"Combat training? I don't think there's any need for that."
Shiomi said this while cooking together with Sakura.
Olga Marie happened to pass by the kitchen. After watching for a moment, she casually brought up the topic of training. Shiomi thought it over and felt it wasn't necessary.
"Right now, we're surveying the various islands of Atlantis, gathering Servants of Proper Human History scattered across other islands, while steadily closing in on the 'Void Cavern.' This is a rare stretch of downtime. If it were just voluntary exercise, that'd be fine…"
He knew the kind of combat training Olga Marie meant. It was the sort of drill they had done back in the Wandering Sea, simulations that came extremely close to real combat.
The last time, it had been interrupted by the appearance of a minor Singularity. By the time Shiomi and the others returned, Chaldea no longer had the time to organize training on that scale.
Fortunately, whether it was Olga Marie's group or the Fairy Knights, all of them already had ample combat experience. The two major naval battles in the Atlantis Lostbelt had proven that much.
"It's not… that…" Olga Marie hesitated, clearly struggling to say what she meant.
Shiomi felt puzzled for a moment, then noticed that Sakura had also stopped stirring the ingredients in her bowl, her gaze unfocused.
"Sakura?"
"Ah…" Sakura snapped back to her senses, quickly shaking her head and smiling lightly. "It's nothing. I just remembered that before training, Dad once said that if everyone performed well, there'd be some kind of reward."
Shiomi froze, then looked toward Olga Marie. He saw her start to shake her head, only to abruptly switch to nodding instead, awkwardly bobbing up and down.
Once he understood the reason, Shiomi felt a faint urge to laugh, though at the same time, he didn't think it was really something to joke about.
After all, it was a promise he had made himself, and then failed to follow through on because of how busy things had been.
Now that Storm Border was sailing while undergoing maintenance, things weren't particularly hectic. Taking advantage of this lull, Olga Marie bringing up combat training did make some sense.
"Actual combat is out of the question," Shiomi said, shaking his head. "If we're not careful and overdo it, and end up unable to attack the 'Void Cavern' at full capacity, that would be a terrible trade."
The main issue was that he couldn't accurately judge the intensity of training anymore. Compared to the last time, his own strength had changed significantly.
Especially after transferring authority beyond his limits from his 'past self' in the Singularity, his power had undergone another qualitative shift.
"If Dad doesn't want to fight, then that's fine," Sakura said, pursing her lips but showing understanding. "After all, you're the core of Chaldea's combat strength. In both naval battles, you were right there on the front line. We can train on our own."
"That's true…" Olga Marie had only mentioned it on a whim, but now it seemed to have made things awkward for everyone. She felt a little guilty about it.
Shiomi closed the oven, set the timer, and leaned back against the counter.
"But what I promised doesn't require fighting me to earn it. You can just tell me what you want. Back then, I only said it because everyone was in a good mood, just to add a bit of fun."
"That's exactly your problem, Dad," Sakura said with a faintly amused smile, teasing him.
"Hm?" Shiomi raised an eyebrow.
Olga Marie nodded as well. "Getting something without effort and getting it after working for it aren't the same at all. Don't you think so, Teacher?"
"It's really not that big a deal," Shiomi said helplessly.
He understood what Sakura and Olga Marie were getting at, but he couldn't help feeling they were making things unnecessarily complicated.
"So let's put this aside for now. We can talk about it again when there's time," Sakura said as she picked up a handkerchief and held it near Shiomi's face. "Dad, you've got some flour on you."
Realizing what she meant, Shiomi bent down slightly and let Sakura wipe the marks off his face.
"Mmm…"
Olga Marie couldn't help thinking that if she'd offered to wipe it for him earlier, the teacher probably would've agreed as well.
"All clean?" Shiomi asked after Sakura finished, touching his cheek.
"I'm not Caren. I wouldn't deliberately make it messier just to tease you," Sakura said, breaking into a smile.
"Fair point," Shiomi replied with a smile of his own.
Seeing the two of them laughing like that, Olga Marie somehow felt happier too. She smiled along, letting go of the earlier topic entirely.
Since combat training wasn't happening anyway, and as long as what she wanted wasn't too unreasonable, the teacher would surely agree. Just as Sakura said, it could stay shelved for now.
"So, are you and Sakura making sweets again?" Olga Marie asked.
"Yeah. It's been a while since I cooked with Sakura," Shiomi nodded, then deliberately put on a serious tone and exaggerated his words. "Taking the chance to repair a parent-child relationship on the verge of drifting apart is very important."
Sakura played along perfectly, covering her mouth in mock surprise. "Are you saying you feel distant from me, Dad?"
"Only 'on the verge,'" Shiomi said, wagging a finger. "Precisely because we haven't drifted apart yet, we should do something about it."
"Then besides cooking together, what else do you think we should do?" Sakura asked. "Go fishing on the deck? Or head into the forest to collect plant specimens?"
Shiomi thought for a moment. "That depends on what you want to do, Sakura. But before that—"
"Before that?" Sakura didn't quite catch on.
"Of course—" Shiomi said, then wrapped his arms around Sakura with deliberate solemnity. "We haven't really done this since you came of age, but hugging Baobhan Sith the other day made me realize… sometimes, you still need to express things like this."
Olga Marie suddenly had an epiphany. "No wonder Baobhan Sith was in such a good mood the other day."
"She really is easy to cheer up…" Shiomi muttered, a bit at a loss.
"She is," Sakura agreed, looping her arms around Shiomi's waist and nestling closer.
She wasn't lying. When Shiomi suddenly pulled her into a hug, even if it was Baobhan Sith who made him realize the importance of it, Sakura still felt an unexpected sense of relaxation.
It reminded her of countless idle spring afternoons from childhood, leaning against him, basking in the sun and dozing peacefully.
Perhaps because the hug went on a bit too long, Olga Marie, who had only come by to say hello, began awkwardly fixing her hair, hesitating over whether she should leave first.
Noticing this, and after Sakura finally let go, Shiomi asked as gently as he could, "Marie, if you'd like, I can give you a hug too. As your teacher."
"T-Then… I'll gratefully accept," Olga Marie replied almost without hesitation, then hurried over and hugged Shiomi.
Sakura suddenly let out a small cry, making both Marie and Shiomi freeze, thinking she might be upset.
"...Dad, there's quite a bit of flour on your apron…"
"Ah…"
This time, it was Marie and Shiomi who let out matching exclamations of realization.