Kibishi's POV

  "One tablespoon of sugar should do it for the tea, I think," Kuma said to Riley, who was boiling a tea kettle.

  Meanwhile, I was helping Tao with the dishes. David, on the other hand, was cooking breakfast by himself. I dropped a couple of ptes next to the new soldiers in training and then swiftly rushed toward the kitchen area. When I reached David's side, I took a look at the meal he was cooking. It was a bit heavy, but I figured rice with chicken could work as breakfast if we saved the rest for lunch ter. Two for the price of one, I supposed. I had been going in and out of the kitchen because I was worried about David's cooking.

  And to my surprise... I was right.

  So, in between my dashes to help Tao, I gave David advice on how much to turn up the heat to cook the meal properly. Not to mention, Kuma seemed to understand what I meant and added in a thing or two as well.

  "Mm... ah!" I grabbed a spoon to taste the rice, and it was still pretty hard. I looked at the stove and immediately saw the problem—the fire was too low. "Hey, David. I think you should turn up the heat to cook the rice properly. Oh, and you better get started on the chicken, too. Those take a while to cook. Especially since in an hour or so, the others will wake up for a nice meal."

  "Why don't you do it, Mister Smart Guy?" David barked at me, probably due to pressure. I sighed deeply and gave a small smile. "I'm sorry if I sounded a bit rude just now, David. But you're cooking for everyone. That means you'll have to take it very seriously. You don't want people disliking your cooking, would you?"

  "...You're right. My bad, man," David apologized.

  "No worries. Just crank up the heat a bit and start defrosting the chicken. There's still time to add the white sugar and let it burn in the pot."

  I said that, but I instinctively took out a pot and poured a little water in to rinse it. Then, I threw the water out into the kitchen sink. I turned on another burner and pced the pot on it.

  "Give it a minute to dry all the water droplets. If you put the sugar in while it's still wet, the sugar will stick to both the pot AND the spoon you're using," I advised David with a small smile.

  "Ooh! I get it!" David gave a warm smile and then turned up the heat for the pot of rice.

  "Hey, Kibi! Can you please help with the cups as well? I think the bush tea is almost ready," Kuma announced, pcing her right hand on the kettle.

  "Bush tea?" I raised my brows.

  "It's really good. It's more common in the Caribbean. Not everyone in the Caribbean knows about it, but some do. They even say it's good for your body." Kuma grabbed a bag of white sugar from a cabinet and set it next to Riley.

  "Oh, wow! That sounds interesting! I can't wait to taste it!" I clenched a fist in excitement.

  Then, I grabbed a couple of cups and set them on the table. I saw Tao rushing toward me and taking some of them since I had grabbed so many.

  With a puff, Tao lifted the cups and carried them to the table. She perfectly banced them in her arms and gently pced them next to the ptes. One by one, she made sure not to crack or break any. There were a few close calls, but I ended up helping her catch the ones that were about to fall.

  Then, I finished setting down the pile of cups in my arms.

  Once all the cups were pced next to the ptes, I hurried back to David to check on his progress. Turns out, he was doing pretty well!

  The pot that had water droplets was now completely dry. David had also added the sugar to the pot. Since it looked fresh, we'd let it burn for a while. The chicken should barely be done on time at this rate. Better te than never.

  Good.

  At this pace, we'd be done in no time!

  "Hey, Kishi! I could use your help folding the napkins for each pte, please!" Tao called out to me.

  "On my way!" I shouted with a smile.

  I hurried back to Tao's side and started helping with the napkins.

  Heh.

  Times like these made me appreciate the slower moments. It had been a while since we st had this. The world had been nothing but hell. But after escaping those cells, we'd been doing things we would typically do on the surface.

  Was this what they called 'Use your time wisely?'

  I kinda doubted it, but it was all the same to me.

  Those thoughts aside, I wondered what the next step after breakfast would be. Would we start cleaning up the building while staying on standby? Or would we do something else entirely?

  I continued helping my friends as those questions lingered in my mind.