-108- I have a home now...

"Hey, Jericho, I'm here!"

Approaching the familiar stall, Vi sat down, slapped the greasy table, and loudly greeted, "Three portions of Spicy Acid Frogs, add extra chili, and make sure it's generous. Don't skimp on the portions!"

"Gra Gru!"

Jericho, the chubby guy with a fish-like head, turned around, displaying a terrifying grin. He nodded vigorously in response to Vi's order.

Grabbing a massive frog, Jericho, holding a darkened knife, patted his buttocks before fiercely chopping it.

"Thud thud!"

The sound of the knife smashing bones continued, and Kai'Sa stared at the "monster" before her with amazement.

For a brief moment, Kai'Sa almost started thinking of firing a shot at the creature in front of her.

Well, no wonder Linwin mentioned that she wouldn't seem strange or weird in Zaun.

She initially thought that people with metal arms, metal legs, and faces covered in various things were already strange enough.

But there could be creatures like Jericho, and she wondered, what kind of species was he?

The weirdest part for Kai'Sa was, why could Vi communicate with him? Did they genuinely share a common language?

Meanwhile, Powder turned away in disgust, not wanting to watch Jericho cook. 

Catching sight of Kai'Sa's bewildered expression, Powder pulled Kai'Sa aside and said in a hushed tone, "I already told you not to come. Regretting it now?"

After a brief hesitation, Kai'Sa replied, "No, Powder, I still want to give it a try."

"As long as it's food, I can eat it."

Kai'Sa wanted to emphasize that she was not a picky eater. Her daily life before meeting Linwin, and even before recognizing Linwin, consisted of eating, sleeping, and fighting Void monsters.

In the impoverished Shurima, she had consumed everything, so she felt there was no reason to be unable to eat this.

At least it was a meal prepared by a chef, right?

That's how Kai'Sa thought.

"Well then, I won't stop you. If you want to eat, go ahead. It's best if you finish my portion too. No need to be polite with me," Powder said, noticing Kai'Sa's decision.

As Jericho brought several large bowls to the table, still wearing a terrifying smile, Powder's face began to twitch slightly.

Powder could feel her stomach protesting.

"Gre Gu?"

Vi heard Jericho's voice again, and she quickly responded, "Ah, Jericho, I've been busy these days, especially with Progress Day in Piltover. During Progress Day, the flow of people in the Undercity increases. You know, every year, there are always a few daring guys showing up."

Vi took the large bowl handed by Jericho, pulled out a cloth strip from her pocket, and revealed a pair of chopsticks. She handed one pair to Kai'Sa, then forcefully placed another pair in Powder's bowl.

Powder was naturally unhappy, but after a stern look from Vi, she reluctantly accepted it.

"Gra Ger!"

"Of course, I really missed this taste of yours."

Vi chuckled as she picked up a sticky and greasy piece of meat, accompanied by the broth. The meat had different colors, one part was brownish, and the other part was surprisingly deep blue.

The two colors were quite unappetizing.

Kai'Sa looked at Vi, watching her adeptly use two slender wooden sticks to pick up a piece of meat, then chewed it with gusto.

Vi noticed Kai'Sa's gaze and immediately said, "Go ahead, it's delicious."

"Linwin said you wanted to taste this flavor. Try it. Jericho's dishes are loved by those who appreciate it."

Vi exaggeratedly pointed at Jericho, who was still cutting frogs in front, more like a butcher than a cook, and said, "I really love the food he makes."

Kai'Sa nodded and tried to imitate Vi's movements. However, it was evident that Kai'Sa wasn't familiar with chopsticks, and after struggling for a while, she couldn't pick up a piece of frog meat.

Seeing this, Vi laughed and said, "Oh right, I forgot you probably don't know how to use chopsticks."

"I learned this from Linwin. He said it's not hygienic to eat with hands."

Vi patted the table and called out, "Jericho!"

"Glug Gru?" The fish-headed fatty turned around, looking at Vi with confusion.

"Get a spoon for my friend here."

"Grb glug." Jellic nodded.

Soon, Kai'Sa held a spoon almost half the size of her face, involuntarily twitching her eye corner.

Facing Vi's expectant gaze, Kai'Sa scooped up some red and blue mixed soup, along with a large piece of frog meat.

Then, Kai'Sa opened her mouth and swallowed it.

"How is it? Delicious?" Vi asked eagerly, looking at Kai'Sa. None of her friends had the same taste as hers.

The meat of the Frogs was indeed a peculiar texture, but if you liked it, it was genuinely delicious.

At least Jericho had been running this stall in the Black Market for more than ten years, naturally having a group of loyal customers.

Otherwise, why would Jericho open this stall for so long.

Wait, Vi remembered something. Didn't Jericho formerly worked under Vander?

In any case, what Vi wanted to say was—These Frogs are really delicious!

But seeing Kai'Sa's expression, Vi sighed inwardly.

Kai'Sa, sitting next to her, had a strange expression, even to the point of being described as twisted. 

But in the end, after fiercely swallowing the food in her mouth, Kai'Sa nodded to Vi and said, "I can eat it."

Kai'Sa didn't say it was delicious; she said she could eat it.

But that wasn't what Vi wanted to hear.

"If you can't eat it, then don't force yourself. What's the point of showing off?" Powder muttered quietly. 

Vi glared at her, and Powder quickly symbolically tried to pick something up with chopsticks but failed.

In the end, although there were three bowls of Frog meat, Kai'Sa only ate half a bowl, and Powder didn't eat a single piece.

But in the end, the three large bowls were all empty, leaving only some soup.

In the lively night market, on the streets, Vi licked her lips with satisfaction.

"Tell me, Vi, you just wanted to eat a few more bowls, so you called me and Kai'Sa, right?" Powder teased her sister.

The consequence was a punch on the head.

Powder covered her head and followed behind Vi and Kai'Sa.

"If I wanted to eat more, I would've just ordered it. Powder, I don't care how others see me," Vi said.

Kai'Sa, walking behind Vi, looked at her and thought Vi was really cool.

This kind of carefree attitude was something she couldn't achieve. Just like earlier, she initially wanted to tell Vi that she didn't want to eat, but facing Vi's expectant gaze, she gritted her teeth and forced herself to eat.

Powder was right—the texture was like slippery, greasy boogers, smelly and sticky.

Clearly meat, why does it feel like it's sticking to the throat?

---

When it was time to part, Powder and Vi flew into the sky on their hoverboards, while Kai'Sa walked alone on the streets of Zaun.

Many Zaunites were looking at her.

But in their eyes, there was not rejection or fear but admiration and curiosity.

Facing these gazes, Kai'Sa walked to Zoran's shop.

She recognized the way.

Inside the store, Old Zoran was smoking a cigarette. When he saw Kai'Sa coming back, he waved and greeted, asking, "Why are you back alone? Where are Powder and Vi?"

"Powder and Vi went home."

Kai'Sa told Old Zoran.

Old Zoran nodded when he heard this. "Then you should explore for a bit longer. Zaun's night market is livelier the later it gets. Linwin hasn't come back yet. You came back a bit early."

Saying that, Old Zoran walked out from behind the cashier counter, stooped, and took big steps toward Kai'Sa. Approaching her, he looked at Kai'Sa and said:

"But since you're back now, it's fine. I was just about to ask you, Kai'Sa, what do you want to eat tonight? I bought a lot of vegetables."

He laughed and continued, "That brat said you eat a lot, so he asked me to prepare more dishes."

"Zoran, I want to eat meat."

Surprisingly, Kai'Sa didn't hesitate and directly made a request to Old Zoran.

"Alright, meat it is then? But Kai'Sa, I only bought fish today, oh, and there's some chicken left. Let's cook them together," Old Zoran replied.

Hearing Zoran's words, Kai'Sa muttered quietly, "As long as it's not frog meat."

"Wait a minute, from what you're saying, Vi took you to the market to eat that acid frog? Seriously, is that even fit for human consumption!" Old Zoran smacked his face.

That peculiar Frog meat, even the old Zaunites couldn't stand that taste. Only those with peculiar taste buds and an extremely strong palate would go for that kind of thing. 

Yet, Vi actually took Kai'Sa to eat it?

"Forget it, next time I see that girl Vi, I'll definitely have a nice talk with her."

"By the way, tired after playing for the day? Go up and rest. I'll call you for dinner later."

"Okay."

Kai'Sa nodded.

Climbing the stairs to the second floor, Kai'Sa reached her room.

Then, she saw a sign.

She recognized words, though she didn't know many, she knew her name, Kai'Sa.

On the door of her room hung a conspicuous, slightly crooked wooden sign with two characters engraved on it—Kai'Sa.

This was her name.

Turning to look at Linwin's room, Kai'Sa saw that his room also had a sign, with Linwin's name written on it.

Opening the door, everything was just like when she left in the morning.

Nothing had changed.

No one had entered her room.

Sitting on the bed, Kai'Sa found it hard to calm down.

Old Zoran's words kept echoing in her mind.

Unable to stop for a long time.

Slowly, sitting turned into lying down, then, she spread her arms, hugging the warm duvet.

---

"I have a home now..."

In the room, the girl's murmurs echoed.