[My Home Tower] The "Squishy Soft Restaurant" on the 11th floor!
"Helloooo~"
With that cozy greeting appeared the owner of this restaurant! His name is Wang Jjin-ppang!
As the manager of floors 11-20, he welcomed Seo Ryu-in with a soft voice.
Seeing his squishy appearance, Seo Ryu-in's heart fluttered while she tried to respond calmly.
'Nice to meet you~'
But what came out of her mouth was completely different.
"So cute...! Huh?!"
Her thoughts and words had come out reversed!
"Thank you~!"
But Wang Jjin-ppang didn't seem to mind at all as he smiled brightly.
It was truly amazing that a slime could make such a warm expression.
"Here, please sit down~!"
"Ah, yes!"
Seated, Seo Ryu-in opened the menu.
The menu prominently featured a highly recommended "Today's Special" that changed daily, along with simple side dishes and desserts.
"Ooh... What's today's special?"
"Today it's... Squishy Transparent Soup!"
"...?"
How could soup be squishy...?
Though puzzled, she thought such an experience was rare and ordered the "Squishy Transparent Soup."
And shortly after...
"Here's your food~!"
What was placed before her was an empty bowl.
"...Huh? Isn't this just an empty..."
At that moment, an enchanting aroma struck her senses.
It was a captivating soup fragrance unlike anything she'd ever experienced.
Though nothing was visible, something was clearly in that bowl.
Seo Ryu-in swallowed hard and picked up her spoon.
When she put the spoon in the bowl, she felt a heavy sensation as something transparent was scooped up.
The moment she carefully brought it to her mouth—a harmony unfolded on her tongue.
"—It's delicious!!!"
A deep flavor difficult to express in words.
A fantastic soup where countless ingredients' flavors condensed and harmonized.
And... she felt a texture that was both squishy and substantial.
A curious texture somewhere between thick soup and soft jelly.
She savored the soup slowly, marveling at the harmony of its mysterious texture and flavor.
After fully appreciating the taste and swallowing it—
Tears of emotion began to fall from Seo Ryu-in's eyes.
"Sniff... hic... it's so delicious...!"
"Aww, don't cry~"
Seeing this, Wang Jjin-ppang gently wiped her tears with his squishy body.
"Hehehe... so squishy..."
Seo Ryu-in smiled, moved once again by the squishy touch.
Squishy food and squishy service.
The harmony of these two elements made the Squishy Soft Restaurant a popular spot that many Climbers visited!
But today... no one was there except Seo Ryu-in and Wang Jjin-ppang.
The reason was quite obvious.
The government had temporarily restricted Climbers' access for today's meeting.
And the capable Kim Ha-cheong, just to be sure, reported this fact to the Tower's Maid, and Tricia, upon receiving this report, said to her crystal ball:
"That's even better. I was planning to offer the rest floors to the delegation for free today anyway."
This statement was relayed back to Kim Ha-cheong through the Maid, and he immediately went outside the Tower to report to the government, asking them to restrict Climbers' access to My Home Tower until tomorrow morning.
After returning to My Home Tower, Kim Ha-cheong could finally breathe a sigh of relief only after asking the Tower's Maid about the exact time the meeting would start, where it would be held, and if there were any additional precautions.
Then he took out a portable notebook and carefully began taking notes.
"Sigh... Meeting starts at 6 PM, location is the Conference Room on the 99th floor, and... don't be surprised no matter what you see..."
At that moment, his busy note-taking hand stopped.
Don't be surprised... no matter what you see?
The roar of the "monster" he had seen through the video a week ago flashed through his mind.
As the deeply ingrained fear resurfaced, Kim Ha-cheong's pupils shook like an earthquake.
"No, that can't be...! Surely such a monster wouldn't appear at a diplomatic meeting...? That's definitely not happening...!"
He muttered to himself while finishing his notes.
...And Tricia, who was eavesdropping on all this conversation through her crystal ball, said to Rukki:
"Rukki."
"Hm, what?"
"We'd better put the Flying Giant Centipede Rabbit back."
"What? You said you needed something scary!"
"I told you that was too much!"
In the end, the Flying Giant Centipede Rabbit was isolated back on the 10th floor, and Rukki brought a tiger rabbit while grumbling.
"Is this okay?"
"Yes, this is nicely moderate!"
For reference, Rukki wasn't wearing her Bunny Girl outfit today.
Stroking the tiger rabbit while wearing an enchanting red dress, she looked much more impressive than usual.
"Anyway, all ten floor managers will attend the meeting today, right?"
"That's right. But we can't just go as we are. We need to appear more intimidating and dignified."
Tricia's plan was as follows:
All floor managers would attend the meeting, but with appearances that could instill an appropriate level of fear.
The purpose was to leave the delegation with the impression that "we are not to be taken lightly."
Tricia herself planned to appear in her usual form, but with nine scary beings beside her, even a government delegation wouldn't dare act rashly.
"By the way, there's someone called Crow in the delegation. What are you planning to do about him?"
"I'm planning to meet with him separately later! Crow can be trusted. People as loyal and kind as him are extremely rare."
Tricia recalled Crow, who had a pure and clean soul rarely seen even in Eriel.
"If you say he's trustworthy, then I guess it's fine..."
"Shall we check what he's up to now?"
And she immediately began manipulating the crystal ball to find Crow.
The crystal ball's screen flipped through images until it showed the 49th floor, the "Fighting Colosseum."
"...Huh?"
Something was strange.
The 49th floor... was a space she hadn't opened?
So she checked more carefully.
"Wahaha! You fight pretty well! Attack more fiercely!"
"Not bad skills. Can you block this too?"
"Kuung! Kwang! Kukwakwakwang!!!"
Yurining and Crow were engaged in an intense battle.
"???"
Greatly surprised, Tricia immediately pulled up the recorded footage to see what had happened.
The full story was as follows:
Crow was left alone in the lobby as Geom Heuk-beom, Yun Seo-jin, and Im Heon-beop moved together.
"Rest facilities, huh..."
Crow wasn't particularly interested in rest facilities.
So he went to the Maid and asked:
"Is there a floor in this tower where I can spar against strong opponents?"
"Sparring... Oh! As it happens, Yurining is currently sparring on the 49th floor. Would you like me to send you there?"
"Yes, please."
So the Maid contacted Yurining, and once Yurining gave the OK signal, the 49th floor was temporarily opened.
Crow then moved to the 49th floor via the warp point.
"You have entered the 49th floor - 'Fighting Colosseum'."
The 49th floor was a place with a massive colosseum built on it.
At its center, a girl in a Japanese school uniform was waiting, and she began introducing herself in a bright, cheerful voice.
"Hello! My name is Asahina Yurining! I'm an ordinary science-track pretty girl aiming to be the strongest high school girl in the world!"
"...High school girl?"
"Yes! You're wondering what 'high school girl' means? A high school girl is a hero who saves the world! At the same time, she's like a fairy tale hero who protects people's dreams! And 'science-track' means super~ smart!"
"That seems different from the meaning I know?"
"It's used with a different meaning in your world? How interesting! At least in Eriel where I lived, it was used with this meaning!"
"I see. Here it refers to female students around 18 years old."
"I get it! Then since I'm a high school girl, I should say I'm 18! By the way, what's with that mask?"
Yurining, with her energetic appearance and bright, cheerful voice, looked curiously at Crow's mask.
"This mask... I obtained it while climbing the Tower. I can't tell you the details as they're confidential."
"I see! Then—"
Yurining pulled out a wooden sword from thin air and pointed it at Crow.
"—Shall we start our sparring?"
At those words, Crow let out a dry laugh.
"I'm sorry, but against a fragile woman—"
Paang-!
"Kuk?!"
Surprised by the sudden impact hitting his stomach, Crow staggered slightly.
Yurining, who had been right in front of him until just now, disappeared from his sight.
"The strongest high school girl isn't fragile, you know?"
"...!"
A voice came from behind Crow.
Yurining had swung her wooden sword at an invisible speed, struck Crow's stomach, and moved behind him!
"You're not going to run away after taking just one hit, are you?"
"Of course not."
Thinking this was worth sparring, Crow immediately activated his skill.
"[Gravity Distortion]."
And simultaneously—
The gravity around Crow began to completely twist, reverse, stretch, and shrink.
Sense of direction became confused, and it became impossible to distinguish between sky and ground.
For an ordinary person, even standing upright in such a space would be impossible.
But—
Yurining was standing there calmly as if nothing was wrong!
"You created a space with distorted gravity? That's really interesting!"
In the twisted gravity, Yurining slowly approached Crow.
Looking at her, Crow also smiled behind his mask.
"I'll be in your care."
"Anytime!"
And that's how a fight unexpectedly broke out on the 49th floor.
...And Tricia, who confirmed all this through her crystal ball, muttered with an incredulous face:
"Come on, we have a meeting soon, you idiots..."
Rukki, who was beside her, also shook her head in disbelief.
"Shouldn't we stop this...?"
"Well, Crow asked for it first... and Yurining knows how to control her strength anyway..."
In reality, Yurining was sparring with a non-lethal wooden sword enchanted with magic that 'cannot kill the opponent.'
So at least Crow wouldn't die and need to be resurrected.
Deciding to keep watching the situation, Tricia left that crystal ball as it was and took out another one to search for the other personnel.
Not long after, she found three people drinking coffee at a café in the "Garden Drawn on Canvas" on the 33rd floor.
[Geom Heuk] Guild Master Geom Heuk-beom, [Glory] Guild Vice Master Yun Seo-jin, and Ministry of Justice Climber Im Heon-beop.
They were quietly drinking coffee and conversing.
"I heard you can get counseling from a succubus on the 39th floor. But I think one shouldn't go to such places carelessly. A place run by succubi... Isn't that extremely suspicious?"
"I certainly think it's suspicious. And since I'm a married man... I can't go to such places."
"I feel the same way. There's no guarantee that they only provide counseling. If it's a place that corrupts public morals, it's better not to enter."
After each made their statement.
"......"
"......"
"......"
A long silence followed.
Geom Heuk-beom cleared his throat briefly, then spoke again.
"...Still, just to be sure, shouldn't we check what kind of place it is?"
"...Indeed, it would be right for us to verify and judge for ourselves."
"...Field investigation is important. We need to check immediately."
And silence again.
"...Shall we go check now?"
"Yes, purely for 'reconnaissance' purposes, of course."
"Correct. Being inside the Tower, there won't be any legal issues."
The three men stood up simultaneously.
—And quietly headed to the "Succubus Garden" on the 39th floor.
...Tricia, who watched all this through her crystal ball, called for Lilithis.
"Lilithis, about those three who just entered the 39th floor."
"Yes, shall I extract everything they know?"
"That's exactly it!"
"Alright, leave it to me~♡"
A former member of the Seven Demon Kings and holder of the Authority of "Lust."
Azmo Lilithis headed to the 39th floor with a seductive smile.
