They escaped from space-time and we returned to where we came from.


'Master, welcome back.'


　And then ... soon Shaple was there to greet us.

'Mmm, sorry to keep you waiting,'
No, no, no. Ten hours is a blink of an eye.

　To Shaple, who has been waiting for me in this place for a thousand years, those words must be true.
　However.

'Then again, your eyes do seem to be swollen, don't they?
....!

　I pointed out, and Shaple turned back and rubbed his eyes, as if in a panic.

''That's not true.

　　Shaple tries desperately to mend his ways.

　
　After a thousand years, as soon as he thought he had finally met me, he went out into time and space. It can't be helped.

　I stroked Shaple's head in apology as well.

I've missed you. I'm sorry.

　I uttered.

"....!

　Then, although Shaple kept his back to me, I could still see his face turn bright red.

'From now on, I'm in this world. I can't be here all the time.......but let's say I'll come to see Shaple often. Would you still be okay with that?
Yes, sir!　I'm so happy!

　He said this slightly faster than his usual Shaple tone.
　Shaple was made by me; a thousand years ago he was lonely, so I made him as close to human as possible so he could talk to me.
　But when you touch it like this after a long time, you can see how elaborate it is.
　It's not so different from the feeling of Lara and the others stroking their heads. If they didn't know that Shaple was an artificial intelligence, they wouldn't know it wasn't human.

'Master,'
Hmm?

　Shaple turns and looks up at me.

'May I bury my face in my master's chest?　We haven't met for a thousand years. I think you're entitled to that much.
Hmmm ... well, I don't mind if Shaple wants to do that.

　I could see Lara and the others making a lot of noise, but I ignored them for now.



　Shaple jumps into my chest.
　Her sweet scent tickles the bridge of my nose.
　She's an artificial intelligence, but she's not inorganic. It's a human smell.

　For a while, Shaple buried her face in my chest and seemed to enjoy it, but

...wind. Oh, thank you very much.

　He slowly pulled his face away.
　Her face seemed to be flushed.

　.........Ummm.......Even after a thousand years, a woman's mind is something that is not well understood.
　That much I could say.

'Shaple-chan, that's not fair!
"No amount of artificial intelligence is going to make you do something so dishonest!
I want Cynthia to do the same.

　Lara buzzed and waved her hands, and Marise crossed her arms and looked mortified. Cynthia looked at me enviously, fingers crossed.
　I'll get back to the three of you later. If we continue like this, and they do what they just did, my heart is going to explode because my heart is beating too hard in my chest.

'And yet, Master,'

　For a change, Shaple looks crisp and continues.

I could tell when I leaned back against your chest a while ago. "I found out earlier when I rested my body against your chest," he says, "and it looks like I've regained my powers from a thousand years ago.
Yeah.

　I nodded.

　Shaple is skilled at analyzing magic power.
　Since I wanted him to manage my physical condition and magic power as well, it was a natural necessity for him to do so.

''No........what is this?　It looks like your power is even more powerful than it was a thousand years ago... am I mistaken?
I'm not mistaken.

　By going back in time.
　I've gained more power.
　Thanks to this, I not only regained my power from a thousand years ago, but I'm even stronger than I was then.
　I have created a good space for myself.

''With that, I think we can easily take down Bugnuba next time, although even a thousand years ago, it seems like even the Master would have been fiddling with it.
You're right.

　Well, even a thousand years ago, when I say I had a hard time, it means 'it took me a long time', not 'I struggled'.
　If it was at the level of 'I struggled', I wouldn't have bothered to reincarnate looking for a 'stronger guy than me'.

'Would you like to go take down Bugnuba as soon as possible?'
Yeah. But.....

　I look at Lara and the others.

"What's up, Kurt?
We should go now.
Cynthia........follow.......

　The three of them said that one after another.

　But on the other side of their words, their expressions seemed to show fatigue.
　It can't be helped. After all, they had trained for about ten hours in space-time. It's not surprising that he's tired.
　Therefore.

I'm sure you're not the only one. It's not like we'll be weirdly tired and won't make a mess.

　When I suggested it, the three of them seemed to relax a bit.
　I guess they were tired after all.

"I'm also hungry. Let's get something to eat.
'Yeah, right!　Oh, I'll cook if I have the ingredients! I'll make a delicious meal for Kurt!

　Lara cheerfully raises her hand.

'Hey, hey!　Lara!　I won't allow you to run off!
"Cynthia is going to cook...

　Marise and Cynthia followed suit.
　If it's food, it would be enough to go to the King's Capital with transference magic and buy it. Fortunately, this house also has a kitchen.

The first thing that comes to mind is the fact that it's not a bad idea to have a good time. I'm counting on you.
""Yeah!"

　The three of them replied in unison.

　◆ ◆

　It may seem like a very noisy place due to the cleaning robots and alarm system... but if you can get those things to stop properly, it's a pretty nice place to live.
　We gathered in the living room and decided to have dinner.


'Bon appétit!'


　Lara, wearing an apron, places a plate of food in front of the table.
　Of course, Marise and Cynthia are also in their aprons. They both look cute and well suited to each other.

''Hou ... it looks delicious. As usual, Lara is a good cook.
You know!　More praise, more praise!

　Lara is in a slippery mood.

　Now.........how does it taste?
　I put a knife through the hamburger and put it in my mouth.

"....it's delicious!

　I can't help but squeal.
　Every time I chewed, the juices spread in my mouth.
　The demi-glace sauce on top of it is also excellent and I can't stop eating it.

"It's not just me, Marise and Cynthia did their best too!
'Wow, I'm not very good at cooking. I didn't want to drag Lara down!
Cynthia I'm proud of you.

　Mmm, eating this food, the three of them' s efforts seemed to come to mind.

'Thank you, all three of you. It's a great dish. Let's all eat it too.
""Yeah!"

　The three of them took off their aprons and sat down in front of their respective tables.
　Then they happily ate out their food.

'How's Shaple?'

　I call out to Shaple, who was standing nearby.

''I........?''
Even though it's an artificial intelligence, it should be able to enjoy a normal meal just like any other human being.

　A thousand years ago, I created it so that I could replenish my energy that way because I wanted Shaple to understand the joys of food.

　But Shaple shook his head to the side.

'Don't. Because I serve my master. I'll take the leftover food.
What do you mean? It's such a good meal. There's not going to be any left.
All the more so. I can't take such good food from a master.

　Shaple stubbornly refuses.
　It's a problem........an auspicious guy, but since it's a special occasion, I want her to enjoy this dish as well.

In that case...

　I stabbed the shredded hamburger with my fork and brought it up to Shaple's mouth.

''........!''

　Shaple is forced to shove a hamburger into his mouth, and he can't spit it out, so he starts leasing it.
　Eventually.

'.........delicious.'
Am I right?

　His eyes lit up and he put his hand on his cheek.

'Don't worry about it in front of me. Shaple would do well to sit next to me, too.
If you're going to go that far I'll take you at your word.

　Shaple takes a seat.
　I thought he'd eat right out of it....

'Master.'
Hmm?
Can you do again what you just did?

　You mean earlier?　Did you ever put food in Shaple's mouth?

All right, here.

　When I approached the fork with the hamburger stuck in it again, Shaple opened his mouth to say, "Ahhhh.
　When I let him in, he started chewing on the hamburger again like a little animal.

　What in the world was this?
　I was puzzled.

'Ah!　Shaple-chan, it's not fair again!
I can't believe I asked Kurt to do that!
Now Cynthia's turn.

　I wondered if something was bothering the three of us.
　Lara and the others stood up and came up to me.

"[A]nn.

　Then the three of them say this and open their mouths with their eyes closed.

''What do you want me to do...''

　Despite this one act, the cooking time passed happily.