She hadn't been asked to serve Kaiden's group. She'd chosen it herself, because she refused to be useless. Because she didn't want to be dead weight. Every cleaned room, every prepared drink, every careful step had been her way of proving, to herself most of all, that she still had value to others.

And now… this girl. This terrifying, radiant, hopeless brocon who was all 'Kai, Kai, Kai!!!'

She saw it.

Alexandra laughed softly, voice trembling just a bit. "Then… I'll do my very best," she said, wiping at her eyes before turning back with a shy but genuine smile. "Come on. Let's make your waffles."

Alice nodded eagerly and slid off the couch with a soft thump, blankets still wrapped tightly around her body like an oversized cocoon.

The moment Alexandra turned toward the kitchenette, Alice followed, hopping after her in short, energetic steps that made the bundled fabric bounce and sway. It was impossible not to think of a bunny clumsily trying to keep a blanket cape from slipping off, and the sheer, unfiltered joy on her face only made it that much cuter.

She stopped just short of the counter, peering over it with bright, expectant eyes.

The kitchenette wasn't large, but it was clean and functional. Alexandra set the artifact waffle maker aside reverently, like one might place a holy relic, then began pulling out the basics. A bowl. A whisk. Flour, milk, eggs, sugar. Ordinary things, so painfully mundane that they felt almost out of place in a suite meant for monsterslayers and walking disasters.

Alice leaned forward the moment Alexandra cracked the first egg. Her eyes followed the motion with absolute focus.

"Why did you hit it on the edge?" she asked immediately.

"So it breaks cleanly," Alexandra replied, amused. Just this question alone told her that this girl had utterly zero experience in the kitchen.

"Oh." A pause. "Why not on the table?"

"It makes a mess."

"Oh." Another pause. "What happens if a shell falls in?"

"We fish it out."

"With fingers?"

"Yes, or a spatula."

Alice stared at the bowl as if it had just revealed a forbidden secret of the universe.

Alexandra poured in the milk. "This helps make the batter smooth."

"What is batter?"

"The… mix." She hesitated, then added, "The stuff that becomes waffles."

Alice nodded solemnly, committing the knowledge to memory. "How does it become waffles?"

"… We cook it?"

" It's white now, but it should be golden brown…"

Alexandra laughed softly under her breath, understanding what she meant now. "Heat will change how food behaves. Think of it like your combination magic with your brother. When combined, the two of you become more than the sum of all your powers, granting you new skills."

Alice's eyes instantly sparkled at that. The reference the blonde used was perfect to convey the meaning to this girl.

Seeing it, while fighting back a giant smile, Alexandra already knew she would have to make Kaiden references in this cooking lesson.

By the time Alexandra added flour, Alice had migrated closer, standing on her toes to peer into the bowl. "Why does it clump?"

"We need to combine it properly. If you're in the middle of your Conduit transformation, you can't make use of your spells, right? You need to finish the transformation."

"Why do you whisk in circles?"

"It's the most efficient, like how boosting your brother's strength instead of fighting on your own might become your best option, especially once he gets equal levels to you."

"What happens if you forget it?"

"It burns to black crisp like monsters hit by Bastet's magic… Unless your magic waffle maker will stop the heat by itself."

"… There's nothing about that in the description," Alice shrugs.

"Figured… Useless piece of… Excuse me."

Alexandra answered the most basic of questions in this manner. It was becoming increasingly clear that Alice wasn't feigning ignorance or asking for fun. She genuinely had no foundation to build on, having an even worse understanding of basic concepts than a child much younger than her. Every motion, every assumption Alexandra had grown up with, might as well have been an arcane ritual to her.

She truly lived in a different world from birth.

When the batter finally came together, smooth and pale, Alexandra paused and glanced at Alice. The girl was practically vibrating, eyes locked onto the bowl as if it were a treasure.

"…You know," Alexandra said carefully, "watching only goes so far."

Alice blinked. "Hm?"

"If you really want to learn, you should try it yourself," Alexandra continued, her tone tentative but encouraging. "Practice makes the master. Just watching won't teach you how to make good waffles."

Alice's eyes widened, the words clearly hitting something important. "I can… do that?" she asked slowly, as if the concept itself needed permission.

"Of course," Alexandra said, nodding. "Why wouldn't you? If you make a mistake, I'll help you correct it. You won't burn the kitchen down or anything."

Alice hesitated. Her gaze drifted away from the counter, scanning the room in a way that suddenly made Alexandra uneasy. It wasn't confusion… It was habit. Like she was checking for an authority that wasn't there.

A quiet realization settled in Alexandra's chest.

"Wait. Were you not allowed to cook at home?"

Alice shook her head. "Father said it was a waste of my talents. We already had the best cooks in the country, so learning a useless skill would only distract me."

She paused, then added, almost as an afterthought, "Mother didn't disagree."

Alexandra swallowed. "I… I can see why they'd think that," she said, choosing her words with care. "You're an S-tier awakened. And even before that, you were the daughter of a powerful family, one of the richest, most privileged girls in the whole country. Cooking is a necessity of survival for most people, but for someone like you…" She offered a small, apologetic smile. "It's more of a hobby. Something done purely for fun. There's nothing wrong with that, but I can see their point of view, at least…"

Alice's shoulders slumped a little under the blankets. The excitement dimmed, just slightly, but enough that Alexandra noticed immediately.

Guilt pricked at her.

"…Can I ask," Alexandra asked timidly, "why you're so interested in making waffles yourself?"

Alice looked up.

For a moment, she seemed far away. Then her eyes lit up, memory sparking to life. "Because I wasn't allowed to eat desserts like this at home. Our cooks are under strict instructions to make the most nutritious meals possible at all times. But one day, when Kaiden took me out to play, he secretly used his pocket change to buy the two of us a waffle from an old granny selling them. We sat down on the nearest bench and split it…"

Her hands tightened in the blanket. "It was the tastiest meal of my life."

"Ah."

Alexandra smiled, warmth blooming in her chest as understanding settled in fully. Of course. It wasn't about waffles. It was about a warm memory. About something forbidden becoming precious because it was shared, because it was chosen, because it was with him.

Then the smile wobbled.

And she began sweating buckets.

Because only now did it hit her that she wasn't just making waffles.

She was competing with the sacred, untouchable nostalgia of a yandere brocon's fond memory of her brother.

'This is going to be the biggest uphill battle of my life,' Alexandra thought inwardly, tightening her grip on the whisk.

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