Piece 6 (part 1)

Cytus, despite never being the capital of any kingdom or empire, is still one of a few crowded cities in the continent.

Its population wasn't as great as other large cities, but it is definitely amongst the higher end of the list. The small size also contributes to how dense the city becomes thanks to its population. And certainly, a dense area can often be a very lively hood.

"It's very crowded now compared to how it was in the morning…" Dad commented as we strolled on the afternoon street in this eastern district of Cytus, and I just chuckled while taking a massive bite out of my hot dog.

As he promised, the two of us went on a little snack tour on the road. School ended in the afternoon, which should be a good time for the snack shops to open. And since there are simply so many things to buy, Dad decides to just get the ones that looked promising.

The hotdog I'm eating wasn't exactly the best, but it is the one I sometimes bought after school. I didn't buy it all the time like Uncle Blank's sandwich, but it was still something that is my favorite. Dad got himself a small pocket of fries, which I assumed tasted good as well.

"Do you think we should buy some for Mom?" I reminded him, and Dad quickly remembers his wife.

"O-Oh! Right! One more hot dog please, uncle!" Dad immediately ordered another hot dog right before we left the stall, and thankfully, there was no one else who wanted to buy.

After getting a hot dog for Mom, we continued our afternoon walk while enjoying the lively scenery. There are just a lot of people now who are also strolling on the road, with some of them simply passing by.

I turned my gaze up while trying to find any of the shadow knights that are under Dad's command, but I just don't see any of them.

"They're not gonna reveal themselves if you're looking around like that, Milly." Dad pointed out to me, and I laughed after realizing he caught me.

"Ehehe… I'm just wondering what those guys are doing now that we are on the walk."

"Well, they are following us, for sure. But, it's better to just not know about their whereabouts. They can do their job better that way." Dad pointed out while eating another fries, and I nodded firmly to him.

"Right… Was this how it was for you as well back in Veldonia?"

"Well, not really. I don't need protection from anyone. When I'm walking on the streets, the shadow knights are busy doing other tasks that are more important."

"I see… then, who is guarding you?" I asked him rather concernedly, but Dad only turned his smile to me.

"Do I look like I need anyone guarding me?" 

Dad. You're the most handsome twenty year old man in the world. You NEED a guard, so you don't get kidnapped by older women.

Of course, I can't just say that to his face. I also know that he is one of the most powerful people in the continent, considering he just defeated a literal god like yesterday.

"If anything, they are guarding you. So, you never have to worry about getting kidnapped or harmed by anyone." Dad said with so much pride, but I simply giggled.

"But, if you're going to be with me all the time, then why would I ever need these guards?"

"That is true. These people are useless because I'm here. But, just in case we got separated, you know?" Dad jokes while eating even more of those fries, and only now have I realized he almost ate the entire pocket.

We just bought that… how is it already almost empty?

"So, how is Mom doing?" I asked since I was missing her a bit, and Dad laughed when he remembered.

"She is… suffering. Badly.

She can't cook, and she doesn't know how to. When we first split the roles, she was very confident that she can take any tasks going her way. But, clearly…"

"I don't understand. If she can't cook, then why would she volunteer to work with Grandma?"

"Well, we wanted to challenge ourselves with something that we have never done before. For example, I will be starting a job at a construction site. I will be doing stuff like lifting things and everything that requires more muscle stuff. Sadly, those kinds of things were never what I'm comfortable with."

In just a single day I left them, Dad already found a new job. It was still a really weird job for someone like him, certainly weird for an emperor becoming a construction worker. However, the look on his face tells me that Mom is facing an even worse situation.

"It's… one thing to be a chef. I am good at cooking myself, considering I once disguised myself as a royal chef for a duke. But, your mom has only once ever touched a stove, and she burnt the whole pan to crisp."

"Oh god."

"And she is working with the worst boss of all… your grandma."

"Oh crap."

"I didn't start my job until tomorrow, so I was able to witness her adapting to being a cook earlier today. So far, she has dropped five plates, burnt two dishes to coal, and tripped three times while carrying the food to the customers."

How exactly can so much chaos happen in one singular day?

I was dying of boredom in my classroom, and Mom was fighting for her life. How is that possible?

Arriving back at the diner, Dad and I had already gotten our stomachs filled with snacks. We bought Mom some fries and a hot dog, and it looks like we made the right decision buying some for her.

When I first saw her in the kitchen, her eyes looked like she was about to kill people.

"Mel… Melvin." Grandma noticed us arriving, and she quickly approached us.

She placed both her hands on Dad's shoulders, and her sorrowful eyes stared straight into his soul.

"She spilled an entire soup on a customer."

"A-Are you serious…?"

Dang… she might actually going to kill someone.

I noticed Mom is simply doing some work at the sink, probably cleaning the dishes. I decided to approach her to see how she's doing.

"Welcome back. How's school?" She asked right after I entered the kitchen behind the diner, and my eyes landed straight to her hands that were holding a plate.

Is she cleaning it with… her own hand?

"M-Mom, you can use the towel…"

"What towel?" Her eyes then turned to the object that is right next to the sink, and I realized there was a torn towel that had been shredded to pieces.

How the… How did that even happen…?

"Why did you even volunteer to be a cook for Grandma…?" I asked while facepalming, and Mom looked rather hurt by that question. I realized that I'm simply hurting her feelings by asking this, but it can't be helped. She has hurt even others because of this.

"I just… wanted to be able to do something for you."

"E-Eh? For me?" I asked out of confusion, and I tried processing everything.

When Mom and Dad decided to be commoners, they gave each other roles that are completely outside of their element. Dad is highly intelligent with papers, and he spends most of his time as the emperor doing paperwork. He is also an incredible cook, which makes him perfectly suited to be Grandma's assistant instead of Mom.

On the other hand, Mom is a brilliant strategist. She is the kind of person that merchants would kill to hire. And from what I've heard from Grandma, Mom is also artistically gifted. Her drawing has always looked incredible, which could land her an artist job.

The two of them are also incredible at combat. Becoming a paid mercenary or even knights can be highly profitable for them. However, they seemed to be very certain on doing things that they have not done before.

Mom wishes to learn cooking, while Dad goes out to become a construction worker. A rather stereotypical job for young men and women like them. However, it was never what they were comfortable with, and I can only guess why they are doing it.

"You… want to cook something for me, right?" I asked with a soft smile, and Mom smiled at me awkwardly.

"It's silly, isn't it? A mother who can't cook--"

"It's completely fine! In fact, now I'm even more excited!" I quickly said to her, and she looked rather surprised at my words.

The reason why Mom and Dad are doing jobs that are so out of their element is because they are trying to blend in. They don't wish to stand out, and they don't want anyone to know that they were once the emperor and empress of an empire. As such, they decided to simply find a job that fits commoners, while also putting themselves a little challenge to help them learn more about the world.

And Mom's challenge might be a lot more different than Dad's. She is doing it all for me.

"I'm looking forward to it! I mean, I grew up without tasting my mother's cooking. I think I can wait a bit more if I know that it is coming!" I said to her cheerfully, not trying to hurt her feelings at all.

Once all of my words were delivered, I could see a small amount of tears coming from her. I realized that she seemed to be very saddened about something, and I quickly approached her.

Mom quickly kneeled next to the sink, and I hugged her before she cried. I made sure to be there for her and held her head tightly, while feeling slightly bad for mentioning her disappearance to her.

"I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…!"

I shouldn't have said that. I should probably refrain from joking about things like that--

"Millyyy… Why is everyone so mean to me….!??"

… nevermind.

What I expected to be something terrible, is apparently just an oddity. I was fully expecting Mom to be feeling sad because she has left me for ten years, but apparently it was nothing like that.

"Your grandma was shouting at me all day… I couldn't handle it… Huuuwuuu, and your dad is just laughing at me…"

"I-It's okay, Mom… I won't shout at you or laugh at you…"

"Gee~. Playing the crocodile tears card."

From behind, Grandma's voice was heard, and we both turned our gazes to her. Grandma is only staring at us quite disgusted, while Dad is only shaking his head. I noticed the two acts very differently than I imagined, and I turned back to Mom.

Mom is… pointing her tongue out to Grandma.