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「Either way, can you be in charge of dinner tonight?」

As soon as they returned to the spirit mansion, Mira turned to Soul Howl, her eyes filled with expectation.

「Sure, I guess. Cooking for two takes pretty much the same effort as cooking for just one person.」

Soul Howl was clearly not as bothered as he tried to make it seem. He was actually rather fond of having others try his cooking. He went to the spirit mansion’s kitchen, and then turned around to ask 「So, what do you want to eat?」

「Hmm… let’s see… A burger! I’m in the mood for a really big burger!」

After a bit of thinking, she chose something that she knew she would never be able to make herself. Mira’s cooking skills were limited to throwing random ingredients into a pot and calling it a stew, or cutting meat to size and grilling it. Something like a burger was too complex for her.

「A burger, huh. I might be a bit short on ingredients… but I can work with this.」

Soul Howl took out knives and other utensils from his Item Box, and then he checked the ingredients he had available. He did not sound too satisfied with what he saw.

「I have a decent variety of ingredients too. If you need anything just tell me.」

As Mira proudly announced that, she placed the best piece of meat in her possession on the countertop, wanting Soul Howl to use it. All she could think about was eating a luxurious burger now.

「This looks like quality meat… hmm, in that case…」

Seeing that cut of meat fired up Soul Howl’s desire to cook, so he quickly began listing out various other ingredients. Mira had never heard most of those names, so in the end she just unpacked everything she was carrying.

「Are you trying to open a shop or something..?」

Soul Howl was shocked at all the ingredients lined up in front of him, but he quickly began to mutter 「There’s even this…」 as he began picking what he needed.

「This… and this… this too. Then some balsamic vinegar, tomatoes, butter… And that’s about it I think.」

Everything he picked was placed in a corner of the kitchen. They were so numerous that he was likely planning on making something else to go along with the burger.

「If you need anything else just tell me.」

Since Soul Howl had already picked what he needed, Mira stored all the remaining ingredients again while saying that with a satisfied voice.

「Alright, thanks. Still, you really got quite the haul in there. Why do you even need all of that if you don’t know how to cook?」

Mira’s ingredients were so varied there were plenty of exotic ingredients, some of which required special knowledge to prepare properly.

「It’s just convenient being able to make anything I ever want.」

Her voice was filled with confidence as she proclaimed she could always eat her favorite food no matter where she was, but Soul Howl rebutted her saying 「But you don’t even know how to cook half of that stuff.」

「Grr…」

That was true so Mira could only groan, unable to contradict him.

「But I’m sure anyone like me appreciates all of that.」

He added that, trying to improve her mood somewhat, and then began to prep all the ingredients for their dinner. There was a clear difference in his skill and Mira’s, all his movements swift and precise.

「Yes yes, you have a point. I’ll leave you to it then, and go take a shower while I wait!」

Mira’s mood quickly recovered, and after she supervised Soul Howl in the kitchen for a bit, she left him in charge of that and went to undress in front of the shower room.

「Alright alright, how long are you going to be in there?」

Soul Howl asked as he minced the meat, and Mira replied 「Around half an hour, I’ll just take it easy,」 just as she took off her underwear. 「I like burgers with cheese, by the way,」 she added before vanishing inside the shower.

「I know, I already know.」

Only Soul Howl’s murmur and the rhythmic sound of his knife remained in the living room.

That night, Mira’s dinner was far more luxurious than usual.

「Phew… That’s the life.」

After wolfing down as much food as she could, Mira leant back, sprawled on her sleeping bag.

「I wonder how all of that fits in there…」

Soul Howl stared in disbelief at Mira’s slightly swollen stomach. A golem shaped like a table stood in front of them, many empty plates piled up on top.

He had prepared a few burgers for their breakfast the next morning, but Mira quickly spotted them, and all of them rested in her stomach now.

「Seriously… that was like an entire cow.」

Soul Howl muttered that as he began putting away the cutlery, and Mira replied with a 「I can’t eat anymore…」 with a truly desolate voice.

Seeing that, Soul Howl sighed, wondering how the Danbulf he remembered ended like that, while also knowing that if monsters attacked, she would be unable to move from there. But it was Mira, a summoner, so as long as she had help from her summons she would be alright.

He felt like it was almost unfair how differently she was behaving, but he just sighed and went to wash the dishes.

「By the way, how are the golems doing so far?」
「Oh, so far it’s going smoothly.」

The fifty golems left to regularly harass Machina Guardian and stop it from entering the healing phase were all moving properly this time.

That also meant that Machina Guardian had still not come up with a countermeasure to deal with golems hiding around the corner of the corridor.

「It might find a way to get us back tomorrow though, we’ll have to think what our next strategy will be too.」
「That’s true, the longer it learns the more our advantage lessens.」

Even if their current plan was working now, there was no telling what would happen the next day. Considering what had happened earlier, it was only a matter of time until it stopped working.

It was easy to know they had to do something, but figuring out exactly what was the harder part.

「I’d like to say that speeding up the fight would be ideal, but that’s not exactly possible with just the two of us.」
「I knew that before you arrived, so I planned for a long fight. I didn’t think I’d need to revise it so quickly.」

There was a time when Solomon and the Nine Wisemen tried to fight Machina Guardian, but even with all their combined power the fight still took four hours, which was exceptionally long for a game.

Together they were ten, with various skills and roles, which gave them a far bigger advantage than now when there were only two of them. It was impossible for them to end the fight faster now.

「I’m sure it’ll be far easier with you here though, Elder.」

Soul Howl stored the dishes he was done washing one after another in his Item Box while grinning. His determination was not deterred in the least.

「What’s gotten into you all of a sudden? I can only get you some Lemonade au Lait even if you try to flatter me though.」

Mira was feeling in a good mood, so she stood up with a broad smile, plopped down a bottle of Lemonade au Lait in front of Soul Howl, then got one for herself, which she enjoyed while falling back on her sleeping bag.

「Maybe we’d have more options if I could use higher level spells though.」

Higher level spells were the strongest attacks available to spellcasters, and often had the power to completely overturn a fight. Soul Howl had honed his for a long time, making them especially effective, but they were not available to him at the moment.

「I know, having to let go of that power and defenses is rough. But I guess there’s no way around that for now.」

Soul Howl had used a taboo spell to freeze the time of a woman, and as long as that lasted, his high level spells had become unusable. He could speed up his quest to craft the Brilliant Chalice if he undid that spell, but that would also place the woman’s life on a timer, while also making her susceptible to devil attacks.

And if she died, there would be no point whatsoever to obtaining the Brilliant Chalice.

「Hmm, so what to do, is the question.」
「We’ll have to think of something.」