Chapter 70 — Learning to Cook.

Noxx slowly opened her eyes. The first thing she felt was the warmth of a blanket over her. The second thing she felt was something soft underneath her, a mattress with sheets.

'...Sheets?'

Noxx blinked a couple of times, still half asleep, and turned her head to the side.

She was in a room.

Noxx slowly sat up, supporting herself on her elbows. The sheet slid down to her waist. Noxx stayed sitting on the bed for a few seconds, looking around with her mind still clouded by sleep.

The room was spacious, but simple. The walls were cream white, without decorations. The floor was light wood, with no rug. A large bed against one wall. A wardrobe against another. A small nightstand beside the bed with a lamp on top. And a large window letting in the light.

Nothing else.

No paintings. No strange curtains. No bright-colored things. No televisions, no consoles, nothing like the chaotic and noisy style Noxx had made at first when she built her room in the mental world.

It took Noxx a second to realize it was simple because that was how she liked it.

'Did I... make this while I was asleep?'

Noxx ran a hand over her face, still confused. She remembered letting herself fall onto the grass after the conversation with the twins.

She remembered Moon on one side, Sun on the other.

But now she was here.

Noxx pushed the sheet aside, swung her feet out of bed, and stood up. Her legs still felt a little heavy, but they responded. She slowly walked to the door, placed her hand on the handle, and opened it.

Noxx went still.

'...What?'

On the other side, there was a dining room.

A large, wide dining room, with walls the same cream white as her room. A long wooden table stood in the center, with six chairs around it.

And to one side, against the wall, there was a large empty space with no furniture, with a colorful rug on the floor and some cushions stacked in a corner. As if someone had thought that space could be used for eating and also for playing.

Noxx stood in the doorway, her hand still on the handle, processing it.

Then she turned her head to the left, toward a wall that had a huge window from floor to ceiling.

And she saw it.

Sky.

Real sky.

Not the flat, calm blue sky of the usual mental world. Another sky. One with low, long clouds, with orange and purple tones starting to mix.

A sunset stretching all the way to the horizon, with a darker violet strip above and a brighter golden strip below.

Noxx approached the window without realizing it and placed one hand on the glass.

'This...'

Noxx looked down. On the other side of the glass, there was no floor or ground. There was an open view, as if the room were floating in the air, very high, above the clouds.

'Is this the mental world...?'

Noxx frowned. She was about to turn around to go back to her room and think calmly when she noticed something out of the corner of her eye.

There was someone at the other end of the dining room.

Noxx turned her head.

Against a wall, there was a long blue piece of furniture, something like a low couch pressed against the wall, with cushions scattered over it. And on that couch, lying on her side with her head resting on a bent arm, was Moon, looking out another window.

A smaller window, higher up, on the other side of the dining room. And beyond that window, the sky was not sunset. It was night. A dark sky with stars, and a large, white full moon shining in the center.

Moon stared at it. She did nothing. She did not move. She did not speak. She only watched the moon, her sky-blue eyes fixed on it, with a calm Noxx had not seen in her before.

Noxx hesitated.

'Better not bother her.'

Noxx silently turned around to go back to her room, or to look for where the smell of food that was starting to reach her nose was coming from, one of the two, when her foot barely bumped against the doorframe.

Tap!

A tiny sound, but it was enough for Moon to turn her head. Her face, which had been calm, almost dim, changed in a second. Her eyes opened wide. A smile formed on her face, and she quickly sat up on the couch, with her feet still resting on top of it.

"Mistress!"

Noxx stayed still.

'She saw me.'

Moon lowered her feet from the couch and stood up.

"Mistress, good morning."

Noxx swallowed. She was going to simply nod and keep walking, because talking still felt difficult, and besides, she was not in a very good mood.

But Moon kept looking at her. With that bright, expectant expression. And Noxx remembered what Matt had told her.

“Don’t make the same mistake I made.”

Noxx took a deep breath.

"...Hi, Moon."

It was a single word, spoken in a rough voice, still heavy with sleep.

Moon reacted as if Noxx had given her the longest speech in the world. She placed a hand on her chest, pressed her mouth into a bigger smile, and lowered her head slightly.

"Welcome, Mistress. Are you all right? How do you feel? Did you sleep well? Was the bed comfortable? Do you want water?"

"Moon."

"...Yes?"

"One question at a time."

Moon turned red and pressed her hands against her chest.

"Sorry, Mistress."

"It’s fine."

Noxx ran a hand over the back of her neck.

"...I’m fine. A little drained, but fine."

"Drained?"

Moon tilted her head slightly, her sky-blue eyes fixed on Noxx’s face. And then, without warning, Moon took two steps and stretched her hands toward Noxx’s face.

Noxx froze.

Moon’s fingers were small, warm, and touched her cheeks with almost exaggerated care. She held her lightly, with her fingertips resting on her cheekbones, without squeezing, as if she were afraid of breaking something.

"...What are you doing?"

Noxx wanted to pull away. Or at least, her brain sent her the order to pull away.

But her body did not obey. She stayed still, with Moon’s hands on her face, looking at her.

Moon pursed her lips into a small pout.

"Don’t be drained, Mistress."

"...Uh."

"Smile."

Noxx blinked.

"...What?"

"Smile, Mistress. Even just a little. Even if it’s fake."

Noxx looked at her in silence. Then, slowly, she raised one hand to move Moon’s away. She gently took her wrist, without using force, and was about to lower it.

But she stopped.

She stayed there, with Moon’s hand on her face and her own hand on Moon’s wrist, not deciding what to do.

"...Why does it worry you?"

Moon blinked.

"What does, Mistress?"

"That I’m drained."

"Ah."

"Why does it worry you?"

Moon thought about it for a second. She pursed her lips slightly. Her eyes moved up a little, as if she were searching for the right answer on the ceiling. Then she looked back at Noxx.

"Because I don’t like seeing you like that."

Noxx lowered her gaze.

"...Ah."

"And also..."

Moon pressed her fingers just a little against Noxx’s cheekbones.

"...you look prettier when you smile."

Noxx felt heat rise to her face. It was fast. A tingling that went up from her neck to her cheeks in a second, and from the way Moon opened her eyes, she realized it had shown.

Noxx turned her face away and let go of Moon’s wrist.

Moon slowly lowered her hands.

"...Sorry, Mistress. Did I make you uncomfortable?"

"...No."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Really sure?"

"Moon."

"Sorry."

Noxx ran a hand over her face to cool the heat. She coughed slightly, for no reason, just to have something to do with her body. She looked to the side, still trying to hide her cheeks.

And that was when she noticed, for the first time since she had entered the dining room, the smell.

Food.

Good food.

The smell came from a door on the other side of the dining room, one Noxx had not noticed until then. The door was open, with a rectangle of warm light spilling out from inside, and voices came from that rectangle.

A warm, slightly hoarse voice, Sun.

Another calm voice, Matt.

And a third high-pitched, whiny, noisy voice that Noxx could already recognize with her eyes closed, Aurora.

The kitchen door opened all the way with a push. Sun came out first. She had both hands forward, holding a large metal pot by the handles, with the sleeves of her black shirt rolled up to her elbows and her red hair tied in a high ponytail.

Sun’s face was focused, her jaw slightly clenched, and she walked with those short, careful steps.

"Excuse me, excuse me."

Noxx and Moon stepped aside.

Sun crossed the dining room with the pot, approached the long table, and set it down in the center with some effort.

Tunk!

The pot barely hit the wood.

Sun let out a breath. She shook her hands. Then she straightened, wiped her forehead with the back of her wrist, and turned back.

Matt came out of the kitchen right after. He had a cloth in his hands and a calm expression.

Behind him came Aurora, stuck to his back like a shadow, carrying a ladle and a slotted spoon with both hands.

And behind Aurora, almost running, Aurora appeared again.

Or not.

There was only one Aurora.

But she had gotten ahead of everyone. Before Matt reached the table, Aurora had already dodged Sun from one side, gone around, and was placing five empty plates around the pot, with the cutlery to the side, one by one, with a speed and enthusiasm that suited no one else.

"I’ll set the plates, Master! Me! I’ll set them!"

"Good, Aurora."

"Watch how I set them, Master! Look! They’re all straight!"

"They’re straight."

"And the cutlery! The cutlery is on the correct side!"

"It’s on the correct side."

"I’m the best at setting cutlery!"

"You’re the only one setting cutlery."

"That’s why I’m the best!"

Matt sighed and passed beside Aurora without arguing. He was heading toward the pot to stir something when he noticed Noxx standing near the large window, her face still slightly red and with the expression of someone who did not understand anything at all.

"Noxx."

Noxx lifted her gaze.

"...Matt."

"Did you sleep well?"

"...Yes."

"Perfect. You arrived just in time."

Noxx looked at the pot. Looked at the plates. Looked at the sunset beyond the window. Looked at the kitchen with the open door and the smell coming out from inside. Looked at Sun pouring herself some water into a pitcher. Looked at Aurora fixing the cutlery for the tenth time, as if it had not been straight enough.

She looked at all of that, and frowned.

"...Matt."

"What?"

"What are you doing?"

Matt looked at her for a second. Then he looked at the pot. Then he looked at her.

"Serving the food."

"Right."

"Right?"

"I mean, I know you’re serving the food. But..."

Noxx made a vague gesture toward everything.

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why are you serving it? We’re in the mental world. You can make everything appear already served on the table. You can make the food appear on the plate ready to eat. You don’t need to cook it."

Matt slowly nodded.

"Yes, I can."

"Then..."

"I’m not going to."

"...Why?"

Matt took the ladle Aurora had left on the table, approached the pot, and started stirring slowly.

"Because I’m teaching them how to cook."

Noxx blinked.

"...What?"

"How to cook, set a table, clean, do household things in general. A little bit of everything."

Noxx looked at Matt incredulously.

"Why?"

Matt kept stirring, without rushing.

"Because at some point, all of you are going to go outside."

Noxx went still.

"...Outside?"

Matt lifted his gaze from the pot and looked at her.

"I don’t know when it’ll happen, or how, or under what conditions. But it will happen. At some point, the three of you will have to go out. Aurora already goes out sometimes. You too. Those two haven’t yet, but they will. And when that happens, they’ll need to know how to do basic things. Cooking is one. Setting a table is another. Washing dishes. Sweeping. Folding clothes. Things like that."

Noxx frowned.

"...Folding clothes?"

"Folding clothes."

"Matt, they’re weapons."

"Weapons that can be people."

Noxx went quiet.

Matt kept stirring. Aurora, without stopping her cutlery adjustments, turned her head and stuck her tongue out at Noxx.

"I already know how to fold clothes!"

"No, you don’t, Aurora."

"Yes! Master taught me this morning!"

"Aurora."

"...He’s teaching me."

"She’s learning, yes."

Noxx lowered her gaze and lifted it again.

And that was when she noticed something.

Moon, who had been off to the side of all of this in silence, had gotten close to Noxx without her realizing it.

She was standing beside her, both hands raised toward Noxx’s face, and she was pressing Noxx’s cheeks with the tips of her fingers.

Very slowly. Very softly, as if she were investigating the texture.

Noxx looked at her from the corner of her eye. Moon looked back with a concentrated little face, without stopping the gentle pressing.

"...Moon."

"...Yes, Mistress."

"What are you doing?"

"Cheeks."

"Right."

"They’re soft."

"...Right."

Moon kept pressing.

Noxx slowly let out a breath. She looked at Matt again, pointing at Moon with her eyes.

"Matt."

"What?"

"And why isn’t she doing anything?"

Matt looked at her. Then he looked at Moon. Then back at Noxx.

"Ah."

"Yes. Ah."

"I asked her if she wanted to help."

"And?"

"And she told me she wanted to rest for a while. That she was tired today. So I let her."

Noxx’s shoulders lowered.

"...Seriously?"

"Yes."

"You can do that?"

"Rest?"

"Yes."

"You can, Noxx."

Noxx clenched her teeth.

Matt barely smiled.

"You can rest too, if you want. You don’t have to help. They’re learning. You already earned a rest after what happened."

Noxx did not know what to answer.

Moon pressed one cheek a little harder.

"Soft."

"Moon."

"...Yes, Mistress."

"...It’s fine. You can keep going."

Moon smiled faintly, satisfied, and did not let go.

Aurora finished with the cutlery. She straightened up, crossed her arms, and looked at the table as if she had just painted the Sistine Chapel. Then she turned her head toward Matt, with that expression of a dog waiting for a reward.

"Master!"

Matt looked up from the pot.

"What, Aurora?"

"It’s done!"

"I see."

"What now?!"

Matt sighed.

"Now you sit down and wait."

"...What?"

"You sit down and wait. The food is almost ready. Once I finish serving, we’ll all eat."

Aurora opened her eyes wide.

"...That’s all?"

"Yes."

"Sit down and wait?"

"Yes."

"But that’s boring!"

Aurora stepped closer to Matt, wrapped both arms around him from behind, and squeezed his waist in a firm hug. She pressed her face against his back, her arms crossed in front, and started talking against his clothes.

"Master, I want to do something more useful! I don’t want to sit! Sitting is what people who don’t know how to do anything do! I do know how to do things! I can stir! I can taste the food! I can cut things! I can---!"

"Aurora."

"I can fight the twins!"

"Aurora."

"Or Noxx! I can fight Noxx! It would be useful! We’d train her!"

"Aurora, sit down."

"I don’t want to!"

Matt closed his eyes for a second, took a deep breath, and decided he was not going to argue today. He barely escaped the hug so he could keep stirring, took some food with the ladle, poured it carefully onto a plate, and continued with the next.

Sun, who had been pouring herself water, set the pitcher on the table and approached.

"I’ll help you, Matt."

Matt lifted his gaze.

"With what?"

"Serving. I can serve while you handle the rest. I already saw how it’s done."

Matt looked at her for a second. Then he nodded.

"Good. Thanks, Sun."

Sun took the ladle when Matt handed it to her. She positioned herself beside the pot with a firm, very formal posture, almost as if she were officiating an important ceremony. She began serving the plates one by one, concentrating, without spilling a single drop.

Aurora, still hanging from Matt’s back, turned her head to look at her and frowned.

"She’s doing it wrong."

Sun did not answer.

"She’s putting too much on Noxx’s plate!"

Sun did not answer.

"That’s too much! It’s going to make her sick!"

"It’s her portion, Aurora."

"It’s a giant’s portion!"

"It’s a normal portion."

"I fold clothes better than her!"

"Yes, Aurora."

Matt had not looked up from the pot. Aurora puffed out her cheeks and tightened the hug around his waist again.

Matt sighed, turned his face toward the other side of the dining room, and called.

"Noxx."

Noxx still had Moon pressing her cheeks.

"...What?"

"Come sit down."

Noxx looked at Moon.

Moon looked at her. She smiled faintly, her hands still on Noxx’s cheeks.

"...Let’s go, Mistress."

Noxx lowered her shoulders and let herself be guided. Moon let go just enough to take her hand, with those small, warm fingers again, and led her to the table.

Noxx did not resist. She did not have the energy to resist. And deep down, she did not really want to either.

Moon pointed to a chair.

"Here, Mistress."

"...All right."

Noxx sat down, and Moon sat beside her, very close, with her chair barely separated from Noxx’s.

Sun, on the other side of the table, finished serving the last plate. She left the ladle inside the pot with a smooth movement, cleaned her hands on a cloth, walked around the table, and sat on Noxx’s other side.

Noxx ended up sitting in the middle, with Moon on her left and Sun on her right.

Aurora, meanwhile, did not sit down immediately. She stood beside the chair she had chosen, looking at the head of the table where Matt was, with her arms loose at her sides and an expression that started calm but changed in a second.

Matt finished with the pot, dried his hands, and sat at the head of the table.

Aurora took a step, and instead of sitting in the free chair beside him, she approached Matt from behind, placed both hands on his shoulders, and climbed slightly onto the armrest.

"Fmpf!"

Matt did not turn his head.

"Aurora."

"...Yes, Master?"

"Get down."

"...From here?"

"From there."

"Why?"

"Because that isn’t a chair."

"It’s your chair."

"It’s my chair."

"Exactly."

"Aurora."

Aurora slid one leg over the armrest, very slowly, with all the intention in the world, glancing at Matt from the corner of her eye as she did it.

"Aurora."

Aurora positioned the other leg.

"Aurora, no."

Aurora fully sat down. On Matt’s lap. She settled herself with her legs crossed to one side, rested her back against his chest, and sighed as if she had just found the most comfortable place in the universe.

Then she turned her head back.

"...Now?"

Matt closed his eyes for a moment.

"Aurora."

"What?"

"There’s a chair beside me."

"I don’t like that chair."

"You haven’t tried it."

"I already know I’m not going to like it."

"Aurora."

"It’s uncomfortable."

"Aurora."

"It’s too hard."

"Aurora, get down."

"No."

Matt looked at her from the corner of his eye.

Aurora held his gaze, with that spoiled-girl expression of hers that knew perfectly well what she was doing. And she adjusted herself just a little more, resting her head against Matt’s shoulder, with a tiny smile.

On the other side of the table, Sun coughed lightly against her fist to avoid laughing. Moon let out a tiny giggle, covering her mouth with both hands.

Noxx, for her part, could not help wondering how much longer they would stay like this.

Thank you all for your patience and for continuing to support this novel ; v ;

And well, as a small way to thank you, here’s an illustration showing everyone gathered together in the mental world!! I was really excited to see this moment illustrated, so I hope you all enjoy it a lot too (>w<)/