"I'll help too."

Halfway through dinner prep, Lixue slipped into the kitchen like cool mist; her hair was still damp, glittering like dew, fresh from the bath.

"You don’t have to, really. Dinner’s almost done," I said, hands moving like flowing water. She’d tied a casual single ponytail, a quick knot after bathing, simple yet bright as a fresh moon.

"I’m the one who usually cooks, so if I let you finish everything alone, Yumigawa Sumeragi, I’d feel a pebble in my heart."

She donned an apron, rolled up her yukata sleeves like lifting a curtain to a sunlit window, and stepped in to handle the half-prepped ingredients with a knife’s steady rhythm.

"Funny thing is, back in the Mizumi Clan, I cooked a lot too," I said, smoke-and-hearth memories rising like warm steam.

"Why?" Lixue blinked, puzzled as a spring pond. "The Mizumi Clan is the strongest in the world, the absolute overlord. You must have countless servants. Why would a young master cook?"

"‘Countless’ is a fog-bank word," I said, grinning light as a breeze. "We don’t let outsiders into the Central Continent, so our numbers are small—around a hundred."

"And in the Mizumi Clan, everyone’s equal," I added, like laying stones on a clear path. "No masters, no Servants. If the head of the clan gets bored, they can do chores. If someone wants to try being head, they can be head."

"..." Lixue froze like a snowflake midair, then asked in disbelief, "That sounds like a hidden Arcadia. Is it really true? Humans carry endless desire like a tide. Wouldn’t passing the headship around cause chaos?"

"I don’t think so," I said, voice steady as a mountain line. "The Central Continent is vast and rich; whatever you want, you can reach out and take, like fruit on a low branch."

"In that ease, there’s nothing to fight over," I went on, a laugh like wind through bamboo. "So everyone in the Mizumi Clan works at making life interesting. Most wander like birds chasing seasons."

"Few stay at the main estate," I said, picturing sunlit pavilions, "most live where scenery is lovely and the climate’s gentle, like painting and breeze."

"No wonder you and your sisters feel so pure, so untouched by dust," Lixue mused, nodding like a willow. "A hundred people enjoying a whole continent—of course you’d end up like that."

"We also keep a simple ancestral precept," I said, tossing it out like a pebble that skips true. "Enjoy life to the fullest. Don’t make yourself too tired."

"Only the Mizumi Clan could claim a rule like that," she said, a smile like warm tea. "It really is peaceful there."

"Mm-hmm, of course," I said, scratching my cheek with a sheepish grin, lazy-cat under sun. "Maybe too peaceful. The house always floats with a lazy, drifting air."

"That’s wonderful, isn’t it?" She laughed, clear as chimes. "A clan like an Arcadia is what hearts yearn for."

"That makes me happy. Thanks for the praise," I said, warmth rising like dawn.

"It’s not praise," she said, honest as a clear stream. "Just what my heart said."

"Thanks anyway!"

"..."

By the time our chatter ebbed like evening light, dinner had taken shape; alone, I’d have needed ten more minutes. Many hands make the pot sing.

"Mm, this tastes great," Lixue said, eyes bright as stars. "Didn’t expect your cooking to be this good, Yumigawa Sumeragi."

"Yours too, Lixue," I said, tasting a spoonful like tasting first snow. "Since leaving the Mizumi Clan, yours is the best I’ve had."

We sampled each other’s dishes and traded praise like lanterns set afloat.

"Enough or we’ll never stop," she laughed, wind-bell light. She fetched a large wooden tray, set each dish in place like arranging a moonlit garden.

I hurried to help. In a blink, everything was plated. Outside, the sun had folded away; only thin moonlight and scattered starlight dusted the window like frost.

Lixue and I each lifted a brimming tray, and we left the kitchen like two ships leaving harbor.

"By the way, Lixue," I said, voice easy as night air.

"Hmm? What is it, Yumigawa Sumeragi?" Her glance flickered like a firefly.

"Don’t use my full name. It sounds like we’re strangers standing in the rain."

"Oh? Then what should I call you?" Her tone tilted like a curious bird.

"Simple. Like I call your name, just call mine."

"I see... very well, Emperor."

"Mm."

...

At the table, we chimed a quick “I’m starting,” like knocking chopsticks against the rim, then tucked in. Lingxiao and Lingsaki ate like little wolves, as if they hadn’t feasted in ages.

"Wow, I’m so moved! Dear big brother’s cooking is amazing! (munch munch)" Lingsaki beamed, eyes sparkling like twin stars.

"Same here, it’s incredible! (munch munch)" Lingxiao nodded, cheeks round as peaches.

Cute, I thought, amused as a drifting cloud. When you’re pretty, even messy eating turns into a charming skit.

"Don’t talk with your mouths full," I said, helpless as a warm spring, while I added food to their bowls like a gentle snowfall.

"Not bad, you brat," FrostyLily Dream said after a few bites, praise dropping like a golden leaf. Hearing it made my chest glow like banked embers.

"By the way, this lady forgot to ask something," FrostyLily Dream said, suddenly lighting up like a lantern with a new idea.

"What is it?"

"What are your plans after clearing the Nine Cold Labyrinth, you brat?"

"Stick to the plan. Take the Ice Dream Lotus back to heal Hill," I said, truth neat as a folded note.

"That’s too dull. This lady has a proposal," she said, a fox-smile curling like smoke.

"A proposal?" I couldn’t help myself; the thought flickered like a wary candle. What trick now?

"Right. This child Lixue grew up inside the Nine Cold Labyrinth," she said, voice soft as falling snow. "She longs for the outside world like a bird eyeing the open sky."

"I get that," I said, a memory rising like morning fog. "I became a Sword Wielder to earn my pass beyond the gates."

So Lixue carried the same hunger I once did—an echo like water in a well.

"Exactly," FrostyLily Dream said, tapping the table like rain on eaves. "Let Lixue leave with you and stroll the Northern Abyss Continent."

"As for the Ice Dream Lotus, this lady will deliver it to my long-unseen older sister," she added, eyes gleaming like polished jade. "Two birds with one stone, yes?"

"That..." I fell into thought, shadows pooling like ink. I had no reason to refuse. But I’d left Xinuo without care for a while. If I didn’t return now, would I stir a storm?

"As if reading fog," FrostyLily Dream continued, voice calm as night water. "I’ll explain your situation to my sister. And if she wants to find you, it’ll take only a blink."

"Mm... in that case, I’ve got no objections," I said, the knot loosening like a rope in rain. "Lingxiao, Lingsaki, what about you?"

After a breath of doubt, I nodded like a leaf settling.

"As long as we can be with our dear big brother/big brother, we’ve got no complaints!" the sisters chimed, in perfect unison like twin bells.

"What about you, Lixue?" I asked, glancing at her quiet focus, steady as a winter pine.

"I hate to leave my Master’s side," she said, eyes clear as ice-water. "But I’m the one who wants to see the world. And if my companion is Emperor, I’ve no objections."

"Good."

FrostyLily Dream clapped, sharp as a firecracker, and laughed bright as sunrise. "Then it’s happily decided!"