"And besides, the Dark Side looks much more peaceful now; shadowkin monsters don’t seem to be as common as they used to be," Acher said.

  "That’s so interesting," Aaron said with a nod. "Anyway, Luther, when we get the chance, let’s go to Hawaii. The beaches there are gorgeous, and the water is super nice. Oh, and now we can even fly around the islands ourselves!"

  His eyes sparkled at the thought, and Luther smiled and nodded in agreement.

  A young waiter walked over to their table.

  "Hello. Are you ready to order?" he asked.

  He looked even younger than Luther and Aaron. His ginger hair was like fire, and his light amber-orange eyes had a playful look.

  "We’ll have six bowls of the special Scylla ramen, please. And three glasses of … lemonade," Aaron said, glancing to the side before finishing his sentence.

  Luther’s eyes lit up the moment he heard that. It had been three days since Aaron last let him drink lemonade, saying that having it too much could cause acid reflux and other stomach problems.

  "Alright! The place is pretty busy at the moment, so please expect to wait about fifteen to twenty minutes," the waiter said with an apologetic smile.

  "No problem!" Aaron replied.

  The food was brought out at last after Acher grumbled for the fifteenth time.

  A special bowl of ramen at Shadowink came loaded with toppings: shrimp, squid, crab meat, boiled eggs, and more. At the very center of the noodles, three neat slices of white meat were arranged with care, releasing a mouthwatering aroma that was impossible to ignore.

  "Wow!" the two boys and the raven all exclaimed at once.

  "This looks delicious." Acher licked his beak.

  Despite having tasted delicacies from the depths of the Abyss to the heights of the heavens, he was still won over by the complex cooking techniques and refined seasonings of modern cuisine.

  "The broth is so rich, and the seafood is fresh too," Aaron commented between bites.

  Of course, the highlight of the dish was the octopus meat. It had a firm, juicy texture that was tender and just a little bit chewy, but it made the bites more satisfying. The moment their teeth sank into the meat, the flavor burst across their tongues, making all three of them focus on eating without pause.

  The six massive bowls were emptied by Aaron, Acher, and Luther within twenty minutes.

  "At first I thought two and a half Aurions for a single bowl was a bit expensive," Aaron said, patting his stomach. "But now I know it’s worth it. One of these fills you up more than an entire meal. It must be that octopus meat."

  Luther nodded in agreement. He began to calculate in his head how many more bowls they could buy with the Ether crystals they had left. The result made him smile with satisfaction.

  "The food’s great, but if it were made with real Scylla meat, it would taste even better," Acher said, letting out a loud burp afterward.

  Aaron burst out laughing. "If we ever meet a real Scylla, we’d be the ones getting eaten instead."

  Right at that moment, both boys felt an instinctive shift in the air and turned their eyes toward the sea below. They spotted a gigantic shadow moving beneath the waves.

  The water's surface trembled, and then a massive creature slowly rose.

  "Inkshadow!" someone shouted.

  "It’s him! Today’s our lucky day!"

  All around them, many diners cried out with excitement, pulling out their phones to take pictures and record videos.

  It was a gigantic black octopus with a rounded head and striking ocean-blue eyes. It was so enormous that even with just its head above the water, it stood as high as the second floor where Aaron and Luther were seated. Its massive tentacles swayed gently in the air.

  The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  "This is an elder-rank beast!" Aaron exclaimed.

  The huge eyes of Inkshadow stared without blinking at the black-haired boy. He sensed a pure and powerful surge of dark magic radiating from Luther, a presence that wrapped him in complete ease.

  “Oh, it’s this species,” Acher remarked.

  “What is it, Mr. Acher?” Aaron asked.

  It was known as an ink-tentacle in ancient times, a descendant branch of Scylla. They are giant magical sea creatures of water and dark type, fond of eating large fish as well as big shellfish like whaleclams and barrelmussels,” Acher explained. “When they are hatched, they’re no bigger than a human thumb and are far weaker than many mortal animals. Being an intelligent species, they usually take care of their children until those little ones reach the stage of a ferocious-rank beast. They also maintain family bonds throughout their lives in a way quite similar to humans.”

  In truth, Inkshadow had no memory of who his parents were. Not long after hatching, he had wandered off while playing and ended up getting lost in the mortal world. Then he was caught by mortal fishermen. They tossed him in with a pile of fish and shrimp at a fishing site.

  By good fortune, Christel Sanchez, Inkshadow’s owner, spotted him while she was receiving a seafood shipment for her restaurant. The moment she realized this was no ordinary creature of the mortal seas, she rescued him and brought him home.

  Christel treated Inkshadow as though he was her own child. The problem, however, was that as he grew bigger, he began to eat more and more. When Christel was on the verge of bankruptcy, Inkshadow cut off one of his own tentacles and offered it to her. She firmly refused at first, until she saw for herself that a new tentacle could grow back with ease in just a few minutes.

  From that day forward, the problem of feeding Inkshadow was solved as Christel’s ramen shop became more and more popular. Over time, it even grew so famous that she renamed the place after Inkshadow himself.

  By now, the giant octopus was capable of hunting on his own in the Tranquil Sea. Even so, he still gave them a tentacle every week to help his family.

  Inkshadow lifted one massive tentacle and gently placed it down in front of Luther and Aaron.

  “I think it wants you to pet it,” Aaron said.

  Luther gave a small nod. He, too, could feel the goodwill radiating from the creature. He extended his hand and touched Inkshadow’s pitch-black skin. It was soft, smooth, and slick under his palm. From the point where his fingers rested, a steady flow of magic poured into Inkshadow’s tentacle, causing the creature’s blue eyes to narrow in visible contentment.

  “Inky!”

  The ginger waiter boy from earlier dashed forward, leaping over the railing straight toward the enormous beast. Inkshadow caught him with one tentacle and lifted him onto the top of his head.

  “I just got home yesterday! I missed you so much!” the boy chattered nonstop.

  The diners watched the waiter boy with open admiration and envy, many of them snapping photos of Inkshadow and the boy without pause.

  “Steve Turner! Inkshadow!” a furious voice bellowed from inside the restaurant.

  From the kitchen doorway emerged a tall, ginger woman wearing an apron and holding a large kitchen knife in her hand. Both Steve and Inkshadow shrank back at the sight of her.

  “Steve! Get down here right now! Do you want to spend the entire weekend waiting tables?” Christel swung the knife for emphasis.

  “Please, Mom!” Steve pleaded as Inkshadow quickly returned him to the restaurant floor.

  “Mom, we just wanted to entertain the customers, right, Inky? Everyone is enjoying it!” Steve said, glancing toward the guests, who watched with bright, eager expressions.

  Knowing that arguing with this mischievous boy any further would be just a waste of time, Christel gave a half-serious threat:

  “You two! Just wait until we get home, you’ll both be in trouble.”

  Then she turned to the diners with an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry if they disturbed your meal.”

  “Oh, please, it’s totally fine, Christel,” One customer said. “To be honest, I wish they’d cause a bit of a scene like this every day. Inky is so shy. I’ve eaten here dozens of times already, and this is only the third time I’ve seen him.”

  “The boy’s already reached novice mage level, hasn’t he?” Another one chimed in, “And he’s just thirteen, that’s so impressive. I hope he will become an adept mage before he turns fifteen. That would be something for the market to brag about.”

  “Only if he plays less,” Christel replied, though the smile tugging at her lips betrayed her fondness.

  The red-haired boy slipped toward Luther and Aaron.

  “Hi again, I’m Steve. I think Inky likes the two of you a lot. He is super shy; you can’t even get close to him if you’re a stranger. If anyone tries to get too close and makes him angry, he’ll spray them all over with ink.”

  He looked at Luther with open curiosity.

  “Uh … I. Don’t know. Why,” Luther answered.

  “Maybe it just thinks Luther’s too handsome to resist,” Aaron interjected, covering for him.

  Steve stared at the two boys for a moment, slightly puzzled. To him, Luther seemed rather ordinary, while Aaron gave a feeling that was hard to describe. In his mind, the comment should have been reversed.

  “Oh, right, we forgot to introduce ourselves. I’m Aaron, and this is Luther. The Scylla ramen here is incredible, we’re definitely coming back tomorrow,” Aaron said.

  “Hehehe, just let me know when you two come by again, I’ll tell the kitchen to make you the extra-large bowls,” Steve said with a playful wink.

  “Thanks! I only realized when your mom came out that this was your family’s restaurant. Earlier, I thought this place was using child labor,” Aaron joked.

  “It’s all because my mom forces me to do it. So exhausting.” Steve let out a heavy sigh. “Oh, what school do you guys go to? I’m studying at Willowmire!”

  “Wmmm… we are home-schooled,” Aaron replied.

  Steve lifted his eyebrows.

  “Home-schooling? I’ve heard that’s an old tradition of the long-standing rich families. So you must be from some ancient noble house, right?”

  “Steve! Table six is still waiting!” Christel’s voice rang out from a distance.

  “Oh shit, bye! I got to go! Have fun!” Steve shouted before dashing down the stairs.

  “Bye!” Aaron called back, letting out a relieved breath right after.

  “Whew, any longer with him and I might’ve run out of lies to tell,” he muttered under his breath.