Chapter 194: A New Morning Begins, A Very Chaotic Family

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As they moved to the kitchen, Riven started cooking exactly what she wanted — pancakes with ice cream, fresh berries, and whipped cream. Ice cream for breakfast was certainly an unusual choice, but it was her wish, and he was not going to deny his wife something so humble when she asked for it with those expectant eyes.

The sweet smell of batter hitting the hot pan quickly filled the kitchen, mixing with the faint scent of vanilla and berries. It was a peaceful morning atmosphere that felt almost unreal after everything they had gone through recently.

"Let’s wait until everyone’s awake," he said while flipping another pancake. "I’ll go wake up the kids first."

"Oh, okay..." Elisa nodded, then turned her attention to Noir, who was sitting on the sofa next to her. "Hey, how are you? Come here!" she called softly, beginning to caress and scratch his fluffy belly, which he happily rolled over to show her. "Who’s the cutie patootie?"

Noir’s tail wagged lazily as he enjoyed the attention, letting out a low, contented rumble.

Not long after, people started waking up one by one. Label walked lazily out of her room while still carrying her pillow, her steps unsteady as she yawned and groaned.

"G-Goo’ mornin’..." she mumbled, her long hair a complete mess and her eyes barely open.

Daniela and Hinata had been sleeping in the same room as her, so they soon joined as well. Daniela immediately ran off to find her brother, who was already awake and secretly playing on his portable game console under the blankets.

"Carlos! Were you playing all night?!" she couldn’t believe it, hands on her hips as she stared down at him.

"Uuhh, no, I slept," he said without looking away from the screen. "And then I woke up and played more."

"Ugh, he’s totally addicted!" sighed Daniela, shaking her head in defeat.

Meanwhile, Hinata walked to the room where Kagehisa, Goki, and Ren were sleeping. She froze in the doorway when she found them still completely out, which she couldn’t believe.

"M-Master Kagehisa! Please wake up already! Goki! Ren! This is dishonorable! How could you still be sleeping at this hour?! Ninjas are supposed to wake up at 4 AM!" she scolded them, even though she didn’t really have the right to say that after sleeping in herself.

"Uuugh?" Kagehisa groaned, burying his face deeper into the pillow. "H-Hinata...? Agh, I’m just exhausted... yesterday was a tiring fight."

"My whole body hurts. Using the Vajra Body Art wasn’t a good idea," Goki sighed, not even attempting to sit up.

"...I’m awake," Ren said quietly. He slowly stood up and yawned lightly, which made Hinata smile cutely at him. She reached out and patted his head because she found the quiet way he woke up unexpectedly endearing.

"Good morning, Ren! Well, I’m glad at least one of us is quick to wake up," she giggled, grabbing his arm. "Let’s go have breakfast!"

"Huh? Okay..." Ren muttered, still half-asleep and clearly confused as he was pulled out of the room by Hinata.

Goki and Kagehisa stared after them in pure disbelief.

Since when?

Since when were those two so close?!

"Gah...! I can’t believe it! This bastard Ren...! Has he stolen Hinata from me?!" Goki screamed, suddenly wide awake.

"She’s the only woman in our group..." Kagehisa sighed dramatically. "I never planned to reciprocate anything, but I thought she liked me?"

Both of them were surprised that the shy and quiet ninja seemed to be the one favored by Hinata’s kindness. Meanwhile, Ren was already sitting down at the table, eating pancakes next to her and the rest of the kids as if nothing unusual had happened.

"Hey, what’s gotten into you two?! Wake up already!" Riven roared.

"Gaaaaack!"

"Heeeey!"

Kagehisa and Goki were suddenly pulled out of bed by their legs and unceremoniously thrown into the living room. Label appeared right after them, carrying a tray of potions which she promptly poured into their mouths without asking.

"If you were hurting you should’ve said so! I’ve also made lots of injections — they work faster!" she smiled slightly creepily, revealing dozens of sharp syringes full of glowing healing liquids that she held with both arms and even her long hair. "I was looking for some test subjects...!"

"Guaaaaahhh!"

"W-Wait! Wait, Label!!!"

The girl was completely merciless. It turned out these two were deathly afraid of syringes and injections, but that didn’t stop her. She ended up giving them a whole bunch, most of them in their buttocks, until they finally felt well enough to move again.

"Healed yet?" Riven asked with a mocking smile as he set plates of pancakes on the table.

"Y-You’re cruel!" Kagehisa cried, rubbing his sore backside.

"We can’t even take a break for a single day?" Goki sighed, letting out a small tear of self-pity.

"What was that about ninjas being able to go on for days without eating or sleeping? You guys keep contradicting yourselves!" Riven said with a laugh. "Hahah!"

"Grrrr...! Well, whose fault is that?!" Kagehisa roared, almost spilling his glass of milk across the table. "It’s your fault we were so beaten up and wounded that—"

"Enough! No screaming or fighting at the table!" Elisa roared suddenly.

She lifted a flowerpot with telekinesis and launched it straight into his forehead.

CRASH!

"Augh!"

Kagehisa collapsed on the spot, knocked out cold on the floor, leaving the other three ninjas completely speechless.

"A-Amazing! She knocked out Kagehisa-sama with one flowerpot?!" Goki screamed in disbelief.

"Strong... Lady Elisa is... the strongest," Ren muttered with genuine respect.

"Wooah!" Hinata gasped, eyes sparkling.

All three remaining ninjas suddenly dropped to their knees in front of Elisa and began begging her with surprising enthusiasm.

"Please teach us, Elisa-sama!!!"

"Eh?" Elisa tilted her head in confusion for a second, then a confident smile spread across her face. "Heh! I see you’ve finally realized my greatness? Ohohohohoh! Fine, I wouldn’t mind teaching you a thing or two about proper Mana Control instead of the brutish nonsense you people do all the time without realizing it! OHOHOHO!"

Daniela smiled lightly while her eyebrows twitched in mild secondhand embarrassment. "There she is... her particular ’young lady laughter’ that Riven mentioned."

Carlos sat beside her, nodding wisely as he continued eating his pancakes. "Yep, it’s very characteristic of her. She does it all the time actually."

The warm morning sunlight continued to fill the living room as the chaotic yet strangely peaceful breakfast carried on, the scent of pancakes and the sound of mixed laughter creating an atmosphere that none of them had expected to find in this house.

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