| Author: Eltria | Original Source: Syosetu |
| Translator: Mui | English Source: Re:Library |
| Editor(s): Robinxen | |
I was too scared of seeing that dream again, so I didn’t get a wink of sleep after that. Instead, I stayed awake in my room until my usual waking time to not worry my parents, and checked my face in the mirror before stepping out.
“Good morning, Master.”
Hom, who had left the room as ordered, stopped cleaning the hallway and bowed deeply. Upon closer inspection, I noticed the entire house was sparkling clean. Perhaps Hom had been cleaning ever since I kicked her out of the room.
“Good morning, Leafa. Look at this, isn’t it amazing? The whole house was sparking clean when I woke up in the morning!”
“…It seems so.”
Following my mother from the hallway to the living room, I felt the extent of Hom’s ‘work.’ Despite not being instructed to clean, Hom had taken the initiative to choose the optimal action for her role.
“Hom is really impressive. Mom was so surprised.”
“If I have been of service, that is all I desire, Lady Natal.”
Just as my mother did with me, she patted Hom’s head. Hom seemed greatly obliged and respectfully ducked her head.
“Leafa, you should praise her too.”
“Yes… Good job, Hom.”
I wanted to give Hom high marks for anticipating my thoughts and actions and choosing to do household chores instead of taking the easy way out and sleeping in the living room. When I patted her head, Hom closed her eyes slightly, appearing reassured.
“You’ve really helped us out. Thank you. Let’s get ready for breakfast now… ugh, cough, cough.”
My mother, who had been laughing cheerfully, suddenly started coughing. The coughing didn’t stop, and she bent over, gasping for breath repeatedly.
“…Are you alright, Mother?”
“I think I caught a slight cold. It’s gotten quite chilly lately… I’ll be fine, it’s nothing serious1… cough, cough…”
Even as she spoke, her harsh coughing persisted. Not wanting her to strain herself, I urged her to sit on the sofa and prepared a warm drink for her.
“I’ll make breakfast, so please rest, Mother… Hom, help me out.”
“Understood, Master.”
I led Hom to the kitchen. Since my mother seemed to have a cold, something nutritious would be best.
Looking into the magic refrigerator, I noticed we had some eggs. Eggs were nutritious and would be good to use. I also remembered we had some pre-cooked chicken breast that I could use for something.
Since meat might be hard to digest, I’ll just use the broth. It’s chicken, so it should go well with the eggs. We also had some soaked barley, which I could cook with the broth.
I decided to whisk the eggs like scrambled eggs, and add them to the boiling soup to cook them. It would be easier to eat than in chunks and should be more easily absorbed. For seasoning, I’ll add some salt and a bit of spice to warm the body.
As I considered this, I put the barley and chicken broth in a small pot, cooked it until soft, and seasoned it before adding the beaten eggs. Before I could even give instructions, Hom started washing the dishes, anticipating my needs. It must be the effect of memory synchronization, but seeing her mimic my actions so closely gave me mixed feelings.
However, I was grateful to be able to focus on cooking. I hoped my mother saw me the same way I saw Hom now.
When the barley and chicken broth egg soup was ready, my mother enjoyed it. After a bit of rest, her coughing subsided, and she seemed to regain some color.
“This really warms me up. I feel like I’m getting better already.”
“Don’t push yourself, Mother. Let Hom and I take care of things around the house. Father isn’t here, so you should rest.”
My father had left for his night shift while we were asleep and wouldn’t be back for three days.
“…Alright, I’ll take you up on that. Thank you, Leafa, Hom.”
Smiling, my mother nodded and gently patted both our heads with her hands.
“…By the way, what will Hom do from now on?”
“I haven’t decided yet, but she seems to enjoy helping around the house. I was thinking of having her continue with that—”
“Leafa.”
My mother sharply interrupted my statement. I thought I was about to be scolded, but she looked at me with a face full of apology.
“I appreciate your feelings, but since you are her Master, you should keep her by your side.”
Ah, perhaps she thought I was concerned about her health. While that was part of it, the truth was I didn’t want to get too close to Hom…
But if I stubbornly insisted on keeping Hom at home, it might raise concerns about why I created a homunculus in the first place2. There’s no imminent danger, and I can’t exactly bring up the topic of making her for protection now, so I should follow my mother’s advice.
“…Understood. Then, when school starts, I’ll take her with me. Is that alright with you, Hom?”
Though my words were phrased as a question, they were effectively a command for Hom.
“Of course, Master.”
As expected, she gave the anticipated response.
