"Hey, that looks good."
Rubick and his family stopped at a stall selling takoyaki. Business had been brisk, but the moment Rubick showed up, every other customer fled.
The vendor forced a smile that looked more like a grimace. "Your Majesty, my takoyaki... People of your standing really shouldn't eat it. Street food isn't all that sanitary."
"What's the problem?" Rubick said. "Just make it."
He turned to Conis. "Back in the Dragon Kingdom, I loved stalls like this. They're clean and sanitary. You can't see into a restaurant's kitchen, but at a stall, everything's right in front of you."
The vendor hurriedly packed a box and handed it over. "Your Majesty, would you like a taste first?"
Kalifa took it. "Let Alice try some," Rubick said.
Alice was over a year old. Her superpower had given her extraordinary intelligence: she could talk, sing, walk, and jump. But she rarely spoke. Whenever anyone saw her, she wore a blank expression, as though she were forever pondering something.
Alex was much the same, though far more restless. Conis had to hold him whenever they went out; otherwise, one flap of his wings and he could vanish anywhere. Looking after him often turned into a game of hide-and-seek.
Conis was only an ordinary person, after all.
Kalifa speared three takoyaki and offered them to Alice, but she said, "Let my little brother have some first."
Conis smiled. "What a caring big sister."
Alex snatched them at once and took a huge bite. He looked delighted, so they must have tasted good.
"Confirmed. They're good," Alice said stiffly.
Rubick and the others: ...
Only after her foolish little brother had served as a test subject was Alice willing to eat. That sly streak was exactly like Robin's.
The family ate as they walked,