— Are you not going to eat?
— ... I will.
She cast a glance at Ais, who was eating unhurriedly, but her face showed how much she liked it. And Ais was staring intently at me, while I still had not touched her food, which she had learned to cook today. For today, she had been more diligent than ever, so she was eagerly awaiting an evaluation. But Kopii kept ignoring her gaze; he was fully focused on his thoughts.
— Ais, why are you learning to cook from him? I'm sure there's someone a hundred times better than him.
Why did she agree to let me teach her? Replaying these thoughts, he repeated over and over: everyone is better than him. And then he understood the truth: why him? Even if he cooked well, there was definitely someone who cooked better; he was sure of it. Of course, he could not properly evaluate his own cooking skills. After all, he just copied; he had never actually practiced this, never spent time learning through sleepless nights; he could not understand it. All his cooking talent had appeared simply out of nowhere. He did not even know whom he had copied. But he knew one thing: he cooked rather well.
For the first time, he thought about the fact that this was actually not his labor, not his effort. For the first time, he realized the potential of his ability: if he could accidentally copy someone's cooking skills, then what stopped his skill from copying magic, or a fighting style? Things they had honed their whole lives, he could get in just a second.
Casting a glance at Ais, their gazes met. Her beautiful golden eyes were full of life. He had to marvel again: how could such a beautiful girl exist? Even the gods could not compare to her. But right now, he was thinking about something else.
What would happen if all her potential, her efforts, her daily striving to push her body to the limit, living only for the dungeon in order to become stronger… He did not know why she strove so hard for strength, but he guessed it was somehow connected to Aria. What would happen if she understood that my skill could copy all her efforts, her time, her blood and sweat? Kopii did not believe it was impossible, for in his head there was something that should never have existed, namely, this monster essence.
— Dirty animal!
???
Standing between him and Ais, his eyes filled with confusion. But before he could understand what was happening, she continued.
— What are you staring at Ais for?! Are you imagining some perversion again! You dirty animal! I won't allow it!
— And who's asking you! You can't even imagine what my fantasy is capable of! You long-eared freak! – Kane shouted in his head.
Kopii's eyes filled with understanding: he had been staring at Ais so intently that she could misunderstand it.
— I've never thought about that!
— You can tell that to anyone! But you won't fool me! Pervert!
— What, am I not allowed to admire her beauty?!
— Not someone like you! – Pointing her finger at him. – You can't admire her beauty!
— And who's going to stop me?
— I will!!!
— If so, let's ask her herself. Whether she's against it or not. What do you think, Ais?
— Yes, Ais, what do you think?
We both stared at Ais, awaiting an answer.
— Well… I don't see anything bad in it.
Lefiya's face stretched in shock, and a victorious smile appeared on my face.
— That's what needed to be proven. I demand an apology; you can get on your knees right now and beg for forgiveness.
— What?!
— Yes, that's right, Kopii! Let her apologize with her little mouth. Hehehehe…
— And what did you expect?! I'm a rather sensitive person, and every time I hear you insulting me, it strikes me to the very depths of my heart. So I ask for an apology!
— You won't get it! You dirty pervert! And no one gets offended by the truth!
— Your words are like a knife to my heart.
Clutching my heart, my face twisted in feigned pain.
— You're mocking me!
— Well, fine, you saw through me. I give up.
We argued a little more and returned to eating, but even so, we shot lightning at each other.
— You did quite well, Ais.
Turning my gaze to Ais, at his praise, the corners of her lips rose. At such a reaction, he felt warmth deep in his soul and smiled too.
— You're at it again, pervert.
Kopii's smile vanished. And, returning his gaze to Lefiya, if looks could kill, she would have definitely killed him. But even so, she fearlessly devoured everything that was on the table.
— What, do you want to start again, you long-eared freak?
— Huh?! Who's long-eared here?!
— Is there another elf here? So you're also stupid.
— You've got some nerve, pervert!
— Maybe you've got nerve, long-ears!
— Call me that again… you'll regret it.
— Ha-ha, and what will you do to me?
Our foreheads bumped, and we stared into each other's eyes without blinking. Neither wanted to back down.
— Do you really want to know?
— Yes, L-O-N-G-E-A-R-S.
— Don't call me that.
— Ahah, long-ears, long-ears, long-ears. Ha-ha-ha. Come on, show me.
Her face reddened with anger, but even so, he did not feel that so-called "magic." He remembered that feeling very well; that moment had been imprinted in his head forever, or at least for a long time. He wanted to see it again, but she was probably holding back from using magic, and all because of Ais.
«But how long will she last?» - he thought. Pondering his next words, he needed to say it so that she completely lost control. But before either she or he could even open their mouths, Ais beat them both to it.
— Thank you for the lesson and for dinner. But we have to go. Let's go, Lefiya.
— Ah… Yes, Ais. – Casting one last glance at Kopii, she headed for the exit.
— No need, Ais, I'll clean everything up.
Seeing that Ais wanted to clear the table, he immediately stopped her.
— …sure.
— Yes.
— Bye, Kopii.
— Bye, Ais… And bye to you too, long-ears.
— … Bye.
Saying it as if cutting it off, she quickly turned away. Before he could blink, she had already disappeared. Casting a glance at Ais, did it seem to him or not… Or did it seem that her face had become even more emotionless? But he did not attach serious importance to it, for maybe she was just in a bad mood today; it happens to everyone; he simply smiled and waved at her. After that, she returned to her usual expression, and the corners of her lips also rose a little, and she waved back and left.
After Lefiya and Ais had left.
— Ais was right, after all.
— About what?
— Well, about Lefiya actually being kind. One can understand her too; if you learned that your close friend was spending time with a person about whom bad rumors circulate… But how did she find out? Was my disguise that bad?
— Ahahahaha, your disguise… Hahaha, I can't, hahah.
— Shut up, it was perfect!
It really was quite good, as he thought: he wore baggy clothes, wore a mask that fully hid his face, a different hairstyle. He even limped a little. At some moments, he even wore tight clothing, so that no one could guess it was him, because back then he had not had a drop of fat.
«A running skeleton,» - that is what he compared himself to. So his disguise was not good, but very good. Or was that just his opinion.
— What, where is it? Did it fall?
Clearing the table, he could not find the spoon anywhere. Of course, he was not so poor as to count such insignificant things. But if he had set out three cups and three spoons, and one of them had disappeared, and he could not find it anywhere… Well, after looking absolutely everywhere around the table, he still could not find it and made the most sensible decision.
— Whatever.
— Yes, yes, hurry up, why are you dawdling; you can clean up later.
— I don't want there to be a stench when I come back.
— From what?
— From everything. Just shut up, give me some peace of mind!
— Dream on!
— …
— Ha-ha-ha, you're at it again. Think that if you ignore me, it'll help you? If you think so, you're sorely mistaken!
But whatever Kane said, Kopii perfectly understood that he would calm down soon. And he did not even have to wait long before Kane fully fell silent.
«Easy victory.» – He smirked.
– Why are you smirking?
His smirk immediately vanished.