"Yes. Then let me ask a different question."
Cynthia placed her hand on his cheek and looked straight at him.
"Happy?"
Just one word. That was all he heard.
At those words, Kaim's expression softened slightly, and he answered.
"Yeah."
Hearing that, Shirona smiled in satisfaction.
"Then that's good. Hearing that is enough for me."
"...Really."
Just then, Cynthia's Glaceon tugged at Kaim's hem. Apparently, its hunger had become unbearable, and he could hear its stomach growling.
"Sorry. I'll start cooking right away."
Kaim entered the kitchen, tied on his apron, and glanced at the dining table visible from there. It was already set.
Chopstick rests and chopsticks were arranged neatly on the placemats, along with freshly washed glasses.
"Cynthia?"
Kaim had not set it up before leaving. That meant Cynthia must have done it.
However, Cynthia's housekeeping was generally disastrous. In a sense, she was a genius who could turn even such a trivial task into a catastrophe.
And yet, the table was now set beautifully.
"Yes. This is all I can manage for now."
Cynthia smiled awkwardly and continued.
"You've grown under my guidance, both as a Trainer and as a scholar. It makes me happy to see you grow. But you keep changing, while I haven't changed very much. I wanted to grow alongside you, Kaim, so I thought about what I could do."
General housework was what Cynthia disliked most. Until now, she had essentially left everything to Kaim, but to grow herself, she wanted to manage at least the bare minimum of what she was bad at, even if she could not do it as well as him.
"Until now, I've always been the one teaching you, and that probably won't change. But you know, I don't just want to teach you. I want you