"How about a sandwich?"
After a moment's thought, Mobius said just that.
"A sandwich…"
Klein nodded. Actually, she had been about to say that while she did know how to cook, ever since joining Fire Moth earlier and later following them to Nagazora to join the Schicksal organization, she had rarely done it herself.
Her skills had gotten quite rusty as a result.
Fortunately, all Mobius wanted was a sandwich.
That wasn't hard to make, so even with rusty skills, the end product shouldn't turn out bad.
So, Klein went to the fridge, took out a few slices of bread, cut off the crusts into triangles, then fetched some lettuce leaves and washed them…
Klein busied herself in the kitchen, while Mobius stood to the side, chin resting on her hand, watching the scene with keen interest.
Actually, back in the lab, Mobius did this sometimes too—after setting up an experiment, she'd let Klein handle the actual operations while she observed from the sidelines.
For some reason, Mobius found it particularly pleasing to watch Klein work in such an orderly, methodical manner, especially when the task at hand was related to her.
It was a different kind of satisfaction from a successful experiment, yet almost equal in intensity, filling Mobius's heart and keeping her from becoming a complete 'eccentric.'
Mobius didn't care about others' opinions of her, but she also didn't mind having interests outside of experiments, just like everyone else.
Finally, after about ten minutes of work, Klein placed a generously filled sandwich on a plate and brought it over to Mobius.
"Doctor, it's ready."
Seeing this, Mobius picked up the sandwich and made as if to take a bite.
But soon, she paused, suddenly extending the sandwich toward Klein.
Klein looked puzzled. "Doctor?"
"Here, you have a few bites too. You didn't eat much earlier either, did you?"
That's what Mobius said.
Hearing this, Klein was stunned. She hadn't expected that while she had been observing Mobius, the other had been observing her too.
She really hadn't eaten much, but it wasn't because the food didn't suit her or anything.
It was just that after waking up today, Mobius showed no special reaction at all, completely forgetting what happened last night.
With so much on her mind, it was no wonder Klein had little appetite for breakfast.
But now, faced with the sandwich Mobius had brought to her lips, Klein hesitated for a moment before opening her mouth and taking a small bite.
"Have a little more."
Mobius said in an encouraging tone.
Klein had no choice but to take two more bites, then waved her hand. "I'm full, the rest is…"
Wait. Mid-sentence, Klein's cheeks suddenly flushed.
She had eaten from it, and now Mobius would eat after her… didn't that count as an indirect kiss?
Thinking of that, Klein's eyes dimmed again.
They'd already kissed directly, so why worry about an indirect one?
Still, even though she thought that, when Klein noticed from the corner of her eye that Mobius took a bite right where she had bitten, she couldn't help but feel flustered.
She really couldn't figure Mobius out.
And Mobius had been stealing glances at Klein all along. When she noticed the other's flushed cheeks, the sandwich in her hand seemed to taste even better.
--+--
Meanwhile, over on the other side, it wasn't until a little past eight that Durandal slowly opened her eyes.
The moment she did, she met Elysia's gaze, brimming with amusement.
"Good morning~"
"...How long have you been awake?"
Durandal's eyes wavered slightly.
Because she and Elysia had bared their hearts to each other last night, a weight she hadn't even been aware of had lifted, allowing her to sleep in this late.
Well, just by looking at the sunlight streaming through the window, Durandal knew it was far from early.
"Hmm… an hour? Or two?"
Elysia thought for a bit, then chose to give up. "Oh, that's not important. I wasn't watching the time~"
Wasn't watching the time? But she'd been awake for at least an hour?
So what had Elysia been looking at? The answer was obvious.
Durandal couldn't help but tighten her arms, holding the beauty in her embrace even closer.
"This is so nice!"
Durandal couldn't hold back a sigh of contentment.
And Elysia stayed obediently in Durandal's arms, feeling each other's heartbeat.
Even without speaking or doing anything else, just this embrace was enough to make them both feel utterly happy and fulfilled.
Finally, a rather noticeable stomach growl broke the warm, quiet moment.
"I'm hungry~"
Elysia blinked, saying pitifully.
Seeing this, Durandal quickly let go of her, getting up as she said, "The breakfast service time is probably over by now, but it's okay, I'll go make you breakfast in a bit!"
Elysia climbed out of the bed too.
While she was touched that Durandal wanted to make her breakfast, that was true…
But she couldn't help doubting whether the other could actually produce a normal meal.
A woman's intuition told Elysia: under no circumstances should Durandal be allowed into the kitchen!
So, after washing up, a worried Elysia followed Durandal out of the room and headed toward the kitchen.
Since their room was at the end of the hallway and the kitchen was behind the main hall, they had to walk from Room 8 past Rooms 5, 6, and 7 to reach the hall, then turn to get to their destination.
This meant the members of the Schicksal organization in Rooms 5, 6, and 7 saw the two of them snuggled together as they passed by.
Emile in Room 7 had nothing much to say—a straight-as-an-arrow single guy, he could only stare blankly while being fed this dog food.
Connie in Room 6 nearly let out a shriek the instant she caught a glimpse. Though she didn't know what happened last night, she definitely felt like the relationship between those two had deepened.
Kevyn in Room 5 was just plain envious… Mei had told her long ago that she was the one Mei wanted to spend the rest of her life with, but in daily life, even holding hands was difficult, let alone walking around attached at the hip like Elysia and Durandal.
Durandal and Elysia didn't notice the reactions from the rooms they passed at all.
Their attention was entirely on each other, with just enough focus spared to find their way and avoid going the wrong direction.
However, when the two found a staff member at the guesthouse and asked about paying a fee to use the kitchen, they were told someone had already paid, and that person hadn't come out yet.
"Who could it be?"
Elysia looked at Durandal and asked.
Durandal shook her head. "Not sure. Let's go in and see."
--+--