With this done Eclaire and Rapthalia made a move to help set up the plates.

"Just set up things over there," I said. "But be careful, it's hot."

The dishes were all set up. The delicate fragrance from the macaroni and cheese permeated throughout the entire household.

I could tell from everyone's eager, anticipating expressions that I had outdone even myself this time. Why was it that it was so good this time? Especially when it was something as mundane as macaroni and cheese?

As Bruce Lee once said, "I do not fear the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks 1 time, but the man who has practiced 1 kick 10,000 times." Such a statement did not apply simply to martial arts. It applied to other things in life as well. The fact of the matter was that now that I had made macaroni and cheese so many times, I was able to really bring out the flavor from it. Granted, I had changed my recipe by quite a bit over the years. The meal that day so right now was a culmination of several years of experimentation regarding sauces, cheeses, and proportions. Although it might seem that have been made in just a few hours, in reality it was the fruit of several years of labor.

"Looks so good," Filo said. I could practically see the sparkles in her eyes as I laid out the meal before her.

"Just don't chew with your mouth open," I told her.

"Hey! Filo does not eat with her mouth open," Melty said. She was a bit annoyed, but even she had to melt just like the cheese I had sprayed over the macaroni when she smelled what I had made.

"Relax," Raphtalia said. "There is more than enough for everyone." In reality given just how much a bottomless well Filo's stomach seemed to be, breaking the laws of space itself as she ate far more than what her tiny body should've allowed for, I actually doubted whether or not that was true. I think the people at the table could tell that I was thinking something along those lines, but no one called me out on it. Such was the allure of what I had made.

With that said I did let everyone start. Eventually that is- there was one last thing I wanted to do beforehand, and they all gave me angry looks when I told them that.

Given all the effort I had put into this, I wanted, no, I needed a picture of it as a memento. I took out my phone and started taking photos of the macaroni laid out.

"Hey! Filo's hungry!" Filo said.

"Bro, since when were you like the sixteen-year-old spoiled girls on Instagram who like taking photos of their food?" Shindo asked.

"Hey, once you guys are eating it will all be gone won't it?" I asked them. That was the issue with culinary arts, much like a sand castle, it could only be enjoyed for a small moment before it was washed away by the great ocean of time. "Well, I'm done."

Before I knew it they had begun to dig in like ravenous wolves.

Decorum seemed to have been thrown out of the window. "Hey guys I know its good but do not spill it on your clothes," I said. This was mainly directed at Filo though it was true for some of the others as well.

"This is amazing," Filo said.

The meal was clearly burning part of her mouth, but she did not seem to care as she still poured in huge amounts of it down her throat. I knew it was good but was it really that good?

"Mr. Naofumi you have outdone yourself," Eclaire said. There was a bit of sauce trickling down her chin, but she had not even bothered to clean it up.

"Bro, when I get married can you stay at my house and make all of the meals for my wife and kids- and me of course?" Shindo asked.

"Mr. Naofumi this is pretty good," Melty said. She did not even have an ounce of smugness or resentment while saying this on her face, which spoke volumes about how good it was. I guess even tsunderes have their limits?

"If I could need this every day for the rest of my life, I be happy," Fitoria said. She no longer seem to be looking towards me with distrust. I guess my cooking really was that good.

"This food reminds me of home," Raphtalia said. Her eyes were nearly burning with tears. What she had just said right now was more significant than she would have led on. If it tasted like home, that meant that she was probably used to living somewhere else?

I decided to try some of it myself. I took a bite, without a doubt this was the best I have ever made it. The other times I feel like it added too much salt or the cheese was not the right texture or the cooking was just a bit off. Also, tastes changed with age- I usually made this for Shindo and myself, though our palates had changed since we were children. However, I think this time I managed to get it just right. Both adults and kids like seem to love this.

There were so many gasps and ooh's going on while we were eating that if someone was just listening on they would have a very different idea about what was happening inside the room. I struggled to keep down my smile as I thought of that.

As I saw that everyone was smiling around me as well, I cannot help but wonder how long it had been. When was last time I had hung out with people like this? I mean, it was not usual for me to go outside to hang out with people being the fact that I was an otaku. However, I did go outside the house occasionally, even though my parents liked to think on the contrary. I would go out with my friends, though I never like drinking because I seemingly couldn't get drunk. We could always go for other things however.

In the last few years though, I had moved away from all of my old friends. Even if I had gone to university back home, many of them would have left already. So inevitably, we would have drifted apart. I used to have a network on Eryuentiu Online. That and my TwitchTube community.

I even had a girlfriend, but that all been taken away by the actions of that girl. Since then I had become a recluse. And even when I wanted to go I would find it difficult to find people want to hang out with. It always felt as if there was an invisible wall between me and them. A wall that I just could not get over. Sure I could try to talk with, but the feeling was always there that they would never really get me.

After all some of them believed that I had done what I was accused of. For some of them if a lie was repeated often enough, they thought that there must be a small kernel of truth behind it.

Not so for the people gathered around me right now. They were all happy, happy to know the real me. Even if they tried hiding it.

At that moment, I couldn't help but wonder, how long would these good times last?