The trip to the local bakery was terribly uneventful, just the way I like it. When I arrived, there wasn’t even that much of a line, which was surprising for a Saturday morning. Usually people would be lining up outside of the store but today I could only see two people inside, leaving plenty of room for myself. Then again… I usually don’t come this early, either.

So it didn’t really take very long for me to get my order done and dealt with. In the end, I decided to go with a small white loaf of bread and three rice cakes. One for each of us.

I know Ria didn’t ask for one, but just in case she would regret it, I bought her one anyway. It’s not like it’s a big financial investment anymore.

After that I also made a trip past the butcher’s store, where there were even less people waiting, and got myself some américain préparé together with some prepared minced meat.

When I got back home, the nice smell of tomato soup greeted me at the door.

“Was there a big line?” I can hear Em calling from the living room.

“Not really, just went by the butcher’s as well.”

“Ah, did you get your minced meat?”

“Yep.” I threw my jacket on the sofa and walked over to the table to deposit my bags.

“I still don’t know why you eat that.”

“What do you mean? It’s tasty.”

Em then walked over and put the pot of soup on the table as well. “But minced meat is meant to be cooked first.”

Ria in the meantime was getting us some plates and a couple of soup bowls.

“Don’t shake it if you haven’t tried it.” I replied. “It’s even better with a bit of pepper on it and dipped into some nice tomato soup. Speaking of which…” I walked over to the kitchen’s spice rack and took some pepper and some chili flakes. “And by the way, I got a rice cake for Ria as well.”

“Really?” Ria stopped in the middle of her movement. “But I didn’t ask for one.” She did look pretty happy about it, though.

“You can thank me later.” I winked and walked back over to the table.

Ria giggled and finished putting the plates down.

The three of us then sat down, ready to start eating.

About halfway our luscious brunch, Em stared at me, seemingly wanting to ask a question.

“Hmmm? Something up, Em?”

“C-could I get a bit of that minced meat too?”

“So you want to try some now as well?” I smirked.

“Yeah, don’t be stupid about it, though.” She pouted. Ria was already eating one, and thoroughly enjoying it, so that must be why she wanted to try it.

“Sure thing, here you go.” I handed the minced meat over to her. “And here’s the pepper too. It doesn’t really need it, but it gives it a bit more of a kick.”

I waited to see what Em was about to do, bread and minced meat in hand. I just sipped a bit from my spicy tomato soup in the meantime. After her first bite it took her a while to reply, she was definitely giving it a chance, which made me more than happy.

“It’s not too bad.” Em finally gave her answer with a slight nod and took another bite afterwards. “I wouldn’t really pick it myself, though. But it’s not bad.”

I smiled. “I’m happy you at least gave it a shot.”

Ria was just eating on, undisturbed by her surroundings. She was enjoying her meal more than any of us, and it was fun seeing her enjoy it like that.

Our lunch disappeared sooner rather than later, and with a combined team effort, we cleared up the table pretty fast as well. When I put the last plate in the dishwasher, my phone, which I put on the table, vibrated a couple of times.

“Uh, Em, could you see who it is? I got my hands full.”

Em picked up my phone from the table and looked at it. “It’s a message from Alessia.”

“Oh?” This pulled Ria’s attention as well. “What does she say?” Ria then hopped over to Em’s side so she could read along.

“I’ll read it. Ahum.” Em coughed, more for comedic value than having to actually cough. “Dear Aurora, I have prepared everything for Monday. Let’s rendez-vous at your house after you are back from your classes. I’ve already sent you some clothes to wear. They should arrive shortly. Kind regards, Alessia.”

I chuckled a bit. “That’s one of the most polite text messages I must’ve ever gotten.”

“Maybe Alessia doesn’t really know how to use text lingo.” Em giggled a bit as well.

“What kind of clothes do you think she sent you?” Ria asked, looking at me.

“No clue.”

The ringing of my doorbell silenced the room.

“....Well…. I guess we’ll find out now.” I quickly closed the dishwasher and ran over to the door. When I opened it, I was met with a familiar face. It was Epiphania who was carrying an elongated box. “Good morning, Epiphania. How are you doing on this fine day?”

“It’s way too cold for me.” She shivered and handed the box over to me.

“Thanks, want to come in to warm up a bit?”

“No, thank you for the offer, though. I still need to deliver some things.” She pointed at the van parked in front of my door.

“Don’t we have people for that?”

“I do the weekend stuff so they can rest a bit.”

“Ah, that’s very nice of you.” I looked behind me into the hallway as I heard someone jog up behind me. It was Ria with Em a bit behind her. Ria was carrying one of my thermos flasks.

“Here’s a bit of hot soup!” Ria handed over the flask to Epiphania. “It’s tomato soup.” She smiled.

Of course, Epiphania couldn’t deny such a gift from a major cutiepie. “Wow, thanks. That’ll help a lot.”

“I hope you like it.” Ria smiled.

“Did you make it yourself?”

“We warmed it up ourselves.” I laughed.

“Oh! Is it from that Oink brand?”

“It is.” I nodded.

“Great, I love that one. Definitely one of the best inventions of the late 19th century.”

“Canned tomato soup?” I looked at her a bit funny.

“You youngsters will never know the hardships of having to prepare your own soup if you just wanted to eat it on a whim.”

“I guess when you put it like that…”

“Anyhow, I should get on the road again. See you later.”

“Bye bye!” Ria waved Epiphania off, I did the same. She hopped in her van and drove away. Hopefully not to isekai someone else. You can never trust those vans.

Ria hopped back to the living room after taking the box out of my hands, and I closed the door behind me.

“Did she like the soup?” Em asked. She had ducked back into cover to stay out of the cold so she didn’t catch the entire conversation.

“She did. Was it your idea?”

“Ria and I got the idea at pretty much the same time.” Em replied, while Ria nodded in affirmation. Although, Ria was just a tiny bit too distracted by the long box to be paying too much attention to what Em and I were talking about.

“I guess you’ll have to open that box if you want her attention back.” Em giggled.

“I guess I’ll have to.” I chuckled in return.

“I’m somewhat hoping it’s a dress.”

“Em, I do not appreciate jokes like that.” I shot Em down almost immediately.

“C’mon, you’d look good in a dress.”

“Big, fucking, doubt.”

“Hmmm… I think Rora in a dress could be cute.” Ria nodded. We’d pried away her attention just enough with this dress-talk.

I sighed.

“Next time we go shopping, you should just fit one, partly to amuse me and on the other hand to appease Ria as well.”

“You should!” Ria piled on top of Em’s proposition.

“We’ll see about that…'' But I knew full well that if Ria would stare at me with her kitten eyes that I’d just give in… and that’s without Em pulling my strings too. Resigned to my future fate, I snapped the box’s strings that were holding it closed and lifted the lid away. What I saw was a big relief. “Thank the Goddess...” Alessia had apparently opted for a tuxedo with a tie and pants combo, it even came with a stylish black leather belt. I took out the suit to inspect it a bit closer. The fabric felt sturdy but soft at the same time. The price-tag was probably in the thousands if I had to guess.

Em and Ria in the meantime… their expression had changed from admiration to amusement. And especially Em was really trying to hold her laughter.

“Do I want to know what you are so giggly about…?”

“Well, if you put your suit down on the table for a sec, you’ll see for yourself.”

I looked at her with suspicion, but then did as she asked. The moment I got the box into full view again, I could see what the hilarity was all about. A pair of 7cm black heels, the kind you’d often see worn by business ladies in the movies. “Oh boi… this is not going to end well.”

As I said that, Em just snorted and Ria followed along.