"And then he said that he didn't have any," the silvery-haired girl said, "And I was kind of shocked. I mean, if you're advertising selling that kind of food, you should-oh, this is really good by the way-you should try and keep them in stock, right?"

She smiled widely, and took another sip. Ah, it was the best soup she'd had in a long time! Such a flavorful broth, such delicious pork that almost melted in her mouth... aaah, she'd been starving too. This was... what, her fourth bowl of it? She just couldn't stop! Much of the restaurant's patrons were staring in mute awe at the amount of food that the young woman had managed to polish off so quickly. One this was certain in their minds though.

After such friendly blabbering and rapid consumption of soup, there was no way that the girl could be the Tiger Lily of Rikoku. Sure, she fit the bill for the appearance, that strangely silvery-yellow hair, that ornate kimono, a katana at her side... but the blade had to be for show. No-one could ever act that way and be such a fabled swordswoman, a manslayer who never the less slew only those who threatened her or bystanders first. Not this silly, energetic young woman who had somehow eaten several large bowls of soup in a far shorter time then most people had finished one.

Ushijima Torako flashed her fellow patrons a wide grin, before digging into the remains of the pork at the bottom of her bowl. Ahhh, Mingdu was everything people said it was, wasn't it? Such pretty scenery, and the mixture of people lead to some pretty fantastic cuisine! This soup was awesome! It was deliciousness she had been craving, she hadn't had eaten anything too great for... jeez, how long had it been? Torako couldn't remember, really. But regardless, here and now, she was eating something truly delicious. There were so many people to get to know around here, too!

Soon enough, the last of the pork had vanished. "Hehe, wow, I feel great! ... I think I'm gonna have another bowl, Ruo-dono!"

The woman in her late twenties, pretty, with short black hair, did not care that Torako had stumbled on pronouncing her surname. The younger woman was friendly and had bought four bowls of soup and still wanted more. Taking the empty bowl, she nodded and swiftly left to get more.

"Haaah, this is great," commented Torako, mostly to herself, "I can't wait to try out more food here! I heard there's some pretty amazing local sake, too..."

She was going to enjoy herself. She was sure.