“T-, This… really has to be eaten…?”
With my meat pie placed right in front of her, Anne hesitated, speaking with a voice tinged with reluctance, as if expressing her reluctance to eat it.
Ah! So by the looks of it, the champion of the dishes has already been decided the moment they saw my cooking.
Indeed, how could Anne not feel intimidated by the visuals of my dish when all she managed to do was grill some meat?
As they say, the protagonist does indeed make their appearance last, and my turn was perfectly timed, right at the end.
“What do you think of my meat pie? Doesn’t it look delicious?”
I proudly flaunted its perfect, uncut form in front of my friends, knowing that once I slice it, I won’t have the chance to show it off again.
“Is… is this really a meat pie…?”
“I never imagined a meat pie could look like this…”
Heh heh. Even Selian and Yuli, who’ve probably tasted meat pies made by top-class chefs, have never experienced a meat pie like this one.
This means my cooking has now surpassed even the skills of a master chef.
To meet the expectant gaze of the three people present, I placed the knife I had prepared earlier on the surface of the pie, and lightly scraped it across.
Crack crack.
The crispy texture resonated with a sound that pleased the ear.
Visually perfect, the smell irresistible, and now this satisfying sound—it’s truly a flawless meat pie.
Deciding to divide it into several portions, I gripped the knife to cut it evenly in half.
Cracking sound.
?
Had I gone too far with making the crust overly crispy? The knife won’t go through easily.
Maybe being too perfect can also be problematic.
In order to avoid deforming it while trying to cut it forcibly, I decided to lightly overlay some aura onto the knife.
With just a slight application of pressure, the knife sliced through the meat pie as if cutting through pudding.
After making four cuts and dividing it precisely into eight portions, the size of each piece was perfectly suited for the plate.
With four people and eight pieces, everyone would get exactly two pieces each.
Given that they’re perfectly divided, there shouldn’t be any arguments or scuffles over wanting to eat more of my meat pie.
“Erm… El?”
Just as I was about to move a piece of pie onto Yuli’s plate with satisfaction, she suddenly pulled her plate back and spoke.
“Um… Could you perhaps cut it a bit smaller? Maybe into 16 pieces… or even 32, or better yet 64…?”
Despite the pie already looking perfect to me, Yuli inexplicably seemed to want it sliced even smaller.
“But if we cut it any further, you won’t be able to enjoy the full flavor. The filling might even spill out.”
She must want to savor it bit by bit, unwilling to waste even a small amount.
However, my pie reaches its perfection when divided into eight pieces. Though it’s a shame, I couldn’t accommodate Yuli’s request.
“Aha… ha… Is that so? W-well then, I’ll eat this…thank you…”
As I moved a piece of pie onto Yuli’s plate, it was now Selian’s turn.
I grabbed another piece with my fork and knife, ready to serve her.
Gulp. I could hear Selian swallow again.
Of course, anyone else but Selian wouldn’t understand why I would hesitate to serve her. Seeing how much she appears to want it, how could I just sit there?
I quietly placed the first piece back down without anyone noticing and then served Selian the biggest piece of pie instead.
Selian glanced at me with a slightly surprised look, having caught on to the secret.
Without letting Yuli or Anne notice, I gave her a slight wink with one eye and slightly raised my thumb toward her.
Considering everything Selian had done for me, this was the least I could do.
I imagine this move must have considerably boosted her goodwill toward me.
Now it was Anne’s turn, last but not least.
Before I could even scoop a piece, Anne was already comparing the pieces, presumably looking for the largest one.
Sorry, Anne. The biggest piece has already been given to Selian.
Knowing she might be disappointed if she finds out the truth, I placed onto her plate the second-largest piece with a sense of apology.
However, upon closer inspection, this piece was even heavier, likely containing more meat, making it even more satisfying.
Anne, who loves meat, must definitely enjoy this.
Anne’s hand was trembling with apparent excitement, clearly moved by my consideration.
“Alright, everyone, enjoy. And if you can, be honest with your opinions.”
Of course, I know my friends wouldn’t do that, but in case they felt overshadowed by the superiority of my pie compared to their own dishes and gave it a lower review out of jealousy, I wanted to encourage them to be honest.
Despite my request, my friends could only stare at their pie pieces without the courage to actually eat.
“It’s fine to eat without saving. There’s still one piece left for each of you…”
The trio seemed startled at my words, now realizing they wouldn’t need to save any and could enjoy all the pieces they had been given.
Anne then spoke hesitantly, “We should eat it, right…?”
“Yuli! Selian! Do either of you want more? I can share mine with you.”
Surprisingly, Anne—who usually wouldn’t share her meat dishes—picked up her own biggest piece and was about to hand it over to the two women.
However, Selian quickly blocked her fork with another fork as if they were dueling, and Yuli turned her back to stop Anne’s offer entirely.
“Absolutely not! We can’t enjoy such a delicious meal alone. El gave this to you, Anne—please eat it yourself.”
Contrary to her earlier eagerness to devour the pie, Selian firmly rejected Anne’s offer to share.
Truly, our friendship is unshakable.
Toc toc toc toc
But even then, the only sound filling the room remained the ticking of the clock as everyone continued to wait to see who would take the first bite.
“I-I’ll eat it first.”
The silence was broken by none other than Selian.
Given that she had shown the most eagerness to try the pie, it was fitting that she stepped forward first.
She lifted her fork and cut her slice of pie into a bite-sized piece.
Crack
Or rather, she attempted to cut.
Recalling how I too struggled to slice it earlier due to the overly crispy crust, her visible confusion must have been triggered by the sound alone.
Remaining calm, Selian followed my earlier example and coated her fork with aura to successfully cut it into a bite-sized piece.
She then stared at the pie some more before taking a deep breath.
Apparently, she was now ready to embrace my culinary creation as she lifted the fork to her mouth and swallowed the first bite.
The moment she tasted it, she widened her eyes in shock—such a reaction was completely unexpected from the usually composed Selian.
And as she chewed the first mouthful—
Thud!
“Se-, Selian!?”
“No! Selian, don’t die! You have to fight!”
Suddenly, Selian collapsed.
A startled Anne shook Selian’s shoulder, while Yuli, for some strange reason, was urging her to persevere.
Even as a sword master with a body resistant to both external and internal harm—so much so that even potent poisons couldn’t affect her—Selian’s reaction indicated just how overwhelming the pie’s taste must have been.
What in the world have I created with my cooking? This is truly terrifying.
I should definitely reconsider opening a restaurant. If I did, the customers might be carried out on stretchers, overwhelmed by the flavor.
Toc toc
Just as I was wondering what to do about Selian, who had passed out from sheer culinary sensation, someone knocked on the door.
Opening it, I was greeted by Saint Mariel.
“Hi, Hero! I have some good news!”
With her usual lively tone, Mariel entered the room.
“Hmm… I’ve brought something just right for the great Hero… Whaaat!?”
As she was about to reveal something she had brought along, Mariel suddenly froze upon noticing Selian lying unconscious on the floor.
It’s just a case of extreme appreciation for the food; there’s no need to get so excited.
“This is poisoning! How did poison end up in the academy? Could demons have infiltrated?”
But for some reason, Mariel started speaking strangely.
Poisoning? Poison? Demons?
“Don’t worry, I’ll cure her soon. Please hang in there.”
Before I could react, Mariel quickly knelt in front of the unconscious Selian and began to pray.
“As always, be the shepherd for this young lamb. Cure!”
Truly fitting of a saint, her simple healing spell enveloped Selian in an unusually bright light.
Selenium wasn’t poisoned but merely unconscious due to overwhelming taste, so I wasn’t sure how the cure spell would affect her.
“Eek!”
Surprisingly, Selian abruptly sat up with a small scream.
“Such severe poisoning… what could’ve caused this?!”
Even as Mariel continued to mutter incomprehensible things, her gaze finally fell on the meat pie on the table.
Even Mariel can’t resist the allure of my appetizing meat pie, it seems.
“This is the cause of the poisoning! From its appearance alone, it looks cursed and ominous. But not in front of a saint like me!”
However, contrary to her usual playful demeanor, Mariel’s face was serious as she called out.
“O Goddess Serena, there is a being in this world that harbors darkness. Surround this curse with Your all-encompassing mercy and cleanse it. Purify!”
Mariel’s purification spell descended upon my meat pie.
But it’s just a delicious dish—what could possibly happen?
Whoosh!
…Huh?
