Chapter 42 - Brunch

"Good spar." Red claps his hands in approval as Blade Tornado and Fumio join him and Kotone at the side of the room.

"Heh. Yeah." Blade Tornado nods.

"I got lucky." Fumio scratches the back of his head, still not believing that he bested Blade Tornado.

"How about I use my blades next time? I bet you won't try grappling then." Blade Tornado puts his arms around Fumio's shoulders and challenges.

"Then I'll have to use a sword too. I'm a better swordsman than a barehanded fighter." Fumio is not willing to back down.

The two men stare at each other before sharing a hearty laugh.

Kotone meanwhile, who has already gotten used to her aching limbs and gut, shakes her head, finding it strange that the two who inflicted pain on each other just a minute ago are now smiling at each other like friends.

"I hate to break this moment, but Blade, your job here's done and I have a lecture to do." Red cuts in breaking Blade Tornado and Fumio apart.

"Oh…" Blade Tornado nods, figuring that Red might have a very secretive teaching style, does not mind being kicked out.

"Do you need a hand? Are you hurt seriously somewhere?" Red asks.

"Nah. Just a few patches here and there, and I'm good. I'll go to Muscle Masters tomorrow, maybe." Blade Tornado refuses Red's help.

"Alright. Send me your receipts later, I'll reimburse what you'll spend." Red nods.

"Nah. From the winnings I got from betting on you? I can handle my own bills." Blade Tornado chuckles.

"All I wanted is a good spar, which I was hoping I can do with you. But I already got one." He then pats Fumio's back.

"Wait. Come to think of it. I don't know your name yet." He realizes and asks Fumio.

"Fukashi. You can call me Fukashi." Fumio quickly comes up with a name.

"Ah. You do kinda look like a Fukashi." Blade Tornado nods at the name befitting Fumio's disguise.

"Well. Whatever. Fuhashi-san. Let's do this again some time, yeah? I lack experience in fighting swordsmen, so I might need your help." He offers.

"When I have time, I will." Fumio promises, actually looking forward to sparring with Blade Tornado again.

After a few more exchange of words, Red tosses another small canister of his herbal cream to Blade Tornado.

Blade Tornado accepts the gift with a smile and leaves the room.

As soon as the metal doors are closed, Red starts his healing on Fumio and Kotone.

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The trio are now walking along one of Chofu's old-school streets just a kilometer's away from the Combat Gym.

"Boss… Uhhh…" "This…" Fumio and Kotone however, suddenly freeze in their steps as they see Red lead them to the entrance of what looks like a high class traditional restaurant.

"Hm? I thought you two were hungry?" He asks, puzzled at the two's reaction.

"Boss. Uhhh. I've torn my clothes during the spar." Fumio complains.

"I accidentally tore mine too." Kotone says, referring to the bottom part of her kimono robe which was torn from the force of her movements during her spar with Blade Tornado.

"So? Don't tell me, you two…" Red scoffs.

"Boss… If you hadn't had us spar with Blade-san, and our clothes would still look perfect, and my hair and make-up wouldn't have been ruined, and I would be proudly entering such establishment right now." Kotone argues.

"That's right. That's right." Fumio nods. "And. Even though our illusions make us look rich, I want to eat great food as my real self." He adds.

Red cannot believe that the two care too much about appearances.

"Kichirou-san. Why don't we just go over there?" Kotone points at a random hole in the wall restaurant across the street.

" '***** Udon. Since 1935.' Hmmm…" Fumio reads the restaurant's signboard. "It's in a shabby building, but it has some history. It couldn't be bad. Boss. It's my treat." He is open to Kotone's suggestion and he leads the way.

Red can only shrug. While he is a bit at a loss that his generosity is adamantly refused, he feels that his two students mean well.

As the three enter the restaurant, they realize that its entrance belies the space and number of tables that it actually offers.

"Ooof. Thank goodness." Fumio sighs in relief as he looks at the menu board. Despite the immaculate interior of the shop, the prices on the menu all seem fair to him.

"I'll pay for the half, Fumio-san." Kotone offers.

"Why not let me? I was supposed to tr-" Red is about to offer but, "NO…", Fumio and Kotone surprisingly are very much firm in refusing him and can only follow the two to sit at a nearby table.

A minute or so later. "…These are enough for… 10 people…" The middle-aged, kimono-wearing, female server of the restaurant is stunned after finally taking down the orders of the three.

"We don't do take-outs, dear customer." She says, as an indirect way of asking if the three customers are sure of their orders.

"Good to know. Anyways, we might add some more." Kotone says.

"Oh… okay." The server guesses that the group are superiori who can eat a lot.

"How about occupying one of our nice private dining rooms upstairs? It has a large table which your orders can fit. Your small table will be cramped if you dine in this area." She can only offer.

"That would be great." Kotone accepts.

"So… Now it makes sense why I was always hungry even if I was eating three full meals a day. I thought it was just in my head." Kotone says after the group settle down in the private room.

She finally realizes that the drastic increase in her appetite and her weird cravings in the past two months was due to her increasing strength.

"I even went for a check-up. But everything looked perfect, according to the doctor." She adds.

"You weren't eating enough, actually." Red says, surprising Kotone.

"That's why I had you drink a lot of that milkshake while you were training." He continues to explain.

"It didn't taste like milkshake though. It was oily and hard to swallow." Kotone complains.

"Hmm. Ah. And here I thought it was some sort of a magical concoction." Fumio chuckles, having once seen Red serve that drink to Kotone, and Kotone downing it with an ugly expression.

"Anyways. I also found it strange when I noticed how much I was eating, but unlike you, Kotone, I ate to my heart's content." He brags.

"You will never know the struggles of the female diet." Kotone rolls her eyes.

"Uhuh…" Fumio dismisses Kotone's statement, not taking it seriously.

"Anyways boss." Fumio turns to Red.

"I can eat a whole pot of rice and two kilos of meat every meal and I still don't get full. I can afford it as you pay me a lot, but is there a way I can get sustenance more efficiently aside from protein bars? I'm sick of stuffing myself with protein bars." His question also making Kotone interested as she is already foreseeing how much she will have to eat in the future.

"You're stronger than me, boss, but I never saw you eat anything, just drink stuff. So, how in the hell do you not starve to death?" He concludes his question.

"At my level, I sustain myself differently. You two, on the other hand, can only settle with eating. Increase your intake of coconut oil, animal fat, and various vegetable oils. I'll make you two a list." Red says.

The two students are only at the early stages of their body-forging. Until they reach a stage to which they can start cleansing their mortal bodies, their bodies are still not compatible in absorbing spiritual energy.

Had Red not woken up in this world with a body and cultivation that has perfect foundations, he himself will still need to eat food to sustain himself. This is because a body with a high mortal warrior stage with flawed foundations, will not be pure enough to entirely be sustained by spiritual energy, no matter how pure it is.

Even though Red finds the problem of his two students valid, he finds it inconvenient at best. He is making their bodies have perfect foundations so they can absorb spiritual energy faster in the future.

"By the way, Kichirou-san." Kotone, from the recent revelations to her, has one matter that is brewing in her mind.

"Our… 'Practice'. Is there a way for my brother to learn it?" She asks.

"Haruto? No."

Kotone is taken aback by how quick Red answered.

"He's an even nicer person than me. I think it's worth a try to test him?" She asks.

"I mean, I just realized that even though he has his powers back, he wasn't able to do well in school due to his illness, so he can only be a glorified construction worker. And we all know how people exploit laborers." She reasons.

"It's not a problem with his character, Kotone. It's his biology. Only the non-superiori have practiced our craft. I don't know what effect it will have on the superiori. It might be dangerous." Red explains.

He has a theory about the matter however, which is planning on testing out in the future.

"Oh…" Kotone is disappointed.

"Good. The superiori already have it good." Fumio sighs in relief.

Kotone gives him a glare, but Fumio simply ignores it.

"Where would we be right now, Kotone, if we just didn't happen to cross paths with boss?" Fumio asks instead.

"…" Kotone is rendered speechless by the rhetorical question.

"Anyways. Boss. How rare are 'we'?" Fumio asks Red this time.

Kotone also perks up.

"I don't have a universal answer for that, but I've seen enough people to draw some theories." Red starts.

"After going to practically all the non-superiori shelters and orphanages throughout Japan in the past few years, I found out that out of ten non-superiori, one has potential."

"REALLY?" Fumio is pleasantly surprised.

Red meanwhile, knows what Fumio is thinking.

"Yes. HOWEVER. From what I saw, they only have the potential to be as strong as E or D Class Physical type Superiori even if they train their entire lives." He explains.

"Oh…" Fumio is disappointed.

"But boss… I was already D level after only five or so months of training. Same with Kotone. That means we have great potential, right?" He asks.

"Yes. And you two are quite rare. Let's say one out of a hundred thousand, there is one or two whose potentials are the same or even better than you two's." Red says.

"Oh… Then why are we your first students? … Statistically speaking, in all of Greater Tokyo, with its 35 million population, there would be, what? 350 potential students at least? You should have a student before we met." Fumio asks.

"Let's just say that I wasn't ready. In fact, even with my strength right now, I'm risking a lot, if someone somehow finds out that I have the knowledge to change the status quo." Red shrugs.

Despite his casual tone, Fumio and Kotone realize that the responsibility they have just accepted is even deeper and heavier. The two can only stay silent and ponder what happens to them from now on.

Red meanwhile, after saying those numbers to Fumio, is excited once again.

In his previous life, the common mortal planes in the endless realms, on average, only supply one potential cultivator in a million people. And rarely do those potential cultivators get to high mortal stage without resorting to herbs and cultivation pills.

Therefore, in this realm, he finds the number of potential cultivators very, very abundant.

Red, noticing that his two students seem to be still processing the change in their lives, he takes the remote control on the table and turns on the TV.