It wasn't long before the front door opened again.
This time, Theresa led a small army of toddlers into the house. Not a single person in the group was over four feet nine.
"Seele." Upon seeing Seele, Bronya finally shifted from her lethargic slouch, presenting a slightly more dignified posture while simultaneously scooting over to free up the significant chunk of sofa she had been hogging.
"Tch." Sin Mal scoffed disdainfully at Bronya's display. She slung her schoolbag off her shoulder and dropped it right next to Bronya's.
Within minutes, a pile of over a dozen schoolbags had accumulated in the corner.
Aside from a few exceptions, exhaustion was written clearly on almost everyone's faces.
It was the classic "first day of school syndrome." They had spent the entire day crammed into academic and theoretical classes. Unsurprisingly, almost everyone was struggling to adapt to the high-intensity schedule.
Fortunately, Joachim's lesson plans today had been genuinely foundational. Even Azhar and Yae Rin had managed to follow along, let alone the others.
Watching the living room rapidly fill with chatter and activity, Shu remembered Mei fighting a solitary, desperate battle against an endless tide of ingredients in the kitchen. Feeling a pang of guilt, he put his phone away and headed into the kitchen to help.
The first thing he saw was Mei's knife moving so fast it left afterimages on the cutting board. Tasked with preparing food for at least thirty people, the aura radiating from Mei was fundamentally different.
"Ahem..." Shu coughed lightly to announce his presence, walking over to the other side of the counter and picking up a spare kitchen knife.
"What are you planning to make tonight, Mei?" Glancing at the mountain of ingredients, Shu decided it was best to confirm the menu before diving in.
Mei looked up from the blur of steel and vegetables, looking slightly dazed as she registered Shu holding the knife. After a moment's thought, she rapidly rattled off the names of over a dozen dishes, then offered an apologetic smile.
"Thank you so much for helping. The workload is honestly a bit overwhelming..."
"I'd say," Shu chuckled. "You're cooking for an army all by yourself, and we don't exactly have an industrial kitchen here."
The appliances in this villa were designed for a single family. They were perfect for cooking small, home-style meals, but demanding they handle a thirty-person feast was pushing them past their limits.
Having calculated the required prep work and portions, Shu didn't even bother using his hands. He let go of the knife, allowing it to float mid-air.
Simultaneously, the pile of vegetables and the other kitchen utensils seemed to spring to life. They began moving autonomously, swiftly and systematically preparing themselves.
Mei stared at the magical scene unfolding before her, her mouth slightly agape. A moment later, she let out a quiet laugh and sighed.
"This is incredibly convenient..." Smiling, Mei set her own knife down, watching it join the fray. She stretched her arms above her head. "So... does this mean even I get to slack off a bit?"
In a rare display of playfulness toward Shu, she winked, took a deep breath, and finally relaxed.
"Whoa, so cool!"
"It's magic!"
"You can use it like that?!"
A chorus of gasps erupted from the kitchen doorway. Shu and Mei turned to see a stack of small heads peeking around the frame, staring wide-eyed at the grand spectacle inside.
To be fair, the scene in the kitchen did look exactly like magic. Under Shu's telekinetic control, the ingredients were autonomously completing the entire prep process—from washing to chopping—before neatly depositing themselves into the strainer by the sink.
"You can come in if you want to watch, just don't get in the way." Shu waved the kids over before turning back to Mei. "I'll handle all the ingredient prep, but I'll leave the actual cooking to you.
"You know everyone's tastes best. If I cook, it'll just be perfectly standard, but I won't be able to cater to individual preferences."
Kiana, who had sneaked into the kitchen with the others, desperately wanted to say, Then just make a custom portion for everyone! But after thinking about it, she realized Shu was clearly just looking for an excuse to slack off. She decided it was a good thing and kept her mouth shut.
"Mhm. That works for me," Mei agreed, tacitly accepting the responsibility.
The prepped ingredients, stripped of 99% of their physical effort, floated neatly to Mei's side. Mei had never imagined cooking could be this simple.
It felt less like cooking and more like playing surgeon. Mei only had to raise her hand and call out the name of the ingredient or seasoning she needed, and it would immediately leap into her palm.
Everything was meticulously prepared beforehand. All Mei had to do was toss things into the pot, one by one, like she was playing a cooking simulator.
It was so relaxing that Mei felt like she was forgetting how to actually cook.
Kiana, however, suddenly felt a surge of misplaced confidence.
Wait, if cooking is this easy!
Then why did Shu make me learn everything from scratch when I first got the Key of Genesis?!
Kiana tilted her head, locking a death glare onto Shu. The naked accusation in her eyes caused a single drop of cold sweat to slide down his forehead.
Uh... Could he try to lie and say he hadn't thought of doing it this way back then?
No. Kiana would never believe that. He had considered using his power to help her learn, and he had even sensed that exact [Wish] originating from her.
He had simply rejected it.
Kids need to build character, right? Hard work builds character... Yeah, definitely builds character...
Shu couldn't even convince himself with that flimsy excuse. Sweating bullets, he decided his best option was to aggressively ignore Kiana's interrogating glare.
Fortunately, Kiana's attention span was short. She quickly forgot about her grievance and stepped forward, brimming with unearned confidence.
"Mei, let me try!" She shoved her way to Mei's side, plastering on a bright smile and pointing at the pan. "Hehe! I think I can help out too!"
"..."
Faced with Kiana's request, Mei, uncharacteristically, hesitated, her face contorting with conflicted dread.
Kiana felt deeply, deeply offended.
Prejudice! This was blatant prejudice against her, Kiana!
No, this was systemic prejudice against all Kaslanas!
She had already proven she could make edible food! How could Mei still cling to these antiquated stereotypes? How could she still believe a Kaslana shouldn't be allowed in a kitchen?!
She was shaking with rage! When would society finally correct these discriminatory views?!
When would the Kaslana name finally be cleared of this unjust stigma?!
"Uh..." Mei's heart softened at the sight of Kiana puffing her cheeks out in anger. Remembering Shu mentioning Kiana's recent culinary breakthroughs, and looking at the idiot-proof, streamlined cooking setup they had going, she finally decided to give Kiana a chance.
"Okay, Kiana... you can try..."
Ten minutes later.
Amidst a flurry of shouting and clattering, Kiana was unceremoniously, yet very firmly, evicted from the kitchen.
Reeking of burnt ozone and charred meat, Kiana marched back to the living room, her face completely blank, and sat down on the sofa as if nothing had happened.
"...Sis..." Bianka, having finished her fruit, looked at Kiana. She opened her mouth to ask a question, only to be instantly shut down.
"Nothing happened," Kiana declared, her eyes burning with the fierce determination of a soldier marching to her death.
Then, she repeated it, as if trying to brainwash herself.
"That's right. Nothing happened."