Chapter Fifty-Eight: It's Time to Show Off My Cooking / Chapter Fifty-Nine: A Conversation Between Girls Beneath the Moon

Kayneth also turned back and stared intently at Lidell. Although he said nothing, it was obvious that he found it rather hard to believe that Touko had married.

After all, Aozaki Touko was such a proud and confident girl. How could she possibly marry so easily? Unless her partner was a genius magus like him—that might be enough to win Aozaki Touko's heart...

"Who said Touko got married?"

Mel-Lydele Archleot smiled slyly. "Touko took a wife. She's living in my Western Mansion now. She's a very beautiful lady!"

As her words fell, the room fell into a brief silence.

"...Could you tell us this lady's name?"

Kayneth's brows relaxed slightly as he asked indifferently.

"Irisviel von Einzbern. She's the daughter of a prestigious magus family."

Mel-Lydele Archleot answered like that, then swept her gaze over everyone's reactions. Were they astonished because they found it unbelievable that Aozaki Touko had taken a wife of the same sex, or were they questioning her words to her face?

"Thank you for informing me, Miss Lidell."

With that, Kayneth turned and left without a care.

As for the people from the other magus families, after thinking it over briefly, they too turned and left without the slightest concern, as if this explosive piece of news had never happened.

"...That's it?"

Lidell blinked, feeling that their reactions were rather strange. Shouldn't they have found it unbelievable? At the very least, they should have argued with her a little.

"Because there's no need to care."

A young man walked over and sat beside Lidell. His tone was full of mockery.

"Ultimately, the Einzberns are nothing more than a doll-making family. In their eyes, that lady is merely a doll. To them, marrying a doll is no different from playing house."

"And besides, I'm even wondering whether this so-called wife is just a shield Aozaki Touko found to keep those annoying flies away."

Hearing this, Lidell opened and closed her mouth, feeling unable to refute him. Yet she recalled Irisviel's gentle gaze. She definitely wasn't some cold thing like a doll, but she also had no way to launch a powerful counterattack.

Because even she had begun to waver.

Meanwhile.

After returning to the Western Mansion, Aozaki Touko had barely entered when she saw her wife walk out of the kitchen in an apron, a gentle, delighted smile on her breathtaking face.

"Touko, welcome home."

"...I'm home."

Aozaki Touko answered naturally and looked Irisviel over. She was wearing spotless cooking clothes and holding a spoon in her slender hand, giving off the air of a newlywed wife devoted to her home.

At that moment, there was no need to think. Following the impulse in her heart, she stepped forward, embraced Irisviel, buried her head in her soft bosom, and murmured:

"My adorable wife, let me recharge my supply of gentleness~"

"What's wrong, Touko?"

Irisviel gently stroked Touko's long hair and asked curiously, "Didn't work go well?"

"It went fine!"

Aozaki Touko spoke softly. "It's just that my adorable wife changed into a new outfit, and I couldn't wait to give you a hug."

Chapter Fifty-Eight: It's Time to Show Off My Cooking

The night grew deeper.

Cold wind and snow blew outside.

Inside, it was as warm as spring.

"...All right, this is the last dish."

Irisviel carried an apple pie to the dining table, then clasped her hands together and revealed an expectant smile. "Please, everyone, taste it and see how I've done after all this time practicing."

"...Practicing cooking?"

Looking at the food laid out across the table, Aozaki Touko felt rather surprised. She had never expected Irisviel to learn how to cook. After all, back at Einzbern, specially made androids had been responsible for such things.

"That's right. It was secret training for you, Touko."

Irisviel blinked, then took the initiative to ladle a bowl of meat soup for Aozaki Touko and place it before her. Expectation shone across her exquisite face.

Would the results of her secret training during this time receive a satisfactory verdict?

"Thank you~"

Aozaki Touko smiled gently, then scooped up a spoonful and tasted it cautiously. She had already secretly unlocked the Third Stage Gene Lock. Whether the soup tasted good or bad, she would control her reaction within a suitable range.

The atmosphere in the dining room suddenly fell silent.

Everyone present turned their eyes toward Aozaki Touko, waiting nervously for her evaluation. It was practically like waiting for a sentence to be announced.

Illyasviel had already clasped her hands together in prayer. She was praying that the dinner Irisviel had personally prepared tonight would suit Aozaki Touko's tastes.

Only then would her efforts to teach Miss Irisviel how to cook during this period have been worthwhile.

"..."

Beo's delicate little face was solemn as well. Her small hand unconsciously stroked her belly, while her eyes remained fixed on Aozaki Touko, hoping to hear an answer.

During her time at Einzbern, she had helped Irisviel eat countless dishes. She had even eaten enough to feel stuffed despite being a Phantasmal Beast.

She had recorded this gentle woman's efforts with her own stomach.

Thus, she genuinely hoped that this woman would receive a good result.

At the very least, she hoped Irisviel wouldn't stuff her until she burst again in the future.

As for the remaining three—Lidell, Kohaku, and Hisui—although they didn't understand the reason behind it, they could still sense the solemn atmosphere.

After all, the maid had already clasped her hands together in prayer, and that Phantasmal Beast had even widened her golden beast eyes. It would have been strange if they couldn't feel the tension under those circumstances.

In short... the atmosphere had suddenly become heated!

"..."

Aozaki Touko put down her spoon.

"—Is it good, Touko?"

Irisviel asked nervously. The others also stared intently at Aozaki Touko, as if waiting for a judge to deliver a verdict.

Why are all of you staring at me? This is putting so much pressure on me!

Aozaki Touko said that inwardly, then revealed a gentle, sincere smile.

"It's delicious, my adorable wife."

Indeed, although the soup wasn't as good as the one prepared by Einzbern's chefs, it truly was delicious to Aozaki Touko.

Hmm... If anyone dares disagree, I'll activate the Third Stage Gene Lock and smash their head in.

"Touko, I'm so glad you like it."

Irisviel turned her nervousness into joy, and a delighted smile bloomed across her breathtaking face.

Then the tense atmosphere in the dining room abruptly relaxed. Illyasviel happily rose and embraced Irisviel, while Beo rubbed her belly with a relieved expression.

Lidell and the Miko Futago also breathed a sigh of relief.

"You're being far too dramatic. You're acting as if you've just won a battle."

Seeing this, Aozaki Touko smiled helplessly. In truth, she wasn't picky about food. As long as the ingredients weren't impossible to swallow, she could basically eat them.

Back when she had been studying magecraft in Misaki City, she had once spent an entire month eating nothing but bread.

If she hadn't later realized that her body wouldn't be able to endure it and found a way to improve her meals, then bread would probably still have been her standard food while researching magecraft.

Of course, that didn't mean she liked eating bread.

It was simply that bread saved a tremendous amount of time for magecraft research.

If she ate quickly, she could probably finish it in less than a minute.

"...I feel like I've already finished a life-or-death battle~"

At that moment, Lidell said weakly, "That Phantasmal Beast of yours didn't restrain her aura at all. She scared me so badly that I nearly had to go change my clothes again."

"..."

Beo widened her eyes innocently. What nonsense was this human spouting? She hadn't released any aura at all.

"Uh... Beo didn't release any aura, did she?"

Aozaki Touko smiled with amusement. "I think you've developed a psychological trauma. You should spend more time getting close to Beo, and it'll disappear."

"Really? I'll do my best."

Lidell glanced at the Miko Futago beside her. Seeing them looking as if nothing had happened, she more or less understood that she was the only one left with psychological trauma.

"Eat while it's hot."

Seeing this, Aozaki Touko smiled.

Chapter Fifty-Nine: A Conversation Between Girls Beneath the Moon

The moon hung high in the heavens.

Most of the people in the Western Mansion had already gone to sleep.

On the balcony, Lidell and Irisviel stood side by side, admiring the snow-covered scenery beneath the moon.

After standing quietly for some time—

"..."

Lidell turned toward the woman beside her and asked with some curiosity, "Irisviel, you're an android, right?"

"Mm... That's right."

Irisviel turned her head and looked over, nodding with a smile. She had no intention of hiding this. She openly admitted that she wasn't a natural human.

"How wonderful. Touko actually found an android to be her wife."

Hearing this, Lidell shook her twin ponytails and sighed. "But I feel that no matter who it was, anyone who spent some time with you would easily be captivated by your charm, Irisviel."

"That isn't it."

Irisviel shook her head. "Touko didn't choose me because of that. She chose me from the very beginning."

"...From the very beginning?"

Lidell blinked. After thinking for a moment, she asked strangely, "Were you a wife specially created by Touko?"

Although she asked this, she actually felt that it was quite possible. From what she knew of Aozaki Touko, she really might create a wife for herself...

"Not at all~"

Irisviel shook her head with a smile and explained, "Not long after I came out of the cultivation tank, Touko chose me as her wife."

"..."

Lidell shook her twin ponytails, then said with a strange tone, "Isn't that basically the same thing?"

"There is a difference."

Irisviel firmly denied it, then continued, "Mm... The difference is that my birth had nothing to do with Touko."

She absolutely had to correct this point.

That was because the relationship between a Doll Master and her creation was more akin to the relationship between a human parent and child.

However, for Irisviel, who was a wife... this absolutely needed to be corrected.

"...Hmm~"

Lidell tilted her head up and gazed at the moon in the sky. "That actually makes Touko's thoughts even harder for me to understand. Was it because you were so beautiful, Irisviel?"

"Thank you for the compliment~"

Irisviel chuckled softly, then shook her head. "I don't think that's the reason. For the Einzberns, who have developed android technology to its peak, every android basically has golden proportions. If we're only talking about appearance, the difference isn't actually as great as you imagine."

"Then has Touko ever told you the reason?"