When I opened my eyes, the one who welcomed me was the black-haired beauty, Kurumi, sleeping beside me.
Ahh... This is literally a beautiful morning.
She hugged my arm tightly while letting out a cute little snore, making me want to pinch her cheeks. And when she woke up, I will kiss her lovingly.
'Hmm... that doesn't sound like a bad plan.'
Instead of pinching her cheeks, I changed my mind and simply poked them.
"Oiii... my Kurumi... Wake up, it's morning already, you know?" (Ren)
Kurumi slowly opened her eyes and looked at me. She rubbed them sleepily, clearly showing that she had just woken up. Looks like she was still tired from last night.
Well... the culprit was me. She simply irresistible.
"Ren... san..." (Kurumi)
She still sounded sleepy.
I smiled and kissed her gently.
"Good morning, my Kurumi." (Ren)
She welcomed me with a sweet smile before giving me my morning kiss.
Yes...
This was the reason why I loved waking up earliest.
"Good morning, Ren-san." (Kurumi)
Then she hugged me like a koala and buried her face in my chest while I gently patted her head and brush her disheveled hair.
"My Kurumi, let's make breakfast now... or more like grill our usual food." (Ren)
"*Giggles*... Chicken or beef?" (Kurumi)
I stared at her blankly.
"Don't ask me that... Those are our usual foods anyway. Let's just cook both." (Ren)
That's right. Kurumi had started calling the bear meat "beef" and the Flame Bird meat "chicken."
We had a huge stockpile of them since she kept storing everything inside her shadows.
The problem was that we couldn't find many proper ingredients to mix with the meat. Most of the things growing here were either herbs or poisonous mushrooms. Still, Kurumi had been experimenting with different combinations while I improved them.
And somehow...
We managed to create our own seasonings and recreate some seasoning like spice and sugar.
When I looked at her again, she still seemed sleepy.
"Kurumi...? Are you still tired? If so, I'll handle the cooking for now... so can you let go of me for a bit?" (Ren)
She continued hugging me tightly.
But the moment she heard that I would do the cooking, her arms slowly loosened. She looked at me, smiled softly, and gave my cheek a light kiss.
"Then... please do, Ren-san..." (Kurumi)
After saying that, she slowly closed her eyes and went back to sleep.
Well, it was still five in the morning anyway.
Since Kurumi wanted to sleep longer, I started preparing breakfast.
First, I placed the bird and bear meat inside the Purifier to remove the toxins and poison from the meat.
After thirty minutes...
It was finally done.
I added the seasonings I created so the meat wouldn't taste bland or burnt. Once I finished seasoning everything, I started grilling the meat over the bonfire I created.
I carefully grilled each piece, so it took me around forty to fifty minutes to finish cooking.
Ginko was the first one to wake up.
Her face was as cold and beautiful as ever, and it looked like she had already washed up before leaving her room.
"Good morning, Ren..." (Ginko)
She greeted me with a beautiful smile.
I smiled back before giving her a morning kiss.
"Good morning... my Ice Queen. I just finished grilling the meat, so you can eat now." (Ren)
She nodded happily before looking at the meat.
Then she looked back at me.
"Hmm? What?" (Ren)
I asked curiously.
She slowly opened her cute little mouth.
"Feed me." (Ginko)
"....."
Well...
Spoiling her wasn't such a bad thing.
So, I created an ice knife and sliced the grilled meat into smaller pieces. Then I made an ice fork, pierced the meat with it, and fed her.
She took a small bite.
"Delicious?" (Ren)
"Oum..." (Ginko)
She nodded cutely.
"Somehow... The flavor is a bit salty and sweet" (Ginko)
I smile a little proudly... "Well kurumi and I discovered that amazing seasoning"
"As expected of my husband and my sister" Ginko smile sweetly then kiss me in cheek.
The two of us were enjoying our sweet little moment—
Until we suddenly heard a voice beside us.
"Waaahhh... So Ginko-sama can act like this too...! What a new discovery!" (Marin)
The moment Ginko and I noticed Marin standing there, both of us immediately blushed in embarrassment.
"K-Kitagawa Marin!? W-What are you doing here!?" (Ginko)
Ginko asked in a flustered voice. She was so embarrassed that she probably forgot this wasn't some noble mansion but a safe room inside a dungeon.
"Hmmm... I saw the two of you having a sweet moment from the room, so I came closer to watch." (Marin)
"Since when were you watching!?" (Ginko)
"Since the lovey-dovey part, hehe." (Marin)
Ginko's brain completely stopped functioning after hearing that.
She already knew it.
This girl would definitely tease her about this later.
"Alright, here Marin. You can have this." (Ren)
I handed her some of the grilled meat.
"Thankies~" (Marin)
She took a bite.
"Uwahhh... This is delicious! But... Erina-san's cooking is way better." (Marin)
"....."
You really didn't have to compare us, you know?
Now I was seriously curious about this Erina she kept talking about.
After all, kurumi and ginko also talk about her.
Still, no need to rush things.
We could take it slow.
While the three of us were eating breakfast, Kurumi finally woke up and joined us.
"Good morning, Marin-san, Ginko-san..." (Kurumi)
Kurumi greeted her two sisters.
""Good morning, Kurumi/Kurumi-san.""
Then Kurumi walked over to me and gave my cheek a light kiss.
After finishing breakfast, we prepared ourselves to explore the dungeon.
According to Kurumi, our next destination was the "Fish Pond."
She said it was located right beside the Red Bird Nest, so the four of us teleported there.
The moment we arrived, a cold breeze brushed against our skin.
The temperature here was much lower compared to the other areas.
Ginko seemed especially pleased with this environment.
In front of us was a beautiful blue lake.
However...
We shouldn't let its beauty fool us.
Because beneath the calm surface of the lake...
Danger lurked.
A gigantic shark swam silently underneath the water.
Normally, sharks belonged in the sea.
Yet now, they were swimming inside a lake.
I didn't know how deep or vast this lake truly was, but one thing was certain—
This place was dangerous.
Well...
Not for us.