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The sun was bright.
A soft breeze drifted through the air.
It was already late April, and the last traces of winter chill had mostly faded. Perfect weather for going out.
Blake and Mahiru Shiina walked to the supermarket together, arriving before long.
"Blake, grab a cart," Mahiru said softly. "I'll handle picking out the ingredients."
"Got it."
Blake took a cart and followed behind the "angel," fully embracing his role as a walking utility.
"I already asked the fairy what she wanted to eat this morning…" Mahiru picked up two potatoes and dropped them into the cart, then glanced back at him. "Is Yanami coming over for lunch? If she is, we'll need to prepare more food."
The memory of that girl's terrifying appetite from yesterday's lunch was still fresh in Mahiru's mind.
Blake pulled out his phone. "I'll message her and ask."
A moment later—
"She says she's going shopping with friends today, so she won't be coming."
"I see…"
The rest of the shopping trip was uneventful. Blake pushed the cart the entire time while Mahiru handled everything else—choosing ingredients, organizing, and even paying at checkout.
Once they were done, the two of them carried the groceries out of the store.
"Blake, I'll leave the rice to you," Mahiru said, tilting her head up slightly, her voice gentle.
"Leave it to me," he replied easily. "Ten kilos is nothing."
They didn't talk much on the way back.
But once they got home, Blake realized he'd spoken too soon.
At first, the rice bag felt light enough. But by the time he carried it all the way home, his forehead was damp with sweat and his breathing had gotten a little heavy. Twenty pounds might not sound like much, but carry it long enough and it really starts to hit you.
"Good work, Blake."
Mahiru slipped off her shoes and quickly went to the kitchen. A moment later, she returned with a glass of barley tea.
"Have some tea and take a break."
"Thanks."
Blake took the glass and downed half of it in one go.
"Go wash your hands and face," Mahiru added. "You should be extra careful about hygiene after coming back from outside."
…Wait a second. That's something a mom says to a kid, right?
Should I start calling you Mama Mahiru or something?
"…I'll go wash up."
He hadn't planned to move, but under the angel's calm gaze, he obediently got up and headed to the bathroom.
After washing up, Blake stepped out and saw that Mahiru had already tied on an apron and was busy in the kitchen.
"Mahiru, want me to help?"
"No need." She was carefully peeling potatoes. "You can go work on your game. I've got the kitchen covered."
"Alright, call me if you need anything."
Blake went back to the couch and sat down. Then he noticed something odd—the empty glass he'd just finished was full again with fresh barley tea.
…Did she refill it just now?
I didn't even notice…
"This is bad…" Blake muttered, suddenly feeling a sense of danger. "At this rate, I'm going to turn into a useless human."
—
Before long, it was 11 a.m.
The doorbell rang.
"Blake, get the door," Mahiru called from the kitchen. "It should be the fairy."
"Coming."
As expected, standing outside was a blonde girl in an extravagant dress.
"Good morning, servant!" Yamada Elf planted her hands on her hips, her voice crisp and full of energy. "Hurry up and welcome me with a grand ceremony."
Blake looked at her expressionlessly. "Are you an elf princess from another world?"
"Huh?" Yamada blinked in confusion. "A what now?"
"Then unfortunately, no ceremony for you."
An elf princess carries the responsibility of continuing her race and forging alliances between worlds. You're just a neighbor who comes over to freeload meals. Who's rolling out the red carpet for that?
"Your eyes look kinda weird, servant…" Yamada leaned forward, suspicion in her voice. "You're not thinking something pervy, are you?"
Blake answered flatly, "Innocent until proven guilty."
"Hmph~"
She sniffed lightly, lifted her chin, and stepped inside, changing into slippers. After greeting Mahiru in the kitchen, she wandered over behind Blake, crossing her arms.
"Servant, I've finished writing the game script. Considering how fast I was, you should hurry up and thank me properly."
"That was fast," Blake said, glancing up at her with mild surprise. "We'll talk thanks later. Let me see it first."
"Here, take it. Prepare to be amazed and worship me!"
Yamada handed over a stack of A4 papers, chin raised proudly as she waited for praise.
Blake took the script and began reading carefully.
A moment later—
"Well? Well?" Yamada leaned in eagerly as he closed the script. "It's amazing, right?"
Blake shook his head. "Too long."
"What do you mean 'too long'? It's just ten thousand words of background!"
"'Plant Girls vs. Monsters' is a tower defense game," Blake said calmly. "We don't need to scatter lore everywhere like Miyazaki. A few lines of background are enough."
"Ugh—"
Yamada puffed out her cheeks, clearly unhappy.
"Of course, your ideas are really good," Blake added. "The concept of the 'Fertility Star God' is interesting. The reason plants evolve into plant girls being tied to a star god's power works well. Setting the battlefield as the god's garden, with the plant girls defending it… that's solid. We can use that."
"Hmph~" Yamada turned her face away. "Complimenting me now is too late."
Too late? You're practically smiling!
"Hey, hey, what about adding more anime-style plant girls?" Yamada said excitedly. "Speaking of that, I just remembered the original 'two-dimensional person' from history."
"…What?"
"Yamaguchi Tsutomu! He worked at Mitsubishi Shipbuilding. He was on a business trip in Hiroshima when the first atomic bomb hit. Survived that, then went back to his hometown in Nagasaki… and a few days later, the second bomb dropped there too. Now that's the original 'twice-bombed' guy!"
…That was so cold it actually hurt. Please don't drop random trivia like that again.
Right then, Mahiru stepped out of the kitchen in her apron, her voice gentle.
"Lunch is ready. Everyone, please wash your hands."
Blake stood up. "I'll go call Sagiri downstairs."
Unfortunately, no luck.
Sagiri refused to come down for lunch today. No idea what she was doing holed up in her room, so Blake ended up carrying her portion upstairs instead.
After lunch, Mahiru and Yamada both headed home.
Blake sat at his computer, typing away at his code, expecting a quiet afternoon—
Until his phone suddenly buzzed, breaking the calm.
Black Cat: Idiot Blake, I found another suitable "fate bounty." Want to take the job together?
"....."