154: Third Round and Shining

"Third round... the top 16. It's starting to show that some of the players are beginning to tire."

"It's tough when the matches keep coming one after another..."

"You're right. There are still ignorant people who claim that board games don't involve physical exertion, but in reality, their calorie burn is immense. After all, they're engaging in battles where a single mistake can literally mean life or death, lasting for hours on end."

It seems the Nine Cubic rapid tournament has entered the third round.

And just as Vilijanila said, several players' faces don't look good.

They must be consuming sweet drinks or snacks for energy during the game, but they're clearly burning through energy at such a rate that it's not enough to keep up.

"Artificial humans and machine intelligences remain unchanged, as expected. What's shocking is... even among humans, there are some whose expressions haven't changed at all."

"...Perhaps they've even installed a body enhancement mod to improve digestion and absorption efficiency. After all, they must be going through quite intense matches."

"Perhaps, to him, the match appeared utterly unremarkable, even if it seemed intense from the outside. Given that he's being considered a top contender, surpassing both the brainwork-specialized android and the machine intelligence optimized for Nine Cubic, it's quite telling."

Curious now, I glance at the person Vilijanira and the others are discussing.

He looks... just an ordinary human.

Yet he eats the sweets as if they're delicious, and though it's a match, there's absolutely no sense of tension.

Perhaps because there's too little tension, the elf opponent seems confused—and even slightly flustered.

"Looks like it's coming."

"Excuse me."

"Break time. Satu, please take it."

"Got it."

And then, our lunch arrived, so I stepped outside the room and took it from the staff member who brought it here.

Now, the menu consists of porridge—easy to digest and absorb—fruits that look sweet at a glance, a small but vibrant salad with meat, a small black bottle of drink, and large bottles of water and milk in several transparent cups.

Also, energy packs for Mékoshi.

Yeah, exactly as ordered.

With that, I finished paying and brought the meal inside.

"Then, let's eat."

"Let's eat."

"Dig in."

"I'll take the memo too."

Now, let's eat.

Today's menu is a special one designed for private rooms, but it's also exactly the kind of meal the athletes would crave.

More specifically, it's easy to digest and absorb, provides quick energy to the brain, helps balance the body, and leaves you feeling mentally sharp at the end.

"It's got a bit of sugar mixed in, I'd say."

"There's a proper amount of saltiness too."

"It goes down easily and is very enjoyable to eat."

Congee... yeah, it's definitely easy to eat.

It has a balanced sweetness and saltiness, gently cooked to be soft, and could easily be drained like soup if one felt like it.

Incidentally, I can feel a mod on my tongue that makes the congee even softer and smoother while it's in my throat, making it easier to swallow.

"I can really feel the sweetness hitting me."

"It's like my mind is being soothed."

"And yet it's still delicious, so I think it's fantastic."

Continuing with the fruits.

As a matter of fact, I've eaten these glucose grapes before recently... but these seem to be of higher quality than the ones I bought and brought out.

Ah, I see. This must be the top-tier variety.

"Satou. I heard from the memo that you're thinking about setting up a facility in Ether Space to cultivate Hekyomoruyu. Why not grow these glucose grapes too?"

"It's like a home garden, you know. I think it'd be great if we could!"

"Hmm, well, we should focus on getting Hekyomoruyu to grow properly first. From what I've seen in the documents, Hekyomoruyu can thrive in fairly rough conditions, but glucose grapes won't be that easy to grow, will they?"

"I see..."

Next, salad and meat.

The salad is made from ordinary vegetables grown in the Niriyanipotts star system.

As for the meat... it's kind of like beef.

Probably simmered to make it tender, then stir-fried.

It's actually the dressing that really catches the eye.

It seems to contain various ingredients believed to be beneficial for brain function.

"Ah, well, in a way, the real treat is this. Shall I open it?"

"……"

Now, finally, the drink.

Its name is... Ultra-High Luminosity Shining Coffee.

I slowly lift the lid.

"……!?!"

The moment I removed the lid, the room, previously dimmed by Memokushi's illumination, filled with a rainbow-like glow.

Though I had deployed my starlight-blocking mod, it was still astonishingly dazzling.

Vilijanila and Johariss too... huh, they've somehow acquired the light-blocking glasses already.

"This is incredible. It could practically serve as a light source."

"Yes, the brightness is absolutely immense."

I can understand why the intake is limited to a certain amount.

Yes, please be careful drinking it—except for Sata-sama. In short, it's extremely high-concentration caffeine.

As for the actual taste... well, it's just really strong, nothing special—basically just regular coffee.

The same goes for the experience of drinking the pure concentrate... No, I don't feel any mod effects meant for extreme concentration, but that's all.

Incidentally, there are various safeguards in place to prevent caffeine addiction, so there's no need to worry about drinking too much.

Yeah, it was delicious.

I'm a bit bothered by the noise outside the venue, but I'll keep watching as is through the afternoon.