(Yukito side)
A-ah… my head still hurts a little because of what happened earlier, but it's already getting slightly better now.
Today, when Hime, Yuu-chan, and Luke went out, I also planned to do the same—of course, because I had absolutely nothing to do at home.
So rather than sitting around and feeling bored in my room, I decided to go outside and get some fresh air for a while.
But… every time I tried to leave the house, one of the servants stopped me from going out.
They always said that today I had to stay with Iris, and that I was not allowed to leave the house unless I had Iris's permission or went together with her.
I don't know what's going on, but I can admit that this is really troublesome.
After almost ten times trying to sneak out little by little, they always appeared out of nowhere and blocked me.
Wait a second—why didn't I use my skills?
Even though my Boost and Vision aren't that smooth without Cyve's help, I can still use them on my own.
I did try using them, but unfortunately, the servants were still able to see my movements.
"Yuusha-sama, I think you should improve those two skills of yours. If your abilities are still at this level, I think you'll have a hard time facing the Abbys forces," one of the servants said when he stopped me while I was using those two skills.
Because of his words, I realized just how limited my ability was to use those skills without Cyve's help.
Back when we were in the city of Vannis, I had asked him to help me, and his assistance was truly very useful.
Since the servants stopped me from going out again and again, I eventually gave up and returned to my room feeling a little drained.
If it's like this… I can't do anything until Iris—
Knock, knock.
Someone knocked on my door, and that person said something to me from outside.
"Yuusha, may I ask for your help?" the person asked.
That voice… there's no mistaking it.
I got up from my bed and walked toward the door before opening it, and sure enough—
The one knocking on my door was Iris, the same person who had asked for my help earlier.
Her cheeks looked slightly flushed, and her long hair made me stare straight at her.
"So, what do you want me to do? As long as it's not troublesome, I'll do it according to your wishes," I said to Iris.
If I get closer to Iris, wouldn't that actually be a good thing? The sooner she can use her power.
Iris looked happy and smiled brightly at me with her cute face.
"Really? Thank you, Yuusha~! Then, let's go to the kitchen!" she said enthusiastically.
Her words left me a little confused about what kind of help she needed from me.
"The kitchen?" I murmured.
—
After we arrived at the kitchen, Iris immediately put on one of the aprons on the table and started tying it around her slender body.
It seems like… she wants to cook something, right? There's no way she put on an apron just to wear it and show it to me.
Could it be that I have to help her cook? But I'm really not that good at it—
"Yuusha, today I want you to taste my new cooking!" Iris said.
"I want to try my original recipe again, and I want you to eat it and give me your opinion."
"If you want, you can just sit at the table in the next room. I'll bring the food to you later," she continued.
I followed her words and waited patiently while she cooked in the kitchen.
(A few minutes later…)
Iris came out of the kitchen carrying a bowl that seemed to contain soup or something like that.
She placed the bowl right on the table in front of me where I was sitting.
"I'm going to try another recipe. In the meantime, please enjoy that soup, okay?" Iris said as she walked back into the kitchen.
I looked at the soup, and judging from its appearance, it seemed quite good.
The broth was pale white with a hint of orange, and the aroma was fairly fragrant when I smelled it.
I scooped up a spoonful of the broth and put it into my mouth.
"Ughh!"
I immediately choked as soon as I drank the soup… w-what is this?! It's so spicy that it makes my throat hurt a little.
The spiciness was so strong that it made my nose feel slightly clogged… t-this is more like chili mixed with water than soup.
"Yuusha! What's wrong?" Iris asked after coming out of the kitchen.
It seems that hearing me choke earlier made her immediately come to check on my condition.
"A-ah, I'm fine. It's just… this soup is too spicy for me," I said to Iris.
Iris looked like she was thinking about something after hearing my evaluation of the soup she had just made.
"Hmm… wait a moment. I'll bring you another dish," Iris said as she went back into the kitchen.
—
After that, Iris gave me dozens of new dishes she had made.
Of course, not all of them tasted good to me, but she kept giving them to me anyway, which made me feel extremely full.
That eventually made my body go limp, and before I knew it, I had fallen asleep on the table with my stomach feeling very full and burning hot.
Hot because most of Iris's dishes were overly spicy—honestly, I couldn't handle eating even one more dish.
——
And… that's why I woke up with a pain in my head.
Then, why was my body covered with a blanket over my back? I looked around to see what had actually happened.
"Hime?"
I found Hime sleeping beside me, and I had no idea why she was sleeping here.
Wait, could it be that the one who put this blanket on me was Hime? I think that guess is probably right.
"Oh, you're awake? That girl fell asleep while waiting for you to wake up, you know. When she wakes up later, I think you should thank her," Forn-san said as he peeked out from the kitchen before going back inside.
Hime… she put the blanket on me and then waited for me to wake up?
...I don't know what to say about Hime's actions, but I definitely feel very happy—and maybe a little embarrassed because of it.
Since I'm already awake now, that means there's only one thing I can do, right?
I stood up from my seat and placed the blanket that had been covering my back over Hime's back instead.
I'm no longer using this blanket, so it's better to give it to Hime.
—
I went into the kitchen to see who was there, and only Forn-san was inside.
"If you're looking for Iris, she already went back to her room before you woke up. Sorry you had to eat her cooking," Forn-san said apologetically.
"I-it's okay!" I replied quickly.
"I'm reheating the food now, and I'll bring it to you soon. You haven't had lunch yet, right?" Forn-san asked.
I returned to the dining room and sat beside Hime again.
…If it's like this, all I can do is wait for Forn-san to bring the food while staring at Hime's sleeping face.
For some reason, whenever I look at Hime's face—whether she's smiling or expressionless—my heart feels incredibly calm.
Yeah… I've been feeling this way for a long time now, as far as I remember, ever since the first time we met and did that when we arrived at an alley.