"Nice shot!" Dravin muttered, as if he’d just scored a perfect ten at the range.
He smirked. The extinguisher he’d bought was no ordinary one, it could freeze and cool down anything burning in seconds, sothing regular extinguishers could never do.
The shop’s description had promised it would encase things in ice for five minutes, and damn, it had delivered.
Through the microwave’s window, he saw the temperature settling by the popping and hissing finally dying out.
He exhaled in relief. But when his hand brushed the ice, instead of lting, it slowly vaporised, vanishing into thin air, leaving behind nothing but a cold, lifeless microwave.
Dravin yanked its plug free, though the lted tal made it a struggle. That outlet was fried, and Siena couldn’t use it again.
Curious about what she had been heating, Dravin opened the microwave.
His frown deepened. He’d been right all along.
One of the packages wasn’t designed for microwave use at all.
He picked up the charred remains and stepped out of Siena’s apartnt.
Outside, he peeled off the gear. The shop had warned him; once removed, the super functions would vanish, leaving it as nothing more than ordinary gear. Might as well box it up and soone would co to clean it later.
After setting down the extinguisher and closing the box by the wall, he smirked. My first ti using the system’s shop powers, and it was just to cool down an exploding microwave. Seriously?
He had half expected to be slashing demons with a sickle or katana... not spraying foam at a neighbour’s recklessness.
But wait.
Rubby, could this have been caused by a demon possessing Siena?
[I doubt it, Chef. D−Rank demons can’t influence humans. They’re parasites. All they can do is drag the soul once the Pleasure Index drops to zero.]
So it was Siena’s pure carelessness. Could she really be that stupid?
Still, Dravin felt a flicker of pride. He kept a cool head, handled a dangerous ss, and found the right solution.
And now he finally believed the shop system. Whatever he typed into the shop’s prompt, the system would deliver it exactly as he imagined.
This was the enjoynt Rubby had spoken of: the thrill of being a creator.
Dravin let out a long breath, typed his passcode, and stepped into his apartnt.
At the sa ti, Siena ca out from the bathroom, droplets sliding from her damp bangs.
"Ah, Dravin, you’re back? Sorry, when I looked in the mirror earlier, my face was a ss, so I used your bathroom to wash up."
Her colour had returned, and her hands no longer shook.
"It’s fine. And your microwave is at rest in peace now. I opened your window, so in a few hours the smoke should clear."
"A few hours?" Siena’s voice rose, anxious.
Dravin sighed, dropping the burnt food wrapper onto the kitchen counter.
"Yes. It’s still not safe. You’ll cough and choke if you go back now. Stay here."
He grabbed the towel hanging near his bed and headed toward the bathroom, only to find Siena blocking the doorway. They were just inches apart.
She blinked rapidly at him, eyes darting like a nervous kitten. His irritation started to lt away.
"Excuse . I need to clean up."
"Ah... right, yeah, sorry. Of course, you need to clean up." Siena stamred awkwardly, shuffling aside to let him through.
"Wait at the dining table. I need to say sothing too," he said before closing the bathroom door.
Siena felt her cheeks heating up and rushed to the mirror. Of course, she was blushing.
Her fingers tapped her cheeks, trying to make the redness fade. But it was stubborn, only deepening the flush across her face in shyness. She wished she could disappear before Dravin saw her like this.
But leaving now would be rude, wouldn’t it? Dravin had been so kind to help her—soone like her.
If she just walked away, he would surely hate her. And Siena couldn’t let that happen.
After so long, she finally had a friend again. Finally, soone acknowledged her existence.
She went to the dining table and sat, fidgeting with her fingers. She clenched and unclenched her palms while taking a deep breath.
She couldn’t ss this friendship up. She had to be grateful that soone as kind as Dravin even noticed her.
And he was handso, too. A person like , speaking with soone like him... Could this be the start of a blessing? Her thoughts refused to settle.
Not long after, Dravin stepped out of the bathroom and imdiately glanced at Siena. Watching her sit so prim and proper, he couldn’t help but find her cute.
He grabbed a glass of water and gulped it down greedily, as if his parched throat finally found relief.
His gaze dropped to the dining table, to the plate of breakfast he’d left earlier. He froze.
"Ah, I covered it earlier. Sorry, I disturbed your breakfast." She spoke as if tracing where his eyes were looking.
"It’s fine." Dravin lifted the cloche and found the French toast already a little soggy from the honey’s moisture. Luckily, a few slices were still untouched.
"Dravin, what did you want to talk about?" Siena asked awkwardly.
"Oh, about that..." He paused, then held up a charred bit of packaging and showed it to her. "Did you know this packaging isn’t safe to put straight in the microwave?"
Siena widened her eyes like a student caught by the teacher without her howork.
"I... I... I didn’t know... I—" She bit her lower lip, words failing her. "Was that why the microwave exploded? Oh God... I’m sorry... I’m really, really sorry. I should’ve been more careful. Sorry, Dravin..."
Dravin’s mouth hung open, baffled. Did he sound like so interrogator grilling a suspect? Why was Siena answering like the world would collapse if she made one mistake? He let out a sigh of empathy.
"Can you stop saying sorry every other word? I was just asking, not scolding you."
"Ah, yeah, sorr—" She cut herself off when her stomach growled loudly.
Dravin smiled. "Let’s eat while we talk."
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