235 Short Visit ; Void ; Favorite Dish

Seated at the dining table, I take my time enjoying the delicacies present on the table while ignoring the anxious lady sitting opposite me.

"Lord Victor," she finally calls out to me after a few minutes, "Can I help you with something?"

Looking into the lady's eyes, I nonchalantly nod my head.

Seeing this, the lady, who is none other than Zeoticus' wife, Venelana, heaves a sigh before saying, "Please tell if something has been bothering you."

Silence ensues in the room as I refrain from answering her for a minute before I directly proclaim, "I have quite a few reasons to be suspicious of Zeoticus."

The moment my voice fades, the room's atmosphere tenses as Venelana takes in a deep breath before responding, "What could have possibly caught your attention?"

"That doesn't matter," I reply, "What matters is Zeoticus' actions during the past few days. Now then, do you mind telling me what your husband has been up to?"

Despite my words seeming like I'm giving her a choice, the truth is quite far from that. She is obliged to answer my inquiry, whether she likes it or not. If anything, I am curious about her response. Will she speak the truth or will she lie to my face? If she attempts the latter, I will immediately be able to tell.

"I don't know," a simple response reaches my ears, startling me a little, "All I know is that he hasn't been home for a while now."

Sensing no falsehood in her words, I furrow my brows before asking, "You should be aware of the trouble that's brewing in the underworld, in particular, the devils' plans of waging war against me and a few factions. What do you think of this matter?"

"This…" Venelana responds in a slightly awkward tone, "I am unsure of what your lordship is asking me."

"Don't act dumb, Ms. Venelana. I'm asking you about whose side are you going to be taking. My or the devils' side."

Venelana goes silent for a moment before she adopts a resolute expression and says, "The devils."

I shut my eyes for a few seconds before abruptly opening them and beaming a smile.

She lied.

Knowing that there is no point in continuing to press her, I proceed to get away from the seat I was sitting on before creating a gateway connected to the mansion.

"Lord Victor?" Venelana's slightly confused voice reaches my ears.

"Is something wrong?" I casually ask.

"You're leaving?"

"That's right," I respond before taking a step toward the gateway.

"Please wait!" Venelana's voice reaches my ears once again, this time being a little anxious.

Turning my head to face her, I say, "Ms. Venelana, do you have anything to say?"

"Rias… Will she be participating in this war?"

"Naturally," I respond, "And she is going to be taking my side once the time arrives."

Hearing my words, Venelana's face turns pale as she asks, "Is that going to be necessary?"

"Hm… I'm not sure. I will see if she's able to handle herself before making a proper decision."

Following this, a serious expression appears on Venelana's face as she nods her head, to which I just shrug my shoulders before stepping into the gateway.

However, the next moment I feel a chill down my spine as I find myself floating in an endless dark void instead of the mansion's living room.

I feel an eerie energy twirl around my body as a pair of heterochromatic eyes appear a few hundred meters away from me.

{Code detected: Dominion.}

Are you fucking serious? Dominion? That's the Code that Yuno pretended to be, the one with powers over space, right?

{Affirmative.}

Great. I'm encountering it at this point? Hopefully, they're just here to greet me, because I don't think I'm prepared to face off against an entity with control over space right now.

At this moment, I hear a light chuckle as the red and blue eyes dim a little.

{Father, data is being shared by the Code regarding a Platform.}

What the heck? Is it inviting me over?

{According to my analysis, there is a very high chance that's the case.}

How did it find me and why is it doing this?

{Unable to answer Father's query due to lack of information.}

Before I can think further, the sound of a gunshot reaches my ears before a golden streak forms from the pair of eyes and struck my chest.

The next moment, the endless dark void simply vanishes as I find myself standing in the living room, with a few pairs of eyes locked onto me.

"What's wrong?" Nao's voice reaches my ears, "You seem to be in shock."

Breaking out of my stupor, I shake my head and say, "It's nothing."

Deciding to not think of this matter any further, for the time being, I turn around and begin walking toward the kitchen.

Upon arriving there, I find Sora and Saturnus cooking, while Siesta is nowhere to be seen.

Sensing my arrival, Saturnus turns around and says, "Welcome back, Creator."

Sora is a little startled before she turns around too and says, "Haru? Why are you here?"

"Well…" I respond, "I thought I would help you cook."

"You know how to cook?" Sora says, stunned.

"Not very much, but yes," I respond.

Back in Project Future, sometimes 'my' mom would get home later than usual, so I had to cook for myself. As such, I know how to use the kitchenware, even if a little.

The reason I'm bothering with this right now is that I want to keep my mind busy as to not think of what happened a short while ago.

"I want to cook too!" a cheerful voice suddenly reverberates in the room as an energetic Ayumi enters the kitchen.

"Ayumi?" I say while a certain memory flashes across my mind.

"Let's cook together as Brother Yu promised!"

Hah~ It seems like I will be enjoying a remarkably special dish today.

Taking a glance at Sora, I see that she has a curious glint in her eyes as she stares at Ayumi.

Resolving myself to my fate, I let out a sigh and say, "Alright. What are you going to be cooking?"

"Brother Yu's favorite - Omurice!"

"Favorite? I didn't know you had a favorite dish, Haru," Sora remarks.

Forcing a smile on my face, I say, "Would you like to try it as well?"

Seemingly not expecting the suggestion, Sora's eyes widen for a few seconds before she nods her head and says, "Sure. I want to see what your favorite dish tastes like."

Good. I've managed to bait her. Now, I won't be the only one to tear up from today's meal due to how good it will be.

"Brother Yu, we don't have the secret ingredient," Ayumi suddenly says.

"That's not a problem," I reply before snapping my fingers as a bottle of pizza sauce appears in the air.

"Here," I say while telekinetically placing it in her hands.

"Is that…" Sora dubiously says.

"Yes," I respond, "It's pizza sauce."

"Why would she need that?" Sora curiously asks.

"You'll see in a moment," I respond with a smile.

---

"Oh, you're going to be eating that for dinner?" Misa remarks once everyone is seated at the table.

"Yes," I respond while placing a small pot of honey in front of Eri and gently rubbing her head with my finger.

"Sora and I will be enjoying this special dish cooked by our dear little chef, Ayumi."

Hearing my words, a slight flush forms on Ayumi's cheeks, but that doesn't stop her from energetically exclaiming, "I cooked Brother Yu's favorite dish together with him!"

"As always, spoiling her," Nao says with a wry smile on her lips.

"Is there a problem with that?" I ask.

"No," she responds, "None at all."

As such, I lift my spoon and dip it into the yellow mush before scooping up a spoonful and guiding it to my mouth.

Chomping down on the content, my mind blanks as my tongue twitches from how sweet it is.

I try my best to keep a straight face as I glance over at Sora who has a horrified expression on her face as she stares at the untouched omurice in front of her.

"Sora," I say after a few moments, "You shouldn't let Ayumi's kindness go to waste. She made one for you too, after all."

Hearing this, Sora throws a pointed glare at me with blame apparent in her eyes before she takes in a deep breath and lifts her spoon.