Chapter 26
LOOKING FORWARD TO DIGGING IN, Mira followed the finished plates of French toast with her eyes as they lined the counter. And right as she did, the door to the dining hall, which was opposite her, suddenly opened.
The very first person to come in was Alfina. Garbed in fairly plain clothes, she began, “Looks like you’ve had a busy morning, Floedina,” and immediately started to clean the tables. This must have been their normal morning routine. Floedina then replied, “Good morning, Alfina,” before glancing over at Mira with a somewhat impish smile.
“Oh my, it looks like you’ve got a rather special breakfast in store for us today, huh?” Alfina said, coming over to the counter and looking at the French toast lined atop it after she finished cleaning the tables.
It seemed that the French toast was somewhat of a rare treat for the sisters. As Mira later learned, they almost never ate anything sweet for any of their meals.
Additionally, the pot containing the tomato dish was still sitting in the middle of the kitchen, and so Alfina had yet to see it.
“I made these for Master after asking what she wanted. I made them with an uzofnir egg, so they’ll be perfect for filling us with energy first thing in the morning!” Floedina answered. And not a second later, Alfina’s expression brightened.
“I see, so that’s why. Great job, Floedina!”
Alfina very much gave her seal of approval to Floedina for both going out of her way to think about their master and working hard for her from the day before. She must’ve felt quite proud of her sister for having worked hard to please their master on her own initiative. And so, positively brimming with pride, Alfina brought the food to the tables while thinking about how their master would certainly be very happy with Floedina’s cooking.
I’m not quite sure how best to put it, but this sure does feel weird…
Alfina’s devotion to her master seemed unchanged, even in everyday life when she wasn’t around. As she carried the food, she hurried about preparing breakfast while muttering things like “Master ought to sit here…” and “And what should I get her for a drink…?” What’s more, while trying to select the most delicious-looking French toast for Mira to have, she looked more intensely focused than she did when facing off against a fiend.
Just about unable to bear any more of Alfina bending over backward for her, Mira poked her head out of the kitchen and called out, “…Agh, Alfina. You don’t need to do all that.”
Perhaps because this was a little too unexpected, Alfina was taken completely aback. Hearing her voice, Alfina turned around immediately and cried out, “Master?!” wildly. It was one of the rare moments when she let her perpetually calm and collected mask slip. Seeing her sister like this, a small, mischievous grin crossed Floedina’s face.
“Good morning, Master. I didn’t know you were here, so I apologize for not greeting you earlier.”
Having been staring at the plates of French toast as a predator might eye its prey, Alfina hurriedly straightened up and bowed to Mira with perfect form.
“Hrm, morning, Alfina. And no need to worry. I was the one who waited to say hello.”
If anything, Mira was just happy to have seen Alfina in her natural state when she wasn’t trying to impress her. Alfina, meanwhile, replied, “That isn’t true!” while glaring at Floedina standing in the kitchen.
Pretending not to notice, Floedina began tidying up the kitchen.
“So you want to learn how to cook…?!”
Alfina appeared to be extremely interested in why Mira was in the kitchen, and so they gave her a quick rundown on the situation, at which point a look of both astonishment and jealousy flashed across her face. It seemed she felt jealous of Floedina for showing off her chops even outside of battle.
They had explained to Alfina that Mira was there to learn about cooking. When she heard Mira testify that Floedina was indeed quite the chef, a proud yet somewhat envious light flashed into Alfina’s eyes as she declared that her sister was indeed the best chef in all of Valhalla.
“Good morning. Ah… Master! Good morniiing!”
While this was all going on, Christina arrived in the dining hall. Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed first thing in the morning, she hurried over as soon as she caught sight of Mira. Then, realizing that Mira was in the kitchen, her hopes soared high. “Could it be that you made breakfast this morning, Master?!”
“No, I was just learning from Floedina.”
Hearing this, Christina answered, “Ah, is that right?” Her shoulders dropped and she looked very clearly let down. However, Floedina wasn’t about to take this lying down.
“Well now, do you have some issue with my cooking?” Floedina asked, hiding her anger behind a smile and staring daggers at Christina.
Thinking back on what she’d said, Christina seemed to realize that she’d made it sound like she was complaining about Floedina’s cooking.
“No, that isn’t what I meant. I just thought it’d be so great to taste Master’s homemade cooking. That’s all…” Christina said.
To her, Floedina was the one responsible for making all of their meals, and so she was the person Christina least wanted to rub the wrong way (after Alfina, of course). And so, retreating a few steps, she strung together excuses in the hopes of resolving the situation amicably.
“Yes, that would be nice.”
While it had been a somewhat desperate attempt at an excuse seeing as it involved their master, it struck a chord with Alfina and successfully got her to sign on. Perhaps thanks to this, Floedina’s wrath subsided. Breathing a sigh of relief, Christina then caught sight of something else.
“Ah, is this…?!” she cried, running over with her eyes glittering.