In the plains next to the city of Atalys, a lone middle-aged man stood there. His solid gaze fixed on the numerous windmills in front of him.

The man was taller than average with rough brownish skin. His body tempered by all the hard work that he had been through during his life was clad in a nice light purple shirt and grey business pants. He seemed lost in thoughts as he rubbed his short beard with one of his massive hand.

Suddenly, a simple ringtone was heard from his pocket, bringing him back to reality. He retrieved a red flip phone and opened it. He opened the message he just got. His expression immediately changed. His eyes rested fixed on the lines of text for a few minutes before lowering the phone. He looked at the blazing setting sun in the horizon. It was unknown if it was the brightness or the message that made him squint his eyelids until there were only two long needles. "So, you chose this path, Akim?... Nevertheless, how in the hell did you do to make this person accept your request? How amusing. It seems I have to come back home earlier than I thought."

On the phone, the name 'Lionel' was written next to the word 'Sender'. Attached to the message, a simple photo of a blue-haired girl.

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'Why everyone seems so shocked by the fact I come home with female classmates.' Akim tilted his head with a frown.

He decided to ponder about this later. Now was not the time. "Mother, you're home early. Did something happened?"

Akim's mother snapped back to reality. She lowered her arms and walked up to her son. her face changed to a more surprised one. "The representative of the government suddenly canceled the meeting about our current project. Apparently, something happened at the Union Center and they are too busy."

"Ah, the one about the renovation of some public facilities." Her repeated nods alongside her smile indicated he was surely right in his assumption. She then looked at the bunch of unknown girls. She smirked and went to elbow her clueless son.

"You very surprised your mother there! So, which one are you interested in?" She eyed them with a lively smile.

"Mother, please stop. You are being rude. Also, you were the one to teach Ashia things like 'harem' and such, right?."

She averted her eyes in denial. "Not my fault if she takes books from my selves."

"...Anyways." Akim turned toward Talia and the others.

"Allow me to introduce her. She is my mother. Ditrish Aym." The two sides greeted each other casually. Talia thought that Ditrish seemed quite gentle in her behavior, even though she had a childish part.

This time, Akim indicated toward Talia while looking at Ditrish. "She is the person I talked about the day before yesterday."

Ditrish examined her from the bottom to the top. It seemed she tried to have a good look at the one who accepted her son's strange request. She then bowed with a warm expression. "I know my son is asking a lot, but please take care of him."

Talia closed her eyes before nodding. "Don't worry. I will make sure he reaches his goal. No matter how harsh the training is."

Akim gulped down with a drop of sweat on his face. It would be lying to say he was not afraid of the future training sessions. Meanwhile, Ditrish was still with her naive smile. "It's a relief. Ah, it's a bit early, but do you want to take a break? I got from a friend some pastries made by Michel Bresk."

Talia's eyes flashed with a strong light upon hearing those words. Just beside her, Sanya's expression also turned serious. As the daughter of a baker and someone fond of sweets herself, she of course knew who Michel Bresk was. He was known as one of the best cooks in the world. His talent was covering almost everything in the field of cuisine, but he was mostly specializing in sweets and patisserie. Eating one of his creations would surely be of great experience for her.

Ditrish noticed the changes of expression and beamed. "Oh my, it seems some of you have a sweet tooth. Akim, go change your clothes first. Habel, prepare tea and juices for our guests in the living room, please."

The maid bowed gracefully and did as requested. Ditrish saw her going. She then spoke up. "Let's go!"

The inside of the living room was, without saying, fancy. The main colors were still in accord with the rest of the mansion, meaning white and crimson. The group was sitting at a large round table made of heavy dark brown wood. Talia was next to Sanya and Zesty. Ditrish was across, with Akim on her left and Ashia on her right. Zesty had Ellen on her left. However, the little girl was strangely behaving. It might be due to the fact that the girl wearing a cherry blossom dress on her left was eating a delicious looking apple pie with almonds on top with a genuine happy expression.

"..." Since she had seen her, Ellen didn't know how to interact around Ashia. She felt that acting in a childish manner would perhaps lower the image she had of her. After all, it had been the first time she had been a 'big sister' for someone.

Ashia turned her head to look at Ellen while still munching on her food. Ellen hurriedly looked away. She tried to find help in Zesty, but she gave up when saw the shy girl eating with enthusiasm a Berliner. From the look of it, it seemed to be a pastry she was quite fond of.

Ellen could tell Ashia's eyes were still on her. She suddenly found a way out. "You...like dogs, right?"

Ashia cutely tilted her head before looking at the husky plush on her laps. She then nodded happily. "Yes! But, my favorite one is the husky! I'm allergic to them, but they still give lots of plushies!"

"...I see." She thought that she might have some shopping to do in a near future.

Meanwhile, Sanya was embarrassed. Not because she did something embarrassing, not had something been done to her. The reason was the glutton on her left. It has not been so long since they had been at this table and there were already corpses, also known as the wrapping of cakes, on top of Talia’s plate.

Talia’s mind was totally clear. All her senses were focused on the delicacies her mouth was currently savoring. The chocolate glazing mixed with the caramel filling of the éclair. The freshness of the plump pineapple slices on top of the vanilla sponge cake topped with whipped cream. The crispy biscuits sandwiching the sweet jam. All of this accompanied with an ice cold apple juice glass. She purposely accelerated her thought process, so that her brain could feel each mouthful to its fullest.

Honestly, Sanya was a bit jealous of the food. She knew that Talia liked sweets to an extent that went beyond the norms, but still...All of sudden, she imagined herself getting the same treatment as the sweet food. She was lying on her bed with Talia on top of her. The two pairs of eyes locked on each other, the faces flushed due to the excitement. Talia was gently moving her hand, unbuttoning her uniform while whispering. "Thanks for the trea-"

‘No, no, no! This is too soon!’ Sanya shook her head to remove those impure thoughts. Now that she had a valid reason to be embarrassed she went back to eat her own plate. She used her spoon to cut through the shell of the chocolate ball, making the almond cream spill out. Her hand rose, bringing the luxurious pile of sugar to her lips.

She could not help but feel internally defeated. ‘...The shell is firm and perfectly round, yet it’s fragile enough to allow one to crack it with ease. The chocolate itself is tasty without being too strong to not cover the cream….I want the recipe.’

Sanya liked cooking, sweets in particular. This might be because of her mother, but her passion for the kitchen had been born when she had first started helping in the bakery. Since then, she would sometimes cook by herself or even help out when her mother was too busy. So, eating those pricey treats was a good way to broaden her horizon.

She took a sip of her tea.

Akim was obviously hungry after the training, but he was not so fond of sweet things. He preferred meats and other food that would fill his stomach while giving him a lot of nutriment. Nevertheless, he still ate fruits that were lying there, probably Habel that thought of him.

As he scooped out the inside of the kiwi that was his hands he looked at Talia eating with pleasure. The gap between the current her and the one using him as a sandbag was quite huge. At least, he learned that he should never judge a book by its cover.

From the corners of his eyes, he could see his mother smiling while staring at the blue-haired girl. This scene made him a bit nervous. ‘Mother always seems gentle, but she has the eyes of a successful businesswoman. Appearance can’t deceive her.’

After a short moment, Ditrish spoke up. “Your name is Talia, right? You sure seem to enjoy sweets.”

Talia stopped momentarily like she had been brought back to reality. She wiped the cream on her cheek with a napkin before nodding with an expressionless face. “My apologies. I don’t know who gave it to you, but there are quite good. Still, not better than a bakery that I know.”

Sanya looked away when she heard those words with a bashful expression. Ditrish saw this and just smiled in reply. “Quite honest of you. However, I have a question for you.”

She used her fork to stab the poor brownie. “Why did you accept my son’s request? Don’t tell me, you have feelings for him?”

“No, I don’t. Neither is it for fame or money if you are wondering.” The people around the table had not the time to be surprised by the sudden question which was immediately answered by Talia right away. Even the one asking it was slightly taken back.

“Then, why?”

Talia narrowed her eyes while looking at the nearly-empty glass in front of her. She took it and made the surface of the liquid wave back and forth. Sanya, who was just beside her, remember seeing this face before.

“Because he reminds me of a good friend of mine.” Most of the people around the table tilted their head in confusion. It seemed quite a strange reason at first.

Ditrish nodded after a moment of silence. “...I see. I understand.”

She resumed her meal, followed by the others. Her gaze toward Talia and the others was slightly more gentle for some reasons.

They continued to chat even after finishing eating for a while. As they became more familiar with each other, the mood also lightened up. They also learned more about the situation in the Aym family.

Ditrish had a big building design company. She took projects from clients to design the exterior and interior of buildings or even houses. It was currently a flourishing field as a lot of people tend to want more personalized homes in Pacifica. The firm might only have a decade or so, but it was still one of the major groups. It was also Ditrish that had decorated the house where they were right now.

On the other hand, Akim’s father was at the head of the most important group in the field of energy. His influence spread all over Pacifica. For example, he was responsible for the major solar panels and windmill fields in the east, as well of the routing to the other cities such as Union City.

However, the headquarter was still in the Union City, so he had to live here with his family. Even though, he had to make trips from time to time to solve potential problems.

This discussion made the group realize just how much power did this family held. Well, Talia and Ellen were used to this world, so they were quite indifferent. Even Sanya was only a bit stunned. Her girlfriend was currently the most powerful mortal and she had met a being that transcended those limits. So, a rich family was no longer this surprising.

In the end, only the poor Zesty had her head spinning due to the realization of where she had stepped a foot in.

Ditrish stood up with a smile. “I will not disturb you more than this. Use the training room as much as you need. I will let you see all the details with Akim.”

Talia also stood up and nodded. “I will do so.”

Ditrish waved at her while leaving, her maid a step behind her. “Thank you, little blue.”

‘...Little blue?’ The only person inside the room with blue hair tilted her head.