What's taking them so long? If they dallied any longer, then the food would get cold.
Just as I was about to go up and check on them, the girls came out of the bathroom with hot steam still coming from their damp skins. They seemed to be chatting about something but quickly changed topics as soon as they reached the dining area.
"Are you all done? Then let's eat!"
Although their hair and bodies were still dripping wet, they should be fine. And as predicted, Ember used her minor water element manipulation to drag the excess water from their hairs and dump it over the sink at the far end of the dining room.
"Skillfully done."
I clapped at her display of mastery and control, earning a bashful smile from her.
Without waiting any further, the girls sat around the table randomly. Then, they each started picking food off the table and wolfing it down like there was no tomorrow.
"..."
Did I misjudge their capacity? With the pace they're going, the food would vanish shortly. I knew that my girls were gluttonous, but I haven't eaten with them since coming to the Seimei clan after all. It seems like their appetite got upgraded too.
Fina was the only one going at a normal person's pace. But even Judy and Yorm were seemingly trying to compete with the others, eating at the fastest pace that they could.
As expected, three minutes later, the food completely vanished. I managed to pick up two sandwiches for myself before they completely disappeared, but I should probably increase the quantity next time.
"Sorry for the lacking meal."
I apologized lightly, but the girls panicked instead.
"W-was it Master who cooked them?! They were delicious, so don't be sorry!"
"My Lord, please punish me for thinking rude things about the one who cooked our meals!"
"Leader was the cook?! Then I want more of that large barbecue!"
"With this amazing degree of cooking skills, you'd surely be a great househusband, Will."
*Screech!*
*Hiss!*
In a rare occurrence, even Yorm and Judy were trying to comfort me. I guess they liked the food too.
"Don't mind it. I'll leave my clones here later to do all the cooking. For now, let's focus on your afternoon training."
After hearing my words, the girls quickly turned serious and sat down appropriately. Even Fang was listening attentively, despite her tail wagging wildly and hitting Igni and Ember repeatedly.
"[Shadow Skip] plus [Cloning]!"
Without waiting for the girl's attention to fade, I quickly used my personal cloning technique and created ten clones. Since my energy level has increased, I'm now able to create up to twenty of them simultaneously, but doing so would be a bit overkill.
"Alright, go to the one you want to teach, and the rest will stay and prepare dinner!"
My clones, who also had individual thinking capabilities, quickly moved on to someone else. One came for Yorm and Judy, while the rest moved to the girls in pairs. None remained behind to cook.
"Wait, stop. Let's just do a lottery to decide."
I scratched my head upon realizing that my clones really possessed my attitude. Even I thought that cooking was bothersome after all.
I grabbed a few forks and bent their teeth in different combinations. Then, I placed them inside a deep vase and covered the top with a cloth. One after another, the clones picked up a fork and moved to their designated station.
I looked at the one I picked and sighed. In the end, I'm stuck with cooking after all.
---
The man-to-man training was well received, it seems. Since my clones are basically a downgraded version of me, they could only do basic stuff, but teaching isn't outside of their capabilities.
On the other hand, we who got left in the kitchen were on a battlefield. Knowing that the girls would eat more to get back what they couldn't eat during lunch, we should be making double the amount for dinner after all.
What? Eating too much at night is bad for your health? Tell that to the girls, not me!
Fortunately, since all of the clones possess individual thinking processes, it's not too much of a burden on my main body. Fang should be learning the true [Shadow Clone] that she keeps failing to comprehend right now, but that one needs you to control each clone separately.
Fatima was able to split her mind completely to control separate clones, but even for her, two clones were the limit. I guess my version, which could reach twenty and have individual wills, was worthy of praise.
Igni, on the other hand, was learning how to use her signature skill after reaching the 7th stage. It was something called [Dragon's Dignity], which is an intimidation and buff skill that's able to power up nearby allies.
Ember, on the other hand, was learning theories regarding space travel in hopes of mastering the skill as quickly as possible. After all, being able to teleport by myself is a pretty valuable ability.
For the rest, Fina, Yorm, and Judy were still learning the basics. I guess they'd be tired after using their skills continuously. Either way, food would be a necessity. Lots of easy-to-digest food would be better since we'd be sleeping soon.
Although I was curious about the progress of their training, since I could hear the announcement of new skills every now and then, especially from Fina and Igni, I was convinced that everything was going along fine.
Soon, the clock was already pointing at seven in the afternoon, but the sky remained bright. Was it a function of this space that the sky remained bright all the time? It's pretty good, but what about when sleeping?
Either way, the girls came back and dropped down like dead logs before the table. I guess my clones did put them through the wringer, seeing as they're all drained of energy.
"Alright, alright! Go on and eat first! Then you can rest!"
I lifted each of them and arranged them in a seat at random before opening the cover of the food on the table. Even the trainer clones gulped after seeing the mountain of mouth-watering food before them.
"But that'll be a waste of resources."
I snapped my fingers and undid the skill. It was hard to do this at first, but I managed to learn it from training with the five regressors. However, unlike a certain ninja anime, my clones can't pass on their knowledge to me, so I was left with no idea about the girls' training.
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