“Ah, Maito, over here!” Vei calls to him patting the ground next to her.
“She’s alright.” Maito says to himself.
“Of course she is.” Naika remarks.
Maito sits next to Vei and Naika sits with the small boy and wipes something off the boy’s face. It looks to be a picnic to Maito, but there’s no basket, just bowls filled with mysterious yet mesmerizing foods and a cloth that has a purple and yellow pattern that doesn’t look like it should have food eaten on it. Garpiloff sits alone across the cloth, but it seems he is enjoying himself the most with the food as if this kind of occasion is rare for him.
“Are you really a summon?” The boy who Maito had not met asks.
“Yes he is Dannen.” Naika answers for Maito.
“I’ve never met you before Dannen. I go by Maito.” Maito smiles toward the little boy. The boy proceeds to burst with laughter.
“You speak funny!” The boy laughs harder.
“Dannen!” Vei yells. Dannen immediately quiets.
“Do I really sound that bad?” Maito looks around at everyone.
“It doesn’t matter if you do or don’t.” Vei says.
“That doesn’t answer my question!”
“Just eat.” Vei drags a bowl towards the front of Maito.
“I’ll just take that as a yes.” Maito observes the food in front of him, everyone seems to be eating with his hands, Maito isn’t entirely against it since he’s been hungry for so long. The meat looks like steak chopped in thin slices and it's drenched in a dark red substance, some unfamiliar toppings and what looks like an egg yolk in the center. After evaluating the way to eat the food by looking at the others, he first pops the yolk-like food and mixes it with the sauce, then with the strips of meat, he dips it in the sauce and eats it. When finished he drinks the bowl. Before Maito knew it, he had finished his food and noticed everyone staring at him.
“What?” Maito realizes that he had finished his food before everyone in an instant. The portions are smaller than what he’s used to, due to the differences in body sizes.
“You should’ve made more for him Naika.” Garpiloff giggles.
“I have more since we were expecting Kad and Peilia.”
“No, I’m fine Naika. It was delicious!” Maito says putting down the bowl.
“You can have some of mine if you’re really that hungry.” Vei holds up a strip of meat.
“No-no I shouldn’t.” Maito feels overwhelmed by Vei’s generosity.
“Just take it.” Vei brings the meat closer to Maito’s face.
Maito couldn’t resist the offer and let Vei slip the food into his mouth. Maito didn’t feel too uncomfortable about it since there were many times he had to be fed by someone in the hospital. Vei also seemed to enjoy the action as well. Garpiloff and Naika stare at the two of them while Dannen runs off in the garden.
“You forgot to drink too.” Vei points out another rock that is similar to the one he drank from when he first awoke.
“Ah.” Maito lifts the rock and sucks on it like before. Drinking the water it secretes. Maito had soon found out that there was a limit to this rock and it later evaporated into the air once it was finished.
“Vei, you don’t need to babysit my summon.” Garpiloff chuckles.
“That’s not what I’m doing!” Vei retorts.
“It’s fine if you are though.” Garpiloff drops a slice of meat down into his mouth.
“He’s like a child you know!” Vei pouts.
“What!” Maito is shocked by Vei’s comparison.
“You can’t say that about someone larger than you.” Naika giggles.
“It’s not my fault, I’m new to this world! What about the other summons?!” Maito is slightly aggravated.
“He hasn't been here for much long.” Garpiloff adds.
“Whatever…” Vei lays back and looks to the sky.
“Now she’s going to be angry for the rest of the day.” Naika says to Garpiloff and Maito.
“I’m not angry!” Vei kicks her feet. By surprise Dannen jumps onto Vei playfully.
“Vei, do the thing!” Dannen laughs squishing Vei’s face with his small hands.
“Not right now Dannen!”
“Come on!” Dannen whines.
“Dannen don’t bother Vei too much.” Naika picks up Dannen.
“What’s the thing?” Maito asks.
“Vei makes this really funny-“ Dannen is cut off by Vei pinching his cheek.
“Dannen you’re gonna make me go insane!”
“Funny what?” Maito is curious.
“Nothing, it’s idiotic!” Vei feels embarrassed to even think about it.
“You’re so boring Vei!” Dannen gives a very dissatisfied look to Vei.
“Show me this funny thing!” Maito is intrigued, but is immediately punched in the stomach by Vei.
“Okay, I get it…” Maito wheezes.
“Don’t hurt him Vei. He’s still technically recovering.” Garpiloff lies his bowl down.
“It’s just a light tap…”
“What happened to the guy from that night?” Maito suddenly had the urge to ask.
Everyone looks uncomfortable with the change of topic. Nobody wants to answer and Vei seems most bothered by it.
“He slipped away.” Naika lied.
“I feel like what happened was my fault.” Maito conjects.
“It had nothing to do with you, it’s a matter we’ll handle. You just happened to be caught up in it by accident.” Garpiloff becomes defensive.
“Now relax and make yourself comfortable around the place.” Naika wanders off with Dennen in her arms.
“Can I go outside?”
“Only to town, you cannot leave those boundaries!” Garpiloff stands.
Maito wanted to ask why but felt that it would only anger Garpiloff more, so he kept to himself. Vei walks away and waves for Maito to follow. Maito then walks by her side.
“You’ll be carrying out chores around here, Naika will inform you on what’s needed to be done. Kad will be teaching you how to read and write when he arrives.”
“I thought writing was something of the past.”
“It’s not unused, Garpiloff thinks we should all start using rocks more often.”
“What do I do for now?”
“You can either rest in your room or roam the area to get an idea of the place.”
“I think I’ll check out the place.”
“Alright, well I have to go check on Peilia. Don’t get into trouble.” Vei walks off and Maito stands watching her from behind.
“Will do.” Maito says in english, thinking about how strangely everyone has acted since the incident.
Maito wonders if everyone is suppressing information from him, and so he gets a little irritated. Maito then walks the halls of the building, he passes many doors but doesn’t bother to check inside them since he’d rather get to know the form of the place then veer off and get lost. All of the doors were on his left whilst the garden was always accessible to his right. After four consecutive turns, Maito concluded that the building was a rectangle with a courtyard-like garden in the middle. Maito wasn’t sure of the correct directions of this world so he took where this world’s star was rising as north. Using this as a basis of direction, he figured the entrance of the building was north which was at the width of the building, his room was located on the west near the center. The glass conservatory was toward the south. Vei looked to be heading toward the entrance and Naika had gone with Dennen to the south. With this knowledge, Maito had gotten an idea of how to get about the place. Maito wasn’t entirely sure where the bathrooms were so he decided to check his room. When he entered the room it felt strange coming back to.
“I really did live in a Hospital for too long.” Maito said to himself.
He then noticed two other doors in the room both next to each-other on his right when he entered, his bed was to his left.
“Please, be a bathroom.” He says opening the first room to his right.
When he opened, it looked to be a walk-in closet that was empty. Maito got very anxious that he might not have a place to relieve himself when the time comes.
“Please-please, be a bathroom.” He checks the next room and it wasn’t very bathroom like but it was made of materials similar to a bathroom.
It had what looked to be a shower head hanging from the ceiling and an oddly shaped toilet.
“I guess that means plumbing is in this world.” Maito didn’t have the urge to, but the existence relieved a heavy weight off his shoulders.
Maito also had the inflaming embarrassment of thinking about who was in charge of helping to dispose of his excretions in his sleep. Maito lazes around his room for an indeterminable amount of time when suddenly a muffled voice from behind the door is heard.
“You can enter!” Maito walks to the door.
When it opens, Naika is revealed on the other end.
“You ready?” Naika tilts her head forward.
“Yea, what you got for me?”
“I was gonna have you sort some things but you can’t read labels, so I’ll have you assist me with cookery.”
“I’ll be working with food?”
“Yes.”
“Sweet.” Maito says in english pumping his fist.
“What kind of reaction is that?” Naika looks at Maito with judgement.
“Don’t ask.”
“I already did?”
“Ok no more…”
“Let’s go.” Naika starts walking south through the hall, Maito follows.
When they get to the south wall they push through large double doors. When they enter, Maito smells a mixture of all kinds of food.
“This is where I usually work throughout the day.” Naika walks across what looks to be an island counter.
“Is this really necessary?” Maito looks around with astonishment at the hanging cutlery and cooking equipment.
There doesn’t seem to be a stove or oven at first glance but Maito can’t be sure there isn’t due to the strange arrangement of fixtures and stacking bowls.
“This place isn’t just a big house for smart people, it’s a nursery.”
“So then Dennen was-.”
“No, Dennen is my boy.”
“Then where are the kids?”
“They’re all playing in the room over.” Naika pointed in a direction but the instruction wasn’t clear to Maito.
“Huh… who’s watching them?”
“Vei.”
“I thought Vei went to check on Uh…”
“Peilia? She did, Peilia is usually in charge of watching the kids when I’m in the kitchen, but Vei came back with news that Peilia had caught an illness. This is usually when Vei trains but she wanted to rest today.”
“So, why don’t I watch the kids?”
“As if you’d do such a thing on your first day working.”
“I figured as much…”
“Do you not want to learn to cook?”
“Oh no, of course!” Maito was hoping to be positioned in a more lax job, but he was still intrigued by the idea of learning to cook.
“Have you ever cooked?”
“I never was able to in my old world.”
“Why?”
“Just couldn’t…” Maito is uneasy about his past inabilities.
“Well today will be your first!” Naika brings over a large bowl and some strange ingredients, most notably the Purple meat that was grounded down very finely.
“I had already prepped the ingredients for Skiev balls while I made our meal earlier. This will be for the children.” Naika aligns the bowls and starts sifting through some kind of cabinets.
“Skiev balls?” Maito looks down at the ingredients in front of him.
“Yes first you mix all of those ingredients together inside this large bowl.” Naika taps the large wooden bowl directly in front of Maito.
“Then, when it’s finally blended together. You cup them with your hands till they fit perfectly into a ball.” Naika looks at Maito’s hands.
“Well, maybe for you… try to make them a little smaller than that.”
“Got it!” Maito begins mixing the ingredients by hand. Then when they’re finally all together he starts making small balls.
“You’re doing good.” Naika starts mixing a pot over a flame that comes from an apparatus Maito isn’t familiar with, but he will associate its use with a similar function to a stove.
“Lay the balls on this tray.” Naika slides over a baking tray.
Maito isn’t familiar with many things from kitchens in his old world so he can’t make distinctions. He starts lining balls on the tray evenly spaced.
“These are like meatballs!” Maito exclaims.
“Yes they’re made of meat?” Naika has doubts about Maito’s mental stability.
“No, like… We had something like this in my old world!” Maito points at the ball in his hand.
“You’re amazed that your people discovered balling meat just like ours?”
“Well when you say it like that…” Maito lays the ball in the tray feeling dumb.
Naika starts laughing hysterically.
“You must have been some kind of teller of jokes in your old world!” Naika smiles and stops the flame under the pot she was mixing.
“Yea…” Maito has a pained expression. Naika doesn’t understand his sudden sorrow.
“Hey, just so you know. Everyone thinks you’re doing great Maito.” Naika had the sudden urge to give good words to Maito.
“Really?” Maito wasn’t moved by Naika’s attempt to cheer him up.
“You were really amazing from what I heard from Vei, when me and Garpiloff arrived, you must’ve been through something fierce.” Naika starts talking like she’s telling the story of some legendary event.
“You don’t seem to be voiding the event that happened.” Maito starts to slow down his process of making balls.
“Of course I won’t tell you the reason for the event that took place, It’s best for you not to know. I get that it’s frustrating to be left out, but it’s for your own good.”
“I guess I can’t argue. I owe you all for taking me in. I hope I’m not troubling everyone.”
“You have nothing to worry about.” Naika takes the tray from Maito after he finishes filling it.
She then slides it into something Maito believes to be an oven. She takes another baking tray and places it in front of Maito to begin placing more balls. After an extensive period of placing balls of meat onto trays, Maito finally leans back in completion of his work, he also lays the trays inside the oven after figuring out how it functions. Naika was off chopping vegetables of a variety of colors, the shapes however didn’t resemble any from his world. Maito became curious about their taste, but didn’t want to sneak a bite. The trays were finally pulled out of the oven with an oven mitt that has fingers. The balls came out sizzling and a layer of greasy substance formed at the bottom of each tray.
“Can you grab that bowl over there!” Naika points to a large bowl the size of Maito’s chest.
Maito grabs it and brings it down to the island counter. Naika then scoops the Skiev Balls into the bowl.
“Now take this!” Naika points toward the large pot she mixed earlier. Maito picks up the pot.
“Pour it in.” Naika rubs her hands together.
Maito begins slowly pouring what looks to be a dark, mostly black-purple sauce over the Skiev Balls in the bowl. She then hands Maito a mixing spatula.
“Now mix it around?” Maito points into the bowl with the spatula.
“Yes!” Naika begins shoveling the vegetables into the mix while Maito mixes methodically.
The concoction creates a pleasant smell that Maito wishes to try from the way he looks at it. Once it had completely coalesced, Maito felt satisfied with what he had done despite its simplicity.
“Here, try one!” Naika picked a Skiev ball from the bunch and held it to his face.
Maito opened his mouth more willingly than with Vei, and she pressed it in. The flavor was tangy and the closest he could compare it to was a grape flavor, but the meat was extremely juicy and was a little softer than the meatballs he was used to. Maito preferred the food from the picnic earlier but was delighted by the Skiev Balls regardless.
“I’ll leave some bowls for us and Vei.” Naika takes three bowls and fills them with three Skiev balls each from the large bowl with a scoop.
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