“Sure. Make sure your parents are okay with it!” I call out to her as she runs away. Marveling at the speed her short little Demi-Cat legs are capable of, I shake my head. Opening the door to the Rainstopper Residence, I step inside my empty house. Thank God no one knows I’m a reincarnated twenty-year-old. Well, it looks like I found a new sleeping partner. Although…I’m a bit worried about my night terrors. They’ve been pretty bad, especially since Romy left. Now that I think about it, this could be pretty embarrassing if she sees me after one. Ugh, I shouldn’t have said yes…my cool older brother image is about to be ruined…

“Man, I really need to work on my image control. In my last life, I never would have shown weakness in front of a woman. Since being reborn…hold on, with the exception of my actual mother, haven’t I cried in front of practically every woman I’ve met?” Horror dawns on me as I understand the terrifying truth. I’m hopeless. The women in this world are too strong. Compared to the ones on Earth that only cared about money and needed me to hold the door for them, these ones are monsters! I gave Mark so much crap for getting beaten by his wife, but I…I’m also outclassed. This is bad! I didn’t show any weakness to Natalia when Gatoa attacked, but if I have a nightmare tonight, I really will have cried in front of every girl I’ve met in this life! Unfortunately, it’s too late to change my fate. I can only pray that I’ve gotten better at keeping quiet as I got older. Something tells me that isn’t the case though…

*Caw Caw Caw*

Outside my house, a strange event happens. Over the top of the trees, a huge flock of raven-like birds erupts. So many that the sky is covered in black wings before I know it. For almost an entire minute, the horde, which reminds me of a horror movie, continues to flap about before passing through. Peeking out through one of the living room windows, I watch them pass overhead. Huh? Are they migrating? But it’s still a bit early for that. And I’ve never seen that species flying in a group that big before. Weird…

Putting it out of mind, I start to work on cooking dinner. Taking some smoked meat out of the cellar, I light the stove with Burn and heat a pot full of water. Grabbing a bag of pasta, I make extra since Natalia is coming over tonight. In my past life, I had no idea how to cook. Since I had a ton of money, I just ordered food with my phone every night. However, there is no such food delivery service in this world, so since Mark is gone, I need to make my own meals. Though I still have a silver and some coppers left over from cheating that degenerate, Jeff, I want to save it for things I really need to buy in the future. Without a source of income, I’ve unknowingly become frugal.

Hehehe, this smoked meat is pretty good though. Maybe my tastes have become a little rustic after so much time in the country, but I can almost believe that it’s really a fancy prosciutto or Iberian ham. Ugh, I miss fine dining. The culinary scene in Sines is really lacking. I wonder if it’s better in the cities? Oh, maybe I can ask Glacia what the food’s like in Ravenmore City? I should send her a letter and see how she’s doing!

I’ve honestly never had to send an actual physical letter before because they’re so outdated on Earth.

Okay, that’s not really the reason. The truth is…

I never had anyone to send a letter to.

But I mean, it seems everyone uses letters in this world. Mephis, Romy, even Glacia was going to leave me a note when she left. Heh…it’s a bit better than being ghosted on dating apps. At least they don’t just disappear on you without saying anything. Though I was usually the one doing the ghosting so maybe that’s not a good thing for me…

“Would people stop leaving!”

*Pop Pop*

The water boils merrily as I pour the pasta in. It’s kind of sad that I’m finally cooking something, but Romy and Mark aren’t here to enjoy it with me. I’m actually kind of glad that Natalia is coming over. At least it will be less lonely. Standing on my tiptoes to check that I made enough for the two of us, I stir the pot and throw some tomato sauce from a jar into the frying pan. Additionally, I have some cheese from the cellar, which I intend to grate on top of the pasta. I love being not lactose intolerant anymore.

*Knock Knock*

“Myrr? Are you there?” Natalia’s hesitant knock on the front door reaches me. The noise of her little fist is very soft compared to most of the adults who visit the Rainstopper Residence. Walking across the living room, which is connected to the kitchen like a studio, I open the door. My little Demi-Cat sister is already in front of me, holding her favorite blanket in her hands. She has a miniature canvas backpack on her back and I don’t think I’ve ever seen something so cute. Awww…it’s like she’s ready to go to school. “Hi, Master Myrr!”

What?

“Gua?” I choke on my own spit as she greets me like a maid would and curtsies even though she’s wearing shorts instead of a skirt. “Did your father tell you to say that!”

“Mother and father both did!” Natalia completely breaks character and admits the truth. When she returns to being a normal girl, I breathe a sigh of relief. Those idiot parents of hers. I should have expected this. “Do you not like it? Was my greeting not good enough? I practiced a lot though…”

If it was any more convincing, I’m pretty sure this would turn into some sort of illegal adult video. Nope…not today Isekai Police! I see right through your traps!

“Err, it was very good. But I prefer it when you just act like you usually do. Mhm...” Sighing, I mourn the loss of my perpetual Foresight. Things were so much easier when I was always watching the possibilities. If I could see stuff like this coming, I wouldn’t be startled by everything. But I need to conserve my mana in case an enemy comes. Especially since Perideen hasn’t arrived yet. Ugh…is this how normal people feel?

“Okay! I’ll act like I usually do!” Natalia comes inside happily, looking around with wide eyes. “Wah…so much space for just Myrr and me!”

“You come in here all the time. Is it really that impressive?” I ask absentmindedly as I go back to the stove and stir the pot. Ugh, the pasta is starting to stick! Need to pay more attention! “You can sit down. Dinner’s almost ready.”

“You made food? For me?” The Demi-Cat girl sounds quite excited to sample my cooking. Hope I live up to her expectations. Though considering what she says her parents feed her, if I can’t impress Natalia, I might as well hang up my spoon and never cook again. “Wow…being a maid is great!”

“You’re my sister. S-I-S-T-A-R…errr I mean, S-I-S-T-E-R.” Shaking my head to clear the dangerous images of a certain k-pop girl band which invade my thoughts, I put my game face on, “Not my maid. You’re too young for that.”

“Peh. Father says I’m already too old to not be making money. At my age, he was already working two jobs.” Sticking out her tongue, Natalia bounces around the room, touching everything and generally wreaking havoc as a five-year-old can be expected to do. Helplessly stuck stirring the pasta, I can only watch with a rueful smile. Since no adults are here to control her, it’s like a hurricane has broken into the Rainstopper Residence. Eyeing her little backpack, I begin to wonder about something.

“Hey, Natalia, how long were you planning on staying for anyway? Did you bring your toothbrush and everything you need?” I ask her. Fishing a piece of pasta out of the pot with my wooden spoon, I blow on it and try to get the hot water out without dropping it. Natalia turns around from one of the potted plants Romy keeps in the house.

“For as long as Myrr is lonely. I brought my blanket and toothbrush, and Myrr’s brooch of course. So…I have everything!” She says it with such a bright smile that I almost don’t realize exactly what she’s saying. Oh good, she brought her toothbrush. “Father says that since I’m moving out, I shouldn’t come back unless I need to. Moving backwards in life is bad.”

“PFFT! Wait…what?!” I drop my spoon and it falls into the pot, which begins to boil over. “C-Crap! Uhhh…frozen wind of my soul, Chill!” To my horror, a layer of ice begins to form over the top of the water and I hurriedly cancel the spell before our dinner turns into frozen food. Whew…another second and I’d be serving reheated leftovers tonight! Watching me panic, Natalia giggles. When I look up and see her laughing at me, I remember why I dropped my tasting spoon. Damnit, there goes my image again.

“Myrr is so funny…”

“Hey, I love having you here, but you know this is just temporary right? Since Romy and Mark are gone. This isn’t even my house. I can’t just invite you to live here…” I remind her and put on a very self-suffering expression, as if it’s a great shame. “So, you should definitely tell your father you’ll be back soon-”

“Auntie Romy said that she’d love it if I moved in. And Uncle Mark also agreed last week that I could be your maid. He said something about making the bed smaller if you wanted…although I’m not sure what that means…shouldn’t it be bigger?” Once again, I’m taken by complete surprise. Outmatched and outnumbered by Natalia’s sudden one-Demi-Cat ambush, I want to hide, but apparently my home is no longer a safe refuge.

Are you kidding me?

Is she really five?

She thought far enough ahead to ask Romy already?

As for Mark…make the bed smaller?

I told you to mind your own business! That’s it, when you come back from the war, I’m going to show you what a real battle looks like! I know of at least five scummy things you’ve done that Romy hasn’t noticed yet! How do you think she’ll react when I tell her about the widowed shopkeeper you had an extra long conversation with!

“T-That’s…ugh…I give up. Stay as long as you like.” Spreading my hands wide, I stealthily check for signs that anyone is watching, as I agree to let a five-year-old live with me. All those gold-diggers in my past life tried to get me to let them move into my apartment…and in the end, I lost to a five-year-old. Living with Mark must have made me weak against women or something! Giving up, I taste the pasta.

Oh crap, it’s done!

[Stormy Breeze of My Loneliness, Gather Forth-Gust]

Immediately, I put out the fire with a small, chantless Gust and pour out the water from the pot. “Do you like pasta?”

“I’ve never had it.” She cocks her head curiously, coming closer and sniffing my cooking, as I start to ladle it onto plates. “Is it good?”

“Never?” I finish plating and work on pouring the sauce, from the frying pan, on top. When I bring out the block of cheese and begin grating it, Natalia’s eyes grow wide and she shoves her face closer to the wedge. Just like an actual cat. Pushing her head away, my fingers brush her cat ears. They’re standing straight up right now. Holy crap. The fur on her ears is really soft! “You’ve really never had pasta before? Are you allergic to wheat? Oh wait, cats only eat meat, right? I can make something else…”

“No, I’m not allergic. Father says that pasta is too expensive. So, he only buys us oatmeal.”

I should have seen her explanation coming at this point. But honestly, can you blame me for being surprised?

Are you kidding me? How is pasta not affordable? Do you want your only daughter to die of malnutrition?!

“I take it back. Stay as long as you’d like!” Suddenly I have the urge to grab Natalia into a big hug. Hiding my face over her shoulder where she can’t see me, I wipe away the tears of pity from my eyes and sniff. You don’t need to go back there…ever. If I let you go back to that family, then I’d really deserve to get arrested for child neglect. No…it’s worse than that. I’d be a part of the problem if I looked the other way. It’d be the same as putting you in danger myself in the eyes of the law. I could be accused of child endangerment!

“M-Myrr? Are you okay? You’re acting strange!” Natalia squirms in my grasp. “Are you crying?”

“Nope.” By the time she manages to escape my hug to look at my face, I’m already back to being her cool older brother. Heh. Child’s play. I was learning to hide my emotions before I was born. I daresay I learned deception in the womb of another world. “The roof in this place is just a bit leaky. Sometimes water falls in men’s eyes.”

“Really?” She turns up to the ceiling with a disbelieving expression. It’s kind of cute that she actually looks. Taking my wooden spoon, I quickly distract her by shoving a big bite of pasta in her mouth. “Mmph-“

“Good? Do you like it?” Letting her hold the spoon as she munches on the bite, I find the smoked meat on the counter and microwave it a little with my finger,

[Flaming Ember of My Desire, Burst Forth-Burn]

The meat sizzles gently as juice comes out. Meanwhile, Natalia sucks on the spoon, and when I meet her eyes, I find her staring over the top of my head with a shocked expression. For a second, I’m horrified. Her face is so intense that I can only draw the conclusion that there is a deadly enemy in the room.

“What is it! Is Gatoa back?!” Whipping around, I prepare to cast deadly magic only to find no one behind me. I turn back around. That’s when I realize that her expression is not one of terror. But absolute ecstasy. Before I can stop her, she cries out,

“It’s…it’s so good…” And then shoves her face into the pasta pot. By the time I understand what’s happening, all that’s visible over the top of the pot is a pair of fuzzy, violently twitching cat ears-

That pot just came off the fire!

“W-WAIT! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!” Screaming, I realize that parenting is harder than I thought, as Natalia desperately wolfs down my cooking, without using any utensils except her hand and my spoon. She shovels the hot pasta inside her mouth like some sort of machine. I’m terrified that she’s going to burn herself, but then I remember that I accidentally used Chill on the pot already, so it’s not as hot anymore. Still, I’m worried she’s going to choke. “P-Please let me get it on a plate first! I haven’t even put the meat in!”

“B-But…so…so good!” She practically purrs in anticipation like a desperate cat, but lets me yank her away by the back of her shirt. “Myrr! It smells so good! What did you put in it!”

“I told you I haven’t even put the meat in! Just some sauce and…” Suddenly, I get an idea. Turning around and grabbing the block of cheese, I grate a bit into my hand and hold it up to her nose. “Is this it?”

*CHOMP*

A small set of teeth sinks into my hand as her pink tongue licks away the cheese shavings before I can pull away.

“Yum…” Natalia’s eyes turn dreamy and blank once more, and I hurriedly hide the rest of the block from her sight lest she transform into some sort of cheese monster again. “W-Why is it so good? Do you have more? What is it!”

“Um, let me just put the meat on, then you can have as much as you want.” Running my hand under the sink, I notice the dark spots on my palm from where Natalia’s canines poked the skin. Wow…she really didn’t hold back. Ignoring the ravenous girl beside me, I shake my head. Cheese…she goes nuts for cheese. She wasn’t even like this for the crème in the crepe. Must be a Demi-Cat thing. After I finish plating, I bring both our dinners to the table. When I’m not looking, Natalia almost gets her face into the pot again and I sigh while holding her back by the scruff of her shirt, “Alright, bring the rest as well. Clearly, I should have made more. Let’s finish everything tonight!”

“YEA!”

*Nom Nom Nom*