In the months since Saki made up with Hina, life had settled into something peaceful.
Saki's swordsmanship had improved much faster than I'd expected. Even after awakening her magic path, Saki was still the same old Saki.
Every weekend, the five of us ended up going out somewhere together, usually with no plan beyond walking around until chaos found us.
Eri hadn't been slacking either. For one thing, she could now control that fire dog well enough that my house no longer lived in constant fear.
The house was louder these days, but in a good way.
So overall, everyone was improving.
Or so I'd like to say.
'Oh my god, it's so hot today,' Saki groaned.
She was sprawled across my sofa like a corpse, positioning herself to catch as much of the air conditioner as possible.
'Heh. This lord is never hot.'
Saki turned her head just enough to glance at her. 'Then why are you sweating?'
Eri wiped her forehead with perfect dignity.
'This lord is merely sweating. That does not mean this lord is hot.'
'Right…'
Saki gave up immediately and returned to becoming one with the sofa.
I was in the kitchen cooking dinner while Hina and Kasumi sat at the table with a laptop open, scrolling through something and taking notes. Eri, despite looking like she was one warm breeze away from collapse, had insisted on helping me.
'Eri, if you're hot, you don't need to help me with cooking. Just chill with Saki.'
'This lord is fine.'
I glanced at her.
Her cheeks were red. A few strands of hair clung to her face. She looked like a noblewoman determined to perish with dignity.
'If you say so, but don't push yourself.'
While I stepped outside to deep-fry some chicken, Eri stayed inside washing dishes and carrying ingredients back and forth.
They grow up so fast.
After the frying was done, I headed back inside.
'Food is ready!' I called out.
Hina and Kasumi immediately started clearing space on the table and put the laptop away.
Saki, meanwhile, came back to life.
'Did someone say food?!'
'Yes. Food is ready,' I said.
She was already in the kitchen before I finished talking.
Saki grabbed a bowl, opened the rice cooker, and shovelled in an amount of rice that suggested she'd been starving. Eri came over a moment later carrying the chopped vegetables she'd just finished preparing and set them on the table.
'You can eat first if you're hungry,' I told Saki as I placed the karaage down.
'Then don't mind if I do.'
She picked up her chopsticks and immediately started eating.
By then, Hina and Kasumi had returned with their own bowls of rice.
'You two can eat first. I still need to clean the dishes.'
I walked to the kitchen.
'You can eat, Eri.'
'No.' She shook her head. 'This lord is not hungry yet.'
*Grrrlll*
Her stomach sold her out without hesitation.
I looked at her. She avoided my eyes.
'Just go ahead, you already helped me plenty.'
'O-okay.'
Hard to tell whether she was blushing when she was already red from the heat, but she hurried off to the bathroom, probably to wipe the sweat from her face. A little later, she came back and quietly scooped herself some rice.
As I washed the dishes, I looked over at the table.
Saki was talking with her mouth full.
Kasumi was trying to instil manners.
Hina sat at the head of the table with a faint smirk, clearly enjoying the fact that this mess wasn't her responsibility.
Eri was staring off into space.
To think my life would end up like this. Noisy, crowded, inconvenient, but nice in its own way.
As I washed the last of the dishes, I could hear them talking at the table.
'So,' Hina said, 'where should we go during the holidays?'
'Somewhere with lots of food,' Saki answered instantly.
'This lord refuses to go anywhere unworthy of her presence,' Eri declared.
I dried my hands, grabbed a bowl of rice, and sat down beside Eri.
'Why haven't you started?' I asked.
She looked at me. 'This lord was waiting for all her people.'
'Next time, just eat if you're hungry, don't have to wait for me.'
'But—'
'I already know you care about me, Eri.' I smiled.
She gave a small nod, then quietly started eating.
'So, Dylan,' Hina said, 'what are you planning to do during summer break?'
'You're already planning? Don't we still have like a week of school left before then?'
'Better early than late.'
'Then what are you all doing?'
'Hina and I were talking about a trip we could all go on together,' Kasumi said.
'Together?'
My eyes slowly shifted toward Saki.
The walking disaster noticed immediately.
'What are you looking at, Master?' She asked, tilting her head. There was a grain of rice stuck to the corner of her lip.
'Looking at you.'
'Me?!' She pointed to herself. 'Have you finally fallen for my godly charm?'
'No. Just looking at a troublemaker.'
'Me? A troublemaker?' She shot to her feet. 'I'll have you know, I don't start trouble. Trouble finds me.'
Everyone at the table looked at her.
'What?'
She glanced around.
'Why is everyone looking at me?'
'Anyway,' Hina said, 'do you agree, Di-ran, to go on a trip together?'
Now everyone was looking at me.
I looked around the table, then sighed.
'Okay. As long as I get to relax.'
'Right now, Saki mentioned somewhere with food and Eri, something grand,' Kasumi said. 'What about you, Di-ran?'
'Hmm.' I rubbed my chin.
I remembered going to a beach in my old world once. We hadn't actually had time to relax, since monsters had shown up and ruined the whole concept of leisure, so I have a bad history with the beach.
'I'm fine with anything, as long as I can chill.'
'Okay,' Hina and Kasumi said together.
They pulled the laptop back over and resumed searching. I went back to eating.
Saki, meanwhile, had decided subtlety was optional and kept leaning over every few seconds to stare at the screen.
'Ohh. This place looks good.' Saki pointed.
'Kyoto?' Kasumi tilted her head. 'Isn't that pretty far from Tokyo?'
'Yeah.' Hina nodded. 'But it is only about a few hours by bullet train.'
'Oh. I didn't know that,' Kasumi said.
Saki then leaned in even closer.
'So are we going there?' Her eyes sparkled.
'Let me check…' Hina tapped away at the laptop. 'It's kind of expensive.'
'How much?'
'About 14,000 yen one way.'
Saki froze. A second later, she went back to eating in complete silence.
'Saki,' I said.
She looked up at me with the saddest face imaginable.
'I can pay for you. You're my disciple, after all.'
She lit up instantly.
'Really?'
'Yes.' I glanced at Eri. 'And you too, Eri. Both of you are under my care.'
Eri just nodded and went back to eating.
Saki, on the other hand, exploded out of her chair and thrust a fist into the air.
'Take that, economy! You can't drag me down into poverty because I have a sugar daddy now!'
Hina and Kasumi froze.
I froze.
Saki lowered her fist.
'What?'
Hina blinked. 'Did… did you really just call him a sugar daddy?'
'Yeah, why?' She tilted her head.
'So you're calling Di-ran… your sugar daddy.'
Saki glanced at me, then quickly covered herself with her arms.
'Pervert. Master is preying on me.'
What did I do?
'Weren't you the one who called me that?' I rubbed my temple.
'Let's… just get back to discussing.' Kasumi cut in.
Saki sat back down glaring at me while eating.
'Anyway,' Hina said, trying to restore civilisation, 'if money isn't an issue, Kyoto actually sounds nice.'
'Exactly!' Saki shouted. 'We can all become samurai.'
'Maybe not all of us need to become samurai,' Kasumi said.
Eri raised her hand.
'Yes, Eri?' Hina said.
'Will this Kyoto be worthy of this lord's attention?'
'I mean, Kyoto used to be the capital and some historical buildings still remain like castles and—'
'Then this lord approves.' She adjusted her glasses.
And just like that, Kyoto won.
Hina and Kasumi started looking up tourist spots in Kyoto. Saki was already giggling to herself about becoming a samurai. Eri, meanwhile, rubbed her hands together like a tiny villain preparing to conquer the nation.
'Heh,' she muttered. 'This lord shall become the new emperor of Japan.'
I stared at them.
For some reason, I had a feeling this trip was going to take years off my life.