Yuna had never eaten food personally cooked by Ron André, so to her, the dishes Nora made tasted especially good.
Sylvie, on the other hand, had eaten Ron's cooking before—but she still nodded politely at the table.
"Yes. It's delicious."
Nora beamed.
Although she could clearly tell the difference between her cooking and Ron's, she still ate until she was full.
After Dinner
Yuna and Nora stood side by side in the kitchen washing dishes.
Yuna nudged Nora with her elbow and whispered teasingly,
"I saw it, you know. Ron is holding you from behind in the kitchen."
Nora froze mid-motion.
Steam practically erupted from her head.
"T-That was the Boss teaching me how to cut vegetables! He wasn't hugging me!"
"Well, he had to hold you to teach you, didn't he?"
Yuna swayed lightly, clearly in a great mood, then leaned close to Nora's ear.
"So? How did it feel?"
"…What feeling?"
Nora glanced around nervously.
"The Boss was serious about teaching, and I was serious about learning! Nothing else!"
"But I definitely saw your face turn red."
"That was because the kitchen was hot!" Nora protested softly, then suddenly grew suspicious.
"Wait—how did you see it? I was facing away from the door the whole time."
"I guessed."
Yuna grinned mischievously.
"Looks like I guessed right."
"Uuu… Yuna, you're so mean!"
Living Room Sofa
Ron sat on one side. Sylvie sat on the other.
"Are you getting used to living here?" Ron asked.
"Yes. Thank you for your concern, Lord Ron."
"How are the sisters at the prayer houses? Any trouble adapting?"
"Other than being a bit far from the city, there are no major issues," Sylvie replied calmly.
"Our lives were monotonous to begin with. Now that we can occasionally play cards, it's already an improvement."
"What about harvesting the plant leaves?" Ron asked.
Then he added quickly, "I'm not blaming anyone. I just want to know honestly so I can solve problems if there are any."
Sylvie paused, then thought carefully.
The sisters had grown up in cloisters and prayer halls.
Their lives had always been frugal.
Aside from occasionally calming civilians, they spent most days praying, copying documents, or handling internal affairs.
Monotony was their norm.
So arriving in the City of Chaos, everything felt new.
Harvesting leaves daily didn't feel tiring or dull—on the contrary, seeing stacks of Elemental Cards pile up gave them a strong sense of accomplishment.
Sylvie conveyed this truthfully.
Ron finally relaxed.
He had worried that, as mages, the sisters might resist such work.
But clearly, they differed greatly from conventional magic scholars.
"That's good," Ron said, standing.
"If anything comes up, tell me immediately."
Ron's Study
Ron returned to his study, had Heartvine fetch a book, and shifted his consciousness to the puppet in the Royal Capital.
At noon, Mia had said she planned to eat hotpot with her father.
So they'd agreed to talk again at night.
The chibi Ron puppet slowly "opened" its eyes.
Ron deliberately avoided looking toward the mirror on the right.
The puppet's body transmitted a soft, fabric-like texture.
…Still dressed.
Of course it was.
The room was empty. Mia hadn't returned yet.
Ron was technically alone in a young lady's bedroom.
If he wanted, he could explore freely.
Naturally—as her brother—he absolutely would not.
Ron let Heartvine flip pages of "Feasibility Analysis of Cross-Race Marriage and Reproduction" while waiting.
Half an Hour Later
The door opened.
Mia entered wearing a thin robe, followed by two maids.
Ron was about to speak—then immediately stopped.
The puppet was a secret between them. Best not expose it.
Mia's pale-gold hair was pinned up, revealing her smooth neck.
The three stopped before a standing mirror.
The maids lifted her robe carefully and began helping her change.
Ron saw no more.
Because he had already cut the puppet's vision.
[System Notification:
Daily Task Triggered]
[Daily Task] — [Peep on Mia While Changing Clothes]
[Requirement: As stated
Reward: "You can do it just by opening your eyes—what reward do you even need?"]
[Shop]
360-Degree No-Blind-Spot Vision — 1000 Wealth
(Temporary item. Removed upon task failure.)
"Heh."
Ron ignored the system out of habit and let Heartvine turn the page.
The book read:
"Although mixed-blood offspring are common, cross-race reproduction probability is actually extremely low."
"Among all races, elves have produced only a handful of half-elves through unions with humans."
"Ironically, the most common hybrids are half-beastmen—born from the two races with the worst relations."
The system notified him of task failure.
Ron reconnected the puppet's vision.
Only Mia remained in the room, sitting at the desk.
She wore a thin, frilled camisole nightdress.
Her pale-gold hair, still slightly damp, draped over one shoulder.
The… terrain was moderate.
Not excessive, not lacking.
Perfectly serviceable.
Her cheeks glowed softly with youthful charm.
Ron immediately cut the vision again.
Then he asked calmly,
"How was dinner?"
Mia snapped out of her thoughts—she'd been debating what outfit to dress the puppet in tomorrow.
"It was great!" she said happily.
"I ate hotpot with Father! I didn't even guide him—he praised it on his own!"
"There were others present?" Ron asked.
"Yes! Maids, servers, guards—lots of people heard it," Mia giggled.
"Tomorrow I'll invite some close noble ladies for hotpot too. Perfect!"