A person in Honkai Impact, just became a Decade Knight

But in reality, Gu Yu was trying to persuade Bronya not to take the blame for Cocolia's crimes upon herself.

Gu Yu is always like this, with an expression that says nothing concerns him, but he's always thinking of everyone else.

But, Brother Gu Yu, a sin is a sin.

I once helped Cocolia commit evil deeds, and may even have assisted her in causing the Honkai...

—Do I really deserve to stay by everyone's side?

……

On the other side, Kiana, who hadn't noticed her companion's reaction at all, sighed helplessly after rummaging through the souvenirs that Gu Yu had brought back.

"They really are all the same gift packs. Old Gu is such a blockhead."

After taking one of the gifts, Kiana tiptoed to the vicinity of the kitchen and looked at the two people inside.

Mei, seize the opportunity!

The situation is getting worse and worse. If you keep dawdling like this, even if I were to step in, I wouldn't be able to help you.

However, Gu Yu, who was in the kitchen, had no idea that Kiana was thinking about these things.

From the very beginning, he noticed that, apart from Bronya being a little upset about Cocolia, Mei also seemed to be in a low mood.

Then, Gu Yu, who was drawn by the aroma of the food, went to the kitchen and instantly understood why Mei was in a bad mood.

After turning off the gas stove, Gu Yu scooped a spoonful of stew into her mouth and looked at Raiden Mei.

"Isn't the taste pretty good? Don't tell me you're upset over something so small."

"But...I originally planned to...sigh..."

Seeing Gu Yu's extremely serious expression, Mei, who was easily embarrassed, was too shy to admit that she had messed up because of her overthinking.

This is not only a bit unfair to Gu Yu who is risking his life outside, but also extremely embarrassing.

"Let's take this pot of food out first. Hmm, there's just a little bit of food left."

"You're not feeling well right now, so I'll take care of things here."

After grabbing the pot handle with a rag, Mei walked out of the kitchen feeling very aggrieved.

She should be in charge of cooking today so that Gu Yu can get some rest.

But now that Gu Yu has noticed that she has no interest in cooking, Mei is too embarrassed to stay in the kitchen and cause Gu Yu trouble.

Why? All I wanted to do was cook a nice meal.

When did cooking a meal become so difficult for Raiden Mei?

"Hmm, let me see. We have enough pork in our reserves; we can make a Bak Kut Teh without the Chinese herbs."

"The chicken is ready, it's perfect for making chicken rice."

"We also have fish and curry cubes, so we'll just make do with a whole curry fish head."

"We don't have enough ingredients to make a specialty dish, so we'll just make some home-style dishes."

Hearing Gu Yu muttering in the kitchen, Kiana, who was squatting by the door, cautiously walked to Mei's side.

"Mei, you..."

"I'm fine..."

After putting down the iron pot, Mei smiled and said to Kiana.

"Yuno and Sakura will be back from training soon. Why don't you give them a call and ask them to bring some drinks back?"

"Principal Theresa and Teacher Himeko are estimated to be home in an hour. We need to tidy up here before they get back."

After all, this is all I can do right now.

As time passed, the three people in the hall tidied up the originally slightly messy living room until it was very clean.

Fu Hua, who was inside the room, also came out of the room because of the sound.

Meanwhile, Yae Sakura, who had accompanied Yuno during her special training, returned to the dormitory with Yuno, bringing drinks with her.

"It smells so good, it's Mei..."

Yae Sakura, who was about to praise Mei, immediately shut her mouth after seeing Mei sitting on the sofa looking somewhat distressed.

"Oh, is everyone back?"

At the same time, Himeko, dragging her tired body, also arrived at her own front door.

"This taste, Mei... ah, it's not you."

Then, after everyone filed into the restaurant, Mei went to Rin's room and gently knocked on the door.

“Miss Maggie, although I know you are very sad right now, please come out for a moment.”

"Eat something, don't let your body break down."

"Thank you, but I'm really not in the mood..."

After hearing the girl's weak refusal, Mei could only helplessly return to the dining table and look at Theresa, who was supposed to be in charge of this matter.

"...Don't disturb her, let her have some peace and quiet."

Upon hearing Lin's voice, Theresa didn't know what to say.

But at least for now, she has done everything she could.

"Alright, dinner's ready."

After completing the final step, Gu Yu placed all the dishes on the table.

"It's okay if Maki doesn't want to come out; I saved some for her. Now, we can eat."

Seeing the dishes on the table made Mei feel even sadder.

The ingredients were prepared according to my own plan; in other words, these ingredients were not prepared for these dishes.

The success of a dish depends not only on the seasoning, but also on the selection and preparation of the ingredients.

Changing the way ingredients are prepared in a dish can easily alter its texture and flavor.

After slightly moving her chopsticks and placing a simple skewer of bak kut teh into her bowl, Mei took a small bite and swallowed it.

Just as expected, Gu Yu handled it perfectly.

Did we lose again?

"Hmm, it tastes pretty good, Brother Gu."

After munching on a skewer of Bak Kut Teh, Kiana suddenly looked at Gu Yu as if she had remembered something.

"But why do you make meat skewers? Is there any special meaning to this dish?"

"Because this is a famous snack from ROS country, Kiana."

Before Gu Yu could reply, Theresa answered Kiana's question.

Then, Theresa looked at Gu Yu and asked a question.

"Is this the answer sheet you've given me, Gu Yu boy?"

"Of course. As you said, we'll bring back local specialties to share with everyone."

After taking off her apron, Gu Yu found a place to sit down and responded indifferently.

"I thought about it for a long time, but I didn't know what everyone liked, so I bought some local specialties. But on the way back, I couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong."

"Anyone can do something half-heartedly, but since there's a better way, I think we should give it a try."

"Compared to souvenirs that can be bought online, I thought about it..."

"--It would be better to make the local snacks after all."

After hearing Gu Yu's answer, Theresa nodded in satisfaction.

"Full marks."

Compared to your blockhead father, you're much more sensible.

Seeing the various expressions on everyone's faces after hearing Gu Yu's words, Mei felt the bitterness in her heart intensify.

I should be the one sharing the workload with Gu Yu, but why does it always end up like this?

"Also, this is something I wanted to tell you, Mei."

Eh?

Upon hearing Gu Yu mention her name, Mei instinctively raised her head.

Then, when their eyes met, she immediately turned her head away shyly.

"To put it simply, those of us who cook just hope to convey our inner feelings to others through food."

After scooping a bowl of stew into her own bowl, Gu Yu said calmly.

"A slight difference in taste isn't that important—come on, this isn't a cooking competition. Do you think anyone cares if you stewed this dish for a few extra minutes?"

"Leaving aside other things."

Gu Yu pointed to Kiana, who was gulping down stew in her mouth, and said with a sneer.

"Do you think Kiana cares? She still ate several bowls straight away."

"Brother Gu!"

After finishing swallowing, Kiana glared fiercely at Gu Yu.

"Why do I get the feeling that you were talking badly about me just now!"

"I'm just telling the truth. And look, the results are obvious."

Following Gu Yu's gaze, Kiana suddenly noticed that Mei, whose expression had been somewhat gloomy just moments before, now seemed to have grasped half of what was going on and burst out laughing.

"Yes, you're right, I was out of my mind."

Honestly, you're always like this. You seem indifferent to others, but you always find your own way of caring for us.

That's why...

—I just can't help liking you.