Sigh...
Why did he suddenly feel so tired?
Thinking about how all his different selves had to maintain appropriately distinct reactions — couldn't let anyone start to notice that all his girlfriends seemed a little too similar — Kaito couldn't help but feel worn out.
And now that Mobius had been added to the mix, there were even more people to juggle.
Once they returned to Inazuma...
What kind of identity should he arrange for Mobius?
The moment she crossed his mind, Kaito found himself turning that question over.
Since her status hadn't been officially set in stone yet, he still had plenty of options.
Of course, the most convenient one was still: girlfriend.
Only with that title would it seem natural for Mobius to be constantly at his side.
But his roster of girlfriends was already getting a bit long. He wasn't entirely sure he should just add another name to the list.
He had to admit — never in his wildest imaginings had he thought that one day he'd find himself troubled by having too many girlfriends.
Even if most of them were technically himself, they were still girlfriends in every functional sense of the word.
Maybe just call her a regular friend?
But a regular friend who followed him everywhere was also pretty strange...
Especially for someone who, on the surface, already had a whole crowd of girlfriends...
It would still look like Mobius was his girlfriend anyway.
Turning the problem over and over, Kaito genuinely couldn't make up his mind.
If she was just a regular friend, the normal expectation would be that she'd leave after a visit or two.
So should he just... have Mobius go off and travel somewhere on her own?
The thought struck him with a sudden rush of possibility, and his mind opened up.
Before he could pursue that train of thought any further, however, Lumine spoke up beside him.
"Kaito, I actually have a plan."
A plan?
Lost in his thoughts about Mobius, Kaito turned to look at her — and for a moment, couldn't quite grasp what she meant.
"I'm planning to have Wendy try some of my cooking," Lumine explained, catching the confusion on his face.
"Oh — is that right? Sure, no problem. When we get back to Inazuma I'll bring it up with her."
He nodded emphatically. It wasn't the sort of thing he'd have any objection to.
But then he thought about the blame he'd just dumped onto Wendy, and he added:
"Though Wendy can be a bit picky when it comes to food..."
"It's fine — if she doesn't like it, I'll just improve the recipe. I'm sure I can make it into something she'll enjoy."
Lumine responded right away, clearly unbothered.
Her meaning was plain enough: she wanted to be the one cooking for everyone going forward, just as Kiana had once done.
She'd need Kiana's help, of course — cooking for this many people alone would take forever.
But before any of that, she needed to win Wendy over first.
Hmm...
Wait — so Lumine was planning to cook for all of them going forward?
Only now did Kaito catch up to what this actually meant.
When she'd first mentioned wanting Wendy to try her cooking, he'd assumed she just wanted to show off a little. Clearly he'd undersold the whole situation by quite a margin.
But if that was her plan, he needed to say something.
There was no way he could let Lumine shoulder the responsibility of cooking for everyone on her own.
Her cooking was genuinely good — but that still didn't mean he could simply let her take on that burden.
"Lumine, honestly — cooking every now and then is great, but it's not like we're short on Mora," he said, already turning over what he'd do if she insisted.
On Wendy's end, she'd obviously have to find Lumine's cooking good.
Wait, no...
Not just Wendy — everyone had to.
Right...
And someone needed to help with the cooking too...
There was absolutely no way Lumine could handle it alone.
Hmm... Kiana could help...
And Acheron could pitch in occasionally — though she'd probably end up causing more trouble than she solved?
"That's true," Lumine replied with a smile, "but home-cooked food is so much healthier." She continued: "Besides, there's Kiana too, right? The two of us together, and you help out every now and then — it'll be quick enough. Eating out all the time really isn't good for you, you know."
She didn't know exactly how Kiana felt about cooking, but she figured it would be fine.
"That's a fair point — but cooking really is tiring."
Kaito agreed with her reasoning, yet still felt a twinge of guilt — even knowing Lumine was already planning to bring Kiana in, exactly as he'd been thinking.
"So you just help out more, then," Lumine said simply, pressing on.
"Sure, I can do that — I'll talk to them when we get back."
With Lumine holding firm, Kaito gave a nod.
If she was set on it, there was no harm in giving it a try. As for Wendy and Kiana — those two wouldn't be an issue.
"Mm. I just wonder if Kiana will actually be willing to cook with me," Lumine said after his nod, a small note of worry creeping in.
And at that very moment, back in Inazuma, Kiana found herself worrying about the exact same thing.
Of course, there was also Wendy — Lumine wasn't sure about her either.
"She'll definitely be willing — don't worry about that," Kaito said, seeing the concern on Lumine's face. He continued: "She actually really enjoys cooking. The moment she hears you're into it too, she'll absolutely agree to do it with you."
When it came to what Kiana thought, he could obviously give a definitive answer.
There was just one small thing gnawing at him — his own cooking ability was essentially nonexistent, and he was worried that when the time came, Lumine would find it strange. She might even think he'd been lying to her.
Because before he'd transmigrated, he'd always ordered takeout. After transmigrating, he'd spent Mora. He had precisely zero actual cooking experience.
But he'd already committed — he'd just declared with full confidence that Kiana loved cooking, so when the moment came, he'd just have to bite the bullet and figure it out.
Sigh...
Should he, while Lumine was still here with him in Liyue...
Have Kiana do some emergency cramming back in Inazuma?
After finishing his piece, Kaito found the idea involuntarily taking shape in his head.
But after a moment's reflection, he decided it didn't really hold up.
After all, they'd be staying in Liyue for at most a few more days — there simply wasn't enough time.
He could stall, of course.
But...
Did he really want to go that far?
Turning that over, Kaito sank deeper into thought.
Right now, his cooking knowledge — through Kiana's hands or anyone else's — could be generously summed up as zero. If Lumine saw that, she'd definitely find it strange. She might even think he'd deliberately deceived her.
No good...
He'd absolutely have to do some last-minute cramming...
Wait — did Miko know how to cook?
Hold on, hold on...
He couldn't let Miko find out that Kiana couldn't cook...
Otherwise, if she mentioned it in front of Lumine, that would be incredibly awkward...
____
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