Tomorrow morning. Leo woke up to the sound of birds chirping. He stretched for a few seconds and walked out of his room to greet Mort and take a bath. The two had an unusual chemistry and got used to each other by the end of yesterday.
"Morning, Mort. Where can I wash myself? I smell funny."
"See that door there beside my room? Everything is there. Just make sure you don't wake up Anne and Runo. You two haven't talked to each other yet, so I'm telling you in advance. Anne is a bit hot-tempered."
"I'll be careful."
Leo went and took a quick shower. Their bathroom was basic, but it was still better than nothing. Runo and Anne woke up by the time Leo finished, and the room was filled with the smell of fried eggs.
This friendly atmosphere was something he never had the chance to enjoy. Runo and Mort sat beside each other while talking about Anne, who moved like a true expert with a frying pan in her hand.
"Mom is showing off!"
Runo shouted as he pointed his little finger towards his mother. The little kid was a real cutie with his small round face and messy black hair, inherited from Mort, his father. Anne smiled as she fried the eggs. Her brown, braided ponytail swung around as she readied the plates.
"Fried eggs for three is coming!"
Anne was a proper housewife. Her cooking skills were evident. She was fast and gentle. The kitchen was her playground. However, Mort, who should've been the happiest, had a worried look for some reason.
He walked over to Leo, who had already sat down opposite to him and started whispering.
"Leo, don't let her skills deceive you. She is an excellent cook but horrible when it comes to fried eggs. Please say that you have an allergy or something. You won't be able to eat it, but Runo and I are too afraid to say anything."
"Don't worry, Mort. I eat pretty much everything. It can't be that bad."
"I warned you."
Mort shrugged his shoulders and sat down beside his son, who had a concerned look on his face. Leo was surprised to see Runo worry about him.
Leo took the fork in his hands and stabbed the mysterious egg in front of him. However, the egg behaved like rubber, and the fork almost bounced off.
"This is no food."
Whispered Leo as he took the first bite. Chewing the egg was out of the question. He decided to gulp down the chunks.
"How do you like it, Leo? This fried egg is a specialty I only make on special occasions. It's pretty good, right?"
Leo looked at Mort for help, but the latter quickly averted his gaze. Runo followed his father's footsteps, and Leo was left alone.
'Traitors.'
"This is the best fried egg I have eaten in my life. Runo and Mort would be truly blessed if you made this specialty more often."
"Oh my, you're the first to praise my fried eggs this much. Even Mort and Runo didn't say such words."
"I'm sure they were just left speechless by the eggs."
Leo had no problem throwing Mort and Runo under the bus after they betrayed him. He quickly finished the eggs. Sadly, the last chunk was his limit, and his stomach made a weird noise right after he gulped it down.
His intestines twisted, and Leo was forced to rush outside.
"Bwaaaaaa"
The egg came out as fast as it came in. However, Leo made a mistake. He stopped right in front of the kitchen window, thus providing Anne with a front-seat ticket to the spectacle.
Anne, who saw everything, started slapping the back of her neck. Her pupils shrunk to the size of a needlepoint. She slowly turned her head towards Mort while slapping her neck.
"This filthy guest, invader, MOCKS. MY. FOOD?"
"Look, Anne, calm down. Stop slapping your neck. I'm sure Leo just ate too much yesterday. ANNE!"
Anne grabbed the kitchen knife and rushed out of the house. Mort rushed after her and tried to calm her down.
"LEO! Run away!"
Leo, who had just finished the vomiting session, looked towards the source of the sound and spotted Anne rushing towards him with a knife in her hand. Anne threw her kitchen knife, and Leo was surprised by her accuracy.
You've successfully activated [Hand-To-Hand Combat (S-Rank)]
The knife multiplied in the air, but Leo quickly dropped to the ground. He barely evaded the attack but was surprised by Anne's ability. Mort caught up to Anne and restrained her.
"Sorry, this happened, Leo. As you can see, her ability is Knife Mastery (S-Rank), but it comes with a side effect that causes extreme mood swings."
Mort hugged Anne tightly and patted her head until she calmed down. Anne apologized to Leo and started crying.
"I know that my fried egg is the worst. I always knew, but I can't admit it. Mort and Runo ate it every time I made it. I wanted to make them happy, but my fried eggs are the same no matter how hard I tried."
Leo listened to Anne. She was just an innocent lady who suffered from the side effect of her ability. She was not insane, unlike Leo, who did unreasonable things on purpose.
"I don't blame you, Anne. You tried to show me hospitality. However, Mort and Runo need to be more honest. They should have told you if they disliked eating fried eggs. I have a proposal. It just happens that I'm also pretty good at cooking. My fried eggs are not the best, but they're still good."
"So, how about I teach you how to make them? It's not hard once you learn the right method."
Anne jumped with joy at the unexpected offer. She was more than glad to be trained by Leo. This is how the eventful breakfast ended. Leo got one step closer to the family he initially wanted to rob.