The SSS-rank Guide Doesn't Need Saving

The dessert shop near West Plaza was smaller than Aisha expected, tucked between two other shops with a glass storefront that glowed with luminescent stones, giving it a soft pink and gold light. A long line had already formed outside with students in uniform from different schools, and ordinary people chatted while waiting for their turn.

"Told you it’d be packed," Vesper said proudly, as though he owned the shop. "I really have good taste."

"You just have a big mouth," Sabel muttered, but didn’t refuse to stand in line with them.

While they waited, Aisha studied the display case near the entrance. Rows of pastries sat behind the glass, but none of them looked like anything she’d see in her previous world. Some were shaped like a jellyfish with a metallic-looking powder.

Is that even edible? she thought.

Others resembled coiled shells of unknown origin, rippling faintly like they were still breathing. One tray even held small cubes that shifted colors—blue then violet, then a sickly green—an eye even popped out of it and met her eyes.

They looked less like a dessert and more like something that an archaeologist would find interesting.

"Are you sure these are edible?" Aisha couldn’t help herself from asking them.

"Have you not tried them? I would’ve thought you already did." Kane had thought that since she came from a wealthy family, it wouldn’t be the first time she tried one of these.

But to his surprise, Aisha nodded. "I followed a strict diet since I was very young."

She thought about how the previous owner of this body had tried everything to keep an image of a noble young lady. Lining up in front of a dessert shop with many others was one of the things she looked down on.

Kane didn’t understand why she had to make her suffer like that. Pointing at one of the sweets, he explained what sort and type they were. "These confectioners are usually imported from another planet. Heard of Yato? Their specialty is their sweet-tasting food."

"These sweets are also famous for having no miasma in them. So, it’s perfectly safe and edible for us to eat," Sabel added after Kane.

Aisha wasn’t fully convinced. But she didn’t say anything else until it was their time to order.

Vesper rushed to the counter and selected ten sweets that he thought were good. Kane bought only 3. While Sabel ordered 7, saying she needed to eat to strengthen her body.

Watching them one by one, Aisha eyed the tray once again.

Seeing her still hesitating, Vesper pushed one dessert from his snack box. "Here, taste it. You’ll be surprised."

Finally, under the gazes of the trio, she took a small, careful bite.

The texture surprised her first. What looked like a small cube stone was surprisingly soft and slightly chewy. Then came the taste of a rich sweetness that melted the moment it entered her mouth. There was also a faint citrusy scent bursting from it.

Why wasn’t this served at home? Aisha wondered, taken by the sweetness overload that overwhelmed her senses.

For someone who loved sweets, this definitely made her happy.

Without meaning to, Aisha took another bite. Then another.

Her usually stoic and unreadable expression crumbled entirely. Genuine delight spread across her face as she reached for a second piece—

"Ey! Ey! Buy your own!" Vesper quickly hid his snack box behind him.

But when he looked up at her, he saw another piece was already in her hand.

Kane nearly choked on his own dessert. Even Sabel was surprised by how fast Aisha had moved to steal that snack from Vesper. They blinked their eyes as though they couldn’t trust what they were seeing.

"Is she—" Sabel began. "Is she actually smiling?"

"She is," Kane nodded.

None of them expected this. The same girl who had walked into their classroom with an expressionless face and whom they assumed to be difficult to befriend.

"This is good," Aisha finally said as a verdict. She stared at Vesper, who awkwardly guarded his snack.

"I—yeah. Yeah, it is," Vesper said weakly, blushing a bit when he saw that mesmerizing smile on her face.

Sable let out a laugh, shaking her head with a small, helpless smile. "Guess we know how to win her heart."

***

After finishing buying snacks from the dessert shop, they wandered further into the plaza. Eventually, they landed themselves in a restaurant Vesper insisted was ’the best on this side of the district’. Unlike the dessert shop, this place had a more refined, quiet atmosphere.

Even the menu here was different. Instead of the nutrient-based meals Aisha had in the morning and at school, this restaurant specialized in serving imported ingredients. Of course, it was also expensive enough that only certain people could regularly afford it.

Having promised to treat them tonight, Aisha didn’t stop them from ordering anything they wanted. Since she also ate three pieces of sweets from what Vesper bought from the dessert shop, she became even more lenient in treating him, allowing him to pick how many he wanted. Since it was her first time there, she placed her trust in them to pick her own food.

Anyway, she had the money to spend.

Thinking about the 25 million that was still untouched in her account, Aisha wondered if she needed to list down what she had to buy later.

Soon, their food arrived.

Aisha stared down at her plate in suspicion. She already had an inkling of what food was being served after the strange-looking desserts, but this still made her appetite disappear.

A slab of pale, marbled meat sat beside hairy-like vegetables. It squirmed lively on the plate as if doing a dance ritual for somebody to eat it.

Aisha: "..."

But she watched Kane, Vesper, and Sabel dig into their own plates without hesitation. Who knows whether it was because the food was really delicious or the thought of being treated with Aisha’s money, but they were very energetic and unrestrained when they ate.

Aisha hesitated.

After a couple of seconds, she finally picked up her fork and took a bite.

She raised her eyebrows in surprise. It was surprisingly good.

Not as good as the food she ate before her original world broke down, but this was still more palatable than anything she tasted since she came to this world.

***

Elsewhere in the city, three men stepped off a transport shuttle in a narrow alleyway. A second later, the shuttle turned invisible, as though it hadn’t been there the entire time.

Nykos moved without urgency, his silver hair tucked beneath the hood of a plain dark coat, doing little to disguise himself in public. Beside him, Amar looked into his terminal, scrolling through a list of supplies their fleet still needed before they could depart again.

They walked on the street among common people, who were unaware of their identities.

"We need medical stock, nutrient-based packs, and at least two crates of purification agents for our guns. We also need to stop by the auction and drop some of our loot from the previous contaminated zone raid," Amar recited without missing a beat. "If we do it quickly, we can get this down before midnight and be back on the ship by—"

"I smell something good," Vince interrupted, nose lifted like a dog.

"We’re not here to have fun," Amar glared at him. "We have a schedule to keep."

Vince pouted. "Come on, just one bite. A restaurant must be nearby. Aren’t you tired of what we eat on our ship?"

"No."

"Just five minutes—"

Nykos, who had remained silent through their bickering, finally said, "Let’s go."

Amar turned to him in disbelief. "Commander, you shouldn’t indulge him."

But Nykos was already walking, his patch curving toward the very restaurant Vince was looking at, an unreadable smile tugging faintly at the corner of his mouth.

Vince grinned triumphantly at Amar, who watched them go on ahead without him. Muttering under his breath about how they never listened to him, he sighed finally and followed them.

Vince immediately scanned the place for an empty table, rubbing his palms and salivating about what food he’d gobble later.

But Nykos walked straight past the vacant tables until he came to a stop beside a table occupied by four students, who were clearly surprised to see a strange stop at their table.

Amar, who had just stepped into the restaurant, was suddenly grabbed by Vince.

"Are we abducting students today?" Vince asked, cocking his head forward.

Amar frowned, following where Vince was looking, finding their commander shamelessly pull the only unoccupied chair at the students’ table and sit down naturally.

"Let’s stay in a corner." Amar resigned himself and sat down at another table.

Whatever the commander planned, they just needed to follow through with it with no questions asked.

At the same time, Nykos draped one arm lazily along the back of Aisha’s chair. And though no pressure radiated from him, something about his presence alone made the air feel heavier.

Kane’s face was drained of color.

Sabel’s hand froze halfway to her cup.

Even Vesper stopped chewing his food, keeping his mouth open with his eyes strained at the man sitting at their table.

On the other hand, Aisha stiffened when she noticed someone had taken a seat next to her.

She turned her head to look at them, and for a moment, shock appeared in her eyes.

"You—"

Before she could finish, Nykos reached over and gently wiped a small smear from the corner of her lips with his thumb.

Then, under several pairs of eyes, he brought his finger to his mouth, licking it clean as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"Hmm," he said. "Tastes sweet."