That night, Moen stayed over at Laxus's new house.
Although he kept saying out loud for Moen not to flatter himself, the guest room in Laxus's house was indeed unlikely to have anyone else staying in it besides Moen. This was different from the guest room at Mira's house, where occasionally girls would still stay.
Early the next morning, Moen went out very early to continue his daily training. By the time he finished training and returned to Laxus's house, Laxus had already completed his morning training and was preparing to head to the guild.
"Do you want to go to Mira's house for breakfast together?"
After just taking a glance at the kitchen, Moen knew that Laxus had not eaten breakfast either, so he casually asked.
"No. I'm going to the guild."
Laxus refused decisively. Although he would pass by Mira's house on the way to the guild, how could he possibly go to someone else's house to eat breakfast? Only Moen would do something like that.
"Alright then, I'm heading off."
Moen did not insist. He had not expected Laxus to agree anyway. Leaving the house, Moen directly jogged all the way to Mira's house.
Although both he and Laxus had already finished their morning training, it was actually still early. Mira's family was probably still making breakfast.
This was normal. After all, not everyone could train like Moen. Being able to see Magnolia at four in the morning every day required talent. If ordinary people trained like Moen, it would not take long before they completely wore themselves out.
Laxus was only able to keep up with Moen's intensity after becoming a Dragon Slayer Mage. Before that, his body could not handle it either.
"That guy..."
Watching Moen run off in a flash, Laxus shook his head helplessly. There was nothing he could do about this younger brother of his.
Outside Mira's yard, Moen opened the gate and went in. He had already smelled the fragrance, Mira was clearly already making breakfast.
"Brother Moen!"
Seeing Moen come in, Elfman and Lisanna, who were carefully watering the flowers and plants in the yard, both looked pleasantly surprised.
When Moen and Hisui returned yesterday, their family happened to be out on a job and did not run into them. By the time they finished the job and returned to the guild, Moen and Hisui had already gone their separate ways.
So although they knew Moen had already returned to the guild, they had not met him yet. Seeing him come to their house early in the morning made the two kids very happy, and they immediately threw down the watering cans and ran over.
"Sis Mira! Brother Moen is here!"
After running up to Moen, Lisanna also shouted toward the house, reminding her sister who was making breakfast.
"Got it! Come in and eat breakfast!"
Mira loudly responded, sounding not surprised at all. This immediately made Lisanna notice something was off.
"Did Sis Mira already know Brother Moen was coming?"
Lisanna asked in a low voice. Although she was young, she was very clever, just that her cleverness was not used on studying.
At least compared to the simple-minded Elfman beside her, Lisanna clearly had a quick wit. Elfman had not noticed this at all.
"When you two were still sleeping in, I already came by once."
Moen said with a smile. He reached out and rubbed Lisanna's hair, also feeling impressed by the little girl's sharpness.
Of course, he would not be so rude as to show up right at mealtime to freeload. When he went out for training, he had already stopped by Mira's house once and happened to run into Mira, who had gotten up early to wash up and prepare breakfast.
After chatting for a bit, Mira took the initiative to invite Moen to come over and have breakfast together. Since she was about to make breakfast anyway, the invitation felt natural, and Moen smoothly accepted.
After entering the house, Moen looked at the busy Mira. Wearing an apron, she brought the breakfast to the table. This time she was wearing the apron he had bought, which made Moen nod in satisfaction. It had not been in vain that he had specifically given her one for everyday use.
"Come sit down and eat."
Mira had her hair tied in a ponytail, looking neat and efficient. She smiled at Moen, told the three of them to sit down and eat, then went back into the kitchen.
This kind of Mira, like a virtuous wife and loving mother, although it carried a slight sense of mismatch, had to be admitted to have a unique charm.
Most importantly, Mira truly had the skill. Being a cook was not something just anyone could do. Mira's craftsmanship was quite exquisite, and it was entirely self-taught, with no one teaching her. When it came to cooking, talent really was something unreasonable.
Those who could not cook would never understand how much "a suitable amount" actually was. When they cooked, they practically wanted to use a beaker to measure seasonings, accurate down to the milligram. Meanwhile, those who could cook handled it completely with ease.
Moen was someone who could not cook. Of course, it was not that he absolutely could not cook, he belonged to the type whose food was barely edible, but still far from truly delicious.
Because of this, Moen really liked being friends with people who cooked well. It had always been like this. Being good at cooking was an especially attractive trait to him.
There was no helping it. People were like this—they always liked things they did not have, liked people who could do things they themselves could not. In this regard, Mira possessed a natural advantage.
Moen, Lisanna, and Elfman all sat down at the dining table. However, the three of them did not start eating, instead waiting together for Mira to come over.
"No need to wait for me. Just go ahead and eat."
Mira untied her apron, washed her hands, and came to the table. Seeing the three of them staring at each other, she could not help but scold lightly.
"How could we do that? We definitely have to wait for the chef to join us before eating, otherwise we'd feel guilty."
Moen joked with a smile, which made Mira roll her eyes at him.
"Go ahead and eat."
Mira sat down at the table. This time, no one waited anymore, and they began eating. Naturally, Moen started praising again, making Mira beam with joy, her mood completely uplifted. The breakfast was filled with laughter and conversation, and everyone ate in great harmony.
"Why does today's breakfast feel a bit more abundant than usual?"
After finishing the meal, Elfman muttered quietly. He was a bit slow to realize it, but before he could finish speaking, he met Mira's gaze. Under his sister's stare, Elfman swallowed and did not dare to continue, swallowing his words.
"Of course it's because Brother Moen came!"
Elfman did not dare to speak, but Lisanna beside him spoke up, as if she had not noticed Mira's look at all.
"Brother Moen, can you come to our house for breakfast every morning from now on? That way we can eat like this every day!"
Lisanna held her face with both hands, looking at Moen with an innocent and lively expression, making a very sincere request.
"Hahaha, that would be a bit embarrassing... It's about time. Let's help clean up, then we should head to the guild."
Moen glanced at Mira and noticed that she was starting to get a bit flushed. He quickly laughed it off, trying to gloss over the topic.
"Lisanna! What do you mean by that?! Have I been neglecting you normally?! Have I been feeding you badly?!"
However, Moen's attempt to change the subject clearly failed. Mira put her hands on her hips and angrily questioned Lisanna.
"Eh? N-no! That's not what I meant!"
Facing Mira's questioning, Lisanna froze for a moment, then hurriedly explained. She also realized that what she had just said was a bit problematic, as if she were deliberately criticizing Mira.
"I... I just wanted Brother Moen to come over more often... Brother Moen, Sis Mira, me, and Brother Elfman—we're like a family, so I wanted Brother Moen to come eat with us more often..."
Facing the angry Mira, Lisanna explained in a small voice.
"And it really is more abundant than usual..."
Seeing Mira's expression improve a little, changing from flushed with anger to just slightly red, Lisanna softly added another defense for herself.
Thump!
"Ugh~!"
Lisanna covered her forehead and looked helplessly at Moen.
"When apologizing, don't say unnecessary things."
After flicking Lisanna on the forehead, Moen blinked at her, reminding the little girl not to provoke Mira further.
[For additional chapters Patreon. Com/ALLISWELL123]