Chapter 7: Donuts Are Delicious

Chapter 7:
Donuts Are Delicious

 

THE NEXT DAY, Filia and I were out and about. We weren’t out doing a request, of course. No, we were celebrating Filia’s recovery. I couldn’t let her do something reckless like accepting a request in her state, not just after getting better.

“It sure is nice, being able to eat good food again,” said Filia. “It cheers me right up!”

“That’s good.” Filia had been feeling chipper about the prospect of more decent vittles all morning.

She really seemed to be enjoying that wonderful, lively feeling you apparently got after recovering from illness. I’d heard that health was something you only appreciated after you lose it, after all.

Filia, walking in front of me, almost bouncing with every step, turned back to look at me, her hair fluttering as she moved. “Oh, but I truly am grateful to you for this, Yuri. You know that, right? For making me porridge and things. Your cooking helped me get better in a jiffy. Thank you.”

“Nah, it was the power of muscle.”

“Ah, yes. I’ve decided to erase that part from my memory. Too scary.”

Jeez, she altered her memory? I sighed and walked along beside her. She wore a blank expression, playing innocent. “Was there anything you wanted in particular? Get whatever you want. Even that slime whatever-it-was is fine by me.”

“Slime Jelly sounds wonderful, but I’m in the mood for donuts today.”

Donuts, huh? Well, I didn’t have any particular objection to that. We headed on over to the donut shop in town, Filia leading the way.

 

“This must be it!” Even though it was just before noon, the donut shop was packed. The pleasant aroma permeating the store really got my appetite going. The people at their tables happily munched on donuts. I supposed that, as a foodie herself, Filia’s choice in restaurants was impeccable. Once we entered the shop, she looked around happily.

By the time I was done reading the menu, I was salivating so much that I had to gulp it down. There were dozens of donuts to choose from.

“Oh, wow, they have quite a variety, don’t they?” In stark contrast to my glee, Filia stood there looking downright intimidated or something, eyebrows furrowed and everything. “This isn’t good…” she muttered.

“What isn’t?” I asked.

“There are too many! I just can’t choose…”

“Uhh.” She had to be messing around, right? The gap between her enthusiasm and her words was simply too much. But she seemed quite serious. She put her hand to her mouth and pondered the matter like a skilled general analyzing a map. “Yuri,” she declared, “let’s share half of every donut we order. That way, we can eat twice as many different kinds while ordering the same amount.”

“You seem, uh, kinda super serious about this.”

“Eating is like battle. I can’t eat all the food I want, so I have to focus on quality,” she explained.

I reflexively rubbed my eyes. I could almost see an aura rising from her. Where was this fighting spirit when we handled requests? I guessed that just went to show how passionate she was about food. Either way, I wanted her to eat as much as she desired.

“I don’t really get the difference between half of these flavors,” I said. “You can order for me.”

She understood my true intentions at once, and she clasped my hand tightly. “Oh, Yuri! I’m so fortunate to have met you, Yuri!” she exclaimed in a clear, bright tone.

Boy, she could lay it on thick!

Filia ordered the donuts, her peach-colored lips moving quickly from one word to the next, effortlessly spinning her order like pure silk. After she’d finally finished placing the order, she nodded in satisfaction. “I’m sure that I’ll be satisfied with an order that large,” she said aloud.

“Well, that’s good.”

“Since we’re here, let’s eat inside,” said Filia, and the two of us took a seat together at a table with our haul. “Time to dig in!”

Filia picked the first donut off of our tower and brought it toward her small mouth. After she bit into it, her eyes opened wide, and she patted me excitedly on the shoulder. “Mmm! It’s delicious, Yuri!”

I happily took the second half when she handed it to me. The flaky texture was truly delightful. “Oooh, it sure is tasty!”

“I know, right? Eeeee! I’m so happy!”

Holding her hand to her cheek, Filia bit into another donut and exclaimed over its deliciousness as well. She went on to eat another, then another, and another…sighing in pleasure after every one. Each time she went to eat another, she handed me the remaining half of the one she’d just finished, so I ate just as much as she did. Some were flaky, some were moist, and some were springy.

Around the time that Filia started rubbing her stomach, I was starting to feel full too.

“If I eat any more, I’ll probably get fat! Oh, no, what should I do?” Filia groaned, looking down at yet another newly cleaned plate.

“If you do muscle training, you won’t get fatter. Wanna do it together?”

Filia barely seemed to register my words before quickly turning away. “If I eat any more, I’ll probably get fat! Oh, no, what should I do?”

“Don’t pretend you can’t hear me.”

“World, have mercy on me!”

Once again, she was completely hopeless. She fully intended to completely shut out anything that was inconvenient for her to hear. Then again, Filia was pretty skinny, so in my opinion, it would have done her some good to put on a few pounds.

While Filia and I bantered, I happened to notice a white-haired man at a table in the back. A slender guy dressed in a black coat, he seemed out of place in the bright store. The white-haired man ate his donut in complete silence, as if he didn’t have the least bit of interest in the people around him. But it wasn’t really the man’s appearance that caught my attention, or the way he carried himself.

What I noticed was his presence. It stood out from the crowd like a sore thumb. I shot up from my seat.

“Yuri? What’s the matter? What’s the standing about?” Filia gave me a puzzled look.

“I’m gonna go talk to that guy over there. He looks strong.”

“Being Yuri again, I see. That’s fine, I suppose, but please don’t make any trouble, okay? Not for that man, and not for the whole store.”

“I know. I am a gentle muscle man, you know.” I headed over to the white-haired guy’s table. My ever faithful companion Filia followed right behind me. “Excuse me. You got a minute?”

My first impression on getting a closer look was that the fellow was practically a skeleton. In fact, he looked so thin that I thought for sure he had to be sickly or something. His face was bony and wan.

“Hm. What is it?” the man asked. “What do you want with me?” His answers were far more brusque and snappy than you’d expect from someone who looked so frail—at least outwardly.

“I was just thinkin’ that you look strong. If you’re all right with it, how about having a fight with me later?”

“Sorry, but I’m off work today. I’ll have to pass.”

Filia tilted her head. “Are you, by any chance, in the same line of work as us? We’re adventurers, but…”

Filia seemed hung up on the suggestion of a day off. Adventurers really cherished their holidays. Rest was actually a critical part of keeping fit and ready for requests. For myself, I often used my days off for muscle training, which made Filia ask if they were really days off, but that was another story.

Anyway, the man raised his eyebrow a little at that. Seemed Filia’s guess was right on the money. “Huh. So, I guess that makes you guys my juniors then or something? I’m the S-Rank adventurer Javagiir. Javagiir Garyundur.”

That was Filia for you—inspiring a sense of camaraderie with words alone.

“My name is Filia.”

“I’m Yuri.”

We both briefly introduced ourselves. But wow, this guy was S-Rank? Ashley was S-Rank too, but man, I hadn’t realized S-Rank people really did feel different. Even though Javagiir was only talking, the aura rolling off of him was totally different from that of a normal person. I could tell he was suppressing it, but…

Man, I just gotta fight this guy!

Javagiir looked at me and I knew he could tell that I was just itching to go, an uncontrollable excitement shooting through my veins. He gave me a wry smile. “Huh. You’re all hot-blooded while she seems cool and composed. You’re a good pair. I envy you.”

“Are you working alone, Javagiir?”

“Hm. I suppose you could say that,” Javagiir said vaguely. Then he opened his arms out wide, deliberately theatrical, and said something sincerely weird. “I mean, really, as long as I have donuts, then I’m good. You know what I’m saying, ladies and gents? As long as you have donuts, life is all roses…no, I guess I should say life is all donuts! Get it?”

“Uh, no.”

“If you don’t get it, I’ll teach you. All right. Are you watching closely?”

Javagiir searched around inside his coat pocket. From within it, he pulled out another donut. Now holding two different donuts, one in each hand, Javagiir raised them in front of his face. He peered through the middle of the donuts—through the holes—and stared at Filia and me with his sunken eyes. As he examined us through the donut holes, our gazes met. Javagiir nodded in apparent satisfaction and returned the donuts back to his pocket.

“And there you have it. Get it now?”

“Actually, I think I understand even less.” In fact, I understood zero percent of what was happening.

It made so little sense to me that even my desire to fight had died out a bit. I shot a sideways glance at Filia, wondering if she got it, but she looked just as baffled as I felt.

Javagiir sighed at our confusion and said in a disappointed tone, “What? You don’t get it? The world just glitters when you look through a donut, doesn’t it?”

“Uh, no, nothin’ looks any different,” I said.

“Hrm, I see…I suppose everybody’s got their own moral compass. Don’t worry. I’m not angry with you just because you don’t understand. I’m one of the guild moderates.”

“I see, so there are more laid-back people among the S-Ranked guild members,” Filia mused. “That’s a bit of a relief, honestly.”

“Of course, I suppose there are some things you could do that would just cross the line—that would really set me off—but anyway, it’s about time I head out.” Javagiir stood from his seat and moved to leave the shop, but then he stopped. “Oh, by the way: If you do happen to like donuts, then I’ve got a good place to recommend. Donuts really are profound.”

“Would you?” asked Filia. “Why, thank you very much for going through all that trouble.”

“It’s all right. I mean, it’s an old-timer’s job to look out for the greenhorns.”

Awww, even a skeleton-looking guy could be a bro. “You mean that? Good to hear! In that case, that means you’ll fight me, right?!”

“I withdraw my statement. Sorry, greenhorn, but I’ve got my limits. Not gonna go quite that far for that, yeah? See ya.”

With that decisive rejection, Javagiir left the store.

“That’s too bad,” I moaned. “And he seemed so strong too…”

“Yuri,” said Filia gently, “it’s no good forcing someone into a confrontation. If that man has no wish to fight you, there’s nothing we can do about it.”

“Oh, I got it! Filia, instead, you and I could—also not fight, I suppose. You’ve only just gotten better, and we did just fight, and…” I sighed.

“Seriously, are you depressed? Come on, cheer up. How about we head on back ourselves?” Filia lightly patted me and pushed my back, ushering me out of the donut shop.

As I tried to find comfort in her soft touch, I wondered: Could I become stronger if I stayed depressed forever? Would someone come and challenge mopey ol’ me to a fight? No! The answer to both was a big, fat no! If I had time to be depressed, then I had time to be training as much as I could, even if it was just for one second more. Someday, that one second might mean the difference between life and death! Thinking about that naturally got me fired up all over again.

“All right, Filia, let’s hurry back to the inn. Then, training!”

“Where did this energy come from?” Filia snorted.

“It’s all because of you, Filia! Thanks!”

“I didn’t really do anything, though?”

“As thanks, once you’re fully recovered, I’ll teach you the most insanely grueling training regimen ever! It’s a training method that’s so secret, I never show it to anyone! Rejoice, Filia!”

“There’s nothing to rejoice about! I’m fine, really! I’m fine! Yuri, I’m perfectly fine!”

Filia vigorously shook her hands as she tried to turn down my offer. Ah, that was Filia for you: Even though she was so happy, she made sure to stay humble. Man, Filia was amazing!

 

***

 

After we got back to the inn, I looked out from the window on the second floor, down to the city below. All those people hurried about their lives with such purpose…

“What are we going to do tomorrow?” asked Filia as she sat down on her soft bed. “I think I’ll probably be well enough to strain myself by then.”

“I don’t think I wanna take any requests tomorrow. Nah, I wanna take a day to train. Haven’t done that in a while. What about you, Filia?” I asked.

“Hmm, well, I think I have a pretty good handle on how to use the Wind God already, so I’ll just take a nice stroll about town. To train my Clairvoyance,” said Filia.

I’d noticed her Wind God expertise in our fight. Filia seemed to know all the ins and outs of handling the Wind God now, even though she’d been pretty uneasy and unsure about it at first. It seemed like her training with Ashley had produced some awesome results.

Honestly, though, while Filia’s Wind God ability was definitely amazing, I thought her Clairvoyance was way more powerful, no matter how she framed it. The ability to know both your opponent’s abilities and their aptitude for magic? And better yet, it told you what they were thinking? It was so powerful that it was almost funny.

Add to that, Filia was way strong. Sure, I’d beat her the other day, but in the future…I couldn’t be so sure I’d be able to do it again. To make sure Filia couldn’t defeat me and to keep up with even stronger opponents, I had to train even harder.

“You don’t mind splitting up?” I asked.

“Oh, no, it’s quite all right with me. Just don’t get too lonely without the light of my presence, Yuri,” said Filia with a teasing chuckle.

I responded with an exasperated smile of my own and set to figuring out my training for the day.

As for Filia, she moved from her bed to the desk and started writing something. I couldn’t see what she was writing, but I probably wouldn’t have been able to understand it even if I did see. I could still take a guess as to what it was about: magic.

Since Filia had left her home village, it seemed she had been reformulating her theory of how her magic worked. I didn’t really get it, since I didn’t really need theory for muscle magic, but her magic power had really been improving of late. Whatever she was doing was clearly working.

I can’t afford to lose, I thought as I watched Filia scribble away so furiously it was like she was carving the words into the desk.

The next day, I left the inn without waiting for Filia to wake up. I wanted to practice a new technique I’d come up with on our first day of separate training. I needed to refine it until it was of practical use. For that reason, I had elected to continue prioritizing training over requests for the next little bit.

“What I really need is better cardio,” I said to myself. “Gotta train with everything I got.”

I set off and made my way to the city outskirts, then beyond. The area around the city of Jeepupp was well-maintained, so there was no need to worry about monsters. I walked farther and farther away from the city until the ground became uneven and the roads less populated.

“All right, this looks like a good spot.” I made sure that no one else was around, then I started sprinting as fast as I could go. My minimum goal? Five hundred miles per day.

“Graaah!”

I didn’t run like the wind; I outran it. I overtook it. For the next three days, I ran with all my heart and soul at an incalculable speed, kicking up clouds of dust in my wake.