Ryn stood up from the sofa and pointed at the kitchen in horror, asking Kiana and Judah.
"Did you guys… hear the sound of an egg cracking…"
"I think… I did…"
Ryn turned and dashed towards the kitchen, afraid that Mei had mistaken the dragon egg he had prepared as an ingredient he had brought back and had already processed it.
Because he had brought various Honkai Beasts home before as extra dishes for dinner, Mei had gotten used to Ryn bringing back all sorts of strange things over time.
From her initial shock and hesitation, she was now able to skillfully handle any ingredient with the Plasma Kagehide for freezing.
"Mei! That egg is not an ingredient!!"
Ryn burst through the door with a bang and shouted nervously at Mei, who was cutting vegetables.
Thinking that Bronya would definitely be gaming all night and might even pull Sirin in with her, Mei had prepared a late-night snack for them in advance. Moreover, Kiana and Judah had been tormented by her for so long, so she was making some delicious food for them to lift their spirits. Mei was startled by Ryn's sudden rush into the kitchen, and with one slash, she cut the cutting board in half…
"…"
Mei silently withdrew her knife, placed the cut vegetables on a plate, then threw the cutting board into the trash can and skillfully took out a new one from the cabinet.
Then, she turned around, lightly twirling the kitchen knife in her hand, and looked at Ryn with a squinting, smiling expression.
"My dear Ryn… how many times has it been that you've barged in without notice?"
"Hahaha… I'll knock next time, definitely next time…"
Ryn scratched his head and chuckled awkwardly. It seemed that not only had Bronya gotten used to having spare controllers, but Mei had also gotten used to having spare cutting boards.
"Wait!" Ryn's expression suddenly changed. He walked up to Mei seriously and took her hands, while looking around as if searching for something.
Mei was confused by Ryn's sudden approach and taking of her hands, but she still slowly closed her eyes, waiting for Ryn to kiss her.
"A kiss should be enough… I'm still cooking, so no going any further!"
"Mmm…"
Ryn replied perfunctorily, looking down at the trash can, at the pile of broken eggshells, hoping to find the fragments of the dragon egg among them. At least, he needed to see the egg, dead or alive…
"?"
After waiting for a long time with her eyes closed and not receiving a kiss from Ryn, Mei slightly opened one eye to peek at what Ryn was preparing, wondering why he hadn't kissed her yet.
And then… she saw Ryn looking completely absent-minded.
"What are you doing?" Mei asked curiously.
"Looking for the dragon egg…"
Ryn retracted his searching gaze and looked at Mei, who seemed to be lost in thought, as if trying to remember something.
The dragon egg was probably a goner. So, goodbye, little one whose name he didn't even know. He hoped that in its next life, it wouldn't encounter God Mei, or an irresponsible him, or a Mei who could cook.
Forget it. It was all to make Mei happy anyway. If it was gone, it was gone. He could just find some time later to ask God Mei for another one.
Then, while Mei wasn't paying attention, Ryn lowered his head and kissed her on the lips.
After a long while, until Mei was a little breathless from the French kiss and lightly bit Ryn's tongue to make him let go, the two finally separated their "mutually dependent" lips.
Mei bumped her head against Ryn's chest and looked up at him, saying, "The dragon egg? Is it the one on the sofa that Kiana said you gave me?"
"Mmm… but if you've already cooked it, then forget it… it's just that it doesn't taste very good. I ate a few with another you in another world, and they were awful…"
"?"
Mei blinked, then pinched the tender flesh on Ryn's waist. Last time he had told her to keep her distance from the other her, that they would fight to the death on sight, and now they were eating together?
"No, no, no… Mei, you've misunderstood. We're just ordinary friends! There's absolutely no way I'd like her just because she has the same face as you or anything!"
Ryn instantly understood the meaning behind Mei's small gesture. Her little jealousy jar had just been knocked over…
Sigh~ This is the trouble with having many wives. From time to time, someone will suddenly get jealous…
Mei tilted her head and looked away, huffing coldly. "Hmph! She is she, I am I. We are not and should not be the same person. Whether you like her or not is your freedom, so I don't care if you like her!"
Ryn wrapped his arm around the little jealous Mei's waist, pressed his forehead against hers, spun her around a few times, and then said with a grin:
"My lovely Mei doesn't care, but the knife in her hand might, right~
Don't worry, the one I love is you, not some other existence that also happens to be named Mei."
I know your personality better than anyone! Mei rolled her eyes at Ryn, puffing out her cheeks and asking in a small voice, "What if?"
"You little jealous pot, there are no 'what ifs'!"
Ryn pinched Mei's small face, and her puffed-up cheeks deflated like a balloon, with air puffing out of her mouth.
Embarrassed, Mei's face immediately turned slightly red.
"Aiya! You're so annoying!" Mei raised her hand and playfully hammered Ryn's chest with her small fists.
"Ehehe~ It's because Mei is so cute!"
———————————————
———————————————
After Ryn and Mei had their fun, the two warmly started preparing a late-night snack for everyone together.
Mei rhythmically chopped vegetables on the side, creating a pleasant melody.
Ryn, on the other hand, carefully stirred the egg mixture that Mei had beaten earlier. Stirring egg mixture is a truly magical thing. Although the process is simple, if you stir too hard or too fast, you might lose control and splash the egg everywhere. But if you stir too gently, it won't be mixed evenly, and the egg mixture won't be fully incorporated.
Sob sob—Dragon egg, you died such a horrible death. Your egg liquid is now mixed with ordinary egg liquid.
Ryn stirred the eggs with tears and snot running down his face. Dragon eggs taste so bad, and when mixed with delicious chicken eggs, sob sob—they'll all become unpalatable.
Mei suddenly stopped chopping vegetables and turned to look at Ryn.
"Right, you've completely sidetracked me. I almost forgot what I was going to say."
"Hm? Say what?"
"I didn't use the dragon egg you brought back for cooking!"
"Huh? So this is just regular chicken eggs?"
Mei covered her mouth, a little amused, and said with a hint of laughter:
"That's right! What were you thinking! That dragon egg is so big, even if I did cook it, one bowl couldn't possibly hold it!"
Ryn looked at the regular egg mixture in the bowl and fell into deep thought. So he had been emotional for nothing just now?
"Hmph! I'm going to eat a lot tonight to make up for my little disappointment!"