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You couldn't dismiss someone's present just because of what you thought their future might be.
And besides—Morin was pretty sure Machi didn't mean him any harm.
If she had, she could have just stripped him of his clothes and left him to rot in the trash heap. Instead, she'd actually gone and found him a rough hemp tunic. That didn't look like the move of someone with sinister intentions.
That was why Morin had been able to sleep so soundly.
Though while he slept without a care, on the hammock beside him…
"…"
Machi had rolled over, watching his steady, even breathing. Her expression was unreadable. Who knew what she was thinking.
The next morning.
"Ugh…"
Morin woke up to a strange smell curling into his nose.
"What is that?"
He blinked awake and pushed himself upright, only to see Machi holding a chipped wooden bowl with a broken spoon, scooping up something dark and sludgy.
"You're up?" she said without looking at him.
"You're… eating that?" Morin pointed at the bowl in her hands.
"This is half my ration for today."
Machi calmly shoveled another spoonful of the black paste into her mouth.
"You eat that every day?"
Morin's gaze flicked, not so subtly, over her still underdeveloped frame. The stuff didn't look appetizing, smelled worse, and probably had next to no nutrition.
"There's none for you."
She chewed slowly, then said, "I pulled you out of the trash yesterday and took your clothes. That made us even. But now you're staying under my roof. If you want to eat, you'll have to pay for it."
This stinks worse than rotten tofu. And she calls it food? Morin grumbled inwardly, though out loud he asked honestly, "What do I have to pay?"
After unlocking nen and getting a proper night's sleep, his body had never felt better—clear, energized, sharp. The downside was he was also hungrier than he'd ever been. The fact his stomach hadn't growled out loud yet was a miracle.
"You're coming with me later to the dump."
Machi scooped another spoonful of black sludge into her mouth. "I'll get you a free set of protective gear. It's the lowest grade, but it should hold up against radiation and gas."
That 'should' doesn't inspire much confidence, Morin thought.
"So I'm destined to go hungry this morning," he sighed. Then he suddenly remembered: he hadn't drawn his daily item yet.
"Draw!"
His consciousness sank into the dimensional inventory. A moment later, he froze. Then he looked up at Machi with a slow, confident smile.
"…?"
Machi raised a brow at him. For some reason, that smile of his radiated such certainty, such self-assurance… and yet somehow made her want to punch him.
"Machi," Morin said, puffing out his chest. "Tell me—what's the most important thing in Meteor City?"
"Supplies," she replied without hesitation. "Food, weapons, and medicine."
Food was survival itself. Weapons meant victory in a fight and the right to keep breathing. Medicine patched you up when you got injured digging through trash heaps or clashing with others. Without those three, you wouldn't last a day.
"And out of those three?" Morin pressed, his smile deepening.
"Food." Machi didn't even need to think.
If you avoided fights, you might get by without weapons. If you were cautious while scavenging, you might not always need medicine. But food… food you could never do without. And it was the hardest thing to come by.
Weapons and medical scraps could still be salvaged from the dumps. But food? Even if you found something edible-looking, radiation made most of it poison.
"Exactly!"
Morin clapped his hands, suddenly excited. "So if I can get food, real food, that means I won't have to scavenge in the dump just to trade for supplies, right?"
"…?"
Machi gave him a sharp once-over, then nodded slowly. "If you can get food, you wouldn't have to go out. If you had extra, you could even trade it at the exchange point for other essentials. In Meteor City, nothing is worth more than food."
She didn't understand why he was saying this. She'd checked him thoroughly yesterday when she dragged him back—no hidden food. And this morning, she'd made sure he was clean as a whistle.
So where was he planning to get it?
"Perfect."
Morin grinned, then flipped his hands over.
"Watch this!"
In an instant, as if conjured from nowhere, a square of fabric patterned in blue, green, and yellow unfolded in his hands, spreading out like a tablecloth.
"…!"
Machi's eyes narrowed, her calm gaze rippling with sudden unease.
"Where did you get that?" she asked, her voice edged with suspicion.
She'd checked him head to toe. There hadn't been anything like this. And this morning, he'd woken up with nothing.
But now—
"....."