After La Luna came out of Itefeil’s room, it clearly smelled something burning from the kitchen... It hurried over to take a look. The pot had been covered while the soup cooked, and now red bubbles were forming all around the lid. Tomato soup trickled down the sides, but the intense heat of the flames scorched it halfway down, leaving streaks of charred red on the pot.
“Meow, meow, meow...”
(This pot’s probably done for...)
La Luna circled the stove and stared at it. A whole bunch of question marks popped up over its head. This thing didn’t have a gas line or even a switch, so how did you light it???
It thought back to when Itefeil had lit the flame. There hadn’t been any loud sound or anything. She’d simply turned around, and the fire was already burning.
Risking a burn, La Luna hopped up onto the stove and lowered its head to get a good look at how the fire was burning. Once it finally figured out how the flames worked, it stared in utter shock.
There wasn’t any fuel or gas mechanism under the stove. The flame was simply floating above it, burning quietly without consuming anything at all.
“Meow?”
(Oh my god...)
La Luna stared blankly at the flame. It looked just like magic—no, it *was* magic, wasn’t it?
Once it understood, La Luna suddenly got it. This stove had none of the functions the one from its previous world had; it only looked the part. For someone who could use magic, controlling the size of the flame was as easy as they pleased.
“Meow, meow, meow...”
(But how are you supposed to put this thing out...?)
La Luna foolishly tried blowing on the flame...
(Hmm...)
When it realized what it was doing, it suddenly felt how silly it looked. Its face went a little red. Good thing nobody had seen.
Come to think of it, this was just a fire. Couldn’t you put it out by dumping a basin of water on it? There was no need for any safety measures.
And so, after daybreak, the glaring sunlight softened as it passed through the gauze curtains. Itefeil gradually woke from her dreams.
“Ahh~”
She stretched, loosening her shoulders, stiff after spending the whole night hunched over. Then she turned and drew open the gauze curtains. The dazzling sunlight instantly lit up the entire room. She opened the window and took a deep breath of fresh air.
“Oh yeah! The mighty and invincible Itefeil is back at full health! Another day full of energy!”
Itefeil turned around and noticed a blanket on the spot where she’d been sitting. She didn’t remember having it with her when she went to sleep last night. What she did remember was having a strange dream.
In the dream, a tall, handsome knight had gently draped a coat over her shoulders and rescued her from a raging fire.
“Ah... Why would I dream about something like that? Am I starting to think about men, too?”
She scratched her head in confusion, then headed for the washroom to freshen up. After sending in her report last night, she’d been so tired that she’d fallen asleep right at the communications desk. She had to go make an in-person report to the Chief of Police at noon, but first she needed to tidy herself up. With that in mind, she stepped out of the room—and accidentally stepped on a rag doll lying nearby. She pitched backward.
“Huh?”
Just before she hit the ground, a powerful gust of wind gently caught Itefeil from behind. She tightened her core and straightened back up.
“Ah, that scared me...”
Itefeil glanced at the rag doll by her feet, then kicked it into another corner. Without even looking back at the mess in her room, she went straight to wash up.
Yes, Itefeil was the sort of woman who looked polished on the outside, but whose home was an absolute mess...
As Itefeil passed the kitchen on her way to the washroom, something she glimpsed out of the corner of her eye made her stop. Then she took two steps back.
“Mmm...”
Itefeil stared at the trashed kitchen: the overturned soup pot, water all over the floor and stove, and a huge red stain where the tomato soup had spilled onto the ground...
“Ah... Um... Did I do this?”
Itefeil was completely baffled. All she remembered from last night was coming home, feeding the kitten two sausages, and casually cooking something for herself. She’d been about to eat, and then... all she remembered after that was working on her report.
Oh my god, did I really make this much of a mess in the kitchen last night??!!
Still puzzled, Itefeil went into the washroom. Half an hour later, she came out looking much less groggy than she had when she first woke up. She’d even put on a light layer of makeup.
“Meow~”
“You’re awake, La Luna? You got up so late—you really are a sleepy little kitty.”
When Itefeil came out after washing up, she saw La Luna getting up from the living-room sofa and stretching. She went over, picked La Luna up, and rubbed her face against its furry head.
“So fluffy~”
La Luna, meanwhile, glanced guiltily toward the other corner. It had meant well when it tried to put out the fire last night, but it had accidentally knocked over the soup pot and made a mess with the water, too. It had no idea whether this woman would see the state of the kitchen and fly into a rage, then throw it out.
But a little while later, La Luna realized it had been worrying for nothing.
“How did this get so messy...? Did I suddenly remember in the middle of the night that I’d forgotten to put out the fire, then rush around and make all this mess...?”
Itefeil muttered to herself as she cast a cleaning spell. La Luna watched as the water on the floor gathered together with the tomato soup splattered across the floor and stove. The mess scrubbed itself again and again. Once the stove was clean, the water and tomato soup slowly formed a ball that floated up from the floor, then flew by itself into the drain on the other side of the stove.
“All done. I really shouldn’t stay up so late when I’ve got official business the next day.”
Looking at the spotless kitchen, Itefeil felt a little pleased with herself. Honestly, the organization was always saying her room was filthy and messy, but it was only messy, wasn’t it? What was the big deal?
Seeing Itefeil work her magic without suspecting it, La Luna relaxed and went to look for the two sausages it had left in another part of the kitchen. Itefeil took two eggs and some bread from the cupboard and casually made herself breakfast.
“Meow, meow...”
(Ah, that smells so good...)
La Luna stopped chewing its sausage and turned to see Itefeil frying eggs.
Damn, I want fried eggs, too... La Luna turned away and went back to chewing its cold, hard sausage. Why did this sausage suddenly not taste so good anymore?
