The five of them quickly gathered around the table and sat cross-legged on the floor, making dumplings together. Matsuoka Yoshitsugu turned out to be pretty decent at it, so everyone tried copying his technique.
"Hey, do you know why, even though both are dough filled with stuffing, there's a difference between buns and dumplings?" Yin Ze asked Sakurai Ayane out of nowhere.
"Because one's steamed and the other's boiled?" she replied with a sidelong glance.
"The biggest difference is obviously in the shape." Yin Ze gave her dumpling—shaped more like a brick than anything else—a look of deep disdain.
"What does it matter? It's the filling and the dipping sauce that count! Looks aren't everything!" Ayane retorted, cheeks flushed. "And you! Why are you stuffing so much meat into yours? That's such a waste!"
"Thick filling and thin skin—what's not to love? You buy dumplings outside, and sometimes the combined meat from three won't even fill the gap between your teeth."
"Then just roll it into a meatball. Why bother with the wrapper?"
"You're too young. You don't understand the beauty of deceiving yourself with life's little surprises. A few chunks of roast pork hidden in a veggie dish? Way better than just eating roast pork. That's the joy of exceeding expectations." Yin Ze nodded sagely. "Life's about managing expectations. When things get rough, think of people who have it worse. If *you're* the worst off, at least your existence gives hope to the second-worst. That's a kind of value, isn't it?"
"I get it now," Ayane said, eyeing his equally tragic dumplings. "Since your dumplings are only the second-worst, I gave you the courage to joke about them."
"Enlightened," Yin Ze agreed with a satisfied nod. "At least I'm not the most embarrassing one."
How can anyone be this shameless? Ayane forced herself to keep smiling.
"I think we're all equally terrible at this," Iwazawa Shun said, glancing around. "Matsuoka's the only one who's had part-time jobs and knows what he's doing."
"Then why did we even suggest making dumplings?" Yakamura Haruka said, half-laughing, half-exasperated.
"Well, it's one of the few cooking ideas with high participation. We've got no money, no car, no camping gear. Otherwise, I'd love to do a barbecue or something." Shun shrugged.
"I think it's great," Matsuoka said, thoroughly enjoying the chill atmosphere of their little get-together.
"Hey, if you hide a coin in one of the dumplings, whoever finds it gets good luck," Yin Ze said. "But you have to do it discreetly—definitely not in mine or Ayane's. We'll spot it instantly."
"Hmph, who'd even want it." Ayane snorted.
"Don't make too many," Shun warned. "It'll be a pain if we can't finish them."
"I'll boil the water and mix the sauce," Matsuoka offered, counting the dumplings laid out on the table. Looked like they had just enough.
"Wait! Let me take a picture first." Haruka whipped out her phone and snapped several shots. "I'll post them on my blog and Twitter later\~"
"Oh! Tag me!" Shun said, grinning.
After they cleaned up the room and set the table, Matsuoka stood in the kitchen, dropping dumplings into the pot when he suddenly remembered something. "Hey, isn't it time for that anime premiere?"
"You're actually following a show?" Yin Ze raised an eyebrow, surprised Matsuoka might be into fanservice anime.
"The first episode of *Dark Reincarnation Fantasy* is airing tonight! That's your debut role!" Matsuoka beamed.
"...Huh?"
"Wait, seriously? Which channel?" Everyone perked up, immediately gathering in front of the TV, ready to analyze every frame, snacks in hand.
Yin Ze, unfortunately, found himself trapped in the middle of the couch, forced to undergo public judgment.
The tiny TV, after several rounds of commercials, suddenly dimmed. A hard rock opening track blasted out as action scenes flashed by in rapid cuts—magic circles, sword clashes, dramatic close-ups.
Even Matsuoka leaned out from the kitchen to watch.
The opening ended, giving way to the slow-paced prologue and narration. It was far more polished than the draft Yin Ze had seen during recording. The effects, magic sequences, and army clashes were vivid and immersive—it was practically burning with budget.
Next came a sweeping forest scene with a caravan. The lighting and water reflections were flawless—clearly the result of many animators' sleepless nights.
—As expected of Sonee-san. Money talks!
Everyone, who'd been cracking jokes earlier, now watched in respectful silence.
"Halt." A crisp, commanding voice rang out. A knight in shining white armor rode up beside the carriage. "Your Highness, we've been traveling all day. Would you like to stretch your legs?"
Their eyes darted between the screen and the very serious-looking Yin Ze.
It was surreal. Hearing his own voice—so serious, so polished—was weirdly embarrassing.
And the knight was... way too handsome. Definitely not just a background character.
"Even just the voice screams heartthrob," Shun muttered.
The final cut used his second full re-recording. Paired with the graceful voice and high-quality visuals, the knight's scenes with the princess practically radiated main character energy.
The ambush came next. The knight stayed calm under pressure, rallying his men and cutting down grunts with flair. The action choreography was amazing—everything from sword flashes to camera angles dialed the show up a notch.
Everyone was mesmerized by the animation quality.
Except Yin Ze, whose expression grew increasingly strange.
Sure enough, soon the knight had his arm chopped off. He shouted a dramatic final move, rushed the villain to self-destruct—and when the smoke cleared, the villain was unscathed. The knight lay dying, barely clinging to life.
Then, the *actual* protagonist made his dazzling entrance, obliterated the enemy with flashy effects, exchanged some final words with the knight, and... scene change.
"Wait—Takizawa, that's it? You're already dead?" Matsuoka stared. "No follow-up?"
"I'm a background character," Yin Ze deadpanned.
"I honestly thought you'd get back up again," Shun added, baffled.
Everyone exchanged glances.
Seriously?
That face, that aura—and you die in three minutes after delivering a final line and confessing your feelings?
Ayane silently scrolled through her phone, then handed it over.
Yin Ze glanced through the posts:
> *Too cool. Eldred the Royal Knight, forever a top-tier combat unit. I cried when he blew himself up.*
> *He may be gone, but legends never die.*
> *Tragic news: Turns out Eldred only won that Sword King Tourney because he picked up Redfang's scraps. His power level got nerfed and took a bunch of others down with him.*
> *Can five Eldreds beat the deputy of the Shadow Cult?*
> *Not in the original, they can't. He's like... pre-Sword Saint tier. But in the game? Yeah, with the right gear and Dragonfire Sword, even the Demon King's toast.*
> *Eldred's the gold standard for OP units. Can't wait for the self-destruction meme edits.*
> *He failed the dice roll on the explosion. Otherwise he would've crushed that guy.*
> *The author rigged the dice against my man Eldred.*
> *For newcomers: Eldred, nicknamed "E-bro," dies in episode one but is constantly hyped up later. Anytime someone brags, it's always 'not inferior to Eldred the Sword King.' Super useful in tabletop games—his character card comes with a self-destruct skill. Really handy for sacrifices.*
> *Every campaign, one Eldred dies for the greater good.*
> *My favorite strat is using Eldred to bomb Red Oni Bosses, then gifting the loot necklace to the princess and continuing the adventure together.*
What even *is* all this?
Yin Ze was stunned.
Ayane curled up beside him, trembling with barely suppressed laughter.