Triggering the Underlying Code

After being homeless and penniless, Florna ran into her third predicament today.

She seemed—perhaps, maybe…

to be a complete tech idiot.

“Uh, how exactly do you use this?”

Standing in the kitchen, Florna’s gaze wandered over the unfamiliar stove, at a loss for what to do.

She had always marveled at the wonders of modern technology and wanted to try it.

But once she actually had to use it, she found herself stuck.

She tried turning the knobs to ignite it, but not a single flame appeared.

She had planned to consult the eyeball.

But the eyeball was a monster that didn’t need to eat and only had a vague understanding of modern kitchen appliances.

Watching Florna fiddle with it for ages without producing fire, the eyeball finally couldn’t take it anymore.

It raised a tentacle and asked timidly.

【My lady, aren’t you… able to make fire yourself?】

When the word “fire” appeared, the ink suddenly became messy.

The eyeball realized it a beat too late and froze.

Really—who would use their immense power just to light a fire?

What a stupid question.

That was clearly an affront to my lady’s dignity.

Frightened, it shrank its tentacles, leaning back with the book, only daring to sneak glances at Florna’s reaction from the corner of its eye.

“You mean holy flame?”

Waving her hand, Florna didn’t mind.

“It only looks similar to fire in form.

Using it to cook doesn’t really work.

At best, it just adds a sparkly ‘bling-bling’ special effect to the food.”

【Is this breakfast really necessary?】

“What do you know?”

As the saying goes, “A day’s plan starts in the morning.”

How could a retired life be without an exquisite breakfast!

An inexplicable fighting spirit ignited in Florna’s eyes.

For the sake of breakfast, it seemed she had no choice but to use that move!

【But the way you’re running around busy like this hardly looks like retirement.】

Saving Hoshino Sakio, investigating the monster organization, stopping a magical-girl civil war—

Thinking back on Florna’s recent schedule, the eyeball felt that what she said and what she actually did really didn’t line up.

Right now, Florna wasn’t in the mood to hear any of that.

“Eyeball, go avoid this for a bit.

What comes next will be… a little intense.”

Intense?

How intense could it be?

A powerful light burst forth from Florna’s body.

The eyeball was so startled that it rolled and scrambled away from the kitchen, fleeing the trouble zone.

Truly intense—physically!

That sacred energy was so strong it made the flowers and trees outside the window lean toward Florna as they grew.

【She’s really cooking with her powers?】

What the eyeball didn’t realize was that the light was merely a cover.

Taking advantage of it, Florna quietly switched into a pink, heart-shaped apron.

One of the masterpieces of the Ever-Changing Wardrobe—the Sweetheart Apron.

It had two properties: Culinary Master and Delicious.

Culinary Master allowed the wearer’s cooking skill to reach master level, granting seamless proficiency with all kinds of kitchen tools.

That mastery of utensils was exactly what Florna needed.

As for Delicious, Florna wasn’t quite sure.

Back then, before the goddess could finish explaining the apron’s properties, Florna had kicked her out in embarrassment and anger.

She didn’t really dwell on it.

In her view, it was probably just a sensory effect that made food taste better.

Not particularly useful.

After all, for those with mana, effects that influenced the senses already met with some resistance.

More importantly, the cost of this apron was something Florna really couldn’t praise.

The moment she tied the apron on, the rest of her clothes seemed to be stripped away by invisible hands, falling entirely to the floor.

Even though holy light concealed her and no one could see her completely bare state, Florna still felt her cheeks burning and her ears turning so red they might drip blood.

“I’m already starting to regret why I put this apron on.”

Despite voicing regret, Florna began cooking at lightning speed.

Since she’d already worn it, she might as well finish making breakfast first.

“Is that Kirishima’s place?”

Passing by, Hoshino Sakio looked curiously at the window that kept emitting light.

Was it indoor photography lighting?

Or a lighting malfunction?

If it was a malfunction, that would be dangerous.

As that thought crossed her mind, curiosity turned into genuine concern.

Then, a sweet fragrance drifted into Hoshino Sakio’s nose.

…

“So you have to open the metal can to get fire.”

【My lady, that’s called a gas canister.】

Choosing to selectively ignore the eyeball, Florna—already back in her nun’s outfit—said,

“It’s finally done.

See, I told you it wouldn’t stump me.”

Satisfied as she looked at the steaming breakfast, Florna walked lightly toward Kirishima Shiro’s room.

【So it really wasn’t made for yourself.】

Although Florna repeatedly emphasized that breakfast was for her retired life, the eyeball keenly sensed the abundant mana contained within it.

This breakfast was clearly made for Kirishima Shiro.

Ever since the fight with Natsume Oto, Kirishima Shiro had been sleeping without waking up.

Florna guessed that when she possessed Shiro, she had drained too much mana, causing a massive mana influx shock that led to mana aversion.

Mana aversion caused the body to stop absorbing ambient mana, similar to anorexia.

This condition required consuming mana-infused food to guide recovery.

That was why Florna had gone so far as to wear the Sweetheart Apron to prepare mana cuisine.

Pushing the door open, Florna leaned in to take a closer look at Kirishima Shiro’s sleeping face.

A few stray strands of hair clung to Shiro’s forehead.

Her breathing was so even it was almost inaudible.

A faint blush colored her cheeks.

She was sleeping very soundly.

“Wake up.

Time for breakfast.”

Florna nudged Kirishima Shiro’s shoulder, trying to wake her.

That push, however, seemed to trigger some kind of hidden switch.

Caught off guard, Florna was pulled onto the bed by Kirishima Shiro, wrapped up in the warm bedding.

With her eyes still closed, Kirishima Shiro sniffed lightly and buried her face deep into Florna’s chest, mumbling softly.

“Smells so good.

Mom, I want milk.”

As she spoke, she rubbed against Florna’s chest again and again.

Hot breath slipped into Florna’s collar.

Her heart tightened.

Flushed with shame and indignation, she raised her hand and pressed it against Kirishima Shiro’s forehead.

“If you don’t wake up and hear what you’re saying, do you really think that’s a place where milk comes from?”

【So my lady likes magical girls after all.】

Looking at the blanket wriggling around on the bed, the eyeball could already imagine how intense things were inside.

After the last succubus misunderstanding, it had thought that its lady wasn’t interested in women.

Now it seemed that its experience had been lacking.

【Then I won’t disturb you.

I’ll take my leave.】

The eyeball deftly propped itself up with its tentacles and retreated back to the living room.

Kirishima Shiro, however, remained stubbornly intent on finding milk in Florna’s embrace.

Florna took a deep breath.

“You’re going to be late for school!”

Those words were like a bolt of lightning exploding in Kirishima Shiro’s ears.

“What?!”

She jolted awake instantly, threw off the blanket, and scrambled to find her phone.

“Nine forty-six.”

The moment she saw the time, Kirishima Shiro felt her heart turn to ashes.

“Crap.

I’m really late.”

When would she ever shake off the title of ‘Queen of Tardiness’?

Florna shot her an annoyed glance.

“Don’t you have Saturdays off?”

Even Seriana hadn’t gone to school today—she’d actually volunteered to help Florna deal with her unregistered identity.

“Saturday?

Oh, then it’s fine.”

Kirishima Shiro immediately let out a sigh of relief.