While Chaldea was preparing to capture the Naoki who hadn't come home.
In a distant Lostbelt.
"One more bowl, please! Naoki!"
The beautiful white-haired swordswoman, two swords at her waist, held out her bowl, asking Naoki for another serving of rice.
Taking the bowl with a resigned look, Naoki refilled it and said, "Can't you eat a little less? You think rice grows on trees, Musashi?"
"Hehehe~~ Who told you to cook so well! I could eat a dozen bowls in one go!"
The girl named Musashi laughed innocently.
Musashi—full name Musashi no Kami Fujiwara no Harunobu, commonly known as Miyamoto Musashi.
She was the swordswoman who had suddenly crashed into Naoki, knocking him into this world when he first entered the inter-world gap.
For Naoki, meeting her was completely unexpected. This Musashi was a true Wanderer and Drifter.
Though Musashi herself never mentioned it, Naoki remembered. The swordswoman before him came from a pruned and destroyed Lostbelt. Thanks to her unique Heaven Eye Mystic Eyes, she could wander between different worlds.
The only issue was that this wandering was uncontrollable. Musashi herself didn't know when it would happen or where she'd end up. Fortunately, she had a carefree spirit and didn't mind going anywhere. So far, she hadn't faced any serious trouble.
Their first meeting occurred when Musashi was wandering again and collided with Naoki, whose path intersected with hers while traveling to another world.
As a result, both arrived in this world—the destination of Musashi's wandering.
After arriving, since both were from other worlds, Naoki and Musashi talked and got to know each other. With the goal of helping one another, they began traveling together in this world.
It had been one month since then.
And during their travels, they had more or less figured out what kind of world this was.
This was Japan—ancient Japan, in the 16th year of Kan'ei, 1639 CE. The simple wooden hut they were staying in now was a corner of the capital, Shimousa Province, which they had reached just two days ago.
The Stage of Carnage: Shimousa.
Upon learning this was Shimousa Province, Naoki immediately knew where he had arrived. Originally, this place was supposed to appear as a Sub-Lostbelt with Sub-Singularity properties—one of the remnants of the Human Order Incineration. But since Naoki's Proper Human History faced no further crises after the Incineration, the events that should have followed did not occur.
(In the end, I still came here. Is this what they call fate?)
Watching Musashi eat heartily across from him, Naoki couldn't help but smile. Meeting her had genuinely made him happy. Just seeing her eat so joyfully made the food feel worth it.
Noticing Naoki suddenly showing a soft, "ideal man" smile, Musashi unconsciously shrank her neck: "Hmm—Naoki, why are you suddenly smiling like that? It's giving me chills. Feels like you're about to eat me."
"I'm not a man-eating beast. I'm just admiring the sight of a beautiful girl eating."
"Eh? You mean me?" Musashi scratched the back of her head shyly. "Aww~~~ I'm embarrassed being praised out of nowhere. Beautiful girl… Hehehe."
"Don't grin like an idiot. Look, your nose is about to fly to the sky."
Naoki irritably tapped the pot in the center: "More importantly, did you finish what I asked you to do?"
"Yes, yes, you mean gathering information, right? Of course I did it perfectly!"
Gathering information.
Though Naoki had some understanding of this Lostbelt's situation, it was from memories over twenty years old. He couldn't recall everything—only the general outline.
So, to move more easily later, Naoki had Musashi go out to investigate while he earned money for their living expenses in this world.
Musashi's appetite was no joke. It took a lot of money to keep her full.
Originally, they took turns cooking, but after Musashi tasted Naoki's cooking for the first time, she blatantly—and one might say shamelessly—handed the cooking duties entirely to him.
After finishing her eighth bowl, Musashi let out a loud burp and rubbed her slightly bloated belly: "BUUURP~~~~ I'm full. Today's lunch was luxurious too, Naoki. Thank you."
"You're welcome. Glad you're satisfied."
Naoki cleared the dishes: "Now that you're full, tell me what you found today."
"Hmm… Let's start with the Heroic Spirit Swordsman you asked me to look into." Musashi organized her thoughts. "Honestly, there's no news about any Heroic Spirit Swordsman right now."
Heroic Spirit Swordsman.
Originally, they were monsters created by Ashiya Douman using Servant corpses. In Shimousa Province, Musashi was supposed to fight seven Heroic Spirit Swordsmen alongside Fujimaru Ritsuka.
But—
"Nothing at all?"
"Yep, nothing. But there are reports of population disappearances or sudden large fires."
No news of Heroic Spirit Swordsmen, but incidents that might be caused by them.
(Are they just starting to appear?)
Naoki frowned: "What about the City Ruler matter?"
"Ah~~~ That one was completely uninvestigable. I couldn't even get close. There's a super strong old man guarding it. Just approaching made my body tremble." Musashi gave a bitter smile. "So? Is this info useful?"
"It's somewhat useful."
"Great!" Musashi grinned, clenching her fist. "This proves I'm not just a glutton who only knows how to eat!"
"Yeah, now you're a slightly useful glutton who only knows how to eat."
Someone who can eat eight bowls of rice in one sitting—if not a glutton, then what?
Ignoring Musashi's annoyed glare, Naoki put away the dishes: "Get ready. We're going out for a bit."
"Eh? Where to?"
"To the place where you investigated the fire—think of it as a post-meal walk. We'll check it out."