After everyone finished eating and awaited the command to end dinner, Kenshin surprised them all again. He approached the middle of the table, and the dirty plates disappeared, replaced by a huge cake on a small stand inscribed with "Welcome to the family, Nakayama Kasumi."
Seeing the unknown but appetizing thing and the elegant inscription, Kasumi nearly lost her power of speech. Meanwhile, Kenshin took a knife and cut the best slice with plenty of cream and chocolate, plus fresh strawberries.
"Try it, dear. This whole event is for you," Kenshin said with a smile, handing Kasumi the small plate.
The girl took the offered plate with special trepidation and at first didn't know how to approach this unusual treat. From the strawberries on top, she concluded it was something sweet, but had no idea what it was.
Spotting a barely noticeable hint of a small dessert spoon, Kasumi finally scooped a piece of cake with fluffy white cream and brought it to her mouth.
"Ah! God, it's so delicious..." Kasumi purred, causing abundant salivation in everyone. Especially in the impatient, food-loving Aya.
"Kenshin, please give me some!" Aya whined like a little girl, adding even more humor to the situation. All her sons felt strange at that moment and were happy to give up their portions to make their mother happy.
Kenshin had anticipated the behavior of the family's chief sweet tooth, so he already held a plate with Aya's portion in his hands.
"Aaaah!" Aya moaned as soon as she licked the white cream with her tongue. "Lord, what is this? Why is it so delicious?!" she chirped, scooping another piece.
After the vivid examples of the product's uniqueness, everyone desperately wanted to try it, and Kenshin had to wield three knives with telekinesis. A dozen seconds later, everyone got their portion, and the room filled with blissful sighs of surprise.
"Mmm, it's really very tasty. What dish is this?" Natsumi asked, quite surprised by the incredible taste. She was usually cool toward delicacies or sweets, but now she couldn't hold back and quietly moaned.
"It's cake. A very tasty treat from my homeland," Kenshin said with a smile.
As soon as everyone heard the word "homeland," they instantly focused. No one had ever heard Kenshin mention his origins even vaguely. Everyone guessed that their beloved husband and father came from afar, but no one knew the details.
But to everyone's regret, Kenshin didn't elaborate. It wasn't the sons' place to question him about such things, and the girls were busy with the tasty treat.
As drinks, Kenshin ordered everyone a glass of good blue sage tea, combining pleasure with benefit. He was quite surprised to find this incredibly valuable drink in the menu and glad he no longer had to ponder where to plant blue sage, as the area near the mountains was now unsafe.
After everyone finished eating, Kenshin announced the end of dinner and wished everyone good night. The sons thanked their father for the food and moved in an organized group toward their "barracks."
All three girls, with satisfied faces, headed to their new bedrooms. As soon as they reached the top, Kenshin told each to choose a room, while he took the largest bedroom.
"Choose a room? But... But I thought we'd all sleep together..." Aya muttered in surprise.
"Dear, there are too many of us now, and besides, you and Natsumi will be much more comfortable on a spacious bed. Remember the inconveniences when I slept with you two pregnant?" Kenshin said tenderly, kissing his first wife.
"Um... Natsumi?" Aya whispered, seeking approval from her friend.
"Fuuuh... Aya, dear, he's right. Though I don't like the idea, it'll be much better for the future children. We need solid sleep, and with those two," she glanced toward Kenshin and Kasumi, "no solid sleep for us."
Aya looked into Kenshin's loving eyes and accepted the new rule. Kenshin spent a few more minutes explaining that any wife could come to him without issue and stay the night, but not all at once. That night, Kasumi slept with Kenshin, with no objections from Natsumi or Aya. She was the guest of honor and the only one without a big belly.
Then everyone went to their rooms, and Kenshin and Kasumi got into bed. She suddenly hugged him and asked, "Kenshin, tell me where you're from. Everything about you is incredibly mysterious and incomprehensible. Strange abilities, strange house, strange food—you're like a god descended from the heavens..."
"And you're the most curious girl..." Kenshin whispered, kissing Kasumi on the lips.
"Fine, I'll satisfy your curiosity a little. First, of course I'm not a god. Second—you're right, I'm really not from this world."
As soon as Kasumi heard the last words, she took a deep breath. She was stunned by this revelation. It was one thing to vaguely suspect, another to learn it was true.
"But... But how did you get here? Who are you really? What's your world like?" Kasumi chattered nonstop, unable to contain her natural curiosity.
"Shh..." he whispered, pressing a finger to her plump lips. "I don't know myself how I got here, but I really want to find out. Who am I really? Well... I'm just a human like you. And my world... It's like yours, but there's no chakra there at all, and only ordinary people live in it."
"No chakra? So no wars and endless killings in your world?" Kasumi muttered in surprise. She had never even thought about what would happen if all chakra suddenly vanished from the world. Now, thinking about it, she immediately assumed a wonderful world without killings and bloody wars.
"Um, not quite. My world had many even more bloody wars than yours..." Kenshin whispered with a sigh, recalling the two world wars that had claimed at least a hundred million lives combined.
"What? But how...? How can people without chakra wage even bloodier wars than here?" Kasumi said in surprise. She refused to believe that ordinary people could kill so many. In her view, a weaker army just needed to hole up in a fortress for a few months and wait for the invaders to run out of patience and resources.
"We have something more terrible than chakra. Technological weapons," he said, and Kasumi immediately began imagining bows with better draw or non-dulling swords, but even so couldn't see how to defend against such weapons.