Chương 24: Mouse's Place (2)

"Haah." I woke up yawning. Just as I was about to stretch, I felt something on my arm. Slowly opening my eyes, I saw a sleeping girl besides me. My arm was draped over her chest and one of my legs were on top of hers. I blinked a few times before my mind finally understood the situation. Ah…I'm a sleep hugger? I guessed. I wasn't a sleep hugger before, so this must be another change that came with the switch.

"Haah…" I yawned again, still feeling sleepy. And when you're sleepy, just sleep. Those are words of a wise-man I've heard somewhere… Or did I? I don't know, I'm just tired… My current sleeping position wasn't uncomfortable, but, I could get comfier. So, I slightly moved down. My head which was eye-to-eye with Mouse's now lowered to her shoulder, my arm now draped over her stomach and my legs were still on top of hers. I basically just moved down a little bit. Resting my head on her shoulder, my eyes fully closed.

But, just before I went back to sleep I remembered the words Mouse said last night. I'm sorry to say, Mouse, but one thing about me that hasn't changed is my sleep. I've always been a light sleeper, so, when you started talking last night, I woke up in a state of half-consciousness. My mind had woken up just enough to hear you speak, but my body remained slumber. Hehe. I internally giggled. Don't worry, I won't let you know that I was awake when you were confessing to me. I'll just keep your words in my heart.

And truly, I appreciate you too, Mouse. Good night. … It was a few hours later when I woke up again. Light peeked through the blinds, indicating it was already morning. Surprisingly, Mouse was still asleep. We remained in the same position as when I fell asleep. As much as I wanted to go back to sleep, my mind was fully awake now. Regretfully, I carefully got off of Mouse and sat up. The LEDS were dim—bright enough to see but dark enough to not hurt your eyes. Silently, I got up from the bed and left the room.

It was interesting, waking up in Mouse's house. The layout was different, so it took me a second to remember where the bathroom was. After that was done, I headed to the kitchen. Looking inside, I was surprised to see Mouse actually had ingredients.

"Ah…" Never mind, they're all expired.

"Haah…" Sighing and shaking my head, my evaluation of Mouse dropped slightly. Not wanting to test the waters and get a stomach ache, I simply grabbed utensils and pans. The least I could do for letting me sleep over is cook us breakfast. There's definitely no personal motivations here at all. Rumble… That wasn't my stomach, it was an earthquake. Really. Rumble… Okay, I'm hungry.

"Mm~" I hummed as I browsed the exchange for ingredients. It wasn't something I usually did, I'm not rich enough for that. What's the saying? Act broke to stay rich?

"Ugh…" I took soul damage as a carton of eggs appeared in front of me.

"2, 500 points." And that was just for F grade eggs. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. What followed was painful purchases of enough ingredients to cook breakfast. Unfortunately, they didn't sell common ingredients single, it was always in proper packaging and in the usual numbers at the store. So, I had to buy everything in full.

"I can't believe she didn't even have seasonings…" I mumbled, turning the stove on.

"Does she just only eat delivery?"

"I mean, how can she only have one pan?"

"She might actually be a hikikomori…" As I was mumbling in thought, the cooking proceeded smoothly. The delectable smell of bacon wafted through the air. It smelt so much better than the store-bought bacon. I didn't realize the difference between being an item or not was this huge. Or maybe it's because it was made through people with proper classes? How much processes and classes have actually gone through these slices of bacon? Ranchers… Butchers… Preservers… Maybe even a chef? How is bacon even made?

Sliced pork belly, right? Then, is it just the first three? What kind of skills was used on these slices? Hm… As I was cooking in thought, I pulled the last slice of bacon from the pan and laid it on a plate. Finally, after twenty minutes, breakfast was done. Two plates with four eggs, four slices of buttered toast, and six slices of bacon each rested on the dining table. And just in time too, a sleepy Mouse exited the gaming room with messy hair.

Her eyes were half-closed and she yawned, scratching her stomach as she walked through the door. A moment later, her nose perked up as she sniffed the air. Her head slowly looked around before finally facing the kitchen, her half-closed eyes shot open and her mouth opened wide.

"Ah…" Snap! That's a good photo… I thought, taking several pictures. Mouse shook her head before slapping her cheeks.

"Good morning." I said with a smile, "I made breakfast, sleepyhead."

"O-one second…" Mouse finally replied after several moments of silence and shock before rushing to the bathroom. A few minutes later, she came out with a wet face.

"Ahem," she cleared her throat as she approached the table. I hadn't started eating yet since I was waiting to eat together.

"Good morning." Mouse said, calmly taking a seat.

"I'm surprised you woke up after me." I said.

"Ah," Mouse scratched her cheek, "Well, I didn't set my alarm since I didn't want to wake you up too early…I thought you weren't a morning person?"

"Eh," I shrugged, "Maybe I was just too comfy? I felt well-rested after waking up."

"…Interesting sleeping position to be comfortable in."

"Maybe you should sell body pillows? They seem to work well."

"…It's too early for this." Mouse sighed.

"Hehe."

"You made breakfast?" She finally said, acknowledging the plate of food in front of her.

"Mhm! I told you, I'd cook for you whenever, didn't I?"

"Right…But, did I have these ingredients? I don't remember buying bacon, eggs, or even bread."

"Nope!" I replied, "Everything you had was long past expired! Like really, Mouse, how could you not have a single fresh ingredient? You didn't even have seasoning!" I admonished her. Mouse only looked away with red ears.

"I-I didn't need them…Since I don't cook…" She mumbled quietly.

"You didn't even have seasoning! No ramen, canned food, nothing! Even if you order delivery every day, I'd expect you to at least have some food that doesn't expire in your cabinets!"

"…"

"And only one pan!? One!? Not even a pot, just a small pan. Simply unbelievable."

"…F-fine, I'll buy more things…Food…Pans…Seasonings…" Mouse finally mumbled.

"Ah, no, you don't need to."

"W-What!?" She instantly flicked her head towards me, "Excuse me?"

"Nah, it's completely fine, you don't cook anyways so there's no need to change anything."

"What?! Then why are you reprimanding me!?"

"Hehe, cause it's fun."

"You!" She shot me a glare. …

"Thank you for the meal, it was delicious." Mouse said, putting down her fork.

"I'm surprised you can actually cook at restaurant quality. I thought you were exaggerating when you said you can cook well. I could eat this every day." She smiled.

"No problem, no problem! It makes me happy to see someone enjoying my food so much!" I replied. Plus, I got a lot of cute pictures. She really stuffed her cheeks like a squirrel.

"How much were the ingredients? I'll send you the cost."

"Don't worry about it." I waved it off.

"Huh? But you had to buy a lot…And honestly, I don't think they'll get much use after today…" She mumbled that last part.

"It's fine, it's fine~" I shrugged, "Just keep them in the fridge. Since they're items, they'll last longer than regular ingredients anyways. I'll cook them for us whenever I stay over."

"You'll stay over again?"

"Well, if you're fine with it and circumstances apply."

"Of course! Feel free to stay the night whenever you want. The door's always open for you."

"Then, I'll visit til you're annoyed of me?"

"Sure, let's see when that happens." We both laughed before she continued to speak,"I'll have proper kitchen things by next time too."

"Huh? Why?"

"I want more of your cooking, obviously. I'm curious if your breakfast skills exceed your dinner or lunch ones."

"You'll find out next time I visit then." We bantered for a few more minutes while Mouse took our plates and brought them to the sink.

"By the way, do you keep any plants here? I haven't seen any." I asked"I don't." Mouse shook her head, "Why?"

"My skill helps with plant growth, so if you had some, I'd have shown you something fun."

"You're just revealing a skill so casually??" Most people don't share their skills and traits outside of party members. Even then, there are some skills or traits people keep to themselves. I didn't particular mind or care about keeping secrecy though. Especially if it was to someone I trusted. Though, I obviously wouldn't go around shouting "Hey! My skill is [Plant Growth]!"

"Yeah," I shrugged, "Called [Plant Growth], does exactly as the name implies."

"Huh? Plant growth?"

"Mhm."

"I thought you were an alchemist?"

"I am."

"But that skill sounds like something a gardener or some other similar class would have?"

"I know, right?"

"How much can you grow a plant?"

"Hm…I don't know, haven't tested it yet." I shrugged, "It's not instantaneous either, I just accelerate the growth rate of plants."

"I see…" Mouse nodded, "…Are you sure your class is 'Alchemist'?" She teased.

"Hm…Shall I tell you about the potion making process for a mana potion?"

"Ah! No! I believe you!" She immediately replied, retreating from battle.

"Hehe." She probably guessed I was about to go on a similar rant to cauldrons. She was right. I'll spare her from the topic for now.

"I should probably head home now though, thanks for letting me stay over." I said, getting up.

"I'll drive you!"

"Huh? But-""As you say 'Don't worry~' I want to drive you home."

"Well then, take me home my driver."

"As you wish, Princess." We both broke out laughing. …

"Thank you for driving." I said, leaning over the center console for a hug.

"Of course, anytime." Mouse replied as we hugged.

"Get home safe." I said, waving as I closed the car door. I could see Mouse wave back through the window. She left after I entered the building. Back at home, I stretched wide as I closed the front door. The familiar scent of home hit me. Mouse's place was enjoyable, but I did miss my alchemy station. I had potions to make, plants to tend to, and a bath to take. So, first, I headed to the bathroom. As I sunk into the water, I scrolled through the Alchemist Gallery. This was a usual habit of mine.

It was helpful that I didn't need an electronic to browse. No need to worry about water damage either. The old alchemist misters never change. Slime is posting about Slime again, someone posts a debate, and another is talking about alchemy. I wrote my own post, talking about my mana potion recipe. I received the expected congratulatory messages, a few tips, and of course, EfficiencyLord talking about its efficiency. I swear, that mister never stops trying to get more efficient.

One interesting thing though was that they could tell me the expected quality of the potion. Apparently, my mana potion instantly regenerates about 5% of the core and increases mana recovery rate by 25% for an hour. It made me happy that I didn't have to buy a separate machine to analyze the percentages or hire an analyst or appraiser to see my potion's specs. Every point counts after all, especially when I'm trying to afford a cauldron.

"Haah…" I yawned, submerging my body completely in the water. I blew water bubbles, enjoying the bubbles hitting the surface. I should make a new potion tomorrow… With that thought, I stepped out of the bath. For today though, I had more mana potions to make.