章 32: Unexpected Encounter

Smiling to himself while humming happily, Axel was busy in the kitchen cooking up a feast. After yesterday's fiasco, Axel felt the most relaxed he has in a while and he knew it was due to the sisters.

To show his appreciation, Axel has been pushing his cooking skill to its limit in an attempt to make the most delicious food he can for them.

He continued to cook with so much focus that he didn't even realize he was in a type of trance. His body would twitch every now and then, allowing him to add the perfect amount of herbs and spices or control the heat of the pan as if it was a part of him.

The skill was automatically correcting him and was bringing his cooking closer and closer to perfection.

When he finished cooking, he wiped some sweat off his head with a satisfied smile on his face. When he was about to check the time, a screen suddenly appeared that said, [Skill: Cooking has reached level 6.]

Axel's face showed a shocked expression before his smile came back in full force. He quickly began setting up plates and the food when the sound of a door opening could be heard.

Turning around, he saw both Makoto and Sae still in their pajamas, unkept bedhair and drool dripping from their mouths. With a smile from the bottom of his heart, he walked over with a bounce in his step and said, "Good morning. I made breakfast."

Both Makoto and Sae were temporarily stunned by Axel's change in attitude. However, all thoughts they had were sent flying out of their head the moment they smelt the food Axel cooked.

A small tower of pancakes with a side of butter and maple syrup, crispy bacon, scrambled eggs and to top it all off, a tall glass of orange juice.

Sae unconsciously gulped as the smell was slowly driving her crazy. Usually, when she woke up she only felt like a couple slices of toast and that was it, but the aroma from the food made it hard to resist.

Makoto, on the other hand, left her dazed sister behind and quickly sat at the table with a hungry look in her eyes.

Axel chuckled at their reaction before sitting next to Makoto. Luckily, Sae quickly recovered from her daze and sat across from Axel and Makoto.

All three of them were about to start eating when a blur of light appeared. Stella gave Axel a death stare as she said in a threatening tone, "Were you going to eat all this food without me, Master?"

Sweat slowly formed on his brow as he knew she was slightly addicted to his cooking. With a dry laugh, Axel quickly halved his share, much to his distress, before offering it to Stella.

Stella gave him a small nod as a smile appeared on her scaly face. Axel could hear both Makoto and Sae laughing at him but decided to pay it no mind.

Everyone brought their hands together and said, "Itadakimasu." Before digging in. However, as soon as they put the first bite into their mouths, they all froze. It's not that the food was bad, no it was the opposite. The food was so good that everyone froze.

Sae was stunned as she stared with wide eyes at the food before turning to Axel with a shocked expression. Makoto's body twitch for a couple seconds as she smiled happily with a light blush on her face.

Axel nodded to himself as he was proud of his cooking and the fact he managed to surprise the girls. With a gentle smile on his face, Axel looked over to the girls while leaning against his hands and said, "Is it good?"

Maybe it was because of the good food or the fact that they woke up early in the morning but the sisters felt their brains shut down for a few seconds when they saw Axel's current expression.

Both Makoto and Sae looked towards the floor with a small blush on their faces. Sae, being an adult, quickly recovered and said, "It's really good."

Makoto, not wanting to be outdone, nodded her head and muttered, "It's delicious."

Axel looked at the sisters and smiled. With a small cough from Sae, the three of them and one snake started eating the food with wide smiles on their faces.

After a beautiful breakfast, both Axel and Makoto quickly ran around the house to get ready for school. It didn't take long before they both shot out the door as they both said goodbye to Sae, who was waving from the door with a smile.

Walking to the station was actually quite enjoyable for Axel and Makoto. The crisp morning air felt comfortable as the pair slowly continued on their way while playing around.

As the duo was walking, Axel suddenly said, "Makoto, do you want to hang out for a bit before going to school?"

Makoto abruptly came to a stop as she stared at Axel in contemplation. Her expression kept changing until it finally settled on a smile as she nodded her head.

With a small laugh, Axel grabbed Makoto's hand and took off. Makoto felt a sudden pull and thought she was going to fall to the ground, so she closed her eyes and waited for the impact. However, to her surprise, she opend her eyes and noticed that while Axel was running, he was constantly making sure she wouldn't fall.

Feeling warm and giddy in her heart from his care, Makoto unconsiously gripped Axel's hand tighter as a heavy blushed appeared on her smiling face.

Half an hour later, Axel and Makoto were sitting down in a small family restaurant while having a drink. In Axel's hand was a bag filled with all sorts of school supplies ranging froms textbooks to pencils.

Axel leaned back into his chair and released a relaxed sigh. Makoto mimicked his actions as she relaxed into the booth seat and said, "We've got about an hour before school starts." Makoto paused for a second and glanced at Axel and his new school gear. Grinning, she continued, "Now that you've got all your school supplies, I won't accept any slacking in your grades."

Rolling his eyes, Axel smirked at her and said, "Yes, miss president."

Slowly, Axel began to stretch his feat under the table, only to be met with a fierce kick. Like a frightened rabbit, Axel quickly reigned in his legs as he stared at Makoto while she was giving him a smile that wasn't a smile.

Makoto slowly leaned over the table until she was halfway over. Gripping Axel's shirt collar, Makoto pulled him until his face was a couple centimeters away from her mouth and whispered, "I won't accept any slacking~"

However, before Axel could make so much as a 'Squeak', a lively voice that had a hint of confusion echoed from across the restaurant as it said, "Axel?"

Turning towards the source of the voice, Axel looked pleasantly surprised as he stared at the familiar platinum blonde hair and said, "Ann? What are you doing here?"

Ann smiled and was about to answer him when suddenly, she froze as her vision locked on Makoto. Axel didn't know why, but the temperature inside the restaurant fell a couple degrees, causing a shiver to crawl up his back.

Suddenly, Axel had the weirdest feeling that he was about to have a bad time.