"Please, Senpai, have this cake."
Ren said sincerely to Asumi, who had just arrived at the house.
"No problem."
Seeing the cake placed on the table, Asumi unconsciously agrees.
"But where did this cake come from? Did you buy it?"
For some reason, whenever he asks her to eat cake, she always feels suspicious.
"Kirisu-sensei made it." Ren answered helplessly.
"It looks good."
Looking at it, it almost looks exactly like the ones sold outside, so earlier Asumi thought it was bought by Ren.
"Alright, then I'll leave it to you, Senpai."
Ren quickly said.
Sitting at the dining table, he takes the fork that has been prepared. As he is about to eat, Asumi realizes another problem: "Wait a minute, Kouhai-kun, is this cake only one portion? And is it yours?"
Ren says very reluctantly, "I've eaten too much already, so I can't eat anymore."
"Can't eat? What happened?" Asumi asks hesitantly.
She always feels like a lot happens between the time she leaves and when she comes back.
"Is that so..."
Then Ren recounts what happened in the morning when he taught Mafuyu how to make cake.
After they worked together to make the cake, Mafuyu tried making it on her own again.
The result was not very successful, but it was edible.
After learning from the failure, Mafuyu tried again.
The finished product for the second time was much better than the first, then she said something about working hard and studying it thoroughly, and trying for the third and fourth time...
In the end, the cake made by Mafuyu was as good as the one made by both of them together, and she successfully learned how to make cake.
Then, a problem arose.
What should they do with the cakes made during practice?
To taste their flavors, she ate a small piece of each cake.
Therefore, based on the principle of not wasting food, Ren had to eat all the cakes.
He really couldn't eat that much without using his superpowers.
Therefore, he had no choice but to take home the uneaten cakes and ask for Asumi's help.
In addition, he also got a large bag of snacks he bought at the convenience store.
Mafuyu's reason was to thank him for teaching her how to make cake and helping her taste it.
"This is really hard work."
After listening to his story, Asumi understood why Ren's tone just now was so serious.
"In that case, I won't be rude."
After making sure that he had eaten, Asumi slowly began to eat.
"Um."
This way, Ren doesn't need to worry about wastage.
While eating cake, Asumi starts talking: "But in this case, I don't need to cook lunch for you."
"Yeah."
"Then what should we do for lunch?" Asumi then asks.
Is there something better to do in their free time since she doesn't need to cook?
For example—
"Study?"
After thinking seriously for a few moments, Ren thinks of something that can make the most of his time.
Asumi's mouth corners move slightly, restraining the urge to complain, then she continues: "Today is Sunday, you don't need to give me a lesson."
"So what are we going to do?" He asks.
"Originally, I wanted to play a simple question and answer game with you." Asumi looks at him and says pretending to be reluctant, "But now I'm not in the mood at all."
"Oh, okay."
(Sure enough, there's no chance she'll take the initiative?)
She sighs inwardly.
(It seems I still have to take the initiative myself.)
With this thought, when Asumi is about to speak, her phone suddenly rings.
Dingle bell... Dingle bell...
"Senpai, your phone is ringing." Ren reminds her.
"I can hear it."
Asumi takes out phone, glances at the contact displayed on it, sets down fork, walks to the corner of the room, and answers the call.
"Hello, Dad, why are you suddenly calling me? Is something wrong?"
"Where are you? I'm having lunch at Kouhai-kun's house right now."
"Not there yet!!! I just had lunch at Kouhai-kun's! It's too early for you to have a grandchild!!!"
For some reason, Asumi's face turns red, and her voice rises rapidly.
"Absolutely not!"
"If there's something you want to say, tell me now. I don't have time to chat with you."
"Okay, I understand."
After hanging up the phone, she walks back and sits at the dining table again.
"Is something wrong?" Ren asks concernedly.
It's clear that something is wrong with Asumi's reaction just now.
"It's a family matter." Asumi answers with a smile.
"In that case, I won't ask."
Ren can't meddle in other people's family affairs.
"But it's okay if I tell you what you want to hear." Asumi emphasizes.
"What is it?"
Since she's willing to tell him, he doesn't mind listening.
Asumi says seriously, "I don't have ingredients at home. I need to buy them when I return in the evening."
"...Is that a simple matter?"
"Yes."
Asumi holds back her smile and says very seriously.
"Then what do you mean by what you said earlier about not evolving to that point? There's also grandchildren and such."
Her answer clearly doesn't match what he heard.
"That's my dad talking nonsense and saying weird things, don't mind him."
Speaking of this, Asumi bows her head guiltily and continues to eat cake.
"Oh."
This way Ren can understand.
"Kouhai-kun, do you like kids?"
Thinking of the strange words her father said on the phone, Asumi casually pokes at her cake back and forth with her fork.
"Is it a seven or eight-year-old?"
"You better just pretend I didn't ask anything."
Asumi can't answer his question at all, so she has no choice but to evade it.
Being able to ask that question is her limit. To be clearer, it's too difficult to ask.
"Oh."