PHASE 83 - THE MYSTERY OF THE ICE CREAM BOX

It’s Saturday morning. Since there are no classes, I decided to surprise my boyfriend in his lodging house by buying him breakfast pancakes from the best bakeshop in the city. The pancake I’m talking about is no ordinary pancake. It has tasty bacon bits mixed on its flour and fresh eggs. Aside from that, it bathes in oozing sweet honey and melted butter, with strawberry toppings!

I’m sure Rikkun will like this~

When I arrived at the Efilion Residence, the most handsome person in the world welcomed me.

“Good morning, darling.” Rikkun’s happy smile is so adorable.

“G-Good morning, Rikkun!” I said with a blush. I mustered my courage to match his smile as I gave out the box of pancakes to his hand. “H-Here!”

“Ooooh! Is this the greatest gift for mornings?” Rikkun’s amazement couldn’t be suppressed. “Come in, let’s eat it inside!”

When I entered the living room, I was not surprised when I saw Key-chan and Heushac playing fighting games on their handheld consoles. Heushac is constantly moving his body on the sofa on the thought that he can evade attacks in that manner, while Key is just stiff and silent playing her game.

Heushac is still slightly tanned because of the Void spell he used in the battle two days ago, but his skin doesn’t hurt that much any more thanks to my extreme powers in healing.

“Oh, Tiara! It’s nice to see you here in the morning!” It was a kind voice that I’ve been longing to hear from the big sister of the Aether Crusade.

Helena is now back to normal. Her eyes are now blue instead of red, and her smile is now giving off a parental warmth instead of malicious dread. It’s hard to think that our big sister Helena is the very same person as the murderer who has the power of divine gods.

Helena is wearing an apron and holding a ladle, telling us that she’s in the middle of cooking breakfast. She had her severed right arm covered in bandages and hanged on a white sling cloth. I’m impressed that she can still cook with only one hand.

“G-Good morning, Helena-senpai.” I waved at her.

“Breakfast is ready. Come eat with us!” Helena said.

Rikkun and I helped in preparing the dining table, while Helena fetched the two gamers from the living room. As we settle down on our seats, we realized that there’s only five of us. Rikkun, Heushac, Key, Helena and I. Eliseo is currently residing with his father, and the other Aether Crusade members are living their own lives.

“Here, help yourselves~”

As Helena presented a bowl of delicious-looking meaty miso soup, the four of us couldn’t help but be amazed. It smells good and tastes good. Nobody can beat Helena’s big sister cooking!

“Woooooow!” All four of us had our jaws hanged in amazement. Even Key-chan is now giving an awed face. Helena’s cooking is on a divine level, making a poker-faced homunculus make such a facial expression!

“Finally, I’ve been relieved from my position as the chef of this house!” Rikkun made a satisfied sigh.

“Wait, Alaric, you know how to cook?” Helena tilted her head.

“Yes, big sis,” Heushac answered. “Ric became our cook for more than a year. He even tried copying your recipe on that soup, but we became his guinea pigs instead. Even though, he’s still a good cook.”

“Oooooh…” Helena muttered in surprise. “You’re such a reliable Baby Brother Mark 2! I hope you didn’t use the deep web as the source of your recipe, Alaric.”

…

…

...

All four of us went silent. He kind of get all of his recipes on weird websites. Rikkun’s cooking is good too, but most of the time, we don’t know what kind of meat or vegetables he’s using.

Well, he always browses in the deep web for porn and cooking stuff. I know all of those because I’m his girlfriend. And I always check on his emails and phone. Sneakily...

<>

We finished Helena’s miso soup, but the deliciousness of the meal makes all of us crave some more food. It’s like that the soup is just an appetizer. So I had an idea to present the special pancakes I brought earlier.

“Here! Let’s eat to the fullest, everyone!” I said as I opened the box and revealed the yummy dessert.

“Woooow!” Helena, Heushac, and Key-chan are definitely bewildered.

“Hey, I thought that’s mine!” Rikkun protested.

“Grrrrr….” That’s my reply to my selfish boyfriend. Hearing my angry dog sound, Rikkun backed and stayed silent.

And so, our happy meal continued as we proceeded to chow.

As Helena gave out a slice of the pancakes to everyone, she started to reminisce the past. “Come to think of it, we all used to eat like this last year. We are the original members of the Aether Crusade after all.”

“Yeah, you’re right, Helena-senpai!” I seconded. And then a sad thought entered my brain which made me frown. “B-But we’re missing one member.”

It’s Necchan. I really miss those days when we are all living on the very same roof, having some funny moments and laughs together. I also miss the rivalry I had with her in Rikkun’s heart.

Sometimes, I had this thought that it will be okay for me if I didn’t end up with Rikkun as long as Necchan is here.

“Idiot.”

Rikkun gently smashed his fist on top of my head. I uttered acute and brief “Kya!” cry because of that.

“Your Necchan resides on your soul, remember?” Rikkun continued to scold me with a smile. “She’s still here with us. So this is a perfect reunion for the original members of the Aether Crusade.

“Rikkun…” I muttered. I’m about to cry.

Suddenly, the solemn atmosphere was slightly interrupted.

“Oh, speaking of reunion… I have to show you something, big sis.” Heushac said as he stands up from his seat and reached for the refrigerator.

All of us watched Heushac’s movements. He pulled out a big container from the freezer, and then presented it on the table, just in front of his big sister’s face.

It’s a jumbo ice cream box that has the flavor of double dutch. Mmmm~ It looks delicious! We already had the pancakes as our dessert, but I think I can still have around with that frozen goodie!

When he opened the ice cream box, we were disappointed and horrified. It’s not ice cream. It is frozen, but it’s not a goodie.

...

It’s a frozen right hand.

...

Rikkun, Key-chan, and I covered our mouths, fully focusing our energy and mental state to resist the urge to puke.

That ice cream box… I remember it. I’ve been a victim of that mystery ice cream container for more than a hundred times. Whenever I visit Rikkun in this house, I would end up checking the fridge, looking for food. And whenever I open that ice cream box, that horrifying frostbitten limb surprises me and my appetite would go away.

Meanwhile, Helena’s eyes twinkled. “Is this…”

“Yeah.” Heushac smiled innocently. “It’s your severed right arm back when you fought Void Wolf. I preserved it in the freezer so that I have a remnant from you. But now that you’re back and alive, maybe some Gate Guardian spell can fix your severed arm.” Then Heushac turned to me. “Right, Tiara?”

“R-Right! I think I can reattach her arm back to normal!” I pumped my fist.

“Uuuurp!” Rikkun and Key groaned as they both fled from the scene and raced towards the bathroom.

“You’re a genius, baby brother.” Helena made a smile to Heushac. I feel an aura of sarcasm.

“I know, I know.” Heushac nodded arrogantly, not noticing that the smile of his big sister is just fake. “Anyway, I’m not a baby anymore.”

“Bend over,” Helena muttered.

“W-What?”

“BEND OVER AND I’LL SPANK YOUR ASS!!!” Helena scolded.

Heushac fell down on his butt and crawled away from his big sister. When his head bumped to the fridge, he knew that he’s going to get beaten up by his sister again.

“YOU SHOULD KNOW PROPER TABLE MANNERS!!! YOU’RE NOT OUGHT TO PRESENT A SEVERED HAND IN THE MIDDLE OF A BREAKFAST!!!”

Helena’s shout made the earth tremble.

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry, big sis!” Heushac begged for forgiveness.

But no.

He got a lot of ass-whooping. That’s what you get for being an idiotic baby brother.

And I’m just there in the corner, watching them with a forced laugh.

“Ahahaha…”

This version of Helena is scarier than when she’s killing people.