I returned from the dungeon and started making hamburgers. Fortunately, I had all the ingredients needed to make them.

  The only thing missing was breadcrumbs as a binder, so I decided to substitute by finely chopping some bread.

  "Alright. Let’s get started."

  Tightening my clean, nearly brand-new apron, I rolled up my sleeves.

  Then, I silently began cooking. In the process of making hamburgers, the binder is extremely important. Without it, the shape would fall apart, and the meat would lose a lot of its juices. Before you know it, you’d end up with some mysterious meat dish swimming in liquid.

  Not that it would be bad, but when making hamburgers, you want to avoid losing the juices.

  Quickly mixing the binder into the meat, I kneaded it thoroughly. Yuri had originally had cooking experience, and in my past life, I had some experience with it too. My hands moved efficiently.

  Thanks to that, the hamburger mixture was successfully prepared. All that was left was to cook it when Ria got back.

  Next, I decided to make the side dishes. I steamed some potatoes and prepared lightly sweetened gzed carrots. The basic ingredients were the same as in my past life, though some of them looked slightly different, so I carefully trimmed them with a knife.

  "Hmm. Looks good."

  Having finished preparing the meal for two, I waited for Ria to return—when I heard the sound of the door opening.

  I immediately headed to the entrance to greet her.

  "I-I’m home…!" "Welcome back, lia." "…Y-yes! I’m home…!"

  For some reason, she seemed nervous. Well, maybe not nervous, but more like she wasn’t used to this?

  "Should we eat first? Or do you want to take a bath?" "Ah… umm. I think I’ll take a bath first." "Got it. I’ll make sure the food’s ready by the time you’re done. Also, do you have enough clean clothes?" "Yeah. I’ve got some spares." "I see."

  Come to think of it, we’ll be living together for a while now. Maybe we should divide the chores? I could handle everything myself, but that might make Ria too dependent on me.

  "After dinner, can we talk about dividing the household duties?" "Eh? Sure. Alright then, I’ll go take a bath. D-don’t peek, okay…?" "Of course. I’d never do that." "Hmm…"

  With that, Lia headed straight for the bath. Meanwhile, I needed to finish up the cooking.

  "Phew. Oh, it smells amazing." "Just finished. Let’s eat." "Y-yes!"

  Dinner was ready just as Lia finished her bath.

  Hamburgers with steamed potatoes and gzed carrots. I’d even made the sauce from scratch and lightly toasted some bread. The house had such high-quality ingredients that cooking was a real joy.

  "Alright, let’s eat." "Yeah."

  Lia took a bite of the hamburger—and her eyes widened in surprise.

  "I-it’s so good…! I’ve never had anything like this, even at high-end restaurants in the kingdom…!" "Huh? I didn’t do anything special."

  I took a bite myself. Yeah, it wasn’t bad. But honestly, it was more about the quality of the ingredients than my cooking skills.

  Ria happily polished off her meal with a bright smile. Seeing her enjoy it so much put me in a good mood too.

  After that, we started discussing our pns for the future.

  "So, about dividing the chores…" "I’ll do my own undry! It’d be too embarrassing otherwise…" "Got it. Laundry is individual, then. What about cooking?" "Hmm. On days I go to the kingdom, I might not be able to." "Then I’ll handle cooking on those days."

  It’d be irregur, but tely, she’d been making weekly trips to the kingdom. Honestly, business trips must be tough… Sometimes she might even have to stay overnight, so we’d have to be flexible.

  After that, we discussed the rest of the chores, and I ended up taking on most of them. She even offered to pay me extra for it.

  As for cooking, she said she wanted to get better at it herself, so she’d handle that.

  "And… um. There’s something I’d like to suggest."

  Ria hesitated before continuing.

  "About our rooms… if something happens, it’d be bad if we’re too far apart, right? So, maybe… we could be closer? Like, the room across from mine?" "Are you sure? Didn’t you put me in the farthest room because you were wary of me?" "That was… ah! I was just testing you!!"

  I definitely heard that "ah"—she must’ve come up with that on the spot. But I decided not to poke fun at her.

  "I see. It’s not hard to move rooms. Then I’ll take the one across from yours starting today?" "Yeah… sounds good. Doesn’t this conversation feel kinda like newlyweds?"

  Her face slightly red, Ria peeked up at me with upturned eyes.

  Ugh. That line hit way too hard. It really did feel like that, but surely she didn’t mean anything by it… right?

  "W-well, maybe." "Yeah. Hehe."

  Ria giggled shyly. Oh man, stop that. That expression was way too adorable.

  But I had a vow not to get involved with any specific woman, and Ria probably didn’t mean anything beyond her words. Right…?

  Changing the subject, I made a suggestion to her.

  "By the way, are you free on the weekend?" "Huh? Yeah. I don’t have work then."

  From what I’d heard, Lia had one day off a week. Since we had the chance, I thought I’d invite her to go fishing—something I’d been pnning to do anyway.

  Luckily, I’d already gotten a decent grasp of my abilities. This was a good chance to bond with Lia a little more.

  "Want to go fishing?" "Fishing?" "Yeah. We’ve got meat, but no fish. It’s good to have a variety of protein sources." "I don’t really get what you’re saying, but I’m a total newbie . Is that okay?" "Of course. It’s not that hard. So, this weekend then?" "Yeah…!"

  For some reason, Lia’s eyes seemed to sparkle—or at least, that’s how it felt.

  After that, I decided to check if anyone was targeting Ria. I concealed my presence and observed her during the day, but no one seemed to be following her.

  Right now, I was completely suppressing the activation of my skill and holding back my mana. Even a seasoned warrior would have a hard time sensing me.

  As I watched her near the church, Lia’s eyes met mine.

  "Ah…!"

  Noticing me, she gave a small wave, her expression brighter than usual. I raised my hand slightly in return.

  Originally, in the story, Lia would join the protagonist Theo’s party near the end of the strory . She was a highly capable character with impressive stats.

  Even if something happened, I was sure she’d overcome it. Just in case, I thought about helping her, but there might not be much left for me to do.

  The time for our parting was—already drawing near.

  ?

  "Hey. Hey…!" "Mmm…?" "It’s morning." "…Morning?"

  It was the weekend—the dayLRia and I were going fishing.

  I gnced at the clock. It was just before six, slightly earlier than when I usually woke up.

  Lia was the one shaking me awake. She was already dressed in a light, one-piece outfit for fishing, with a straw hat on her head. Her enthusiasm was obvious just from her clothes.

  I yawned and sat up in bed.

  "Yawn… Isn’t it a little early?" "Well… I was just excited, okay?"

  Lia looked away awkwardly, but I couldn’t compin when she put it like that. I’d been looking forward to it too.

  "I’ll get changed right away, so can you wait outside for a bit?" "Sure!"

  With an energetic reply, Lia left the room. She was acting like a kid, but well… with my past-life experience, my mental age was higher, but Lia was only fifteen.

  I found myself treating her like a niece or something.

  After quickly getting ready, I grabbed the fishing rods stored in the shed.

  "Wow. You had fishing rods here?" "They were buried in the back of the cleaning supplies. There are two, so it’s perfect." "Yeah."

  As we talked, we left the house. The weather was clear—a refreshing spring morning that put me in a great mood.

  "Hum. Hum. Hmm~"

  Beside me, Lia walked cheerfully, humming a tune. She seemed in high spirits, which made me happy too. These days, she rarely showed the shadowed expression she’d had when we first met.

  I allowed myself a small smile as we walked.

  Just then—Lia tripped over a rge rock and stumbled.

  "Eek!" "Whoa. You okay?"

  I caught her from behind, holding her close—but in the process, my hands brushed against her ample chest. The sensation was impossibly soft.

  "Ah!"

  A high, seductive moan escaped Lia’s lips.

  This was purely accidental, but I expected her to be angry. Instead, she just stared at me intently.

  "Yuri, you pervert…" "Sorry… My hand just slipped." "Be more careful next time, okay?" "Yeah."

  Her half-lidded gaze didn’t seem as mad as I’d thought. I’d expected a much harsher scolding.

  "C’mon, let’s hurry!" "Hey, if you run, you’ll trip again!" "It’s fine! It’s fine!"

  And with that, I chased after Ria as she dashed ahead.

  Days like this weren’t so bad.

  But I couldn’t stay in this vilge forever. Eventually—the time to part with Lia would come. We might meet again during the final battle, but I couldn’t say for sure.

  With those thoughts lingering in my mind, we headed off to fish.

  Though… I was still unaware of the darkness creeping toward her beneath the surface—.