Chapter 4-3: What's This?!

Suddenly, Grim stops, "… Hm?!" smells something that increases his appetite, "Ooo, somehin' smells YUMMY over there! I gotta check it out!" and runs off.

"Grim, wait! Slow down!" Sebek calls out and chases after him.

"Grim, wait!" Sereia calls out and follows them.

Trinket follows as well.

"Grim? Sebek? Where are you going? We need to stay together," Jade asks, and follows them.

"Come on, let's go find them," Tanzanite says.

"Yeah," Jasper says.

Soon, everyone else rushes off, leaving Idia and Briar.

Soon, Epel walks back after trying to think, "Guys, we gotta figure out SOMETHING or we can't enter the race. How do we want to resolve this?"

However, he notices that the two groups are smaller somehow."

"Wait, is it just Idia and Briar?! Where'd the others go?" Epel asks.

"Uh, that way," Idia answers, pointing in the direction they run off to.

"Grim smelled something and ran off. Jade and the others went after him," Briar says.

"Are you serious?" Epel asks.

"Sadly, yes," Briar answers.

Epel sighs, "Sheesh, talk about short attention spans. Oh well, at least they won't be hard to find in this town."

Soon, the three head back to the Apple Square to find the rest of their group. Jade and the others are already there.

"Ah, we're back in Kokko Market, "Jade says.

"They've got a fire going in the firepit. It's delightfully warm!" Sebek says.

"And the lanterns add a colorful layer of illumination. How festive this all is," Jade says.

Excited, Grim says, "There's even more food stalls than before! They all look amazin'!"

"Then let us enjoy a pre-party appetizer," Sebek says.

"I'll partake as well. Wouldn't want to be the odd one out, after all," Jade says.

"Yeah. I'm getting hungry," Jasper says.

"I'm also thirsty," Tanzanite says.

Sereia and Trinket are hungry and thirsty as well.

Grim then notices, "Hey, what's that? I've never seen it before."

The group looks to see the vendor pouring batter in an iron and making some food.

Sebek says, "They're pouring some sort of batter into a cast iron pan with round molds, then working the batter into a ball as it cooks."

"That would be takoyaki, I believe— grilled octopus balls. I've had it before," Jade says, "They get drizzled in a savory sauce, and are relatively light fare. They're also Floyd's favorite food."

"I've never heard of such a thing. Only one way to find out how they taste, though. I'll have some," Sebek says.

The vendor hands Sebek some of the hot food, "Here y'all go! Get 'em while they're hot!"

"We'll do just that!" Everyone happily says.

Everyone soon eats one of the pancake balls, but notices something off, "… Hm?!"

Grim eats it and soon notices, "Hey, wait a minute. This is really sweet!"

"You're right. It tastes like pancakes," Sereia says.

Trinket agrees, but really likes the sweet taste.

Sebek turns to Jade, "Jade, what part of this constitutes a savory snack?! There isn't even any octopus in it!"

"That's odd…" Jade replies.

"Well guys, these aren't takoyaki," Jasper says.

"Really? Then what are they?" Sereia asks.

Soon, Epel, India, and Briar arrive on the scene.

"Aha! I knew we'd find you here! I had a feeling you'd come to Kokko Market, what with all that talk about being hungry," Sebek says.

"We were looking for you!" Briar says.

"My apologies. Grim and Sebek were most insistent," Jade says.

But Sebek says, "We didn't wander off. You simply lost sight of us."

Grim turns to Epel, "Hey, Epel! What gives? This takoyaki ain't got no octopus in it!"

"What are you talking about? Those are pancake balls. It's a flour batter cooked into round balls with jam on top," Epel says.

"Oh, I see. I mistook what they were because they look so similar," Jade says.

"It threw me off at first, but I'm diggin' the crispy outside, fluffy inside combo!" Grim says.

"I had a hankering for something sweet after all that exercise. This is just the ticket," Sebek says.
"A dessert that looks like takoyaki… That would certainly catch Floyd by surprise. I should try to observe the vendor and memorize how they're made," Jade says.

"Oh, I know how to make 'em," Epel says, "I cook 'em up all the time when I've got a late-night craving for something sweet. After all, stores don't stay open late in these parts. I'll give you the recipe later."

"Thank you kindly, Epel," Jade says.

And Epel says, "But now we need to hustle over to the assembly hall! The townsfolk are waiting for us.

"Right. Let's hurry and…" Jade says, but then notices, "What's this?! They're selling it here?!"

"What is it?" Epel asks.

"What's going on, Jade?" Briar asks.

Soon, Jade asks, "Excuse me, could I have a bowl of that soup?!"

"What's gotten into you, Jade? I just said we needed to get a move on!" Epel says.

But then Jade says, "This is important! It's one of the main reasons I came to Harveston!"

Idia is surprised, "Whoa, I've never seen Jade so amped before. Talk about a rare spawn…"

"Mrah? Is the soup that good?" Grim asks.

"Oh, yes, you won't find it anywhere else. I've always wanted to try some," Jade says.

This has Grim excited, "Then I'll have some too!"

"Likewise!" Sebek says.

"You guys…" Epel calls out.

Soon, the gang buys the soup, and the vendor hands them over, "Here ya go!"

"And now, the moment I've been waiting for…" Jade says and takes a sip of the soup. And Jade is amazed, "Ahhh… A rich flavor with a lovely mountain aroma. It's everything I dreamed of!"

Grim also has some soup, "Mmm, soup-tastic!"

Sebek also says, "It's delicious! I notice there are thin slivers of something in it. What manner of soup is this?"

"It's a soup made from a real rare variety of mushroom. They look pretty strange… See, there's a whole one right there," Epel says.

Grim looks over, "Lemme see… Whoa, that's one funky fungi! It's like a mix of red and brown!"

"It's also exceedingly wrinkly and shaped like a human ear," Sebek says.

"Yuck," Sereia says.

"It's so gross, I can barely look at it!" Grim says.

And Epel says, "You're just wolfing it down, huh, Jade? Most places don't use this mushroom for cooking. It's one of our traditional foods, but it's a real finicky ingredient— only experts can cook with it at all."

"So basically, it's jank," Idia says.

Jade is as happy as can be, "I've always wanted to try a soup with this mushroom. This is a dream true…"

"Wow, I never knew that about you…" Epel says.

"I'll eat anything as long as it tastes good!" Grim says and has some more soup.