-Hey, Chris, I'm sorry I did that.

-Aham.

-Really, I truly am.

-Sure.

-I really didn't mean to-

-Could you pass me that mop over there?

If there was a word to describe it would be: messy. The floor had so much food and liquids that it almost resembles the grounds after a carnival ended. As to why it happened? It was simple: one person was struggling with all of his might while another person was trying to feed that said person without looking at what she was grabbing.

Thus, resulted in the following. Chris started to clean the kitchen using a broom and, even with one hand, he managed to gather almost all the food, but the liquid from the juices was still a problem. For that, he requested the girl to grab a mop for him.

Since they saw what become of the kitchen, she was trying to apologize after seen how mad Chris of the results from her helping, but his answers were cold and fast to anything that she said.

Giving him the requested item, he proceeds to clean the floor using the cleaning products without even glancing at the girl's direction. But still, he was having difficulties to do all that on his own.

-You know, I could help you with-

-But you already gave me the mop, that was helpful enough. Thank you.

He was lying, the mop was four steps from his position. He could grab it at any time, but since the girl was at his back all the time, he asked for her to grab it.

-...You are really mad at me, aren't you?

Now she was really sad. All she wanted to do was to help him and make him happier, but it was just the opposite. If she recalls it correctly, what the girl was feeling was regret for her actions. Noticing her tone, the boy sighed as he stopped cleaning.

-...Look, I know you didn't mean it, but you need to learn how to control yourself and have common sense. If it weren't with me, you couldn't really get someone hurt.

Actually, she was hurting the boy when trying to force the food down of his mouth, but he decided it was better not to tell her that.

-I know this all sounds weird for you...heck, it's even weirder for me, but until we figure all of this out, you need to learn how to live here.

It was one of his worries about the situation. After last night, he thought about what would happen from now on. A game character came to the real world and was living in his house, on top of that, she didn't know anything that a normal person would at her age.

She didn't know how to take a shower, how to dress up, how to eat, nothing. It was exactly like a baby. If his mother wasn't around to help her, Chris couldn't think of any other way to explain the girl about those things.

Those things were of the most normal knowledge that any suburb person should know but she was experiencing all of that for the first time. It may be that she was just here since yesterday, but the sooner Chris can sort this out the better. Luckily, he has one full week to teach her.

-...Fine, but I don't know how I can be of any help.

Pouting afterward, the girl said that. Chris thought she would say that and made a wry smile. If this conversation continued, it would lead to nowhere. Instead, it would be more productive to continue cleaning the kitchen but using only one arm really does make the job hard. Looking at the girl, she was sitting on the chair balancing her legs around without nothing to do.

Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

(...Guess any start counts as a start.)

He still had some doubts but he was resolved to deal with any mistakes would happen in case things turned bad.

-Hey, Pumpkin.

He called her out. Surprised by his call, the girl looked at Chris as he extended the mop to her.

-I can't clean this whole kitchen on my own, wanna help?

If she needed to learn, let her learn anything. Since the girl wanted to help him before, this would make a good start, even if it were just cleaning, or so Chris though.

-Yes, I do!

Seen her animated reaction as she grabbed the mop, Chris couldn't help but smile at the girl.

-Ok, I need you to do this...

He explained the basics of cleaning for the girl. How to use the mop to clean up the remaining juices, demonstrating to her how to do it, and letting her try. If she did any mistakes, like using the mop to strike the floor, the boy would correct her and explain it again.

But it didn't stop only with the mop. He also explained how to use the broom to gather any dirt on the floor to a place, how to clean the plates and tableware (altho some of them were broken in the process, but he would say it was an accident to his mother), where to put them afterwards, how to take out trash and so on.

It was just things you would normally learn by watching someone in the kitchen, but see the girl happy learning any of that also made the boy happy. It wasn't exciting at all for other people, but they had fun together in the kitchen that morning.

And then, after twenty minutes.

-So, how does it look?

-...Being honest...

When it was over, the girl was the first to talk. She asked the boy for his opinion on what she did and, even if you count out how much he helped her, Chris was impressed. The kitchen was almost brand new. There were no traces left of what their mess, making the boy astonished at how fast she learned.

-I think you did a very good job!

Seen the results, there was no lie in his words towards the girl. All the praise he could say was genuinely made from her hard effort.

-Really?! Did you really mean it?! - After hearing the boy, she couldn't contain herself.

-Yes, I'm serious here. You really surprised me with how good it turned.

If Chris wanted to clean up the kitchen like this, he would need at least one hour to do so, but with her, it was twenty minutes at tops.

-So...that means that...!

(Yeah, yeah, I know.)

While he was starting to clean, the girl couldn't stop apologizing. He wasn't paying much attention since the kitchen was his priority but in one of the apologizes Chris heard one particular phrase from her.

-I...I don't know what happened...when...when you said you were glad...that you were happy...I...I...I'm sorry, truly. I will not do it again.

She had never heard thanks before. That is obviously, coming that she had the role of a killer before. That one small thanks the boy said it to her was enough to make her want more of it that she didn't even saw what she was doing.

(Honestly, she is just like a child.)

He already knew what she wanted without looking at her expecting face. Clearing his throat, he said:

-...Thanks, Pumpkin, for helping me out. I couldn't do it without you.

This time, it wasn't just a small thanks for the little she did. This was a legitime thanks for her actions. If she wasn't there, Chris didn't know how long he would be there cleaning the kitchen, so her assistance was really helpful.

But now it leads to another problem.

-He-hey...Pumpkin, calm down...

She was trembling just like before. Looking it as a sign, Chris was already stepping back from the fear of what would happen. He needed to calm the girl or else something way more terrifying would come towards him, the boy felt.

-Look, I know you are happy, but-

-...Chris!

-Ah, c'mon! Not again!

As he was trying to talk with her, the girl leaped towards him but luckily he managed to escape the kitchen and go to the living room. Altho, that wouldn't stop the girl. Seen that the target was missed, she got up from the ground and went after him.

She was feeling that sensation again. It really made her light and weird, but it was a good feeling. Something in her chest was beating louder and louder as she was feeling like shouting to the whole world to hear her...Maybe, just maybe, this feeling was what she was looking for all along.

And if she stayed with the boy, how much more of it would she feel?