An hour later, the pressure cooker's timer began to beep.
I walked over and unplugged it without another word, grabbing a pair of mittens before lifting the inner pot and setting it carefully in the sink.
I let cool water run along the sides for a few moments, giving it time to settle instead of exploding in my face the second I tried to open it.
Who would be stupid enough to just open something that was pressurized in the first place…?
After about a minute, I brought it back to the countertop and started taking the meat out, placing it on a tray to shred later.
Meanwhile, Anathasia and Carthanalenia were in the living room, playing together.
As for how I learned to make birria… Carthanalenia helped me. Through Google, of course. And YouTube.
"Ah, it's already done?" Anathasia asked casually as she walked into the kitchen, Carthanalenia following behind her while holding… a scrapbook?
"Mhm." I nodded. "Just gotta make the dipping broth."
"You mean consommé, Dad?"
"Yeah, that one. Think you could make it with Mom real quick while I set up everything else?"
She nodded, clutching the scrapbook to her chest before looking up at Anathasia.
At that moment, Anathasia's relaxed expression softened the instant their eyes met.
"Mom…?"
That seemed to snap her out of it.
She nodded immediately. "Right. Consommé. Got it."
—
A few minutes later—
Once everything was set up, the doorbell rang.
And Carthanalenia—
"Ah! Uncle and Aunties are here!" she called out before running toward the front door.
Anathasia and I paused, exchanging a look.
"Uncle and Aunties…?"
"The only people she ever calls that are—" Anathasia stopped, her gaze shifting toward the living room entrance as multiple footsteps approached.
Carthanalenia came in first, still in her child form.
"Aunt Roselia and Rania are here!" she announced brightly. "And also Uncle Kagariel!"
"Right…" Anathasia murmured. "The only people she ever calls that are those guys…"
The next moment, familiar figures stepped inside.
The first wore casual clothes. Enough that anyone would assume she was simply a girl with white-blonde hair and amber eyes.
"Please pardon our intrusion," she said politely.
Rania Eon Augthorth.
The Third Outer God — Equilibrium.
Another woman followed behind her, honey-blonde hair cascading over her shoulders, golden-brown eyes quietly observing the room. She wore her usual off-shoulder yukata. Her gaze swept across the living room before settling on the chess set resting on the mahogany cabinet shelf.
Roselia Nutriscu.
The Fourth Outer God — Causality.
"Li Mingyuan actually gave Miss Veridielle a chess set?" Her eyes gleamed for a brief moment before she composed herself and turned back to us.
"Ahem… birria tacos, yes. It feels as though eons have passed since I last had one."
The last to enter was a man.
He wore casual yet refined attire, black hair framing features that made him look like he stepped straight out of a romance novel.
Except—
"A chess set…" he murmured.
His gaze shifted to Carthanalenia, now comfortably perched in Roselia's arms.
"It seems our granddaughter is developing well," he said with a small nod.
Kagariel.
The Second Outer God — Finality.
"Granddaughter?" Anathasia shot him a look, one eyebrow arching slightly.
"I'm older than you, just so you know," she added casually, picking up a tray of birria tacos we had prepared earlier and handing it to the others.
Kagariel fell silent, reaching for one taco from the tray.
"Daughter of Absence…" he breathed under his breath, before his gaze shifted toward me for some reason.
"The Stillness doesn't mind me being the grandfather…" he tried to argue.
But Carthanalenia, still perched comfortably in Roselia's arms, spoke up first.
"Uncle Kagariel is an uncle, isn't he?"
At her words, Kagariel froze.
Then, without another argument, he quietly moved to the edge of the couch and began nibbling on his share, muttering words too faint for me to properly hear.
"By the way," Anathasia spoke up, casually setting the tray down on the table.
"Roselia. Did you allow the Fuyukawas to disclose our existence to the Li family's heiress?"
Roselia's hand instantly froze. Her eyes slowly drifted toward Anathasia as she gently set Carthanalenia down.
"That is… I don't exactly remember whether I did or not…" she stammered. "But all ended well, yes?" She forced a smile.
Anathasia's expression said everything. Still, she only let out a small sigh and continued making more birria tacos on the induction cooker set atop the table.
"I suppose…" she murmured. After folding one and placing it on the tray, she shot Roselia another look. "You set it up, didn't you? That's why everything felt like it went so smoothly."
Roselia looked away, whistling lightly as her gaze shifted toward Rania, who was quietly eating on the couch while Kagariel sat on the opposite end.
"Who knows…" she trailed off. "But perhaps we should ask Rania about Aegea's current situation? I heard a certain duchess has been absent for several months."
"That was you," Rania replied flatly, continuing to nibble on her food.
"You've been scheming for far too long on Earth. Your people back in Aegea are beginning to think you've abandoned your duties as Duchess of the Nutriscu Duchy."
Roselia stiffened.
"I had people manage the duchy while I was away—"
"And it clearly isn't enough," Rania cut in calmly. "I highly suggest stepping up."
She lifted her gaze slightly.
"Or you may lose your people's trust if you continue neglecting them."
A pause.
"In fact, I believe the Emperor may be considering replacing you with one of your cousins."
"Wait." Roselia immediately interjected. "The only cousin I have that the Emperor recognizes is—" She gestured toward Rania.
"You."
Silence.
It stretched for several moments until Anathasia finally spoke.
"Why are the two of you discussing politics in my house?" She paused, then glanced briefly at me.
"Our house," she corrected herself, clearing her throat. "And cut it out. We just dealt with politics a few hours ago. Talk about something else."
The two of them fell silent.
The soft sizzling of the birria tacos filled the living room instead.
"Well… does anyone want some soda?" I asked casually, wiping my hands with a piece of tissue.
Roselia immediately turned toward me.
"I'd like one. A cola will do."
—
After handing everyone their sodas, Anathasia finished the last batch of birria tacos. The tray now rested on the small table between the couches.
"This is the second instance where all five Outer Gods have gathered together," Kagariel commented, reaching over to take another taco.
"It is… rather refreshing, considering existence had been quite unstable until all five of us finally came into being."
He looked toward Anathasia, who was seated casually on the other couch, with Carthanalenia in the middle.
"It is," Anathasia replied simply, feeding a taco to Carthanalenia, still in her child form.
Kagariel paused.
Then a faint smile curved along his lips as his gaze shifted toward me.
"Truly… the moment Stillness converged with the Daughter of Absence, it was almost as if…"
He exhaled softly.
"She had been looking for you all this time while invoking the rest of the Fragments in the process."
I froze at his words, memories from my birthday last year surfacing immediately.
Anathasia's true purpose for entering my life.
Everything she had endured before…
This.
A small laugh escaped my lips as I met his gaze.
"Who knows… that might be the case…"
"It is," Anathasia cut in.
My eyes slowly shifted back to her. Carthanalenia was quietly enjoying her taco while Anathasia reached for another one for herself.
"I was and have been searching for him."
Kagariel's eyes visibly widened. Rania and Roselia's bickering died down at her words. Her tone remained calm. Steady.
Matter-of-fact.
"Since the recreation of everything, maintaining existence was merely… a secondary priority for me. Searching for him—" she gestured vaguely in my direction. "—was the reason I took on the roles of Equilibrium, Causality, and Godhead all at once."
She slowly lifted her gaze to meet theirs.
"Otherwise, existence would not have remained stable without the true pillars. Nor would I have found him if I allowed everything to collapse and focused solely on searching."