoured the dish like someone who had never eaten before.
If the WGO executives could see her now—their flawless, dignified director—face down in a plate of fried rice, scraping it clean with her spoon and even licking stray grains off the porcelain—they would be speechless.
And yet, there was something beautiful about it.
A woman reclaiming a joy long lost.
Delicious.
A word used too often, and yet never fully understood.
For thousands of years, humans had tried to define it. Was it richness? Flavor? Texture? Memory?
Everyone had a different answer.
To some, it was the crackle of grilled meat.
To others, it was the taste of home.
To Rindō Kobayashi, maybe it was smoky yakitori or octopus balls the size of her fist.
But for Mana Nakiri—
It was a simple side dish she'd eaten in kindergarten, every Wednesday. A lightly sautéed vegetable medley.
Back then, it made her smile without knowing why.
But when the God's Tongue awakened in her youth, that smile vanished.
What once brought her joy now made her sick. Every bite of food became a burden. Every meal, a torment.
She wanted nothing more than to be normal. To eat, to laugh, to live—like everyone else.
But the world hadn't allowed it.
Nutrient injections became her daily routine. Her body slowly withered. Her soul nearly followed.
Until today.
This dish—this radiant Comet Fried Rice—was the light piercing through the abyss of her suffering.
She didn't know whether it was real or a hallucination, but…
She felt better.
Her breathing came easier. Her limbs felt lighter. The weight of despair that had pressed on her for so many years… had lifted.
Her cheeks were flushed. Her skin glowed. She looked—no, she felt—a decade younger.
She touched her face in disbelief.
"I feel… alive…"
And then she noticed—
The plate was empty.
She blinked, as if waking from a trance. Then, with no shame at all, she picked up the plate and licked the last stubborn grains off with her tongue.
"Burp~"
She wiped her mouth, gently patting her now slightly full belly.
Her eyes closed, and she smiled. A genuine, heartfelt smile that hadn't appeared in years.
"This feeling…"
"I want to remember it forever."