Yuto had already entered the kitchen to prepare the food.
When Wendy first came last night, the girl had asked for something on the sweeter side, and at that time, Yuto had made her tamagoyaki.
Today, Wendy specifically asked for tamagoyaki again.
Yuto accepted with a smile.
Roubaul only wanted something light and had no special request, while Carla hesitated for a while before also asking for a serving of fish.
After all, she was still a cat~~~
This time, Erina and Hisako also entered the kitchen to help cook.
Yuto did not stop them.
Although he could quickly make three dishes by himself, since there were extra hands available, why not use them?
Besides, cooking slowly like this was also a small form of enjoyment for Yuto.
Erina was in charge of Roubaul's dish.
Although he trusted her, Yuto still reminded her, "Just make something ordinary. There's no need to make it too extravagant."
Just like how shoes had to fit the feet, people also had their own types of food that suited them.
What suited Roubaul should be something plain and simple.
Erina wrinkled her nose slightly in dissatisfaction.
"I know that much."
"That's good."
Yuto smiled faintly.
He leisurely and smoothly fried the egg mixture in his pan, and Erina's gaze drifted toward him without her realizing it.
Of course, she knew what Yuto was making.
Tamagoyaki...
For her, this dish had extraordinary meaning.
When she first came to the restaurant, what she had eaten was tamagoyaki. Her connection with Yuto had also begun at that time.
The irritation, anger, calm, and praise that came afterward all seemed to have been tied to that simple plate of tamagoyaki.
Someone had once said that food did not merely represent food itself. More often, it was another way of expressing life.
For Erina, tamagoyaki was more like a bridge.
A bridge that connected her to Yuto.
Without realizing it, Erina fell into a daze.
Yuto glanced at her from the corner of his eye. His brow furrowed slightly before lifting faintly.
"If you want some, you'll have to wait until I finish this serving."
His words were like a bell that woke someone from a trance, and Erina instantly came back to herself.
In the next moment, her fair face flushed slightly.
Her golden hair also trembled along with her unsettled reaction, like a lively little fairy.
"I don't want any!"
After saying that with a red face, Erina hurriedly turned her head away.
The girl immediately began focusing on her own dish.
Yuto watched her busy figure from the corner of his eye and could not help smiling, though he said nothing.
Tap, tap, tap...
As Erina chopped vegetables, ripples kept rising in her heart.
The girl's previously calm heart lake could no longer calm down.
Hisako, who had already started grilling fish, glanced at her young lady, then looked at Yuto not far away.
A faint curve appeared on the secretary's face.
...
In the front hall, Wendy was also chatting happily with everyone.
When they learned that she had been raised by a dragon, the expressions of Lucoa, Kanna, and Fafnir all froze slightly, with Tohru being the only exception.
Fafnir looked Wendy up and down several times, his crimson eyes filled with distrust.
However, after he activated his own ability slightly, he fell silent.
He truly did sense an extremely faint dragon scent on Wendy.
That scent came from a long, long time ago.
A look of pity and sympathy immediately appeared on Lucoa's face.
She already liked Wendy very much.
After hearing about the girl's past, the softness in her heart was touched even more deeply.
Lucoa even changed seats with Ainz.
She sat beside Wendy and directly pulled the girl into her arms, looking like a mother spoiling her child.
At this moment, Lucoa's entire body radiated an extremely strong maternal aura.
It fit her figure rather well.
Wendy was held in her arms. At first, she found it a little difficult to breathe, but gradually, she got used to it.
For Wendy, this was both a familiar and unfamiliar feeling.
The faint scent coming from Lucoa was very much like Grandeeney, who had disappeared.
But in the end, she was not her.
This warmth was only similar.
"Poor little Wendy... It's all right. You will definitely find Grandeeney..."
Lucoa gently comforted Wendy.
Her voice was very soft, yet it carried an indescribable sense of peace and reassurance.
At this moment, she seemed like a completely different dragon from her usual dazed and natural self.
For some reason, Wendy began crying in her arms.
Perhaps it was because this warmth was too familiar.
Or perhaps...
Wendy only felt that after hearing Lucoa's words, her heart suddenly loosened a great deal.
It was a very strange feeling.
Like a person setting down a heavy burden and standing upright beneath the sunlight.
Kanna also ran over on her short legs and hugged Wendy.
"Wendy, don't cry."
Even when comforting someone, her expression remained that same dazed look.
Yet it was especially convincing.
"Mm... Mm..."
Wendy sobbed a little.
Her face was buried in Lucoa's arms, and her eyes had already turned red.
It was just that no one could see them right now.
Beside her, Roubaul quietly watched Wendy, his old, deeply wrinkled face filled with the marks of years and hardship.
He let out a faint sigh in his heart.
That sigh carried both sadness and helplessness.
When Lucoa was about to hug Wendy, Carla had already jumped onto the counter.
She too looked at the scene with a complicated expression.
After a while, Wendy finally calmed down.
Lucoa also released her embrace.
Wendy smiled at her obediently, her expression carrying a new sense of closeness.
"Thank you, Lucoa-sama."
Then she looked toward Kanna.
"Thank you as well, Kanna-sama."
Although Kanna looked even younger than Wendy, Wendy still used the respectful "-sama" when addressing her.
"It's fine."
Kanna shook her head in that dazed, adorable way.
Lucoa also smiled and patted Wendy's head.
"Wendy, you don't have to be so formal. Just call me Lucoa!"
"Me too. Just call me Kanna."
Faced with Lucoa and Kanna's words, Wendy became a little flustered.
"How could I do that?"
The little girl hurriedly tried to refuse their kindness, but neither Lucoa nor Kanna accepted her refusal.
"Wendy, it's fine. Just do as Lucoa and Kanna said."
At that moment, Yuto walked out carrying the tamagoyaki.
He smiled as he spoke to Wendy.
The girl's cute face was still filled with deep panic and hesitation.
Tap.
Yuto placed the plate in front of Wendy and sighed with a trace of helplessness.
"If that really doesn't feel right, then just call them onee-san." Yuto spoke with a smile at the corner of his mouth.
The panic and hesitation on Wendy's face gradually faded after she heard those words.
What replaced them in her bright eyes was delight and sudden understanding.
"Mm! Then I'll call them onee-san!"
Wendy turned to look at Lucoa and Kanna.
"Lucoa-sama, Kanna-sama, may I call you onee-san?"
Faced with the little girl's request, Lucoa sighed with a slightly helpless smile.
She patted Wendy's head gently and said, "All right."
Kanna also nodded.
Wendy's face filled with surprise and joy.
"Lucoa-onee-san! Kanna-onee-san!"
The little girl was somewhat excited.
"Mm."
Lucoa and Kanna both answered her.
Only, unlike Lucoa's gentle expression, Kanna's face carried a faint trace of excitement.
That made Yuto rather curious.
"What's wrong, Kanna?" Yuto asked.
Kanna raised her head and looked at Yuto, placing her soft little hand against her chest.
"This is the first time someone has called me onee-san. It feels very strange."
Kanna's face carried a very fresh and expectant expression.
However, the words she spoke were still as dazed and adorable as ever.
That made everyone unable to help laughing because of her.
Soon after, Erina and Hisako also came out carrying their dishes.
Roubaul, who had always maintained a calm expression, could not help being moved when he tasted the dish Erina had prepared for him.
Carla's reaction was even greater.
Yuto smiled lightly at this, then turned and went back into the kitchen.
The meat he had marinated earlier had reached the right timing.
It was time for the next step: scoring the surface and roasting it.
As Yuto handled the grilled meat, he could not help thinking of Fafnir.
Once he thought of Fafnir, he remembered the two times the man had been hit tonight.
He could not stop himself from laughing.
Ah. ╮(╯▽╰)╭
That must have hurt!
After all, the bumps had swollen up so large.