After a few moments, we settled in well, not fully, since the girls initially planned to return to the capital. However, after some negotiation, they decided to stay.
"Uhm... Sir Fernando," Helene began, taking a seat. "We have a request to ask of you, if you don't mind."
"Sure, sure. What's it all about?" I responded, now eager to know what they wanted.
"We've noticed your strength twice, first when we fought the demon lycan, and again earlier today. We've all come to a conclusion," she said, pausing for effect.
"A conclusion about what exactly?" My curiosity got the better of me.
"A conclusion that... uhm... that you should train us," she finally said, her voice steady but her eyes betraying a hint of nervousness.
"Train you guys?" I repeated, looking surprised.
"Yes, we would love to be trained by you," she said, and the others nodded in agreement.
I let out a mild laugh, scratching the back of my head. "I don't know if I'd be able to. I mean, I'm not a teacher, so I can't possibly install the values in you the right way," I said, noticing Lupin's reaction to the request. She was clearly jealous.
"Why do you want Fernando to train you? There are better trainers back at the capital," Lupin said, pouting.
"We insist that he trains us because he seems like someone who would take his time and not rush everything," Helene responded calmly.
"Or you're just looking for an excuse to get closer to him!" Lupin blurted out, her cheeks flushing.
"Alright, I didn't introduce her properly earlier. This is Lupin, my wife," I said, trying to diffuse the tension.
Lupin immediately began to glitter like a star, her face lighting up with overwhelming joy that overshadowed her earlier jealousy and anger.
"W-wife?" they all said, looking utterly surprised. "When did you...?"
"Haha, not long ago," I said with a faint smile.
"Ohhh-" Helene said, taking back her words. "Sorry for abruptly asking for that without consulting your wife first. We'll find a teacher back at the capital," she concluded, her tone apologetic.
"There's no need to," Lupin said, now looking high and proud.
"Huh?" I exclaimed, confused. Wasn't it her who just refused a few minutes ago? I thought.
"What do you mean, Mrs. Lupin?" Jennifer asked, equally puzzled.
"I mean, my husband can train you guys, and you all can stay here as long as you want," she said, drifting closer to me as we sat on the sofa.
"But-" I tried to interject, but she cut me off.
"And there's no room for no as an answer," she said firmly.
"Well, since you insist, we'd happily take the request. But we don't have anything to offer you," Emma said, her face now pale after finding out Lupin was my wife.
"No need for that. Just do your best in the training, and I can slip in some ideas while you train," Lupin said, winking at the females. I looked on, utterly confused by what had just transpired.
"Sure then, if Lupin insists, I can't say no," I finally spoke, resigning to the situation.
"Alright, but the house only has two rooms, sir," Ruby finally spoke up.
"Two rooms?" I let out a light blush on my cheeks.
"Yes, sir," she said, her voice firm.
"Then my darling and I will stay in the same room," Lupin said with a sly grin on her face.
I looked at her and scoffed. "Why are you being shy, Fernando-sama? Aren't you guys married?" she teased.
"It's nothing like that," I smiled a bit, trying to brush off the awkwardness.
We left to our different rooms to tidy them up and prepare for the night.
"Darling, there's just one bed in the room. That means we'll stay on the same bed tonight ," she smirked.
"What? Haha, no way," I said, blushing a bit. "I'll call for another bed later."
She shook her head in response to what I had just said. "But-but, I want to stay with you on the same bed, darling. Isn't that what couples do?" she said, pouting a bit.
"We're just pretending, remember?" I replied.
"Ohhh-" she let out a slight sigh of annoyance, then left the room.
I stood there, confused as to why she left, before I started arranging the room. Later, I went to the capital to fetch a new bed for myself.
In the evening, we all became hungry after the day's work.
"I prepared food for all of us, darling-sama," Lupin said, gesturing towards the kitchen.
We followed her because we were starving.
"I hope you enjoy!" she said, lifting the food cover only for us to see raw meat.
"What? What's that?" I said, looking at what was laid before me.
"It's raw meat. Meat is best eaten raw," she said.
Well, I wouldn't really blame her because she lived in the wild most of her life before I took her in.
"Sorry, Lupin, but we can't eat this..." I said, and the others nodded in agreement.
"Bur bur, do you think so too?" she turned, looking at our pet, who was enjoying the raw meat.
Apparently, she decided to name our pet Bur Bur for a reason I couldn't comprehend, even with the system's ability.
"Come on, Lupin, that's a wild animal. Of course, it would love it," I said, taking the plates away to the sink. "I will cook something edible. You guys should just wait a while."
Everyone held their hands on their tummies but couldn't refuse because they couldn't eat raw meat.
"I will help too. I used to cook back at my family's mansion," Helene said, walking towards the sink as well.
In about 30 minutes, I was done cooking based on the ingredients we had available.
"Food is ready!" I shouted.
Soon enough, everyone had surrounded the table to eat.
"Hope you guys enjoy the meal," I said.
"We will," they responded.
"Thanks for the food," they said right before removing the food cover.
"Wow, this looks delicioso," Emma said. "It's Spanish for delicious."
"We know, Emma," they responded.
"But she's right, it does look delicious," Ruby said before digging into the food.
"Hmm-" she gestured, savoring the taste.
We began eating before we realized Lupin hadn't touched her food yet.
"Lupin? Why aren't you eating?" I asked.
"Well, I don't think cooked meat tastes better than raw meat," she sneered.
"Just take a bite," Helene said.
"But I can't. I'm not sure how it tastes," Lupin replied hesitantly.
"It's Fernando-sama who cooked it," Helene said, tempting her to eat the food.
"Well, if it's what my husband made, then I will give it a try," she said, opening the food.
The food was a mixture of vegetables and meat, fried meat with sauce all over it. And yes, it was goddamn good.
She took one bite of the meat and screamed with joy. "Oh my, how can cooked meat taste this good?" she exclaimed.
"I love how it's crispy and melting in my mouth along with the oil and sauce," she said, taking more bites.
"I'm glad you like it. By the way, it was Helene who fried the meat, i just did the vegetables" I said.
She immediately stopped and looked at Helene. "You cooked the meat?"
"Yes," Helene let out a small smile.
"Actually, my family was once a noble family, but after my father retired as the king's best swordsman, we lost our nobility and became an ordinary household. So, I did most of the cooking since we didn't have a maid anymore," she explained.
"Oh, I see. You cook quite well," Lupin said, a hint of jealousy in her voice because she wanted me to eat what she had made.
We all enjoyed the food and headed our separate ways in the house to continue whatever we had been doing earlier