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[X] Agree to help her. But only after breakfast.
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---

Sounds like this could get complicated. But still...

"..."

Grimnír looks up at Sakuya, observing her closely. The maid slowly turns away, blushing faintly. He sighs heavily.

"Alright, I'll help you," he says. "But only after breakfast. I haven't eaten a thing, yet."

The girl's eyes widen, and for a moment, he thought that he saw her smile. But in the next moment, she has a perfectly neutral expression on her face. The maid gives him a formal bow.

"Understood," she says. "I will wait until you finish eating. Thank you."

"Just one last question."

"Go ahead."

"Have you encountered any other strange persons in the Forest?"

The maid pauses to think. After a moment, she shakes her head.

"Nothing comes to mind. Just the usual forest youkai and fairies. They know better than to play tricks on me, though."

"Ah, I see."

"I shall take my leave."

Then, Sakuya vanishes from sight. He isn't surprised. Perhaps his mind is getting more flexible. After all, if one continues thinking in terms of "reality" and "common sense", he would most certainly go mad in this wonderland called Gensokyo.

~~~

"H..h..hey, can I have a moment?"

"Mmm?"

"How is the taste? It isn't strange, is it?"

Grimnír turns toward Alice. He smiles gently at her.

"The pancakes are quite good," he says. "The forest berries add a pleasant aroma, and the texture is smooth. You must be very experienced."

Alice turns away, blushing.

"N-not really," she whispers. "I just know a little of this and that -"

"Hmph, as expected of Alice ~ze," says another voice. "But is it as awesome as mine, I wonder?"

He turns toward Marisa, who has a big wide grin on her face.

"The mushroom omelette is also well-made," he says. "Though I wonder... you didn't use any poisonous mushrooms to make it tasty, did you?"

The black-white smiles widely and gives him a thumbs-up.

"Don't worry, apprentice" she says. "I only used 'ordinary' mushrooms for that one. I don't think you are ready to taste my true strength in cooking yet!"

She laughs loudly after her declaration, as if winning a battle.

"Did you sleep well?"

Slowly, he turns toward the third person. She calmly takes a sip of her tea before looking up at him enigmatically.

"It was peaceful," he says. "Didn't even have any dreams this time."

She smiles a little bit, but says nothing. He takes a moment to drink from his cup.

"This tea really is a good blend, Yukari."

"I'm glad you like it~"

~~~

Breakfast ended without incident. Too bad Reisen and Dr. Yagokoro were already finished when he arrived. He wanted to ask them a few questions. Apparently, Mystia had recovered completely last night. She and Wriggle left early this morning. Forest youkai seem to be a restless bunch.

"Such a peaceful morning," he says carelessly.

Grimnír turns towards the others. For some reason, all three of them seem to be staring at him. They are all smiling expectantly. Somehow, he gets a bad feeling about this.

"E-er, is something wrong? What is it?"

A moment of silence.

"Such a clueless apprentice, ~ze."

"Geez, he really doesn't get it..."

"Can't say I'm surprised, though it is kinda cute~"

Grimnír somehow feels hurt at each of their statements, though he still doesn't understand why.

"Sorry for being clueless," he says. "If you have something to say, then say it. I can't read minds, you know."

Alice frowns at him. Then, she turns away, irritated.

"S-stupid idiot," she whispers.

Yukari just nods patiently.

"For a person of your intelligence, you can be really dumb sometimes~"

Marisa just smiles wider.

"Ahahaha!" she says. "I guess I'll have to spell it out for my clueless apprentice after all. We want to know who you want to have morning lessons with, ~ze!"

"..eh?"

The black-white cheerfully steps closer.

"We all made a bet," she whispers. "The other two will take care of the mansion repairs. No half-assed answers like 'I want to learn with everyone', alright?"

[ ] Morning lessons with Alice
[ ] Morning lessons with Marisa
[ ] Morning lessons with Yukari
[ ] I have something else I need to do...
[ ] Custom