Vol 2. Chapter 7: COLLECTION GET!! Nerd Cave Too!! Food and Adorable Daughters Included! (2)

“Hehehe, there! It is done! A check like none other! My very own! Super-secret!  Super cozy! Otaku Cave! And it’s perfect!” I loudly exclaimed in glee from the center of the place, my arms raised in triumph and a big, teethy grin plastered on my face as I admired the fruits of my labor—or more like I whisper shouted it since I don’t want to wake up my cutie patootie sleeping daughters. Even if they’re now sleeping, not in my arms, but on the super comfy sofa I conjured for the living room/gaming room area… I put them there when I was testing the sofa’s comfiness, but when I tried to pick them back up they didn’t budge at all, rather they held on to it harder… Like sleeping kitties… So cute… So sad…

Still, thanks to that I can take a quick shower in the bathroom here and change into a more comfortable set of clothes before they wake up. So I’m gonna do just that… in super speed! And you know what that means, you hungry otakus! TIME FOR SOME FANSERVICE-ANGLED SNAPSHOTS!

First comes the one of me getting out of this onesie to reveal the sexy lingerie I was wearing underneath! Oh yeah! Next comes one of me taking that lingerie off while walking the fine line of showing juuuuust enough but not everything outright, heh! Then, a fanservice classic! A mid-shower snapshot! But this time from the perspective of the very reflective and flat shower handle, where the conveniently placed condensation perfectly covers just the right places! Lastly, one of me drying off with some very fitting towels and another of me putting on my clothes! Those being a loose white shirt with my armored chibi waifu on it and some comfy short shorts! Perfect for some weekend lounging!

But wait, there’s more! This lounging otaku look of mine wouldn’t be complete without a proper hairstyle and a very essential accessory to complement the look! That’s right! Today I’ve put on some good ol’ glasses and styled my hair in a veeeeeeery nice pull-through braid! ‘Why use glasses when my eyesight is OP?!’ I hear you asking. Well… BECAUSE I CAN! AND BECAUSE I LOOK EVEN HOTTER WITH THEM TOO! NOT TO MENTION SMARTER! Even if I’m quite smart already, heh. Hm? What’s that now, horse-girl otaku? ‘Only dumb people call themselves smart’?! How daaaare you! Have you forgotten that I have a PhD in Potatology?! And I’ll have you know that I graduated top of my class back in college too! So I’m not dumb even if that didn’t land me a job instantly! Hmph!

Anyways! Feeling refreshed and gleeful after a much-needed shower and a successful round of fanservice, I came out of the bathroom with a beaming smile, one that grew bigger after taking in a deep breath of fresh otaku cave air. In other words, “I so love the smell of my collection in the early morning…”

Seeing everything properly placed and displayed is also the best. The figures are in their own display cabinets all around the place, some are even displayed in dioramas by themselves or with other relevant figures! And yes, I made those dioramas myself when setting up this place! It was a bit hard to do it while carrying my daughters, but in the end I managed it thanks to my magic! Most importantly, it makes those figures pop out even more! Of course, that includes the figures I made and painted too! There’s lots of them sprinkled here and there!

Meanwhile, most of the light novels, manga, comics, artbooks, and other stuff like physical soundtracks are in the library, which is actually right in front of me as I strategically placed its door opposite to the bathroom’s for easy and quick access during those long, looooong reading sessions where one forgets about one’s bladder until it’s almost too late! And, as you can see, this library is not only filled with shelves upon shelves of the stuff I just mentioned, but it’s also perfectly decorated with lots of wall scrolls, framed limited edition arts—including some rare sketches I managed to hunt down—and many cool posters!

As for my video games and so on, those are in the living room/gaming room, along with the best garage kit I’ve made so far! It’s a pair of 1/7 scale figures of my waifu and her non-edge alter version in the middle of a joust between themselves! Making it was a treat, but it was also the biggest pain in the ass because of the beasts they’re riding… Those were so difficult since I was used to only making humanoids back then, not animals, let alone fantasy ones. Still, I’m very proud of how they came out! And that’s why it enjoys its privileged spot on the shelf right above the tv!

That said, I shouldn’t linger in this hallway any longer, I can sense that my sweet princesses are going to be waking up soon-ish. That means that I need to prepare the hot choco I wanted to surprise them with. And you can bet that there’s going to be cookies and sweet bread to go along with it, they love it, and this Papa is not one to disappoint.

“Good thing that I just need to come out of this hallway, turn to the right, and ta-dah! I’m in the kitchen! Now, let’s see if the cacao stuff is where I left it…” I whispered with nostalgia in my voice as I opened one of the nearby cabinets and—“found them! My favorites for this kind of thing! ‘Auntie Xocolatl’s Cacao Powder’ and it’s cacao block presentation! Seriously, there’s no better stuff to make hot choco with, let alone brownies and cookies. Heck, I could even try my hand at making a choco version of Gabby’s favorite pastry from our date with this. That buttery, cream-filled cone bread. I bet the girls would love it. If only I could remember its name… Hmmm… just what was it? I know its name ended with ‘flen’… Ah! Graflen! That’s it! Ok, yeah, let’s make all of those.”

With that, I put on an apron from one of the drawers below me and conjured a bubble of silence around the kitchen before doing anything else, thus ensuring that no cooking noises would bother my daughters. Then, I pulled out all the utensils and ingredients I’d need for everything that I was about to prepare and set them neatly on the island behind me. After all, as Gramps used to say, an orderly kitchen is an efficient kitchen. Louise says it a lot too. Though not to me, but to Kris. She’s quite the messy cook, but man are her dishes good! Gotta give it to her, she knows her isekai seafood!

“Anyways, I gotta say… it’s funny that it only took me a couple of months to find myself back in this kitchen baking stuff for a chill Saturday morning. Though, this time it’s not just for the tired, office worker me, heh.” I said, chuckling at the memories of the days when I lived alone in this apartment, memories that now seem so distant despite them being my reality not so long ago, all as I started to prepare the brownie batter. And yeah, I called it ‘this apartment’ because this place is based on the one I lived in back on Earth. It’s just much, much bigger, and with more crazy display cabinets hanging from the ceiling! “Oh, right! Can’t forget to add hot butter to the mix for besto flavor!”

Man, the smell coming out of this mixing bowl is so goooooooood… I would totally be licking this spoon clean—as it’s home-baking tradition—but I have no time to waste if I want to surprise my daughters with all these treats! Speaking of them, I’m so looking forward to their reactions to this place.

Of course, some would be justifiably worried about children being in a place filled with delicate—and limited—collectibles, but my girls are very well behaved when it comes to handling such things, as shown by their track records in their respective smithing and alchemy classes. Having said that, I won’t get angry even if they break something. Nah, I’d rather turn it into a teaching moment, just like Gramps did with me when I broke his pocket watch and we fixed it together, which is much better than an angry scolding. And to be honest, I think doing that would make for a nice memory. Meanwhile, if anything ends up broken beyond repair, I can just respawn/restore it without a problem. I mean, what do you think I’ve been doing with the castle’s interior arena after every sparring match that the maids take a bit too seriously?

As for them seeing my more… err… spicy figures—of which I don’t have that many, I swear—that’s not going to be a problem. Those are in an even more hidden area under lock and key. Although, some swimsuit figures don’t count as they are quite inoffensive. Same for some of the fanservice outfit figs, especially since I’ve already worn some of those outfits in front of them. Well, everyone, heh.

“Ok, the brownies are in the oven now, so I’ll start making the cookies and the hot chocolate while they bake.” I said as I closed the oven’s lid and turned back to the island behind me. “As for the graflen, I’ll leave it for last since it’s my first time making it and its filling, and I’m even adding chocolate to it, so I must give it my undivided attention if I intend to pull it off. Mhm.”

But yeah, I already took my daughters into account while making this place, so there shouldn’t be any problems. I’m always keeping an eye on them too, so I’ll be able to respond the very instant something happens. I’m even watching over them right now thanks to the open concept of this place, no barriers between the kitchen and living room and all that. That reminds me, back when I was on Earth I used to turn on the living room’s tv and watch anime all the way from this very island rather than on the sofa, a habit from my college days when I had no table… or sofa, heh.

“Normally I’d go with Earth’s milk to make the choco, but the girls like mil—Arte’s tree milk—more, so let’s go with that.” I said before pouring enough of said milk in a pot already on the stove and turning the burner on. “While that heats up, I’ll start making the cookie dough in super speed. That said, I think I’ll make enough for everyone in the castle. I don’t want them feeling left out.”

Especially since I already made it so no one but me and those I bring with me can access this otaku cave. Heck, its only connection to the castle is that it’s part of my personal space. That’s why this place has no proper door where the entrance would normally be. After all, given everything that is in here, I can’t have anyone stumbling into this place by accident in a cliché manner, right?

Although, I just set a flag by saying that…

Oh well, even if that happens, I know I can trust everyone in the castle so there’s no problem. I’d even reward whoever manages to do something as crazy as that. Although, I’ll also have to explain why there’s a room filled with figures of someone who looks identical to me in lots of outfits and poses. That will be awkward. Probably. Almost certainly.

Maybe I’ll fully connect both places later down the line, but yeah, either way, I don’t want to keep them from the cookies and so on too, I’d feel bad.

“Nice, the mil’s hot and ready. Time to throw in the cacao block, some sugar, and a touch of cinnamon to make the whole thing even better. Done. Now to stir it with my trusty wooden spoon until everything is completely mixed.” That said, it didn’t take that long for everything to mix well and turn into one of my, and my daughters’, favorite beverage. One that only needs to be stirred every now and then to keep sedimentation away. Then again, mil is somewhat thicker than milk from Earth, so that shouldn’t happen as quickly. Anyways, gonna take a sip now! “Kahhh! SO GOOOOOD!!”

Perfection!! Absolute hot chocolate perfection! I can already hear my daughters going nuts over how yummy it is. The only thing that will make this better is dipping something just as delicious in it, like the triple-chocolate chip cookies I’m now giving lots of goofy shapes! And you can bet there’s dog and cat ones, hehe. Also…

“These white chocolate chips are perfect to draw the lil’ faces on the cocoa-darkened cookies. I just hope they don’t melt horribly and make the faces look straight out of a nightmare. Then again, that’d be funny on its own right.” I giggled. “Anyways, that’s it. There should be more than enough cookies for everyone with this last batch. They just need to be baked now.”

With that, I put a comically absurd number of trays with unbaked cookies inside the very normal-sized second oven without a single problem. How? Simple! I enchanted it with spatial magic to be much larger from the inside than from the outside, keeping the appearance and neatness of a humble kitchen oven with the space of a large industrial oven! But wait! There’s more! Time also passes faster inside, cutting baking times to a fraction! A feature that the oven with the brownies has too!

“Speaking of which”—I paused, closing my eyes for a moment as I pleasantly filled my lungs with quite the delicious smell, one that meant one thing, a joyous thing—“they’re ready.”

Smiling like any other excited baker at the thought of their delicious pastries being done, I quickly turned off the oven where the tray of fresh brownies was and pulled it out with my bare hands. Why? Because dragon, nuff’ said. Of course, if I wanted to ensure their greatness, I couldn’t cut the brownies straight away. Oh no. I needed to let them cool off before even thinking of doing that. So I just left them, tray and all, on the dinner table.  There they will cool off while I work on the graflen. Once cool, I’ll cut them up, sprinkle powdered sugar on them, and plate them in a pyramid arrangement, because waking up to a brownie pyramid is cool as heck.

But that’s for later, right now I’ll be focusing on making my first ever pastry from Arte. My new home. Not gonna lie, I really don’t want to mess this up. Good thing the castle’s library has lots of cooking books I can lean on, like a copy of the one Louise always uses whenever she makes desserts, which I just teleported right into my hands. Of course, I could just instinct my way towards a perfect result, but where’s the fun in that? Now…

“Graflen, graflen, where are you graflen…?” I said as I quickly flipped through the book’s pages, giving nothing but cursory glances at many other delicious-looking pastries, knowing full well that if I delved any further into any of them, I wouldn’t be able to stop myself from making those too. And so, I kept going until I—“Found it! Ok, let’s see how this thing is made… Oh? Interesting…  So the cone bread part of the graflen is prepared in a very similar manner to a croissant, huh. That’d explain the buttery flavor. But that’s not all, they use a special fruit butter rather than a simple one. Probably to complement the fruits and berries that go with the filling. That’s… kinda troublesome since there’s nothing here that tells me how to make that butter. I guess it's that much of a common thing here. My only hope is that Louise requested some before Jules and Lucy did their latest shopping run and we got some in the fridge.”

Thus, I closed my eyes and focused all my senses on the castle’s kitchen to look for said butter and—oh? Would you look at that, Louise is already there at this hour. Maid outfit and all. It seems she was in the middle of checking on everything she left resting overnight. From pots full of stew, broths, and soups, to meats both resting and curing in different sauces and other stuff. Now she’s checking on the stuff within Jules’ smokery and adjusting a few things. Talk about dedication. Then again, that makes sense. She takes a lot of pride in being THE cook of the castle. I bet her next task is getting everything ready to feed everyone here, including big eaters like Jules, my daughters, and… me. In that order. Seriously. Jules is somehow in first place. Where does all that food go? I don’t know. I asked her once and she just struck a pose and said that it was a ‘cool lady secret’.

But I digress… should I just ask Louise about the butter? I suppose, but how? I can’t leave at the moment, and I haven’t gotten the hang of projecting my voice to a specific part of the castle yet so… oh well, a teleported note should do.

“‘Good morning, Louise. Do we have any fruit butter? I have need of it. Signed, your Master, Auros.’ That should do it. Not as casual, but not as deep into my tyrant of a waifu role play either. Aaaaaaand sent.” I said after teleporting the tiny post it note I just conjured out of nowhere to Louise’s side, which surprised her.

“Master? Goodness, you’re already up? Where are you? Why are you using notes to talk to me? Is there a problem?” She asked as she looked around in search of me.

“No. Do not worry. I do not wish to wake everyone up by projecting my voice from where I currently am, so I believed this method of communication to be sufficient. As for my location, I am still within the castle, just somewhere private. I intend to bake some graflens for everyone and I need some of the fruit butter to recreate it in the appropriate quantity.” I responded via another teleported note.

“Oh what a joy, graflens! I'm glad that Gabrielle introduced you to them, Master. I’m sure you’ll find making them quite fun. As for the fruit butter, we have plenty of it as I use it in lots of other things. It even goes well with some steaks. I’ll slice a few cubes so you can get a proper taste of it. Is that alright, Master?” Said Louise cheerfully. Heck, if this was an anime, she’d even have tiny flowers floating around her head because of how cheerful she is when it comes to cooking-related stuff. Not only that, but the more I interact with her, the more I feel big sister vibes coming from her. So yeah, cheerful cooking onee-san check!

“That is more than alright. Much appreciated.” I said via yet another teleported post it note.

“The pleasure is mine, Master. Is there anything else you need? Perhaps some tips? I’d be glad to provide them.” She offered as she brought out a large block of fruit butter and cut up a few cubes out of it with a knife.

“Now that you mention it, I shall be attempting to make a version of the graflen with chocolate added to the bread. That said, I believe there is a chance that the flavors would be unbalanced by such addition. What are your thoughts? Do you have any suggestions on what may be of help in such a case?” I asked via—eh, you already know what. No need to say it again.

“Chocolate, huh? That’s the sourer xalat Master introduced us to the other time, isn’t it? Hmmm… if that’s the case, it could be somewhat unbalanced, yes. But nothing that can’t be fixed by doing a few adjustments to the recipe. Just one question, is Master using the recipe from the book ‘Vida’s Guide to Desserts’?”

“Yes. That is indeed correct.” I answered. And just in case, xalat is Arte’s chocolate. It comes from the Demonic Kingdom of Zenji, and it has a softer flavor profile to Earth’s chocolate, but it’s equally deli.

“Great then. Let me write down the adjustments you would need to make, Master. I’ll also fetch a few different fruits and berries that’d go better with the version Master is attempting to create.” Said Louise, her voice turning into a cheerful hum as she wrote everything down on a piece of paper and grabbed what she mentioned from the pantry.

“Once again, you have my thanks, Louise. I know some would admonish me for not sticking to the original recipe in my first try, but I have on hand some chocolate that is near and dear to me and I could not help wanting to add it.”

“Oh it’s fine, Master. While there are indeed some purists among us who love filling people’s bellies, we didn’t arrive at the sheer diversity of dishes we enjoy today by just sticking to the original recipe. We did it by experimenting with the stuff we like too, so Master is alright in my eyes. That wouldn’t be the case if Master was just carelessly playing with food… but I know Master isn’t like that.” Said Louise, her tone had turned kind of scary for a second, but she went back to her usual cheerfulness just as fast. “Anyways, here's everything, Master. You can teleport it now. I look forward to trying the graflens you make later, Master.”

“Indeed. I shall do my best to fulfill your expectations.” I replied before teleporting everything that Louise had put on the counter to the kitchen island before me. Then, I sent her a cup of hot chocolate and a brownie on a small plate as a token of my gratitude. They finished cooling off while Louise was doing her thing, so I cut them up and plated them as I had mentioned before.

“Gosh, you didn’t have to, Master! But thanks, I will enjoy them greatly.” She said before grabbing the brownie and taking a bite out of it. “Mmmm! It’s great, Master! The fudginess is on point. And this hot chocolate is perfect. Thank you, Master!”

“You are very welcome.” I said through a note, glad to see Louise’s satisfied face. Also, as you may have noticed, Arte also has brownies. It’s like pancakes, scrambled eggs with sausages, and other dishes like that. If someone on Earth came up with it, there’s a high chance someone here probably came up with it too. In any case, making this choco-graflen should be much easier and quicker thanks to Louise’s assistance! And so, I began as I screamed, “SUPER SPEED BAKING MODE! ENGAGED! AGAIN! LET’S MAKE SOME GRAFLENS!! UOOOOOOOOOOOHHHH!!”

Saying that I was excited would be an understatement. I was hyped. I was ecstatic. I was ablaze. Beyond not wanting to mess it up, the fact that I was finally making my first ever pastry from Arte had me over the moon. Not just because Arte is my new home, but also because… I’M MAKING ISEKAI FOOD!! HOW COOL IS THAT?! I’LL ANSWER! FRIGGING COOL! I don’t know if you remember, but I LOVE ISEKAIS! I. LOVE. THEM. WITH. EVERY. BIT. OF. MY. BEING.

Healthily, of course.

STILL, that combined with the fact that I’m making it for my daughters, gave me all the motivation I needed to grind this out. And boy, grind it out I did. Let me tell you, graflens ain’t easy to make. Especially the cone bread side of them. They’re just as finnicky to make as Earth’s croissants…  I followed the modified recipe to the letter and those graflen cones weren’t coming out as I wanted them. My first attempt? Not bad for a first try, but not that good. My second attempt? Slightly better, but still not there. My third attempt? Good, but that’s it. My fourth? My fifth? My eighth? My tenth? My fifteenth? All slight improvements, but none were like the one from the stall Gabby took me to, none reached that level of “great”. That nigh-perfect balance between the crunchiness of the crust, the soft, airy feel of the insides, and the unique flavor of the fruit butter. There was always one of those three aspects that ended up lacking. Every. Single. Time.

And now I’m here taking a bite out of my twentieth attempt, ten minutes after I started this grind altogether and it’s good. “But that’s it… It’s just good again. Not great. Hmm… what am I missing? I’m following the lamination technique shown in the book to the letter. Temperature and humidity is a non-issue thanks to my fire, ice, and spatial magic keeping everything just right. And I’m sure that I didn’t mess up the shaping, the proofing, the egg-washing, nor the baking steps… so why? What’s messing up the balance?”

So I wondered, so I came up with nothing. Seriously, I’m drawing a blank here. I should’ve gotten the hang of it by now, if only due to the sheer number of tries I’ve gone through via super spee—wait… is that it? Is my speedrunning it the problem? “No way… I thought I had that covered as much as possible by controlling the temperature of everything as precisely as possible… but… hrnn… speed… heat… physics… Could it really be? Could I really be an idiot for not taking that into account? Maybe… Maybe not though. There’s only one way to find out! A clean run—I mean, a clean try without it!”

Having said that, doing it 100% without magic would take way too long for comfort. So instead I’ll put myself in a spatial bubble where time passes faster inside than outside! One magical snap of the fingers later and… there! It’s all set up! I’ll be back in a mere moment (for you)!

I’m an idiot…

I-I guess I may be OP, but not OP enough to completely escape Arte’s physics… yet. I’ll have to keep that in mind. Still, being shown the error of my ways has never tasted this good… I mean it, the graflen cones that came out from this clean try are so good that I’m unable to speak because I keep taking bites out them… Not just that, but it’s just like Louise said, making these is fun! So don’t mind me taking this many metaphorical pages to nail them! Enjoy it! Like me! Then again, I do have to make a proper batch of these now! See you in another mere moment!

There. I now have more than enough graflen cones to make enough graflens for everyone plus some wiggle room for repeat serves. Just don’t ask me how many hours I spent inside the spatial bubble. It’s better for everyone, ahaha…

“Thankfully, the rest of the recipe was a breeze compared to the cones. The mil cream is Lyra’s favorite, so I did my best to learn how to make it the moment she made that fact known. And the caramelized fruit bits are a very simple treat to make on their own already. So yeah, they were the perfect thing to prepare between cone batches. Now I just need to finish filling the cones with them and the choco-graflens will be done.” I said as I did just that, all while being careful not to put too much or too little of either thing. The former because it would overshadow the bread AND I WORKED TOO HARD ON IT DAMMIT—ahem, and the latter because it always sucks whenever something that’s supposed to have a filling has way too little of it. Heck, sometimes even convenience store sandwiches have that problem. Yes, I’m talking about you, red brand ham and cheese sandwich.

As I started filling the last batch of cones, I couldn’t help but think of Lyra as the one most likely to love these graflens, besides my daughters of course. As I said, the mil cream is her favorite, so much so that one day, when she was sleeping on my lap after a fluffing session, I conjured up a spoon full of it and moved it near her nose. I kid you not, her nose began moving just like a cat’s before she woke up and she licked the spoon clean as she went, ‘yummmmyyyy!’

Ah, but I want to clarify, her sleeping on my lap is not an ‘oohhh muehehehe hooooot’ ecchi kind of thing. It's more of a wholesome thing as the more I interact with her, the more I see her in the same way I see Sophie, a little sister who deserves to be doted on after being deprived of human warmth for a long of time. I also see her as a cat, endearingly. And for what is worth, she is very physical with the others too. Hugs, rubbing her cheeks with others, and so on. Although, the one she has bonded with the most is Sophie. It probably has something to do with them being victims of that bastard count, but they also just mesh really well together. Dog and Cat team for the win and all that, heh.

“Finally! I’m done! The last graflen is filled up!” I exclaimed as I raised my arms and, with a flick of my hand, I magically plated the choco-graflens, put them on the dinner table along with the other pastries and the hot chocolate, and cleaned up the kitchen and myself, leaving us free of enchantments, silencing bubbles, and baking-related dirtiness. Just in time too because I can sense that my daughters are about to wake up. As such, I set my sights on the sofa where they were sleeping and quietly strode towards it, stopping right at the back of it as I began watching over them from there. I even got down to my knees just so I could reach out and caress their little heads as they began waking up.

“Nnn…” so went my adorable Ilya before yawning and slowly opening her eyes. “…Father?”

“Nuu…” so went my adorable Celesia before she too yawned and slowly opened her eyes. “…Papa?”

“Good morning, my sweet peas.” I lovingly smiled at my daughters as I watched them groggily sit and rub their eyes. “Did you sleep well?”

“Unn… Ilya did…” She nodded as she finished rubbing her eyes and looked up at me.

“Me too, Papa… Me too.” Agreed Celesia as she too finished rubbing her eyes and looked up at me.

Then, they noticed it. The different attire and hairstyle, the glasses, and most importantly… the very, veeeeeeeery different room. And it didn’t take long for their curiosity to get the better of them.

“Pretty Father… Pretty Father… where are we? Ilya has never seen a place like this…! It wasn’t here yesterday… Ilya wants to know…!” Asked my heart-melting volcano daughteru eagerly, her eyes and hair shining bright with a vivid yellow curiosity, literally.

“Yes, Papa! Where are we? Where are we? And why glasses? You look so pretty! Pretty! I want glasses too! I want to! I want to! Make my hair like that too!” said my mini-dragon daughteru bundle of joy with such an intense enthusiasm that it made her shine just as much as Ilya.

And so, faced with my daughters’ questions and requests I grinned playfully and in hushed tones I told them, “we’re in my secret room.”

“Secret room…!!” they exclaimed in a whisper, trying to match my ‘secrecy’, all as they excitedly jumped on the sofa. It was then that I moved to the side and motioned at the dinner table behind me, revealing something that would make them even happier.

“I also made hot chocolate, cookies, brownies, and choco-graflens!”

“Cookies…!” Gaped Ilya as her ears wiggled and both her hair and eyes shined with a mix of vivid yellow and reddish orange, showing just how happy-hungry she was, and making me almost melt right then and there from the combination of all that. But that’s fine, Celesia immediately finished the job. How?

She did it by wagging her tail and flapping her little wings as she happily said, “hot choco! Hot choco!” It was such a lethal one-two combo of cuteness that I was only standing through sheer force of will… or a miracle. Probably both.

Either way, I quickly composed myself and asked a question I knew full well they’d answer with a resounding ‘yes’. “Want some?”

“Unn…! Ilya wants cookies, Pretty Father…! Hot choccy too…!”

“Me too! Me too, Papa! And brownies! Brownies! And choco-graflens! They smell yummy! Yummy!”

See? As expected, heh. And so, with a smile on my face I briefly tilted my head towards the table and said, “then let’s go over there. But you know the drill, sit properly and grab everything you’re sure to eat. Meanwhile, I’ll get you a cup of hot choco.”

“Okeey…!” So they said and so they went, quickly getting off the sofa on their own and running to the dinner table in their adorable onesies before doing as they were told. Meanwhile, I did my part and poured hot chocolate in a couple of cups as I observed them.

“Heh, look at them. They’re so frigging cute.” I said to myself as I was nearly overcome with emotion. Seeing them give each other bites of the stuff they were trying first, then putting a cookie on each other's foreheads and racing to see who eats it first by quickly making hilariously weird expressions to slide it down to their mouths, seeing them laughing as that ended in a draw, it’s all just them being happy sisters. And that does something to me, you know? Like, holy crap, it feels like I’m about to cry. I guess it’s because back then, when I lived in this apartment—well, the one on Earth—I never thought about being a dad. Perhaps I… had given up on it subconsciously…  But that doesn’t matter anymore. I’m a dad now. And I wouldn’t change it for anything.

Yeah, yeah, I know I’ve been saying it a lot. Call me normie. Sue me. Tell me to explode. Whatever. I just can’t stop thinking about it. And I think there’s nothing wrong with that!

“Here you have it, my princesses. The finest hot choco in the house! Be careful not to spill it though.” I said as I carefully gave Ilya and Celesia the filled cups and they immediately took a sip out of them, caring not for how hot the drink was because volcano and dragon, heh. “How is it? Did you like it?”

“Unn! Unn!” Nodded Ilya, now with a biker choco-mustache.

“Yes, Papa! Yes!” Nodded Celesia, with a cowboy choco-mustache too.

Good thing I’m sitting on a chair right now BECAUSE THAT WAS WAY TOO KAWAII FOR MY HEART!! Hold it together, Auros! Hold it together and keep talking!! “I’m glad. What about the bread and the cookies? Did you like them too?”

“Unn! They are all… yummy…! The cookies are… like Ilya likes them… Thank you, Pretty Father…!”

“You’re very welcome, Ilya.” I said as I wiped away her choco-mustache with a napkin, only for her to quickly dip another cookie in the hot chocolate, eat it, and then take an even bigger sip of it, creating a choco-mustache large enough that it resembled a certain legendary metal singer’s. And then she… she gave me her smuggest smile yet. A first even! And that can mean only one thing! My weebs… she’s learning! She’s learning from none other than her Mother! Heck, she’s the spitting image of her right now! As such, I must pinch her cheeks a little! “You cheeky little wisp! Have at thee!”

“Hihihihi…!” And before such terrible punishment, my volcanic daughter did nothing but laugh, her hair reflecting her feeling of fun with vibrant hues of yellow, orange, and red.

Meanwhile, my violet princess, who had not said anything, has just finished a plate full of—

“Brownies, Papa! The brownies! They are fudgy fudgy! And very yummy! I already ate four! Nu, five! Five!” Exclaimed Celesia, proudly showing me said number with her hand after she adorably used her fingers to quickly count again and correct herself. Sho cute. Sho frigging cute.

“Hehe, I saw that.” I chuckled as I used a napkin to wipe quite the number of brownie crumbs off her cheeks, which she proudly offered by the way, just like the pretty princess that she is. “I can also see that you finished your hot-choco already. Want more?”

“Yes please!”

“You got it.” I said before turning to Ilya, who also had an empty cup now. “Do you want more hot-choco too?”

“Unn…!”

With that, I got up, grabbed both empty cups and went to refill them with more hot chocolate. As I did that, I asked, “and the graflens? Were they good?”

Man, I know that cookies and brownies are their favorites respectively, that’s why I made them, but I’m going to be sad if they didn’t like the graflens…

“Ilya liked them… They are soft… and creamy… and crunchy… and choccy…”

“I liked them too, Papa! They are creamy creamy! Puffy puffy! And crunchy crunchy!”

UOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHH! THEY BOTH LIKED THEM!! YES! YES! YES!! I’M SO HAPPY THAT I COULDN’T HELP BUT DANCE, after giving them their refilled cups that is, BUT STILL! DANCE I DID! AND THAT MADE MY KIDS LAUGH, WHICH ONLY MADE ME HAPPIER!

“Pretty Father… Pretty Father… Ilya has a question,” said my cinnamon bun while raising her hand.

“Oh? Do tell!” I replied, eager to hear her out.

“There’s so… so many pretty fathers… over there… why?” She asked while pointing at the many figures and other merch in the living room.

“Hehe, I thought you’d never ask.” I said as I stopped dancing funnily around the table and sat beside Ilya. “You see, while we do look very similar, I’m not her. She’s a character from a story and I really like her. Just like Mr. Bunny for you or Knight Spider Sir Uma for Celesia. And, I like her so much that I did my best to collect as many things of her as possible. I even made some of the figures, like the one with the beasties over there.”

“Oohh…! Really, Pretty Father…?” Asked my budding craftsman of a daughter as her ears wiggled, both her curiosity and interest clearly piqued. Meanwhile, Celesia, who was paying close attention to the conversation, was also devouring lots of brownies and graflens, making her cheeks look like a hamster’s. She knows she shouldn’t talk while she eats, so she hasn’t joined in because of that. Despite that, her beaming eyes clearly tell me that she’s just as interested.

“Oh yes. This whole secret room is filled with stuff I made, not just things I collected.” I continued. “But that’s not all, my workshop is here too. So, how about it? Want me to give you two a tour of it and the rest of the place when you’re done eating?”

“Yes! Yes! Yes!” Daww, they’re so excited about it that they spoke at the same time again!

“Then, finish up and I’ll show you around. That said, let’s get you into the proper secret room attire! You ready?”

“Unn! Unn!” Nodded Ilya as she grabbed her last cookies, brownies, and graflens.

“Yes, Papa! Yes!” Nodded Celesia as she did the same. Told ya that they were big eaters. Now…

“Ok! Goodbye onesies. Hello big loose shirts, comfy shorts, fluffy slippers, pull-through braids, and”—I paused and wiggled my fingers like a party magician before ‘they’ appeared on my daughters’ faces with a poof—“glasses!”

“Oooooh!!” So they went, amazed at the big, round glasses I gave them. And yet, I was not done surprising them.

“And that’s not all, my cinnamon rolls. These glasses are special! Look, if you do this”—I flipped down the dark set of lenses clipped on the frames of their glasses, which in turn covered the clear ones—“they become sunglasses!”

“OOOHHHHHHH! SO COOL!” Exclaimed my daughters in stereo for a third time.

“Right?! I’m glad you like them you two.” I said, satisfied with my choice of going with that type of glasses for them. Seriously, they look so happy while playing with them. Still, I told them that I would give them a tour, so I should grab their attention and ask them. “Ok, what do you want to explore first?”

Having heard that, my daughters, who were now sporting their glasses in ‘cool sunglasses-mode’, looked at each other, nodded, and then pointed at the living room? Huh?

“There?” I asked, surprised by their choice.

“There…” Ilya nodded.

“There!” Celesia beamed.

“Interesting. I thought you'd pick somewhere else since you were there just a bit ago.” I said as I tried to pick up their dishes to wash them, but they beat me to it as they got off their chairs and ran to the sink to wash them by themselves. And without me needing to tell them!! They’re so well-mannered!! Ahhhhh!

“Hihi... dummy father...” Paused Ilya as she grabbed a couple of tiny stools I had left nearby in case something like this happened and used them along with Celesia to reach the sink. Then, as they started to wash the dishes, she continued. “We woke up there—”

“But we didn’t explore it! We didn’t!” Said Celesia, both finishing her sister’s sentence and drying the dishes Ilya passed her in one smooth motion. They’re so in sync with each other and I love them to bits for it! And she probably didn’t fly to reach the sink because Ilya isn’t/can’t. I put it like that because we honestly don’t know if she can fly. But she’s my and Nerinne’s daughter, her potential is limitless. Totally unbiased claim. As for my answer to their very valid point…

“Yeah, that’s true.” I nodded with a big, proud smile on my face as I watched them finish washing their dishes and even mine, which I didn’t notice them take. I think a certain someone with thievery experience is teaching them stuff… or I’m just a dumb dad who’s solely focused on watching my daughters be cute.

Anyways, with the cleaning done and the rest of the sweet bread properly stored, we moved back to the living room where my daughters immediately began to check every nook and cranny of it. From each figure to all the other stuff here. I’m expecting lots of questions, heh. Oh! It seems one is coming already!

“Father... Father... do you have a bunny costume like this one?” asked Ilya after very carefully grabbing one of the classic bunny suit waifu ¼ figures and showing it to me, her eyes glowing with anticipation.

In response, I shook my head and said, “nope.” Then, before any disappointment appeared in her face, I magically changed my clothes into those of the figure with a poof, instantly followed by me doing the same bunny-girl pose as the fig. “But now I do! How do I look-pyon?"

“Hihihi… very pretty, Father!” Said Ilya as she clapped. "Can Ilya... dress like that?"

Whuwhahu—eh?! Nonononono! Absolutely not! Never! Ever! Much less right now, young lady!! Or that’s what I’d say if it was anyone but me, but since I am me my answer should be a bit more measured.

“Only when you're older-pyon! For now you will stick to your bunny hoodies and onesies, ok-pyon?” I told Ilya while patting her head. Because yeah, there’s no point in telling her that she will never dress like this. Especially with a parent like me that sees no problem in doing it as much as I do. I mean, I’m literally dressed as a bunny girl right now. I’m even talking like one. As such, what matters is that there’s proper time for stuff like this and right now she's waaaaaaaaaaay too young for it. AND. WE. STICK. TO. AGE. APPROPRIATE. STUFF. HERE.

As for Ilya’s response? She understood and nodded as she gave me an earnest, “ok…!”

And coming right as Ilya went to look for another figure in an attire she wanted to see me in, Celesia brought me a figure of my waifu in one of her many dark ojou-sama dresses and eagerly said, “do this one next, Papa! This one!"

"Your wish is my command! Here!" I declared happily as I took a step back and did a regal bow just as I changed into said dress, perfectly emulating the statue's pose! Immediately Celesia began clapping and jumping out of happiness.

"Ooooh! Papa looks like a princess! A princess!!" She even showered me with praise just like that! That made me so happy that I then did a spin to make the dress flutter before dancing a little with her, which made her even happier!! All in all, we were all having lots of fun. But that wasn’t the end of it. Not at all. It was only the beginning.

I mean it. These two kept bringing me figure after figure after figure, turning this into a cosplay show where I did my best to match whatever fig they brought me. Sleeveless Qipao waifu posing as if she’s about to kick? You bet I did it.

“Hihihi… Father reminds me of Gail…” Ilya even said that when I struck the pose.

“But Gail has looooooong sleeves where she hides the candies she gives us! Candies!” And Celesia said that, giving me a very cute mental image.

Continuing with some of the figures they brought me. You can bet I was also asked to cosplay as my waifu in a mariachi attire from her “Around the Earth” figure collection. Oh yes. I even conjured a guitar for myself to play and some maracas for them to accompany me in my messy attempt at music! And it worked! Ilya sang an angelic “lalala~” while adorably swaying side to side and lightly shaking the maracas. As for Celesia… she…

“Swosh! Shweesh! Shashashashasha!” She swung the maracas like a maniac drummer, and it was hilarious!

And of course, I also cosplayed as the classic form of my waifu and plenty of others!! Heck, an excited Celesia is bringing me yet another figure to cosplay as right now! See?

“Papa! This one ne—ah!” AH!! SHE TRIPPED AND THREW THE FIGURE INTO THE AIR! GOTTA CATCH HER!

“Got you!!” Phew, it’s fine. I caught her… My daughter, not the figure. Obviously. And yeah, she’s a dragon, so she’s sturdy enough that a fall means nothing. But I’m still not letting my daughter fall face first on the floor just because of that. That said, the painful sound of the figure meeting the floor behind me should’ve happened by now, but it hasn’t. Maybe Ilya caught it? Or maybe I’m just in denial and did hear it… Either way, I guess I should face the music and look over my shoulder to confirm its fate.

So I did. I looked over my shoulder while still holding on to Celesia and I found not only Ilya with her arms raised, ready to catch the figure, but also the figure itself floating and I wasn’t doing it. Then, who? How? The answer was in the very mana that was making it float. It was violet. It was Celesia's.

“It's alright, Papa! It's alright! I got it! Just like you got me, hihi.” Said my proud yet very relieved daughter with a teethy smile, her tiny arm stretched towards the ¼ scale figure as she slowly led it onto Ilya's hands.

“Celesia…”AHHHHHHHHH I’M SO PROUD! I want to cry my eyes out, but I can’t! I gotta hold it in and deliver a better response than that! “You got it, my violet princess. You totally got it…”

Seriously, I’m so proud of her, and, admittedly, very relieved for the figure too. But man, who would’ve thought that Celesia knew how to move things with her mana this well? It makes me curious… “when did you learn how to do this, sweetie?”

"Uhhh... now? Now! You do it lots, Papa! And and Miss Mika and Miss Josie do it in class lots and lots too! So I tried it! And I did it! I did it, Papa! Praise me! Praise me!" This daughter of mine… I was already so proud of her and now she’s told me that this was actually her first time moving things with her mana… and she did it to save my figure… Of course I’m gonna give her all the praise and pats she wants!

"You are amazing, Celesia. Amazing." I said as I gave her lots of pats and kisses! “I wuv you sho much, my little violet light!”

“Hihihi!" Dawwww she ish sho happy. "Ah! Um... Papa..." Huh, now that's a sudden change of mood. I wonder what she realized that made her so worried that she's even avoiding eye contact.

"Yes?"

"It’s just… are you mad, Papa? Are you? I caught it but… But I almost dropped the pretty figure..." Ah. That’d certainly do the trick. Despite all of my praise she still wondered about how I felt. She's such a considerate girl.

"Don't worry, Celesia. It was an accident. I know you didn’t intend to do that. More importantly, I'm not mad. Rather, I'm even happier now because of the thoughtfulness you’ve just shown. Thank you for worrying about me. And for that you get even more pats and a BIIIIIIIG hug!" I exclaimed as I immediately enacted my will and Celesia immediately hugged me back.

"Hihihihihi! Thank you Papa!"

As for Ilya, she started checking out the other shelves after putting the figure she caught from Celesia with the others on the nearby coffee table, but now she seems fixated on something in particular.

“Father… Ilya wants to see those figures closely… now… Can Ilya see them…?” asked my little Ilya as she pointed at the centerpiece of the living room standing proudly atop of the tv, a couple of 1/7 scale figures of both versions of my waifu in the middle of jousting match on top of their mounts, which had caught her attention before. And man, I’m so happy she asked!!

“Of course, sweetheart! Let me get you close and personal. But first don’t think that I forgot about you being ready to catch the figure. So you also get a big hug and a bunch of kisses, my awesome little sun! Thank you, thank you, thank you!” I said as I did just that after lifting her and sitting her on my left arm, much to her enjoyment.

“Hihihi…! You’re welcome, Father…!” Daww she hugged me back and even gave me a kiss on the cheek! I wuv my daughtersh very much! So much so that I can’t help but rub my cheeks with Ilya’s out of pure happiness! “Nnn… Father… Ilya wants to see the figures…”

“Ah right! Sorry, Ilya! I guess I was too deep in my ‘doting-papa’ trance ahaha…” I laughed awkwardly before clearing my throat and carefully grabbing one of the aforementioned figures. “Anyways, here. You can hold this one.”

“Really, Father…?” Surprised, my daughter looked at me, then at the figure, then back to me, then back to the figure. Multiple times. All while barely holding herself back too, judging by how much her tiny hands were moving. Suffice to say, she really wanted to hold it despite her caution-filled question. A question I was happy to reassure away.

“Umu! How else will you be able to really check it out if you can’t hold it? After all, some things can only be understood by touching the thing you’re interested in. Besides, you two have been bringing me a bunch of the other figures and both of you treated all of them well. This is no different. So grab it, ok?”

“Unn! Unn!” She nodded excitedly and carefully grabbed the figure by its base while supporting the rest of it with her other hand, her eyes and hair immediately lighting up as she examined it closely. And her face as she was doing so was priceless. It was as if she was looking at an invaluable treasure, one that she couldn’t even let herself blink lest she’d miss something about it, and she wasn’t gonna let that happen. Not only was she veeeery slowly rotating it to check it out from all possible angles, but she was also very carefully tracing her finger along the various details and textures that I gave the figure.

In a way, it almost felt as if she was peering into the past and seeing how I sculpted the whole thing. Or at least trying to figure it out by using the things she’s learned from Roxxy as a point of reference. Either way, she was clearly enjoying what she was doing. Still, I can’t help but be curious…

“How is it? Do you like it? I know blacksmithing and sculpting are two different things, but I still want to hear your thoughts.” I said sincerely.

“You made it, Father… Ilya loves it.”

“...!” AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! I WANNA CRY AGAIN! THE WORDS! THE FACE! THE SMILE! SHE DELIVERED A CRITICAL HIT TO MY HEART! “That… that makes me very happy…” Once again, I managed to keep it together… barely…

“Also… Also… Ilya can see that father really spent a lot of time making it… with lots and lots of love… Just like Ilya did with the enchanted bracelet Ilya made… So many details… so many little things and big things that Ilya doesn’t know how Father did it… but Ilya wants to learn how to fill the stuff Ilya makes with lots and lots of details… like the armor of these pretty ladies that look like you Father… Like her weapon… Like her face… Like her beastie… Like you do, Father. Ilya really, really wants to learn from you…”

Crap. I don’t think I can keep it together after hearing all of that… I can feel that my eyes have started to tremble and tear up… “Don’t worry I-I’ll be sure to…” Oh man, I can’t even finish my sentence because I’ve started sobbing… I’m just so, so happy right now… And it’s a kind of joy that I can’t even properly put into words. A father’s joy times infinite, perhaps? Something like that…

“There… there… Patpatpat…” To be comforted by my daughter patting my head… Heh…

“Ahaha… sorry dearie… your Papa was just very, very happy, because I’m blessed to have you and your sister.” Seriously. Truly. “And I promise you that I’ll be sure to teach you everything I know. It’s part of the reason why I made this place.”

It was at this moment that I felt little someone tug at my shirt from below. It was Celesia. She had finished going through both the videogame shelves and the tv stand’s drawers while I was talking with Ilya, and now she’s here with a couple of things in one of her hands, but most importantly, she wanted to be carried too. So I crouched and did that. Then I gave her a kiss on the forehead and told her that I’d teach her too if she wanted too. She nodded at that.

Now, with a daughter on each arm, I asked Celesia, “what do you have there?”

“Boxes, Papa! Boxes!” Enthusiastic as always, she happily showed off the loot her little search had earned her, which were indeed boxes. And very important ones at that. “This one has the pretty lady that looks like you on the cover! And this one has the photo of someone on the cover! Not a drawing! It’s a pretty girl in a pretty dress making a pose like the ones Big Sis Erica does! They both have weird donuts inside! What are they, Papa? What are they? And who is the pretty lady in the photo? Who is she?”

“Heh…” I chuckled because… To think that of all the things in this living room she’d grab not only my very first copy of Bond of Nightly Destiny, which is all roughed up because of the secondhand shop I got it from when I was a kid, but also that DVD of a certain someone in her ballet dress doing an arabesque… Two very important things for two different aspects of my life. Can’t help but feel a little nostalgic…

“Papa?”

“Father…?”

“Hm? Oh! Sorry, sorry! I got lost in thought for a moment, honeybuns. You see, those things you got there brought out lots of memories.” I said to my daughters, who were both looking at me while tilting their heads in curiosity. “But let’s start with an explanation about the weird donuts inside those boxes. What do you think they are?”

“Mmm… big big thin thin rings…” Answered Ilya after putting the statue I gave her back where it belonged and opening the game’s box, pulling out one of the discs, and using it as a ring, showing it off with a smug smile. And dang it, that’s adorable. But, sadly…

“Bzzzt! That’s not it.” I declared.

To that, Ilya took the disc off her finger and put it back inside the box as she let out a disappointed, “aww…”

“I know, Papa! I know!” Piped up Celesia as she raised her hand.

“Alright. Go ahead.”

“They’re for nib-nibs!”

“Wat?” I heard that wrong, right? She couldn’t possibly have meant i—OH GODDESS THAT IS MY PARTNER, SHE’S PULLING OUT ONE OF THE DISCS AND OPENING HER MOUTH. “Waitwaitwaitwait. Nonononononono. They’re not for that, my little princess. Don’t bite that disc. Don’t bite it. Please. Pleeeease.”

“Ok!” She said with an angelic smile, putting the disc back in its box like it was nothing… Phew… That was close… My poor heart… It felt like I was about to faint… Anyways, deep breaths. Deep breaths. There.

“Thank you, Celesia. Now, as I said, those donuts, I mean, discs, are neither rings nor stuff you can bite. They are mediums where people put stories and memories, and plenty of other things. Take the one from the box with the drawing of the lady that looks like me for example. Its disc contains the tale of that lady, Angelusia Draconis, and those who walked alongside her. Same for the many other boxes with her on the cover that you can find here. All are filled with tales of heroism, adventure, love, tragedy, comedy, loss, and much, much more.” I explained.

“But they are not books, Papa.”

“Unn… where are the stories, Father?”

Urk… both Celesia and Ilya are looking at me as if I just said something that made no sense. Then again, it’s understandable. I’m just telling, not showing. Gotta fix that.

“Heh, you two are correct. They are not books. But if we use these discs in combination with the black box over there”—I pointed at a certain console on the tv stand—“the story will play out in a way similar to how your Mother showed us the story of your Auntie Euphemia. The only difference being that images will appear in the square artifact hanging on the wall rather than the misty screen she conjured up. Just like this.”

And so, I did just like Celesia and used my mana to make the game’s disc float into the console as I turned it on along with the tv. Then, I watched in glee as both of my daughters went wide-eyed at the game’s intro suddenly appearing in the tv in all its animated glory.

“See?” I said with a smug smile on my face. “But that’s not all, unlike Auntie Euphemia’s story, you can interact with it.”

“Really…?” Asked Ilya, now very curious.

“How Papa?! How?! How?!” Asked Celesia, now very, VERY curious.

“With this.” I magically grabbed a controller and floated it in front of them. Then, I pressed a button and the screen changed from the intro to the main menu, surprising my daughters, which I kept doing as I selected the new game option and was faced with the first choice you have to make in the game. “Ok, honeybuns. Boy or girl.”

Indeed, as shown in the screen with the beautiful art of either choice of armored would-be protagonist, Bond of Nightly Destiny lets you choose between a male or a female protagonist. Both fully fledged and even voiced. As for my daughters’ response, they both made it quite clear.

“Girl!” Said Ilya.

“Boy!” Said Celesia.

And with such disagreement in our hands, I was left with no choice but to invoke the age-old way that many people have used to settle things like these.

“Time for rock-paper-scissors then. We’ll go with the choice of the winner. Ok?” I said and they both nodded before immediately going at it. The winner? Ilya.

“Victory. Yay.” So went my lil’ kuudere Ilya while making double ‘V’ sign, or more like the scissors she played in this.

“Nuuu… paper…” And the poor defeated Celesia is looking at her open hand in, well, defeat. Again, they’re so adorable.

“It’s alright, Celesia. Next time, we’ll choose boy.”

“Really, Papa?”

“Yeah, no worries. So cheer up. Can you do that for me?”

“Yes!”

“Atta girl.” I said as I kissed her head. “Now, with this sacred competition over, the protagonist shall be a girl this time!”

With that, we sat on the sofa, and we played through the prologue of the game with them making all the choices. Of course, since it was all in a language they couldn’t understand—for now at least—I acted as a translator, and I even used my shape-shifting skill to change my voice to that of the characters as I read their dialogues for full immersion! After all, there’s no way in hell that I wouldn’t go all out for my daughters’ first experience with my fav game of all time!

“And that’s it for now. If we play for longer, we risk not having time to explore the rest of this place.” I said as I paused and quit the game after saving.

“Wha…? Why… Father?! But but… the big sister! She fell into a portal…!” Said Ilya worried about how the prologue ended with the protagonist getting isekai’d. Though she doesn’t know that, nor the term for that matter. “Is she going to be ok…?”

“And you said our choices would do something to the story! Something! What is it?! Is it bad?!” Said Celesia all anxious.

“It’s alright you two. Don’t worry. The big sister’s story is just beginning. Nothing bad has happened to her.” Ilya let out a sigh of relief the moment she heard that. Good thing I didn’t add ‘yet’ to the sentence. “As for the choices you girls made. Sometimes consequences come quickly, but sometimes those consequences take time to arrive, just like in real life. You’ll have to wait and see, ok?”

“Ok…” Whimpered Celesia.

“Hey, no need to look so down. While we’re stopping here for today with the game, that doesn’t mean that we’re done. After all, you brought two things to me, remember?” I said as I floated that DVD in front of her.

“Ah! The box with the photo of the pretty girl! Does that mean…?” Brimming with so much anticipation that she didn’t even finish her sentence, Celesia was practically begging me to give her the answer she wanted.

“Mhm. It’s time for you two to see what, or more like, who appears on the screen when I insert this disc in the black box. Are you ready?” I asked despite knowing the answer.

“Unn! Unn! Unn!”

“Yes! Yes! Yes!”

Yep. Both Ilya and Celesia were more than ready. And so, I took out the game disc and inserted the DVD in the console, and as soon as it began playing it, we were greeted by the characteristic shakiness of someone not used to recording things back then. That someone being me. Then, as things stabilized, a theatre stage came into view, and the host introduced us to the Little Dancer Ballet School and its dancers, which I translated for my daughters. Then, the camera zoomed in on one of said dancers.

“That’s her! That’s the one in the cover, Papa!” Exclaimed Celesia, excited.

“Who is she, Father…?” Asked Ilya more and more curious.

“You’ll see soon.” I said, my eyes not leaving the screen as I couldn’t help but be awash with nostalgia and… guilt. The host spoke again, it was time to introduce the first participant in the ballet exhibition, so I translated again. “‘Having recently passed her Intermediate Grade Examination with a grade of Distinction, our first dancer of the night already has a clear goal for her life at 12 years old. To become an Étoile, a star dancer. I am pleased to introduce you to Natalia Argento.’ My little sister.”

“…?!”

“Ehhhhhhhhh?!”

Ilya was shocked silent. Celesia was the opposite. And to them, I said…

“Surprise.”

To be continued… (cue illustrations of Auros watching her daughters with a cookie on their foreheads, Auros cosplaying, and all of them playing a videogame)