She leaned her back against the wall behind her and took a better look at Sanya. It looked like she had woken up not too long ago as she was arranging her hair with her hands. She was wearing a simple short with suspenders that were swaying behind her. The top of her body was covered with a striped top tank. Talia’s face twitched as her gaze made its way along the bare legs up to the rosy shoulder displayed before her…

She shook her head and tried to calm herself. Since she had come back, she had barely been able to control her deepest desires when she was alone with Sanya. It was like her body was attracted to her like a bee to the sugary smell of a flower.

Fortunately, there was a distraction in her hand. She took a closer look at what was on the plate. It was treat-sized bars covered in a brownish glazing. She took one with her free hand and immediately felt the coldness from it, welcomed with the current heat.

She took a bite. “Oh, it’s layered waffles with chocolate. However, the chocolate seems a bit different than usual milk chocolate.”

“Yes. I mixed the chocolate pellets with a few drops of liquid vanilla. I planned to make them today, but I had an urge after eating all those sweets at Akim’s place. So, are they good?” Sanya slightly turned her head only to see Talia’s mouth stuffed. She had made quite a lot of them, but nearly half was already gone.

“...”

Talia gulped down the delicious food inside her mouth and averted her head in guilt. “...Sorry. There are just too good.”

“Is that so? Then, I’m glad.” She moved her body to face the counter. From Talia’s view, she could see her cheeks becoming redder.

“The truth, you know...When I saw you eating the pastries with delight yesterday, I felt a bit jealous...I mean, I know that what I make is not perfect. My level can be considered good compared to those of my age, but still. One day, I want to make the best sweets for you.”

Talia’s mouth slightly opened. She took a step forward and put down the plate. “Sanya.”

Her arms gently circled around her lover, her nose buried in Sanya’s hair. Sanya lowered her head, clearly embarrassed by the situation. She was fidgeting around. “W-Wait, Talia. This is not the place.”

“My girlfriend feels jealous. Don’t expect me to stand still.”

“But what if someone were to co-”

As if responding to Sanya’s summon, the door of the bakery opened, ringing the bell at the same time. The two girls hurriedly separated in panic. Talia took a step back and tried to act like nothing had happened.

Meanwhile, four figures, one tall and three smaller, entered the shop.

“He was sure strange the guy from earlier.”

“The man with an opened shirt? I found him cool! His hair was shining!”

“H-Hmph, Hayden is way cooler and stronger!”

“Fluffy Paw.”

“Tiss, Nino, don’t fight. Can’t you be calm like Jeannie? Go play with this too-big-for-normal cat.” Alan walked inside with the three children, Tiss, Jeannie, and Nino. Jeannie and Nino were his brother-in-law's twins, while Tiss was his own little girl.

He was not wearing a lab coat like in the Research and Development Department, but his usual Hawaiian shirt was still cladding his defined body.

Suddenly, the three children saw Talia at the back of the shop. The two girls did nothing, but Nino waved his hand in her direction. Talia noticed them and waved back with a thin smile.

“Talia is back.” Nino seemed happy that the gentle big sister was back.

Despite Jeannie’s expressionless face, traces of relief could still be seen in her eyes. “Um.”

Then, she went and began to scratch Fluffy Paw’s chin, resulting in the big cat to close its eyes in bliss. Nino laughed while looking at the cat. “Haha, fat cat is purring! Look, Tiss!...Tiss?”

Nino turned back to look at the scarlet-haired girl. The scene made his head tilt in confusion. She was standing there, her eyes wide open, no expression on her face. Her gaze was locked on Talia... just like a doll in front of its maker. No, more like a cu-

“Tiss!” Nino waved his palms in front of her. She jolted, blinking her eyes a few times.

She seemed to still be in a daze. However, she replied to the boy next to her. “...Nino?”

“You’re okay?”

She shook her head and smiled. “Yes, sorry.”

Nino took her hand and walked toward Fluffy Paw and Jeannie. “Look! There is Fluffy Paw.”

Tiss didn’t resist, however she looked with the corners of her eyes at Talia. ‘...What was that? I could not move my body.’

During this time, Alan arrived at the counter and held up his hand “Hi, little miss, I’m here for the usual. Also, it seems someone came back.”

“Good morning.” Sanya smiled while moving her hands, still trying to hide the embarrassment from the precious flirting. She was putting some bread and so on inside a bag. Alan rested his elbows on the counter and turned his eyes to Talia.

“You sure made us worried, disappearing like this.”

“Sorry, a lot happened.” Talia’s face was smiling, but she was internally surprised. She could feel the aura of a strong person around this big man. She was sure his ability was around the same level as Ellen and a bit behind Hayden’s current level. However, she faked like she didn’t notice.

Alan was still staring at her. “Will the cake for Tiss’s birthday be ready for Thursday? You told me you informed Catia last time.”

Sanya paused what she was doing and looked alternatively in surprise at Talia and Alan.

‘Crap, I don’t remember. He seems to be a regular, so it should be right.’ After 50 years, Talia had forgotten those kinds of things. She could only vaguely remember the face of some of the customers.

“I will check with Catia later, but normally it’s okay.”

All of sudden, the atmosphere changed. Alan frowned his eyebrows while keeping an eye on Talia. “Oh, that’s quite strange. You told me I can’t place an order here last time. Don't tell me, you don't remember?”

“...Is that so” Talia remained calm even after being tricked. If Alan had set up this simple test, it meant that he was aware that Talia was not the same as before. Trying to refute now would be fruitless.

However, Sanya tried to calm the situation. “Alan, I assure you that Talia is the same. Something just happened. But, she is still Talia.”

Alan moved his gaze to Sanya, before sighing. “I know. I got the gist of what happened with Demetrio.”

‘Demetrio Allocca? Then he must have a high position at the Union Center’ The two girls looked at each other in surprise, especially Sanya. Alan had been coming to this shop for years now. However, she was not aware of what kind of work he was doing.

“Who are you?” Talia dared to ask the important question.

“Alan Seddon, chief of the Research and Development Department. Also, S-rank ability user.” Despite the recent events, his introduction succeeded in surprising Sanya.

Suddenly, his face was wrapped with a cloud of anger. “However, it doesn’t change the fact that you damaged my reinforced Ability Test Chamber! Do you even how much it has cost?!”

“...Sorry, I guess?” Talia didn't even try to answer the question, fearing of angering him even more. After all, this kind of building was fairly common in some worlds, so she had not thought too much when she obliterated a part of it.

Their eyes were still locked on each other. It was only after a few seconds that Alan shrugged his shoulders in defeat. “No, I should not yell at you. It was this other hairy dimwit”s fault. Just have to wait for the repair. At least, I have some paperwork to do in the meantime.”

It seemed the situation calmed down. He straightened his back and put his hands on his hips. “You can’t imagine the face I made when I heard about the situation from Demetrio. He is a friend from college, so as we are quite close he didn’t hide anything. But, it was still a shock. On the other hand, Sanya. I thought I would have surprised you more than this. You barely reacted.”

Sanya laughed wryly as she put the bag on the counter. After all the recent events, her earlier reaction would still be considered high. Nobody could blame her for being a bit numb to this kind of situation when it was occurring on daily basis. Alan took out his wallet and gave the correct amount. “Say, Talia. Are you not interested in our field?”

“What do you mean?” Both Talia and Sanya had their head tilted in puzzlement.

“We are currently working on materials using techniques possible only thanks to abilities. For instance, we were the one to make the material used for Chambers. However, we have to do resistance tests and so on. We could use very expensive machines to generate a strong output, but the cost would be quite important with a limited flexibility. We have the chance to have Haydi...Hayden, the strongest man on earth, as a part-timer, so the cost decrease a lot. However, he is only able to punch and kick like a mad dog.”

Suddenly, his eyes changed. The man before them was no longer the nice and straightforward uncle, but the chief of an entire department. “Meanwhile, you are stronger and have a lot of extremely powerful powers. With you, we could make a lot of progress with ease. You can do the same things as several people with different ability each. Of course, the paycheck comes along.”

Sanya looked with the corners of her eyes at Talia. She would be lying if she said she was not a bit worried. After all, Talia had even forgotten that she had a shift today, so Sanya feared that she was not viewing her work at the bakery with great importance.

Talia noticed her girlfriend’s change of emotion. Before she knew, she was holding her in her arms, while still looking at Alan. A grin crept on her face. “Sorry, but I doubt your work conditions would ever top mine.”

Alan smirked at the two close girls. He kind of understood something must have happened between them. He grabbed the bag and turned around. “I see! Well, it seems Haydi will remain our only punching machine. I will not disturb you two any longer.”

“Let’s go, kids.” Alan talked to the children that were fooling around this the lazy cat. As he finished what he had come in the first place there was no reason to stay any longer. The younglings followed while saying goodbye.

Soon after, the bakery was once again empty, leaving the two girls alone clinging to each other.

“...” Talia’s mouth twitched as her cheeks flushed. She had embraced Sanya on the spurt of the moment without minding the presence of other people. However, she was not used to be seen as intimate as this.

She tried to peek at the girl in her arms to see her reaction. However, a quiet voice halted her. “...Are you sure?”

“Huh?”

Sanya’s face was of course red from what just had happened, but there was also other emotions, such as confusion or even uneasy, shrouding her expression. She continued. “I mean, you have all those powers. Your magic, Telekinesis, and even Sword Arts. Even more, you are very smart.”

Talia remained silent while slowly narrowing her eyes. She let her continue.

“You also just refused Alan’s offer even though it would the best job possible for you. Going to school would be needless. You could go all out while still having the government as a cover...You told this to Zesty yesterday, but...aren’t you frustrated yourself?” Sanya’s eyes were lowered with a slightly bitter face.

“...Am I holding you back?” She finished what she had wanted to say. Because of the conversation with Alan, she had come to the conclusion that without her, Talia would have already become the center of the world. Even though Lord had told her that Talia had come back because Sanya was here, she could not help but imagine a present where she was not in.

Several seconds passed in silence. Talia closed her eyes and opened only a moment after. Her expression turned serious, her gaze totally focused on Sanya. ‘It seems I didn’t make myself clear enough last time.’

She moved her arms, putting her left arm under Sanya’s knees and the other against her back. She then proceeded to lift her. The sudden weightless sensation made Sanya grope on Talia in panic. However, this didn’t last long as Talia put her down on top of the counter, making her face her. In this position, Sanya was a bit taller than Talia.

Sanya gasped slightly when she saw her beloved’s face. All of sudden, she felt her worries were all pointless.

Talia’s hand reached out to land on the blond hair in front of her. After a few pats, she opened her mouth. “It’s because you are here that I’m also here. If you were not present in my life, I’m not even sure I would still be alive. You are my driving force.”

Her hand went down until it reached Sanya’s delicate hand. Talia’s passionate gaze was locked on it. “Having all those powers, being this strong. All of this would be absolutely meaningless if you were not by my side.”

She grabbed the hand and kneeled in front of the blushing girl. She then landed her lips on top of the hand. The sound of the kiss was clear inside the silent bakery. Her grinning face lifted up. “And the reason is that I love you.”

“!” Crimson took over Sanya’s face. She was so red, she felt that steam could form around her head. However, she could not care less right now. Her next action was simple. She jumped!

“Talia!” Her arms opened wide open as her body was falling toward the blue-haired girl. Talia caught her while rising.

“How can you say such embarrassing words like this?!” Sanya was acting like she was upset, however her lips were arched up in a big smile. She closed her eyes as she hugged Talia with all her might. Her heart was now totally clear of all possible traces of doubt or angst.

Talia smiled wryly while being internally relieved. She had been really surprised that Sanya still had worries about her. Nevertheless, it seemed there was no more problem.

It was only ten minutes later, when another customer arrived, that the two of them separated. But, Sanya remained beside Talia until her shift ended, holding hands from time to time.