After finishing these tasks, it was already noon. Lynn hurriedly found the small vendor selling candied fruit and bought a bunch for Little Yuna.
When he returned home, the neighbors should have been having lunch. Lynn recalled the unfriendly tone of Little Yuna's grandmother that morning but still went forward and knocked on the door.
It wasn't long before he heard Little Yuna's cheerful footsteps, yet the door remained shut, and a round little head popped up from the nearby wall.
"Ah! It's big cousin! Little Yuna will open the door for you right away."
Hearing Little Yuna's energetic voice, Lynn felt his mood brighten. Unexpectedly, the little girl's sense of caution was quite strong; the door lacked a peephole, so she would climb over the wall to secretly observe who was outside.
"Creeak~"
The tightly closed door was opened, and Lynn, unguarded, was suddenly hugged by Little Yuna. Thankfully, she had no strength or ill intent; otherwise, Lynn's natural warrior reaction might have accidentally hurt her.
"Big cousin smells nice again..."
Little Yuna's muffled voice came from his embrace. Lynn paused, guessing she had sensed the Human Race Saint Emperor's aura on him. Her small nose was truly a treasure; even he couldn't find his Saint Emperor attributes right now, given that the Saint Emperor's Sword and Armor didn't recognize him…
"I think you smelled the candied fruit."
Lynn didn't want to discuss his background with Little Yuna, so he directly took out the candied fruit to distract the little one, knowing she couldn't decipher all his identities at her age.
"Wow! It's candied fruit!"
Sure enough, upon seeing the treat, Little Yuna immediately forgot everything, her big eyes twinkling as she fixed them on the candied fruit in Lynn's hand, unable to look away.
"Here you go."
Lynn wasn't the type of adult who used snacks to tease children. Seeing Little Yuna's eager gaze, he promptly handed the candied fruit to her.
"Yay, yay! I want to... Eh, but I can't. Little Yuna is having lunch, and eating candied fruit will make her too full for other food. Little Yuna needs to grow!"
As she spoke, Little Yuna raised her hand above her head to indicate that she needed to grow taller.
"Is that so? So what is Little Yuna eating? Is it enough to help you grow tall?"
As Lynn spoke, he took Little Yuna's hand and led her into her house. As a neighbor for the foreseeable future and a playmate for his future baby, Little Yuri, Lynn felt he needed to know more about Little Yuna.
Then, on Little Yuna's dining table, he saw a small piece of black bread and a small bowl of stewed beans.
Had he not seen Little Yuna's grandmother eating the same thing on the other side of the table, Lynn might have concluded that the family was mistreating the child.
Living in such a large house, with furnishings and décor indicating they weren't short on money, their food was unexpectedly simple. Was Little Yuna's family like those in modern society who carry huge loans to buy houses and become slaves to mortgages?
At this moment, seeing Little Yuna bring someone into the house, her grandmother seemed displeased. But when she looked at Lynn, dressed as if he were a noble, she didn't dare to lose her temper for fear of offending someone she couldn't afford to.
Her son and daughter-in-law were mere servants working for a noble family. Even though their master was very generous and the young lord of the noble house trusted him, allowing their family's financial condition to vastly exceed that of ordinary folks, servants remained servants, and if angered another noble, their downfall would be inevitable.
"Big cousin, have you eaten lunch? Little Yuna wants to invite big cousin for lunch, but the food in Little Yuna's house isn't very tasty..."
It was evident that Little Yuna was a generous child, but her family's living conditions prevented her from being truly generous.
"If it doesn't taste good, don't eat it. Lynn will make something delicious for you, just wait... Granny, may I borrow your kitchen?"
Seeing Little Yuna's somewhat embarrassed expression, Lynn affectionately patted her round little head and greeted her grandmother.
Ordinarily, Lynn wasn't very domineering, but in this instance, he was merely politely inquiring of Little Yuna's grandmother, not caring whether she agreed or not, as Little Yuna knew where the kitchen was.
"Oh, sure..."
Fortunately, Little Yuna's grandmother was not a stubborn old woman. Observing Lynn magically produce a bag of various ingredients from nowhere, she nodded agreement right away.
It was space equipment... definitely someone not to be trifled with...
Having lived in Celestial Destiny City for some time, Little Yuna's grandmother had gained considerable insight. She knew about space equipment but had only heard of it without seeing it, as it was something truly affluent families could afford; ordinary ones couldn't buy even the smallest space equipment even if they sold everything.
Meanwhile, Lynn was already being guided by Little Yuna into the kitchen.
His culinary skills were average and somewhat rusty, but no matter how poor a cook he was, anything he prepared was sure to taste better than the coarse black bread.
Later, under Little Yuna's watchful and curious gaze, Lynn busied himself in the kitchen for half the day, producing three meals for himself, Little Yuna, and her grandmother.
The main dish was Italian... um, Celestial Destiny noodles, paired with a steak and a large bowl of mushroom chicken noodle soup.
Lynn usually cooked mainly Chinese food, resorting to Western cuisine only occasionally for a change, thus he couldn't showcase any culinary prowess, yet with good and fresh ingredients, his slightly lacking skill still yielded dishes that could barely be considered appealing in color, aroma, and taste...
As he and Little Yuna worked together to deliver the meals to the table, when she noticed she had a serving too, Little Yuna's grandmother was at a loss for words.
This young man next door genuinely seemed to like Little Yuna, taking care of her in every way possible, but she's heard of some wealthy folks and nobles with peculiar hobbies. Hopefully, he wasn't one of them...
Yet he didn't seem so, judging by his looks at Little Yuna, full of doting affection with no hint of indecision; she had lived long enough to be somewhat perceptive despite what others might say.
"Granny, you should eat. Big cousin's food is really tasty!"
Little Yuna heartily tore into a steak and sipped the soup, feeling that the food made by her big cousin was the most delicious in the world, even beyond candied fruit and little cakes.
But while she was enjoying herself, she noticed her granny still dazed and quickly swallowed the food in her mouth, urging her to try big cousin's culinary skills.
"Alright, alright, Granny will eat."
With such urging from her lovely granddaughter, Little Yuna's grandmother snapped back to reality. Regardless of whether it was genuine or simply respectful to Lynn, she had to eat joyfully.