"...Right."
Early morning. Abby was an early riser.
Unlike Lydia, she was a morning person and woke up the moment she opened her eyes. It was a holiday, so she didn't have any specific plans, but since Lydia and Carol both had work, Abby was scheduled to look after Ray in their stead.
She headed straight to the bathroom for a shower. Once she was ready, she made her way to Lydia’s room. It was right next door, so she arrived in no time and let herself in with a spare key.
In the living room, she found Ray walking about by himself.
"? Ray, what are you doing?"
As she spoke and approached him, she noticed a cup resting on the table. The pleasant aroma of freshly brewed tea wafted from it, tickling her nose.
This clearly wasn't something Lydia had prepared. To begin with, Carol was the one who bought the tea leaves, and only Carol or Abby ever actually brewed it.
Given that it was sitting there ready to be drunk...
"Ray. Did you prepare this for me?"
"...Yeah. I heard you were coming."
"I see. Then, I shall have some."
Abby took a seat and decided to try the tea Ray had brewed. Ray sat down in the seat opposite her and watched her intently.
"Yes. It’s delicious. You’re quite good at this, Ray. Did Carol teach you?"
"...No."
He shook his head. If not Carol, then who...? Abby thought for a moment before remembering his nature. He could mimic almost anything immediately. She had seen that terrifying level of reproducibility with her own eyes during his tennis match with Lydia.
That meant he must have learned simply by watching Abby and Carol brew it.
"Did you learn just by watching us?"
"...Yeah."
He nodded. Seeing that, a small smile escaped her lips. "I see," she murmured.
To be frank, Abby didn't feel as profound a connection to Ray as Lydia did, nor was she as hopelessly enamored with him as Carol. Initially, she had even recommended that the boy be placed in an orphanage or adopted into a normal family.
In truth, that fundamental stance hadn't changed much even now. She believed that a child shouldn't be associated with people like them... but Ray had talent.
It was a talent that Abby couldn't fully measure, but Lydia seemed to understand its weight. For that reason, she deferred to Lydia on matters regarding Ray's future.
It was plain to see that having Ray as a disciple was having a positive influence on Lydia as well.
"Alright, Ray. Shall we get to your studies?"
"...Yeah."
They moved to the room prepared for Ray, and Abby put on her glasses. She handed him the textbook she had brought and began the lesson with the poise of a professional teacher.
While she didn't hold a formal teaching certificate, Abby’s general knowledge was far superior to anyone else in the unit. Her knowledge of sorcery went without saying, but in terms of overall academic breadth, Abby was likely at the very top.
A genius among geniuses. That was Abby Garnet.
"This formula here is—"
"...I’ll try."
Once she finished explaining the solution, Ray worked through the problems in silence. Abby watched him closely.
When she had first started teaching him, she had been truly astonished. Ray's academic level had been slightly lower than others his age. She hadn't heard the full details of his past, but it seemed he had never received a formal education.
Because of that, she had planned to take things at a slow pace. However, Ray possessed an abnormal level of comprehension and an incredible ability to absorb information.
If it were just that, he could be called a prodigy, but even when she reviewed the material days later, he never failed to get the same problems right.
It wasn't just comprehension; Ray's memory was outstanding. Then again, looking at it another way, it made sense. Whether it was physical movement or anything else, the ability to replicate a task was something recalled from one's own memory.
In sports, one starts by observing a model—in this case, Lydia—and mimicking them. That is the act of recalling the other person's actions from memory and reproducing them.
While there wasn't necessarily a direct causal link, Abby believed there was a certain correlation between Ray's memory and his high overall aptitude.
"...Finished."
"Good. Let's grade it."
She took a red pen and went through the work; every answer was correct. His studies were already approaching the domain of the Middle School Division. Abby suspected he would finish the entire scope of compulsory education soon—depending on the number of subjects.
"Well done. You did great."
"...Yeah."
"Let's have some lunch. Is there anything you'd like to eat?"
"Together..."
He spoke in a small voice, trying to assert a wish. Sensing this, Abby asked again with a gentle expression.
"Is there something you want to do?"
"...I want to make it together. I want to learn to cook, too."
"I see. That's a wonderful idea. Alright, Ray. I'll teach you how to cook today."
"...Thanks."
In that moment, Abby was struck by an indescribable emotion. She hadn't understood why Carol was constantly gushing about how adorable Ray was, but now she finally got it.
She realized this feeling was surely what one would call maternal instinct.
Since Abby possessed a great deal of self-control, she suppressed the urge to squeeze him and instead led Ray to the kitchen.
There, she started by teaching him the proper way to handle a knife.
"Listen. When you're cutting ingredients, you have to curl your fingers like this."
"...Like this?"
"Exactly. And then, you cut like so."
Abby efficiently shredded a head of cabbage. She had planned to make fried chicken for lunch, so these were the accompanying vegetables.
Ray watched her intently. "...I'll try," he whispered, timidly placing the knife against the cabbage. Since he was still small, he stood on a chair to reach the counter.
"...Ugh, it's hard."
"That part is mostly just practice. For now, take it slow and be careful not to cut yourself."
"...Yeah."
Even for the exceptional Ray, his knife skills were those of an ordinary child.
After that, Abby cut the chicken thigh into bite-sized pieces and fried them. Since deep-frying was dangerous, she had Ray wait at the table.
She made enough to ensure there would be portions left for Lydia and Carol when they returned in the evening. Once all the chicken was fried, she brought the plates over to Ray.
"Well then, let's eat."
"...Let's eat."
Just as they had in the morning, they sat opposite each other and began their meal. Ray took a bite of the freshly fried chicken and a tiny smile played on his lips.
"...Delicious."
"I'm glad. Here, eat as much as you like."
"...Yeah."
He wasn't particularly talkative. Their communication was perfectly functional, and she didn't feel any sort of mystical bond between them.
And yet, for some reason, Abby felt a sense of peace just by watching him.
The Special Selection Unit, Astral, was currently in a period of relative calm, but before this, they had been deployed to conflict zones and survived countless grueling missions.
She found it strange and wonderful to be sharing a quiet meal like this with a boy she had encountered in the midst of all that.
"...Thank you for the meal."
"You certainly had a healthy appetite. It makes me happy to see."
As Abby went to carry the leftover dishes to the kitchen, Ray picked up his own dishes to follow her.
"Ray, it's alright. I'll handle those."
"...Gratitude. I want to help."
"────────!!"
The emotion that flooded her chest this time was far more intense than before. It was so powerful that Abby actually staggered, nearly losing her balance.
"...? Are you okay?"
"Ah—yes. I'm fine. Thank you, Ray."
Abby couldn't help but think.
Ah, Ray might grow up to be the kind of man who breaks many a woman's heart...