[center][h2]Nicolas Li[/h2][h3]??? — Witch's House (Atelier)[/h3][/center]

"I don't know what you expect me to say here; if I lied through my teeth you'd be mad, and I'm pretty sure the truth might as well be a lie to you," Nicolas responded with a half-hearted shrug. "Unless you're going to tell me that transmigration of the soul is normal here?"

Though his answer could have been interpreted, the young man could not fathom any other excuse for the scene he had set in the last few minutes that would give Ilsa any sort of adequate explanation. If 'I was killed and reincarnated from another world with technology that is likely to be a few centuries' worth of time into the future' was normal here, then that would honestly be more cause for alarm. Who knew if there were people who had come before them that had caused more problems than they solved with whatever God-given powers they were provided?

...Maybe it was a good thing that she seemed so incredulous at the moment; he would hate to end up dead in a ditch just because he hit the proverbial jackpot and was given a second chance.

Regardless of any of those possibilities, though, Nicolas would opt to focus on the task at hand—cooking their meal—instead of worrying about any possibility of getting killed over such a thing.

After handing the pair of fairies the milkshake that he had blended up (after hassling the witch for some ice), Nick poured another off to the side for Ilsa to taste if she so desired before retuning to work. For what it was worth, Hikari's knifework was well beyond that of an amateur home cook's, which meant that he had the room to go a bit fancier on... Well, everything else.

Thus passed the next few hours; regardless of if the others chose to stay or leave, Nicolas would soon exist his magical pocket dimension with a pair of trays in hand. The scent of cooked pastry and meat would quickly fill the kitchen as he moved to the dining room, though he had to take care to not trip over himself en route.

"While it might be better to focus on one dish a time, I believe that a more casual, family-style presentation works better in this situation," he said before revealing the completed dishes hidden underneath the cloches. "Pickled vegtables, beef wellington, and some fruit tarts once everyone's had their fill—or maybe before, if meat isn't much your style."

Of course, he would leave the honors of cutting into the main course to Hikari or Ilsa, whoever chose to act first. The former had prepared most of the dish, decals and all, while the latter was the one who had set the stage for the meal to begin with by supplying everything they needed.

Either way, hopefully culinary diplomacy would leave them enough leeway to push any questions of their origin off in lieu of stuffing faces—for the moment, at least.

[@VitaVitaAR][@Raineh Daze][@Pyromania99]