Sarah hadn't expected that the dish he was going to prepare was cereal with milk, it's already 2:00 pm, she's not even supposed to be eating according to his standards.
When he served that to her, she deadpanned but continued to eat, her cheeks still swollen and her stomach hurting from the earlier kick.
"..."
"..."
For some time only the noise of her plate was revered as she had her gaze locked at him, his handsome and strong self.
This attraction that she's feeling, she would deny it with her entire self... after living so long in the streets it's more than normal that a female would be attracted to strong men, but she firmly refused to get attracted to a man that just beat the shit out of her.
Moreover, she has a boyfriend... or had a boyfriend, if he's still alive.
"Why are you so strong? Where do your enhancements come from?" She suddenly asked, as if trying to break up the silence.
"..." He didn't answer rather, opened his eyes and recalled that there is something he still had to do, the chip.
"I have never seen enhancements so strong, are you from the military? why can't I detect you in the local network? is your firewall strong too?" It had to be, in order to camouflage himself from her when they're in the same house.
"I don't have enhancements"
!!!
"That's impossible... stop joking."
"... if you don't want to believe it, that's your business... finish your food and go back to sleep, tomorrow it's Saturday, you're going to help your grandma with the stall as I won't be available through the whole day." After today, Rachel would need extra hands and who better than this girl?
"Where are you going...?" She asked suddenly not even expecting her sudden curiosity.
"None of your business..."
"Do you have a woman?" She asked next with narrowed eyes.
"None of your business..."
*SNORT!*
"Hmph! don't say anything if you don't want to..."
"What do you do to earn money?" He asked next, recalling that Rachel said that she helps economically, perhaps that's the reason why she doesn't help Rachel.
"None of your business~"
*SNORT!*
"Girl..."
"What? you can do it but I can't? Hmph! Drugs... I sell drugs every so often, it's not all the time." She opened herself straight away and kept eating her cereal.
"..."
"Then from now on, you're going to help your grandma..."
"Are you my father or something? that's not going to pay the bills..." She immediately retorted, what her grandmother got for that business was barely enough to cover the house's expenses, it helped, but not that much.
"It will... your grandma earned 300 pounds just today, and she's in need of a few extra hands." He had a lot of money, but giving it all to them in one go is not wise... they had to grow by themselves, only them will the appreciate what they have.
!!!
"What?!" She almost spits her cereal.
It's not like that's an immense amount of money but... that's the money she usually did in a week or two!
"That's how it is, tomorrow I'll stay half of the day to introduce you... but then, you're by yourself... finish quickly, tomorrow I'm going to teach you how to prepare breakfast, from now on you're preparing breakfast for your grandma."
He ordered, he would make sure to put this girl tightly in order before leaving.
"... got it... I'll try." She sighed in annoyance but eventually relented
**
**
'Eh...?'
Once again the cute granny got herself a surprise the next day when she woke up.
She left her bedroom only to see how in the kitchen her granddaughter was burning everything to a crisp.
Thankfully, Morpheus was there to ease the fire.
'She's worse than I thought... weren't we preparing salad? where did the fire come from?!' Even he hadn't noticed when the fire started and spread through like wildfire.
The Magic God wanted to curse out loud, it seems he found another magician.
...
"Good Morning Grandma..." Sarah stuttered, dressed in casual shiny clothes of her own, she looked rather charming, it would look better if the kitchen behind her wasn't all burned.
"Good morning dear... h-how do you feel?" Rachel glanced at Sarah's still swollen cheeks.
"I'm better..." Sarah glared at Morpheus who was cleaning the kitchen.
"Grandma... I wanted to apologise..."
!!!
"W-Why?"
"I haven't been the best granddaughter... initially I thought that many of the things that I was suffering... were your fault I maybe I took it out on you... I'm sorry... I'll try to be better from now on..." Sarah said with sincerity, she hadn't slept in the entire night, she spent all night thinking about her mistakes, the things she has done wrong and also, his words.
She came to the conclusion that she does own her grandmother a lot.
Even after she spent all the money she got from the drugs, she only got clothes, enhancements, artefacts and all kinds of things for herself... she never got anything for her grandma.
"It's alright dear, we all make mistakes... I did too..." she truly felt like crying, he had performed another miracle.
With his very own hands, her granddaughter's cheeks are witnesses.
The two of them shared a hug as Morpheus finished cleaning up the place and sighed, 'There goes the plan to have breakfast...'
"Should we just head for the place? it's almost time..."
"Yes... are you... going to remain today too?"
"Not me... Sarah will." He pointed at the fidgety girl.
"Huh?" Once again... surprise, her granddaughter, help!?
'I think we both know that won't end well... look at what she did already!' she wanted to yell but didn't want to step on Sarah's feelings.
"Yes, grandma, I will help you... or I'll see if I can help you..." Almost feeling Rachel's inner thoughts, Sarah rolled her eyes and placed her bionic hand inside her pockets.
"I have to get my hand checked... I think you mashed it up the other day, it's not answering the way it should." She added when they were prepared to set off with the stall, she even went as far as to take a few of her own neons from her room to make the rather 'boring' stall, look better.
People can truly help when they propose themselves to do so.
"Let me see... give me your hands..." To the female's bewilderment, he took both of Sarah's hands and analysed them...
"Do you have any particular condition that would make both of your hands asymmetric?" He asked.
"Huh? N-No..."
"I see..."
"It should be okay now."
He released her hands and prepared to take the stall as Rachel just gave him a bewildered yet concerned gaze.
'Was he drinking yesterday?'
...
"Ha?! what do you mean, stop jest-!" Initially, she was going to mock his shameless boasting, that was until she noticed the difference.
It's fixed.
"H-Hey! what did you do!?"
Rather than answer the questions of the nagging Sarah, Morpheus curled up his lips.
That had been truly interesting, he had studied the entirety of the filaments that created the robotic arm and he had done several assessments.
First, he analised the differences between the two, knowing how the body works as he had physical magic, he knew that both arms were bound to be different in a way... his original idea was just to replicate the entirety of the working arm into the one that was giving issues... but that could have failed, it could have made Sarah's brain somehow recognise both arms as the 'left' arm.
Therefore he only fixed what was the most notorious damage that he noticed, a bent cooper filament inside it, in truth, the arm is not fixed, it is just taken into a state relatively similar to the other arm... if the other arm happened to have issues as well, then it can't be considered as 'fixing'.
'I'm wanting to know how this chip works now, how exactly do those parts connect to the chip.'
At no time did he see any kind of connection between the arm and the chip in her brain.
**
**
Sarah pouted and decided to stop asking after the dozenth time... he's not going to answer, their day started with a little more clients than usual, rather than immediately starting to cook, Sarah was adamant about installing the neon lights around the stall set up.
He could only sigh, those disgusting things... what do people have for neon in this world?
It was then time to cook, and while cooking Rachel regarded how Morpheus tried to teach her granddaughter how to prepare a soup.
'... they would make such a good couple.'
Sadly, she's not several decades younger... that's what she had been thinking, she wouldn't say that she has feelings for the young man, but she believes that he's perfect husband material... if he had shown himself back when she was younger, she'd no doubt be with him now.
But since that's not the case, then it will be her granddaughter who is going to have to work hard to get him, yes...
If she can get such a handsome and perfect young man as her grandson-in-law, she can die as a happy grandma, comforting the soul of her son and daughter in law in the heavens.
The problem is... Sarah.
She's a charming and sexy young woman, surely within his strike zone but her temperament... and also... her cooking skills.
A small fire started as she prepared some rice and some of the customers moved away.
'My dear... you're not helping.'
**
**
Morpheus could boast himself saying that he had taught monkeys how to brandish a sword but bloody hell...
Sarah is something else.
He's utterly convinced she's some magician with fire proficiency in disguise, there is no way she can burn everything she touches without any effort whatsoever unless she's a magician.
Still, he wouldn't give up until this girl could prepare at least a fried egg.
"I'm trying! I'm really trying!"
"Lower the fire, there is no need to use so much fire!"
"..."
The customers some moved away and some remained as they waited for Rachel's dishes... one of them, a silver-haired beauty with purple eyes.
Morpheus grit his teeth slightly, those purple eyes seemed to be piercing his soul.
"Could I have a carbonara, please?" The silver-haired beauty asked kindly specifically towards him only for Sarah to gape.
"Hana?" She recognised the girl straight away, the new idol... but... everyone else seemed to differ.
"...? Do I know you...?" The silver-haired girl immediately tilted her head upon having her name mentioned, she doesn't recall this girl from anywhere.
Meanwhile, Morpheus gaze moved everywhere, he felt something weird... like a pressurized atmosphere all of the sudden.
An instinct.
"Ah... no... we study in the same school... Regent High School, right?"
"Indeed... well, nice to meet you, I'm Hana..."
"Sarah..."
After the brief introduction and shake of hands, Hana's eyes glued onto Morpheus once again as his eyebrows twitched while preparing the Carbonara.
Sarah seemed to catch the glimpse of something and furrowed her brows slightly.
'It can't be, right?'
After finishing the Carbonara... he gave it to Hana who didn't even move away, she remained there, eating while standing, delighting in the delicious pasta.
"I have to go Rachel..." He said that and passed the apron to the surprised granny.
"I understand, you're coming back, right?" She asked just to make sure... truthfully, there is nothing tying him to their house.
Sarah put on the apron and paid attention to this too.
"Sure, I'll just go somewhere for a bit, should be back in the evening." Without saying another word he departed, walking.
With three pairs of eyes glued to his back, two purple ones more piercing than most.
...
"Do you know him, Hana?" Sarah asked her as she prepared to at least cut the vegetables, surely she can't burn that, right?
"Ah? No... I don't... what is his name?" The singing beauty asked with some intrigue, why? why is she interested?
"Morpheus, why?" Sarah narrowed her brows further, why is she interested? and why do I care?
"... for nothing... it's just... he looks familiar." She moved her gaze through the corridors, constantly following him until she could no more.
'I still have him in my eyes, he moved through an alleyway... do you desire to pursue...?'
'No... cancel.'
'Why?'
'He will come back here...'
'...'
As Hana departed the shop while eating her Carbonara, Rachel and Sarah, despite having their eyes glued on her, didn't notice the brief light that shone through the eyes of everyone present in this brief section of the road.
Even their own eyes.