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Grana and Petra were taking a stroll around the Fortress City while Kishana left to the hot springs.
Schenna and Luthors were left in the dining room, washing the dishes while they spoke about the dinner they had.

“Your cooking was really good today. There was something on those pumpkins that I really liked, I’ll have you help me next time I try making something like that.”
“Should we cook together next time then?”
“Sure, by all means. I’m in charge of dinner tomorrow, so if there’s anything specific you want to eat we can make that.”
“I don’t mind anything as long as you cook it. I know it sounds more like something Petra would say, but I prefer anything that has a homey feel to it.”
“Then, I’ll pour all my love into something with pork. There’s still the pork you and Grana got from that orc’s carcass, so maybe I can make something like tonkatsu.”

As Schenna thought of the options for the following day’s menu, she finished washing the dishes.

It would probably be the first time Luthors and Grana would try tonkatsu, and preparing an evening drink for Kishana seemed like a decent idea as well. And considering Petra’s position as a goddess, she probably knew a great deal about the culture of different worlds, so she probably knew of even more cuisine than Schenna and Kishana.

When Luthors was done washing her share of dishes, the two went to the dining room where the rice cooker had been moved to and transferred the rice they cooked in advance to a bowl, then began forming rice balls.

The main thing to consider when making rice balls was to cook the rice with less water. Then when it was cooked, the rice was transferred to a bowl to cool down. After that one had to wash their hands really carefully, sprinkle some salt on the palms, take a handful of rice and then mix into it the other ingredients. Schenna demonstrated all of this as she gently wrapped the rice in her hands around the other ingredients.

“And that’s about it. Normally you would get nori and wrap it around them, but we can do it without it this time. It’s pretty much the same process as when we made the salted rice balls, so you should be able to do it really easily.”

Luthors mimicked Schenna and made her own rice ball.
At the same time, Schenna began making another one, but at a slower pace so it was easier to follow.
After doing that a few more times, Luthors seemed to grasp the technique for it and was able to skillfully make her own.

“That’s really good! You can do them perfectly now.”
“It’s only because you were good at teaching…”

Luthors blushed saying that, after which she took the rice ball she had just made and took a bite of it.
Schenna did the same, and both of them broke into a smile.

“If I had met you sooner, I probably would’ve led a really different life.”
“I wonder about that. If I had been dispatched to deal with the invading forces from Gafenna, chances are we would’ve crossed swords in battle.”
“…Those were detestable times. But that’s also why I wish I had met you in your past life just like Kishana or Sareenea.”
“I had no appeal for girls in my past life. If I had to say, it was all Kishana. And seeing how you’re both really smart and athletic, even if you were in my past life, you would’ve never even noticed I existed.”

Schenna sat at the table as she rejected the hypothetical meeting of them in her past life.
She had never been dispatched to directly take part in the war, but if she had been in the front lines, she probably would have fought against Luthors and her subordinates. And since both had the same pride in their countries, it would not have ended until one side cut down the other.