Chương 93: Grandma's Gift

I checked the oven and confirmed that the cheese was melted but not burnt. For Luna's visit today, I made chicken parm! I was using leftover homemade sauce I made a while ago and graded cheese I bought from the exchange! Honestly, here's a little secret, sometimes I nibble on the cheese as a snack. Don't tell Luna, else she'll think I'm the mouse and not her! But! It's just so good! Completely worth the price.

Seeing the food was done, I put on two oven mitts and pulled the tray from the oven and set it on the stove.

"Oh! Chicken parm?" Luna asked curiously.

"Yep!" I replied cheerfully. It wasn't just that! I also made spaghetti to place under the chicken! A classic dish that can't go wrong unless you burn the cheese! Though, I know some people actually prefer it burnt. So, technically! You can't go wrong with this dish! After the food was aesthetically plated, I brought it over to Luna and placed it in front of her.

"Ahem!" I cleared my throat and tried my best to sound like a proper waitress, "Guest, today we have chicken parmesan and spaghetti for you. The kitchen actually made today's sauce from the finest of ingredients sourced from the most valuable place known to man. The chicken was precariously breaded with a combination of Panko and Italian breadcrumbs. As for the cheese used, we have freshly graded mozarella and parmesan that was aged in the most exquisite of places. Please, enjoy." I bowed.

Luna played along, nodding to my words and even tucked a napkin in her shirt's neck hole.

"I see." She said, "I noticed that you used a lot of vague descriptions when describing the excellency of this dish?" She asked. But, by the time she turned to me, I was already sitting down.

"Oh wow! That waitress sure sounded reliable, smart, cute, and knowledgeable, didn't she?" I said with my usual tone.

"Pfft!" Luna chuckled, understanding that the waitress completely vanished as soon as she finished exaggerating the food, "Ignoring the vague descriptions, it smells fantastic." Luna said.

"Of course! The chef put their heart and soul into this meal!" I proudly patted my chest.

"Really? You know the chef personally?"

"You wouldn't believe who it is…"

"Who?"

"Me!"""Pfft!"" We both chuckled a bit before finally digging into the food. …

"Paaah!" I let out, patting my belly.

"You're so consistent." Luna smiled with a shake of the head.

"Of course, I'm nothing but consistent." I smugly said, "How was it?" I asked. Though, I saw her very clearly enjoying it, I still wanted to hear it in words.

"Amazing," She said, "The chicken was nice and juicy and the cheese tasted phenomenal. And, I'm happy I finally got to eat spaghetti." She laughed.

"Hehe," I giggled, "Oh! Right."

"Hm?"

"I have a gift for the neighbor, would you like to join me?"

"A gift for them…?" Luna hesitantly replied, "N-No! I-It's not t-that! R-Right!?" She hurriedly asked anxiously. Oh? A jealous mouse? Hehe…

"It's a scarf." I replied.

"Phew…" She let out quietly under her breath, but I clearly heard it.

"You haven't met them yet, right?" Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

"No…I haven't." She shook her head.

"Their name is…" I paused, "Um…Uh…It's…"

"Did you forget their name? And you want to give them a scarf?"

"Bah!" I spat out, "It's Grandma! If someone said her name, I'd know it, but, all I need to remember is that it's Grandma."

"Grandma?"

"A kind, old lady. She helped me a bit after my first floor 5 attempt, before I came to see you."

"Oh, then, I should thank her too." Luna nodded, "Are we going now?"

"Mm." I nodded, "Let me just go grab the scarf real quick." In my room, I looked around and thought 'Just where did I leave this thing?' I checked under the bed, in drawers, and even on my shelves. Not there, not here, not anywhere! How did I lose it!? Finally, after what felt like years of searching, I saw it. The scarf was laying on my dresser neatly, proclaiming "How in the world could you possibly not see me?" Haah… I internally sighed. I must be blind.

Grabbing the scarf, as I headed back to Luna, I threw a glance at the calender. Not much longer until my lease ends, huh. … After knocking on the door, I turned to Luna,"Remember, you have to greet Grandma kindly." I said, "You have a bit of a rebellious streak in you, don't blow smoke in her face or graffiti her walls."

"Pfft! What!?" She spat out, "What kind of view do you have on me!? I'd never do such a thing! I always greet my elders with respect!"

"I don't know…You might secretly have complaints against the older folk, did you hide any cigarettes on you?"

"You know I don't smoke! We lived together for 3 months!"

"Hehe~" Teasing Luna is always fun.

"Haah…" Luna sighed, "You-!" As she went to speak, the door opened.

"Hello, Grandma!" I politely bowed to the older woman appearing in the doorway.

"Oh?" Grandma's eyebrows raised, "If it isn't my cute granddaughter, and you are…" She turned to Luna.

"A-Ah! Hello, Grandmother!" Luna bowed, "I'm Luna, Stella's friend."

"Hello there, Luna." Grandma gave a smile, "I'm Helena, but, like Stella, you can call me 'Grandma' or 'Grandmother' if you'd like."

"I'll do so, Grandmother." Helena nodded, "Why don't you two come on in? I'll serve some tea." Luna looked at me and I returned the gaze and nodded.

"Please excuse us~" I said politely, slipping off my shoes at the entrance.

"Please excuse us." Luna followed along. Helena told us to sit on the couch while she brewed tea. When it was just Luna and I, Luna turned to me,"I didn't know you drank tea?" She asked.

"I usually don't," I shrugged, "But, if Grandma wants to make me tea, then I'll drink tea."

"What if I wanted you to drink tea?"

"I'll eat or drink anything you feed me~" I replied with a wink.

"O-Oh…" We continued chatting for a bit until Grandma returned with three cups of tea. She sat them in front of us respectively. I curiously took a sip and, to my surprise, it wasn't bad. Usually tea just tastes like medicine, but, this one doesn't taste bad.

"How is it?" Helena asked the both of us.

"It's very good." Luna replied calmly after a sip.

"Surprisingly good!" I replied, "Still a bit too healthy though!"

"Haah…Bin…" Luna sighed next to me.

"Haha," Helena laughed, "You're not wrong. Most tea tries to be excessively healthy, forsaking the taste."

"Right, right?" I nodded in agreement.

"So, darling, what brings you here?" Helena asked, setting down her teacup.

"I wanted to give you something, Grandma!" I said with a smile, holding the scarf behind my back, "It's thanks for helping me a while ago."

"Oh, you don't have to give me anything, darling. Wasn't the cake enough?"

"Hehe, but, I want to! It's nothing expensive, so don't worry about that."

"Alright." Helena said helplessly, "What'd you get me?"

"Not get! But make!" I proudly presented the white scarf, "I got into knitting a while ago! I wanted to make you a scarf as thanks!" I smiled. Helena carefully took the scarf and caressed the yarn,"Oh, this is priceless, darling. It's very soft and comfortable to touch." She smiled.

"Hehe," I scratched the back of my head, "Priceless? You flatter me. Being in Florida, it'll probably sit more as decoration than anything."

"Not at all," She shook her head, "Handmade gifts are always priceless, they're worth more than anything money can buy." She smiled, "And, I like to travel. In my old age, traveling the world is about all I can do. I'll wear it comfortably."

"Hehe, thank you, Grandma." I said, "I'm glad you like it."

"I'd like to thank you as well, Grandmother." Luna suddenly chimed in.

"Hm?" Helena turned to Luna.

"I heard from Stella that you helped her out during a tough time," She bowed, "Thank you."

"Oh, haha, of course." Helena smiled, "You two seem to have a good relationship."

"A-Ahem!" Luna coughed, flustered and quickly shook her head, "I-I'd like to give you something later as thanks."

"Hm…?" Helena looked at Luna and then at me who was quietly smiling, "Oh, is that how it is?" She mumbled cryptically, "There's no need to give me anything. Stella already thanked me with cake after that."

"…Cake?"

"Ah! Though, she did eat about half of it! Haha!" Helena started to laugh.

"…Bin…" Luna looked at me. I was already inspecting the nearby wall. Yep, that's a wall for sure.

"Hehe…Cake…" I mumbled. I should bake one later.

"Haah…" Luna sighed and face palmed.

"Instead, how about we have a conversation? That'll do as thanks; I enjoy talking to people." Helena smiled.

"Then…Okay, that's simple." Luna replied. … A few hours later, Luna and I were back in my apartment.

"Wow…Grandma sure talks a lot." I laughed at Luna who was laying on the couch exhausted.

"Indeed…" Luna said, exasperated. Looking out the window, it was already dark outside.

"You're staying for dinner, right?" I asked.

"!" Luna perked up, "Of course."

"Hehe," I giggled at the sight, "I'll make something delicious~" As I went to the kitchen, Luna followed and took a seat at the table.

"By the way," Luna started as I grabbed ingredients, "Is the cauldron working well?"

"It's absolutely amazing!" I exclaimed, "Everything is so easy that it feels like I have hacks enabled."

"Really? Is it that much better?"

"Yep! I can make potions in batches of 50 now at half the time it'd usually take! I can see why famous production classes are usually rich!"

"Wow…" Luna nodded, though she didn't seem to understand it fully.

"Let me give you a comparison you can understand better!" I said, "Imagine if you're watching D-grade flicks with terrible actors and a script that just doesn't make sense."

"Ugh…" Luna groaned.

"Then! The next day, you're watching an A-grade movie with top-tier actors, top-tier VFX, a script that blows your mind, and hits all your most liked topics!"

"Woah!" Luna exclaimed, "What movie is this!? Have we watched it yet?"

"Pfft," I chuckled, "Just a comparison. Now, do you understand the difference a bit better?"

"I do. Is the difference really that much?" She tilted her head, "If so, you really should've upgraded sooner."

"I was broke," I shrugged, "Also, I didn't know it'd make this much of a difference until I bought it. Though, even if I went back in time, I wouldn't buy some knock-off wannabe toy 'cauldron'."

"Ahaha…" Luna scratched the back of her head. …

"Thank you for dinner." Luna said, "It was delicious as usual." She smiled.

"Of course~ Remember, I said I'd cook for you anytime~" I replied.

"Mm…" Luna shyly nodded, "Then…I should probably head home now." She said, checking the time, "It's getting late."

"That's true." Ah, that reluctant feeling is returning. Though, I don't think I'm the only one feeling it.

"Ah!" Luna suddenly exclaimed.

"Huh? What's wrong?" I hurriedly asked.

"Oh, um…Actually, I just remembered…"

"What?"

"I, um…I forgot to bring you the box of antidotes you made, those are still at my place."

"Oh! I thought you just wanted to keep those to sip on so I didn't mention it."

"N-No! I'll, um…I'll bring them here tomorrow." Pfft! I see! You sneaky-sneaky mouse! Though, I don't hate it at all.

"Please do." I smiled.

"I will!" Luna nodded, "Then…See you tomorrow?"

"See you tomorrow~" I said as we hugged. As we separated, she turned to leave but paused and glanced at me repeatedly as if she was expecting something. Hm? Is she… I leaned in and…

"Mwah." Gave her a kiss on the cheek. Her face turned red as she bowed her head and hurriedly spoke,"S-See you tomorrow!" She quickly left, speed-walking into the hallway.