[at first it seems like he only half hears what Ace is saying in response, still lost in thought as they walk. hadn't he just been thinking about fate? it's irrefutable. even if it isn't the Lodge, he's meant to be here. and if he'd had any doubts before, he accepts it in that moment, one hundred percent. the moment that decision is made, it's like he never even skipped a beat]

Now, see, vegetable tempura, that I've had and quite enjoyed. Especially the water chestnuts, they get such a nice snap to them.

[he peers with open, childlike curiosity at that flaming finger]

Is a mera mera no mi a kind of sushi, then?

[he does feel the need to explain his strange little non-sequitur, but the conversation is going so nicely. he'll wait until he can find a way to naturally turn it in that direction. it does, after all, seem like they'll have a lunch to talk over]