The red-haired guy with glasses had already left, but I remained standing there instead of chasing after him with more questions.
Because honestly... his reaction made me happy.
If he truly didn't want to answer, he could've calmly refused. But instead, he got angry and snapped at me.
That meant he was hiding something.
So... could I assume my younger sister, Goo Xingen, had also reincarnated into this world?
That was way too much of a coincidence. Could the Goddess of Fate really have done something like this?
Whatever the case, just knowing En'en might be here made me happy.
En'en was Goo Xingen's nickname. My parents and I had called her that ever since she was little.
But now the real problem was figuring out who she'd reincarnated into. How old was she now? Where did she live?
I could try secretly approaching the red-haired guy, but he clearly cared deeply about En'en. He was probably already wondering why I knew her name. He might even think I planned to harm them and start guarding against me.
Following him while invisible wouldn't work either. En'en probably had a different name in this life, and they obviously wouldn't use fake names when talking to each other privately.
Besides, I didn't even have time to stalk someone around all day. I still had to hurry for Brave Bell's sake.
(Miss this chance and it'll be gone forever... damn it.)
"Mr. Karen."
At that moment, a familiar voice called out from behind me.
I turned around.
As expected, it was Alice.
"Alice, why are you here?"
"Because we were sitting in the spectator stands across from here, so I came to pick you up."
Wasn't Jacob supposed to come get me? Why had it suddenly become Alice instead?
Well, whatever.
I pointed upward toward the spectator seats as I replied,
"I thought you guys were over there."
Not that I'd come here looking for Jacob and the others in the first place. Still, Alice probably wasn't fast enough to have seen me talking with the red-haired guy.
Then Alice suddenly stared at me silently with a puzzled expression before asking,
"...Mr. Karen, why do you look both happy and troubled at the same time?"
"Do I? Maybe I'm happy because the judges praised me, but troubled because my identity got exposed and now people will pay attention to me."
I answered while touching my face.
Honestly, I impressed myself sometimes. My brain really could come up with excuses instantly.
"I see."
"Let's go find Jacob and the others."
"Okay."
I decided to set En'en's matter aside for now. There was no need to rush.
People always said the world was small.
We'd meet again someday.
Afterward, Alice and I walked beneath the spectator section where Jacob and the others were sitting, and I had her go up to call them down.
I didn't go up myself because... well, maybe—just maybe—people would swarm me if I showed my face.
The reason I called the four of them down was because I still hadn't eaten lunch. They probably hadn't eaten either. But with only fifty minutes left before the competition ended at five, dinner time was getting close too, so I figured we could at least grab some snacks.
After Alice brought the other three down, I suggested we go eat.
Jacob immediately gave me a "What are you talking about?" look.
"Karen, half an hour before the competition started, the entire capital closed its stores so people could watch the tournament."
"Huh? Then what are we supposed to do? Aren't you guys hungry?"
"There are people wearing green Bolon shirts walking around the spectator stands selling food."
I hadn't expected every shop in the capital to close down.
The Food King Tournament's popularity was terrifying.
And apparently Jacob and the others had already eaten.
I really had worried for nothing.
Then Alice opened a storage hole and took out several round wrapped items.
"We bought Mr. Karen's portion too."
So they already bought food for me?
Why didn't they take it out earlier? Then there would've been no need to call everyone down.
"Thanks."
I accepted the food.
From the shape alone, it looked like a hamburger.
Opening the wrapper confirmed it—it was a fish burger.
Then I started eating while chatting with the others.
"Karen, you followed that guy named Goo Xingyu earlier. Did you need something from him?"
I knew people would notice my intentions. It had been pretty obvious.
But of course I'd already prepared an excuse before acting.
"Nothing much. I'd never heard of that country before, so I just wanted to know where it was."
"So where is it?"
"Couldn't find out. He refused to tell me no matter what."
"How mysterious."
And just like that, Jacob accepted the explanation.
But then Alice suddenly seemed to realize something and joined the conversation.
"Wait... then that means you already talked to him before I found you?"
"Yeah."
"Then why were you happy? He didn't even tell you anything."
"Happy?"
Now Jacob looked confused. Grace and Ethefelis did too.
It definitely sounded suspicious.
But I wasn't panicking.
I still had ways out.
"Didn't I already say I was happy because the bubble milk tea got praised?"
"No, Karen. You're not that kind of person. What exactly are you hiding?"
The moment I finished speaking, Jacob immediately denied it with unusual intensity.
So I continued struggling to escape.
"Can't I be happy because my cooking got praised?"
"No. You're not someone who gets happy just because people praise your food. What exactly did you say to Goo Xingyu?"
Jacob really was sharp.
He was right—I normally didn't care when people praised my cooking.
The reason was simple:
Aside from Lina and Lani, I had zero interest in anyone else's praise.
I glanced at Alice.
This was all because she'd talked too much.
She really was irritating sometimes.
Then I calmly took another huge bite of my burger.
Right now, Jacob was probably suspecting I had secretly plotted something with the red-haired guy.
But Jacob was still too inexperienced. He only understood the surface of who I was and thought he knew me completely.
While chewing the burger, I pushed my brain cells into overdrive searching for a believable excuse while organizing my emotions.
Then, after swallowing, I began my performance.
"...First of all, Goo Xingyu had already left long before Alice found me. During all that time, am I not allowed to think about other things?"
"But you weren't—"
"Because the general looked so nostalgic while drinking the bubble milk tea, I realized victory was practically already in my hands, so I was happy. But I didn't want to say that directly because it'd sound arrogant, so I just said I was happy from being praised. Is that okay?"
That was my explanation.
Personally, I thought it was logical, flawless, and absolutely perfect.
Then I took another bite of the burger.
"...Okay."
Excellent.
Jacob reluctantly accepted it with a guilty expression, and the matter finally ended.
Right then, the host's voice echoed through the iron-barred windows.
"Attention, everyone. Attention please. There are only ten minutes remaining before the competition ends. All contestants, please return to the competition arena and wait there. Thank you."
The Food King Tournament was finally coming to an end.
I hurriedly finished the burger, crushed the wrapper into a ball, and tossed it into the trash bin.
"Then I'm heading back."
Just as I was about to leave, someone tugged on the corner of my clothes.
A calm voice with a hint of excitement followed.
"Bro Ren, free food."
The one speaking was naturally Ethefelis. She was the only person who called me that.
And honestly, I only entered the Food King Tournament because of her.
So I answered in a gentle tone meant to reassure her.
"I know. Hurry back up there."
I walked through the archway and returned to the competition arena.
The other contestants had all returned as well, including the red-haired guy with glasses. Everyone stood beside their own cooking stations.
I returned to mine too, washing my hands while waiting for time to pass.