Why are you crying? You utter idiot

Day 6: Lunch Time.

As I’ve mentioned before, Ruma is the one who cooks in this house and honestly, she’s a great cook. Every meal so far has been amazing, and I think I'm lucky to get to eat her food every single day.

It's pretty easy to understand why I'm not the cook in this house.

I was sitting in the chair, waiting for Ruma to finish serving. Mochiko was beside me, restless as always, banging her cutlery against the table with both hands like a war drum. She was starving or dramatic. Both.

“HURRY UP!! HURRY UP!! MY BELLY IS EMPTY!!”

“Belly? Don’t you mean your chest?” Answered Ruma without taking her eyes of the food.

“S-SHUT UP!!”

This kind of conversation isn't very uncommon to hear, it's always kind of funny.
Well, they're people in puberty, so this kind of conversation maybe is normal.

Maybe... I don't really know.

“Here you go! Two dishes of the highest quality! as always. I’ll eat later.” Ruma announced, placing two steaming plates of rice with seafood before us.

Ah, I love this food so much.

“YEAH, FINALLY!!” Mochiko shouted, her tongue sliding greedily along the corner of her mouth.

“T-thanks.” I added, much quieter.

Mochiko leaned toward me, her eyes definitely not directed at me “You uh… If you don’t finish it, would you mind letting me have the rest?”

“Ah, maybe…”

It’s true, sometimes I can’t eat everything and she ends up claiming what’s left. Even though I think that's kinda gross.

BUT FUCK NO!! TODAY IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE DISHES EVER—

...

M-my food is burnt.

The rice. The seafood. Completely black. Charred and uneatable.

…

DAMN IT! HOW DID RUMA NOT NOTICE?! This is obviously inedible!

That stupid ginger busty chef! What do I do now?! Do I pretend to eat it? Do I actually eat it?!

Crap crap crap! Burnt food is dangerous, right? I-Is it poisonous? Will I die if I eat this?!

I-I'm already grabbing the cutlery, do I just move my hand and eat?...

FUCKKKK!! I DON'T WANNA EAT IT LIKE THAT!!

But wait… this world works by my beliefs. If I believe burnt food is harmless and tastes the same as normal food… then maybe it will!

Yes, that’s it! I just need to convince mysel—

“Hey Ruma, his food is burnt.” Mochiko simply said.

“Oh really? Sorry about that.”

Without hesitation, Ruma took my plate, dumped it into the trash, and served me a fresh portion.

“Here, enjoy your meal!”

…I am so, stupid.

Day 7:

I’ve kind of got used to life here. Even my cleaning skills have improved, though I still hate the work itself.
Scrubbing the floor like I'm doing now has become routine. A habit. While those two sit around and do absolutely nothing.

IS THIS WHAT IT'S LIKE TO BE PART OF A CRIMINAL ORGANIZATION!?

No, it’s not that bad. I eat and sleep here for free, and Mochiko actually defends the place at night, blasting away any monsters that show up. I feel safe here. 

Maybe I'm being ungrateful actually.

Right now Mochiko and Ruma were lounging on the couch, watching TV. Mochiko had that fat hamster in her lap again. Oh, I found out his name! The hamster's name is: Atum. It was a difficult journey, but I managed to hear Mochiko call the animal that name.

“Hmmmmmmmm,” Ruma groaned suddenly.

I blinked. “...?”

“HMMMMMMMMM!!” Her voice rose like a kettle boiling over.

W-What is going on? Is she ok?...
It looks she is going to explode or something—

“GYAAHHH! I CAN’T TAKE IT ANYMORE!!”

She leapt up and ran toward me. Her expression wasn’t anger, more like someone finally cracking after holding something in. Still, from the outside, she just looked pissed.

What the hell did I do?

“I thought Anfang would call us for a quest. Then Mochiko and I could go make money while you stayed here with chores. It would be fair. BUT NO! He didn't call us once during a full week!"

She clenched her fists with her voice shaking. “And I had enough of watching you do everything while I do nothing! That wasn’t the plan. You don’t have to do this every day. Once a week would be enough! And…”

She stopped for a bit, giving a huge sighed.
Then she turned to me, with a reluctant smile almost embarrassed. “And I feel guilty. Because you’re… you’re really kind. And it’s not fair.”

She looked into my eyes, reluctant but sincere. “So go rest, go to your room. Mochiko and I will clean today.”

Mochiko immediately stood up, Atum bolting in terror from her lap.

“WHAT!? HOW DARE YOU!! I already do plenty! Like… like killing monsters!!”

“THAT'S MORE LIKE A HOBBY THAN A JOB! NOBODY LIKES TO FUCKING CLEAN!!!” Ruma snapped back.

“A-ah, but—...”

Ruma ignored her and looked at me instead, smiling gently. “Don’t worry. I’ll make this loli work. But you… you’ve been doing everything for us and I feel kinda guilty. So just—”

Her eyes widened. “Theo!? Are you crying!?”

Without me even realizing it, my mouth was trembling, and small tears were running down my cheeks from my eyes.

“D-Did I say something wrong?!” she asked nervously.

“S-sorry, I… I’ll just go to the bathroom.”

“O-okay. If you need anything, call me...”

...

Here I am, stooding before the bathroom mirror.

Why are you crying? You utter idiot...

They’re illusions! None of this is real! They’re creations of your own mind. 
So why why why why are you crying over this shit? Such a simple word, it's no big deal!

“Is this what you want to be? A pathetic crybaby?” I was punching the bathroom's cabinet in anger "What's wrong with you?!"

And then, a memory flashed through my mind.

“It’s been so long since someone complimented me… so long that I don’t even remember who it was. My parents, maybe?”

Seriously, the last person to praise me were my parents!? What a loser I am...

And now the words of something that doesn't exist made me cry?... Why I'm like that...

But just then, I heard something that I've only heard once since I got to this house.

Ding-Dong*

The bell.

I froze.

“Coming!” Ruma’s voice rang from the downstairs.

I sighed, wiping my face. “Come on, come on, pull yourself together... You can’t greet anyone like this.”

I took a deep breath and walked towards the first floor.

Ruma was struggling with the lock. “DAMN IT! WHY IS THIS SO HARD?!”

Mochiko, nearby, glanced at me. “You’re here? I thought you were resting… Are you okay? I-I need you for the tests.”

"I'm fine.. Just a bit tired maybe..."

“FINALLY!!” Ruma yelled as the door opened.

And then my world shattered into a thousand pieces.

Standing there was a good-looking woman, pale, dressed in dark clothes, one eye was hidden beneath her long black hair, the other circled with heavy shadows.

“Hello,” she said, her voice quiet as a whisper “Ende told me I’ll be living here from now on.”

G-GOTA!?