First thing in the morning, Kokkoro crawled out of her warm covers. Seeing that her master was still fast asleep in the other bed, she softened her movements, changed her clothes, and slipped out of the room to wash up.
The dawn had only just begun to seep into the rooms, not yet rousing everything with its light. Scattered across the living-room table were the half-eaten snacks from the night before, along with the spinning-wheel game Jhin had taken out, each of their water cups, and that terrifying un-optimized carbonated drink.
Kokkoro recalled how Jhin, owing to his rotten luck yesterday, had spun the wheel and landed on the penalty several times in a row. She couldn't help letting out a soft laugh — the contorted, ridiculous expression on his face yesterday was still vivid in her mind.
"Master really is something. That stuff is so awful to drink, and yet he insisted on drinking it in my place — and the result was that, in the end, whoever spun and landed on the penalty was him doing the drinking."
Although deep down she was a touch curious about just what that drink actually tasted like, Kokkoro was a good girl. Jhin had warned her again and again not to try it, so no matter what, she absolutely would not attempt it.
After setting the snacks back in order, wiping the table clean, and rinsing all the cups once over, Kokkoro turned and walked into the kitchen. She stepped up onto her own special height-boosting little stool — the petite guide hummed a soft tune to herself, throwing her whole heart into preparing today's breakfast for her master and companions.
She had heard Jhin say that the most delicious food in the world was not the kind cooked with the highest-end ingredients and the most masterful technique, but the kind into which the chef poured their feelings.
Just as a wanderer far from home could tell, with a single bite, that the meal had been made by his own mother's hands; or like the bowl of utterly ordinary char-siu rice given to the down-and-out God of Cookery — the heart contained within them was a special seasoning that ordinary cooking rarely possessed.
If she wanted to make truly delicious food, she had to throw all of her feelings into it. Such, at least, was how Kokkoro understood his words.
And so she concentrated all of herself on the breakfast she was making, so much so that she didn't even notice when Jhin walked up behind her.
"Smells great. Let me guess — for the morning you're making soufflé pancakes?"
"Eek!" Her attention focused on the pan, Kokkoro was startled half out of her wits. Her feet lost their footing and she toppled backwards, her head landing against the firm, broad chest behind her.
Jhin slipped his arm around her slender, soft waist, an apologetic look on his face. "Sorry — didn't mean to startle you."
"It's… it's nothing. I was just too absorbed in what I was doing." Kokkoro hurriedly steadied herself, and with the spatula flipped the pancake in the pan. "Master, you're up early today. I was thinking of finishing breakfast first and then going to wake you up."
"Well, we're setting out for Maple Sugar Valley today, aren't we? So I got up a little earlier than usual."
"Mas… Master… um… could you let go of me… for the moment? With you like this it's a bit hard for me to make breakfast… it's not that I dislike it or anything…"
"Ah! Sorry, holding you was so comfortable that I forgot to let go."
"Sometimes Master really does tease me on purpose…"
"Hm? What did you say?"
Kokkoro shook her head firmly. "Nothing. I'm going to keep going with breakfast. Master, please remember to brush your teeth and wash your face — and then would you go wake up the others for me?"
"Sure. Thanks for going to the trouble of breakfast." Jhin really wanted to ruffle her hair; he reached his hand out halfway and then pulled it back. He remembered that Kokkoro had said she didn't allow head-pats while she was working — it would make her forget what she had in her hands.
For the sake of being able to eat a normal meal in the morning, it's still better if I don't pat her head.
Thinking this, Jhin left the kitchen to wash up, then went door to door, top to bottom, knocking to wake up the rest of the girls.
The girls opened their doors in their pajamas, all bleary-eyed — a sight he found especially refreshing. Particularly the way their expressions shifted the instant they realized the person outside the door was him: it could practically have served as a feature film.
At breakfast, Megumin took a bite of the soufflé pancake dusted with icing sugar and complained to Kokkoro, "Why was it Jhin who came to wake people up today? Brazenly peeping into the Witch's Gloomy Library — that's simply going too far!"
"Because breakfast was being prepared by me, so I had Master do it on my behalf."
"Eh? You made this? It's really good!"
"Thank you for the praise. I only did as Master taught me. Without his guidance, I wouldn't even know how to make this dessert from Another World."
Kyaru sighed and pressed a hand to her forehead. "There you go again. Why is it that the moment you get a compliment, you turn around and pile it onto Jhin?"
"Because it's the truth." Kokkoro used her knife to cut off a small piece of pancake, dipped it in the honey beside her, and put it in her mouth. The sweetness flowed along her taste buds and seeped into her heart, making her eyes curve into little crescent moons. "Master has taught me so many things."
"That's only because you learn things so quickly, which is why I can teach you so much." Jhin offered the praise even as he reached out and gently stroked her little head.
"Mn~ Master…" The faint flush on Kokkoro's face was full of pure enjoyment; her body swayed lightly, signaling him not to stop.
This master-and-servant pair had once again launched into letting off their flash bombs as if no one else were around. The mutually traded praise made Kyaru feel that even without sugar, the pancakes were already excessively sweet.
The interaction between these two was more like a couple than an actual couple — and yet, of all things, they weren't an item. It was honestly almost beyond belief.
She figured the best thing to do was finish breakfast as quickly as possible, before she got so sickeningly sweetened that she lost her appetite altogether.
Pecorine hadn't said a word the whole time. She was happily devouring one pancake after another, treating the interplay between Jhin and Kokkoro as a side dish to go with her meal, and savoring it thoroughly.
Kyaru, who finished early, headed back to her room to pack her things. Megumin didn't really have anything to pack, but she didn't want to stay in the living room any longer watching those two flash their love around either, so she slipped outside ahead of the rest for a breath of fresh air.
By the time Pecorine had finished her breakfast, everyone else had pretty well finished packing. They placed their belongings inside the Capsule House — convenient and quick.
"This is for seasonings, this is for cooking utensils…" Pecorine sorted her bags both large and small in their proper places. Halfway through packing, however, it occurred to her that she was no longer the way she used to be — heading off alone on a long-term adventure. The her of right now had thoroughly reliable companions; there was no need to bring every last thing with her.
So she ended up putting most of the items back where they came from, and only brought along a bit of seasoning, a few illustrated guides to monster ingredients, and a change of clothes.
"Pecorine, you haven't finished packing yet?" Seeing that she still hadn't come out of her room after all this time, Jhin went in to check on her.
Pecorine smiled and explained to him, "I'm done packing. Just now, going by old habits, I'd gotten out a huge pile of things, and only then remembered that I'm not on a solo adventure anymore, so it took a little while to put everything back."
"So that's what it was. The seasonings and books — just put them straight into my Storage Space. Your clothes and so on, put those into the Capsule House outside; remember to pick a room for yourself."
"Got it."
Pecorine handed the books and the spices to him, then carried her bundle of clothes outside, stepped into the Capsule House, picked a room at random, and set them down. When she walked back out of the room, her companions were already standing in the grass waiting for her.
"Everyone, let's set out!"
"Too slow! How long do you think we've been waiting for you?"
"Don't tell me you hadn't packed a single thing yesterday?"
"Megumin, Kyaru — I'm sorry." Her brilliant smile made it impossible to muster the slightest anger. "To make it up to you, today's lunch and dinner — let me prepare them both as a proper feast for you!"
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