677,

A memory seemed about to surface. Something had happened before that had something in common with what Hilmirya had just said.

But Cyclone just couldn’t remember. That memory didn’t seem important to him, and he hadn’t bothered to keep it in mind at the time.

The only thing Cyclone could think of was that it hadn’t happened all that long ago.

He’d been thinking for a while, and Hilmirya and Elyse were both staring at him.

In this awkward situation, Cyclone had no choice but to give a halfhearted answer.

“I guess so~”

“Oh~”

“What do you mean, ‘I guess so’? Honestly…”

Elyse continued walking, looking like she only half understood, while Hilmirya rolled her eyes in annoyance.

Watching his two wives walk on ahead, Cyclone stopped trying to recall that unimportant memory.

His stomach happened to send him a message. Since those memories weren’t important, there was no need to rush to remember them.

With that self-justifying conclusion, Cyclone patted his stomach and hurried after them.

“Wait for me~”

He caught up with his two dear wives, and the three of them strolled home, chatting and laughing.

They were taking it slow, but happiness always made people lose track of time.

Before long, the three of them were home.

The sun had already set, so the day’s work was finally over.

Next came, of course, grown-up time—and dinner.

Seeing Little Dragon in her apron, Cyclone naturally went over and hugged her.

“Little Dragon~ What are we having tonight~?”

As if finally freed from the day’s work, Cyclone leaned against Little Dragon from behind.

“We’re having your favorite hot and sour soup tonight~”

“Oh!!”

The moment Little Dragon named the main dish, Cyclone perked right up.

Meanwhile, Eileen was helping set out the bowls and chopsticks, quietly giggling to herself.

“What is it, Eileen?”

Cyclone gave her a knowing look, and Eileen smiled as she answered.

“Besides the hot and sour soup, we’ve got rice noodles from Allen City~”

At that, another memory rose from the depths of his mind.

Back then, in that mansion in Allen City, he’d eaten all kinds of delicious food, besides spending every day doing what he loved.

Of all the delicious things he’d eaten while living in Allen City, there was one in particular that Cyclone loved.

Rice noodles.

Their smooth, springy texture went well with all kinds of soups. They were also delicious dry, tossed with different sauces.

As he thought about it, Cyclone started drooling.

“Heh heh heh~”

Just then, Yuna pulled out a chair and sat down gracefully.

“Lately, supplies from Allen City have been pouring into Kakarl. These rice noodles came from one of the merchants.”

It seemed Yuna was the hero who’d bought the rice noodles. She hadn’t been in Allen City at the time, but she knew Cyclone’s tastes all the same.

As expected of his perfectly matched wife—she knew all of Cyclone’s likes and dislikes.

“Hurry! Let’s eat already!!”

And so, a blissful evening began.

After enjoying an incredible dinner, Cyclone spent some happy time with his five wives.

Once they’d all unwound, the sun was up again.

Carrying on the bliss of the night before, breakfast was a bowl of soup dumplings made with hot and sour soup.

They’d even added a tiny amount of rice noodles to the meat and vegetable filling.

Beneath the soft, thin wrappers was a generous helping of pork.

And mixed into the pork were springy rice noodles.

“Amazing!!”

Little Dragon had taken the deliciousness to the limit, raising her cooking skills to a whole new level.

In high spirits, Cyclone picked up his spoon, ready to welcome the new day.

That was how it should’ve gone. But just as he took a bite of breakfast, someone started pounding on the door.

With a sigh, Cyclone set down the soup dumpling he’d bitten into, letting the soup spill out through its wrapper.

“Heh~”

“Heh~”

Elyse snickered, while Yuna let out a little laugh.

Cyclone sighed, then went to the door and opened it.

“I’m coming, I’m coming. Honestly, this early in the—”

As soon as Cyclone opened the door, he saw a guard from the Allen Army.

The guard looked tense and spoke between gasps.

“It’s bad, Doctor! That mother and child you saved yesterday—they’ve been badly injured!”