Xingyue, is Xiaokai also considered Kai?

The sound of "Okay!" echoed throughout the cooking classroom, and the fifth-grade students began cooking according to Taiga's instructions.

"First, we need to confirm the intelligence! Whether it's combat, romance, or a dessert buffet, knowing yourself and your enemy is the key to victory! Hmm, let's confirm, this is a tomato, and that's a kitchen knife... By the way, is there only the two of us in our group?"

Chloe, holding a tomato in one hand and a cleaver in the other, asked Ivia.

"Because Miyu also took leave."

"……Oh."

It's that guy. He's always seemed to have a bad attitude towards Ivia. I initially thought he was chasing after her to bully her, but judging from that similar aura on him, it doesn't seem to be the same thing... Could it be that Kallen was lying to me that day? That shouldn't be the case.

As Chloe pondered these thoughts, she instinctively reached back and grabbed the cleaver, ready to chop at the tomato.

"You should put down the cleaver first."

"Huh? Why? Didn't you tell me to cut tomatoes?"

Chloe looked puzzled.

Ivia didn't say much about it, but quickly took the kitchen knife and demonstrated how to hold it normally. Chloe stared at his grip, her cheeks turning bright red.

"Actually, I was just too nervous just now, and it was an accident, just a tomato..."

"I'll take that as it is."

Ivia didn't pay much attention. "And the tomatoes need to be peeled first... not with a knife, but by soaking them in boiling water..."

It's obvious that Chloe, like Ilya, isn't much of a cook. Even the 'scrambled eggs with tomatoes' that she and Ivia made together was only edible, but that wasn't a big problem for Ivia, who's into "anything is good enough".

Chloe, however, didn't think so at all. As she ate her scrambled eggs with tomatoes, she proudly boasted, "Hmm, the taste is not bad, is it?"

Then, while eating scrambled eggs with tomatoes, she seized the opportunity and stuffed the spoon into Ivia's mouth.

"How is it? How is it? It tastes good, right? And this is a special reward for your help."

Chloe's reward probably refers to an indirect kiss.

"Since you've helped quite well, please continue working with me next time."

"If you ask me to, it's not impossible."

Hearing Ivia's answer, Chloe stared at him suspiciously, recalling her experiences from last night until now, and asked with a hint of conjecture:

"You rascal, do you actually enjoy people begging to you? Do you have that kind of orientation? Is it because you've been bullied so much that your values ​​have reversed? Do you want to get revenge or something?"

"No, it's simply because your cooking skills are too unique."

Upon hearing this, Chloe's expression remained unchanged; she simply waved her hand dismissively.

"Strictly speaking, I'm the kind of person who's selfless and dedicated, so please don't look at me like that..."

But the more Chloe spoke, the more hesitant she became, then she looked away from Ivia's face and muttered to herself.

"Thinking about it now, being taken care of might not be so bad. Anyway, keep up the good work. If it happens frequently like this, I'll give you a high score. I'm always available, so it's not a problem if you come a few more times..."

Suddenly, Chloe remembered the scrambled eggs with tomatoes she had just eaten. The burnt eggs, with their overpowering, pungent smell, seemed to assault her nostrils. The sugar mixed in spread slightly on her tongue, leaving only a barely edible taste.

The taste reminded Chloe of the desserts her mother used to make years ago, though of course the taste and variety were completely different; her mother's desserts were quite delicious.

A breeze blew by, and the sound of leaves rustling came from outside the window. For some reason, Chloe wore a slightly forlorn expression.

"By the way, may I ask you a question, Ivia?"

"what is the problem?"

"I won't hide anything. You should know about the magic world, right? Just like me."

"more or less."

“I…remember that magicians value family and disciples very much.”

This statement is true.

Magicians don't focus on people the most.

More than themselves and the world, they value tracing their roots, but this is not a goal that can be achieved in one generation. Therefore, magicians entrust their legacy to future generations. This is why magicians protect their relatives and disciples like family... but it's not the same kind of valuing as usual.

In Chloe's mind, after learning about 'herself' and Karen's words, she had long regarded Ivia as one of those people 'abandoned by their families'.

"Sigh...actually, I'm quite free...I'm quite lonely, so how about I cook for you from now on...okay?"

Unexpectedly, she didn't ask any profound or romantic questions, nor did she continue the topic of magic; she simply made this request.

Moreover, Chloe's voice contained elements different from her usual tone.

Slightly nervous, and with an attitude that couldn't be hidden like a cat, her current expression was just like Ilya's after the performance, but it seemed to contain another layer of meaning.

"it is good."

This answer, given without hesitation, seemed to pierce the girl's heart instantly.

"Hahaha……"

Chloe smiled happily, then took Ivia's hand, let go, took a few steps toward the door, and turned around.

"I'm just kidding!"

She was smiling so happily.

……

At 4:10 p.m., the elementary school had been dismissed for about half an hour.

Unlike Ilya, Chloe did not help Ivia return the love letter. Instead of Ilya being secretly heartbroken, Chloe understood that it was impossible for her to persuade Ivia to choose to flush it down the drain or burn it. So, annoyed by the sight of it, she simply chose to leave the school.

Anyway, I'm living with Ivia now, so I don't need to waste any more time.

But actually, besides that, Chloe had another consideration—

That means taking advantage of this time to cook good dishes.

At first, she wanted to use magic to forge some money to buy groceries, but when she arrived at the market, she realized she didn't need to spend any money at all. Just seeing her, the uncles and aunties at the market immediately asked:

"Isn't this Ilya? What brings you to help Sera buy groceries today? Wait, didn't Sera already come? She said Madam went home..."

Before Chloe could explain, the noisy older women began to explain to themselves:

"Maybe it was lost by accident..."

"I knew it, but that was a few weeks ago."

"Never mind, Ilya, what do you like? Take it if you like it, or do you want to get another set of what Sera just got?"

"Oh no, this..."

That's how it was; Chloe harvested vegetables without spending much money, which made her a little embarrassed.

Besides dishes, they also deliver breakfast, coffee, and flowers!

……so good.

The scenes she imagined in her dream actually happened around Chloe, which she found incredible.

Of course, she understood that the 'Ilya' everyone was talking about wasn't herself, but another version of herself—a version of herself who was accepted by her family and enjoyed such warmth, completely different from her own. Just like what she had said to Ivia before, 'Magicians value family.' The way her parents valued this Ilya was the kind of real human value that her 'dark' self could never experience.

Perhaps, in Ivia's eyes, she is also that 'Ilya'. If it is revealed one day, or rather, it is bound to be revealed, because she has that class card inside her, what kind of expression will she show at that time?

For some reason, Chloe felt a tightness in her chest when she thought of this.

What is the greatest happiness for me?

She hoped that the warmth of her family, which had been taken away, could continue like this for as long as possible, ideally forever, as long as Ivia didn't see her...

“I am... the real Ilya, so I must kill her as soon as possible.”

The brown-skinned girl gripped the bag of vegetables tightly in her hand, as if it were a pair of swords she habitually used.

As Chloe reached an intersection, she saw a puppy running happily. For some reason, she thought that if there was such a thing as a smile that could make people happy, it must be this puppy, after all, it was so obedient and cute.

Chloe, walking toward the park tent, touched her cheek, thinking that it wouldn't hurt to imitate it herself.

Of course, Ivia has to sincerely say it's delicious or give me a pleading look after she's finished cooking...

However, the moment Chloe opened the tent and saw what was inside, she was completely stunned.

The once spirited young woman froze instantly, her expression turning as blank as a child whose long-desired toy had been snatched away.

Ilya, who should be taking leave to rest at home, is currently lying inside sleeping.

Chapter 394 Why do you just watch, Alice?

Let's go back to the morning of that day.

"37.2℃".

Sera looked at Ilya, who was slumped on the bed, unable to get up for a long time, with a worried expression.

After preparing breakfast, she couldn't help but worry about Ilya, who hadn't come out of the house for a long time. So she went in to check on her and found Ilya lying on the bed with a pained expression.

Sera initially thought she had a fever based on her expression. Although the temperature reading on the thermometer indicated no cold, she assumed it was a low-grade fever.

"Hmm, it does seem like I have a slight fever..."

"Your health is the most important thing. Ilya, you don't need to go to school today. Just stay home and rest. I'll ask Taiga-sensei for leave later."

"Hey, I don't have a cold."

Ilya pouted, "Sera, you spoil me too much."

"So what if I spoil you? If something were to happen to you, Ilya, how could I face the lady?"

"You're making a mountain out of a molehill. It's nothing serious."

However, no matter what Ilya said, Sera's attitude was firm: she should stay home and rest quietly, and not go out unnecessarily.

"Sera really loves to meddle in other people's business."

Lying in bed, Ilya looked at the window, which was partially obscured by curtains, allowing only a sliver of light to pass through.

Outside the thick glass were the streets of Fuyuki, but the sky was gray and she didn't like that color.

Moreover, Ilya felt incredibly idle, doing nothing but collapsing into sleep, which she found completely unacceptable. In addition, her unexpected fainting last night meant she couldn't deliver the items today, making the girl even more bored and irritable.

"So bored, so very bored..."

Compared to her previous state, as she kept repeating this phrase and rolling around on the bed, it was as if her previous weakness was just an illusion.

"You really are a patient with a lot of energy."

Perhaps because of what happened last night, Ruby's tone of voice is now a little more normal.

"Is the fever gone?"

"It's more accurate to say that I don't actually have a fever..."

"That's good."

"It's terrible, so boring, so incredibly boring..."

Ilya buried her face in the bed, her back to Ruby. "Bored people become useless. Only when you're bound by things like studying and helping each other can you live like a human being. After all, no one is perfect and can't be good at everything."

"You have such a mature outlook on life at such a young age. I think you need to change your mindset."

"No, that's not true at all. At least Ivia agrees with my ideas!"

"what?"

Hearing Ilya say this, Ruby thought about how Ivia usually was and never expected that Ilya would discuss such a topic with her.

It shouldn't be about discussing what you like, what you're interested in, or what your life plans are with your sweetheart, or just chatting nonsense. Discussing such mundane topics at such a young age shows a complete lack of youthful passion!

But it's really hard to imagine Ivia being as passionate as Ilya; Miyu seems more likely...

On another note, if little Illya could get her childhood friend Ivia to become more enthusiastic, wouldn't that be considered a form of cult? Wow, the contrast is quite striking! Just thinking about it makes me want to dress Illya up in all sorts of outfits and put her to the test! From classic allure to pure, innocent, adorable, queenly, maid, gym uniform, sportswear, school uniform, dress, kimono… it seems like any type or style would suit Illya perfectly! She's hundreds of times more perfect than Rin!

"Ruby, are you thinking about something strange?"

Ilya held the bed sheet, staring suspiciously at the ruby ​​that was inexplicably swaying back and forth.

This was the first time she had ever seen a ruby ​​so mesmerized, but it was enough to show how excited the ruby ​​was.

But Ruby still has a "secret weapon" to defeat Ilya, who has an expression that says "I have to say it".

"Speaking of which, I just went to see Brother Ivia."

"……Eh?"