"Breakfast is ready!" I exclaimed excitedly, placing the plates on the table with a flourish. I might not have been a professional chef, but the Eggs Benedict looked delicious - at least, in my opinion. Of course, I could be biased, but the fact remained that I was pretty proud of the meal I had prepared.

It would have been better to get a good night's rest instead of staying up late last night.

"Yay, yay!" Papi cheered as she ran into the room, spreading her wings wide. Suu followed quickly after her, a bright smile on her face. "Big brother cooked something delicious!"

I looked around the room, but no one else appeared after my announcement. "Kurusu-san tends to hog the kitchen, so it's not like I have many chances to use it," I mused. "Speaking of, where is he? And where is everyone else, for that matter?"

"Hmmm," Papi tapped her chin in thought, "Maybe he's still asleep? Centorea might still be on her jog."

I wasn't surprised by Centorea's absence, but I was taken aback by Kurusu's. He was usually up early, and I assumed that Miia would have let him go after I finished preparing the breakfast she had asked me so eager to make. But that was Miia we talked about; she would gladly miss a meal if it meant being intimate with Kurusu.

"Papi, could you please go check on Kurusu for me?" I asked her. "I'll also go see if Mero needs any assistance."

"Right!" She dashed away as quickly as she had appeared, her nails scraping against the wooden floor. "Sorry, Miia, I'll pay you back soon. Maybe with an egg-based dish you requested or something like that."

A light tugging at my sleeve pulled me from my thoughts. I saw Suu staring up at me with wide emerald eyes. "Check on Mero?" she asked softly.

"Yeah, let's go together," I said, smiling before recalling something. "But before we go, let's ensure you have plenty of water, okay?"

Suu sang a cheerful melody of "Wa-ta, wa-ta, wa-wa-wa-ta~" as I slowly poured water from a pitcher into her. She let out a content sigh and wrapped her feelers around my hand as we left for Mero's room. We heard some panicked shouts of surprise upstairs, which filled me with dread until I remembered that if the deal got sealed before marriage, Miia would get deported, and Kurusu would get sent to prison.

Interspecies laws were confusing as all hell.

Well, so long as no one got hurt, it'd be fine.

"Hey, Mero!" I knocked on her door several times and called, "Are you awake?"

"Ah, Akihiro, it's you! Please come in; I humbly request your aid!"

I flung the door open to find Mero still in the pool. When she saw me, her face lit up with sheer joy. "Good morning, Akihiro!" Her smile slightly dipped when she noticed my tiny, slimy companion, yet Mero kept her poise. "And to you too, Suu-sama."

"Good morning," Suu greeted, her voice perfectly imitating Mero's tone, although her face was a bit blanker than the mermaid's. Thankfully, my efforts to quench Suu's relentless thirst had been successful, and she hadn't lunged at Mero. I spotted the wheelchair, now empty, and realized why she had summoned me.

"Want me to give you a lift?" I asked, already heading towards the pool.

"If it is no trouble..."

"It's Gucci! Let's not keep the food waiting any longer — let's head back as soon as possible to ensure it stays warm and tasty."

I carefully hoisted her up and settled her comfortably in the wheelchair, and with no further discussion, the three of us returned to the kitchen. Miia, Kurusu, and Papi were already there, and Miia was bright red with embarrassment. When they noticed our arrival, Kurusu smiled and gave us a friendly wave.

"Good morning!" he greeted warmly. "Papi told me you made breakfast for us, Bando-san. I appreciate it! Thank you so much!"

I shrugged as I gently guided Mero to the empty spot at the end of the table. "No biggie, Miia asked for Eggs Benedict, so I promised her I'd make them for today." I couldn't help but stifle a yawn. "Guh, excuse me."

"That was nice of you," Kurusu commented as we sat. "Thank you for the food."

Everyone harmonized in unison before beginning to eat. Papi ate ravenously, like a pack of piranhas, while the others ate slowly. Eating was challenging as I was yawning every few seconds, which was becoming increasingly annoying.

"Didn't you get any rest last night?" Mero asked, full of concern, to my right as she took another delicate bite of her egg-covered English muffin.

"I barely slept," I groaned before sipping my milk.

"Did something—or someone—keep you up all night?" subtle mero.

It was hilariously funny when my pocket suddenly buzzed right then!

"It was someone I had been talking to," I admitted, knowing it was pointless to deny it. "I had been conversing with a friend, which took longer than anticipated."

"Oh... I see." Mero fell quiet at that.

I asked everyone, trying to avoid the awkwardness that Mero seemed determined to create, "So, what do you all think of the food?"

The conversation shifted to more neutral and less controversial topics after that, and by the time we had reached the halfway point of our meal, Centorea had returned from her jog. I felt a sudden pang of guilt for not preparing something for her, but she politely declined Kurusu's and my offers to get her something and quickly headed to the shower. As we finished, I checked my phone and found an unusually unusual message.

"Check the news! You might see me!"

I hesitated to obey Zombina's command, but I made sure to help Kurusu clean the dishes first. Taking a cue from Smith, I brewed some instant coffee, hoping to stave off my persistent yawning. Finally, I turned on the television.

"The mysterious terrorist group, known as the Orc Culture Recultivation League, has taken over the manga store Libido and has made some unusual and unexpected demands."

I was wondering when this would happen, and now my lunch with Smith needs a rain check for today.

Centorea joined me with a look of disapproval on her face as she uttered, "'Liminal terrorists'? Disgraceful! Don't these insolent fools understand that they are representatives of their people?!"

"Considering their main goal is to 'cultivate' what amounts to pornographic content, I highly doubt they have the necessary knowledge to understand the complexities of interspecies relationships," I told her. "Although I don't have the expertise on this subject either, I have no right to be critical."

Centorea nodded in agreement as she acknowledged the complexity of the issue. "However," she continued, "even the most ignorant of individuals would comprehend that such an action would only damage the relationship between humans and orcs."

"Well, it could be worse," I said as I texted Zombina, cautioning her not to get too badly injured, "They could be serving a giant flaming eye or have their blood tainted by demons."

The centaur let out a hearty chuckle. "Fortunately, no such being as the Dark Lord Sauron exists in our world, so that we can rest easy. Furthermore, their skin is not green, so that we can deduce that foul play by demons is not the root cause of this matter."

I smiled broadly at her, completely amazed and delighted. "Wow, Centorea, I'm truly impressed that you managed to pick up on both references!"

"The Lord of the Rings is one of the most beloved and cherished books amongst the centaurs," she informed me with a great deal of pride, "It was one of the stories that your human governments shared with my people many years before the Cultural Exchange. As for Warcraft, well, I must confess that it was more of a personal pastime of mine."

Upon further consideration, it was not unexpected, given the topics addressed in both series.

"Why don't we watch Lord of the Rings sometime?" I suggested. "It's been a while, and to make it even more fun, we could make a drinking game out of it. I've tried it several times, and it was hella fun!"

"I wouldn't be opposed to watching the films," Centorea confessed, "But I'm not sure how much I'd like the alcohol part. I haven't tried it yet, after all."

"Really?" I mused. "We should probably wait until you at least try it." The drinking game for Lord of the Rings could be downright cruel if we let it, but I shrugged. "Let's see how it goes; we'll figure it out."

We fell into a momentary silence as we watched the news, and soon enough, the rest of the group had gathered around us. It was during the tense stand-off that a thought crossed my mind.

"Does anyone here have an understanding of orc culture or even of their government?" I asked the room, looking around for a response.

Mero, who had taken her place by my side on the couch, nodded. "Yes, they have a monarchy similar to mermaids, but the Queen holds much more power than the King. Their society is heavily matriarchal, with women having harems at their disposal. It's possible that the 'Recultivation League' is a result of orc men growing weary of their women's dominance and seeking out females from less domineering species." She frowned. "It's a troubling issue, to be sure."

Miia asked, confused, "But why would anyone terrorize a manga store? That seems so senseless and pointless."

"It is no surprise that women dominate over their kind," Centorea declared confidently, "if these inferior specimens are any indication."

We watched with bated breath as MON Squad executed their operation precisely; six sniper shots simultaneously destroyed the orcs' weapons, and Tio, clad in heavy armor, burst through the store entrance like a raging tornado. What followed was a chaotic flurry of events, unfortunately too far away for the cameras to capture.

When the hostages had finally escaped, and the gunshots ceased, four figures emerged from the destroyed manga store. One figure, in particular, had a redhead and was on her phone before quickly pocketing it and resting her hands behind her back. She winked at the camera just as I received a text.

"damn, we look good."

Mero gave me a quizzical look. "What's so amusing?" she asked.

"Don't worry about it," I said reassuringly, trying to hide my amusement.

"Thank goodness!" Miia exclaimed with relief. "And Smith-san looks cool!"

"Is that Smith-san?" Papi asked, looking slightly perplexed. "Who is she with, though?"

"The MON Squad," I informed her, "is a specially trained and equipped special operations unit created to handle any incidents involving liminals since conventional human law enforcement agencies cannot apprehend criminal liminals."

"Criliminals!" Papi abruptly shouted with a wide grin.

"Right, right," I chuckled, "Anyway, as far as I'm aware, they take on a wide range of tasks, from thwarting liminals that exploit the laws to helping those victimized by humans misusing those laws."

Centorea furrowed her brow in response to my words; her gaze transfixed on the MON Squad's triumphant return depicted on the television. I had no idea what was going through her mind then, yet I could almost sense her piecing together some understanding.

To be continued!