“Haaak, haaak….”
Apparently having exhausted her strength, Mariel collapsed onto the floor and caught her breath.
“Who would’ve thought mere purification would be this taxing, even with the power of a saint… That was no ordinary curse….”
Mariel, muttering words I couldn’t fully grasp, turned away her gaze from me and instead looked back toward the table.
For some reason, my meat pie was now blazing with a spectacular fire.
The flames were so beautiful, all I could do was stand there, dumbfounded, and watch—
But no!
I immediately stood up and grabbed a blanket lying nearby.
I then swung it toward my meat pie, which was now furiously burning on the table, trying desperately to put out the flames.
However, my attempt was cut short by none other than Mariel, who restrained me with surprising strength.
“No! There might still be remnants of the curse left! If you’re not careful, you’ll end up collapsing just like that kid!”
Despite having looked utterly exhausted just moments ago, Mariel now gripped me tightly with a strength that defied her frail appearance.
Her arms, which had somehow slipped under my armpits, seemed to exert a superhuman force I wouldn’t have thought possible.
“Let go of me, senior! This is my carefully made meat pie…!”
“Oh, kids, help me! She’s already under its influence!”
While Selian stayed by Yuli, Anne quickly approached and grabbed me around the waist.
There was no resisting Anne’s incredible strength.
I could only helplessly watch as my meat pie turned into a lump of charcoal.
My masterpiece—not even given a chance to be tasted—had now emitted its final glow before ascending to the heavens.
…Though no one on Earth aside from Selian even got to taste it, up there, the Goddess herself will surely enjoy it. Goodbye, meat pie. It was an honor creating you. I had a brief moment of joy with you. Rest in peace.
Boom!
As if the heavens themselves mourned my loss, thunder roared and a sudden downpour began outside the window.
“Hmph… That was truly a nasty one. Are you alright now?”
Wiping the sweat from her forehead, Mariel asked me.
What is this saintess even talking about?
After what happened to my meat pie, how could my sadness possibly dissipate so easily?
“Ah! But luckily, we still have some portions on individual plates.”
The table’s meat pie might have burned, but my friends’ plates still held small, pre-served samples.
“Aww! I dropped Selian’s plate while trying to support her! I really wanted to try it, too…”
“Me… me too!”
Turning at the sudden exclamation, I saw Yuli and Anne were right—two pieces of my meat pie had indeed fallen to the floor.
Part of it was burned, part of it was scattered, and now the only piece left was the one Selian had taken a bite from.
“We’ll just have to share Selian’s. Four… no, counting Senior Mariel, five of us. There won’t be much to go around, but that’s the best we can do…”
Even though she was an unexpected guest, I couldn’t let her leave without a proper taste.
“Huh, wait a—”
But Anne seemed startled by my words.
Maybe she’s worried her already tiny share will shrink even further.
“That… shouldn’t we ask Selian first?”
Only then did I realize I hadn’t asked the rightful owner of that slice: Selian.
I had mistakenly thought she had already recovered, but Selian’s quiet demeanor made me overlook it.
“Selian?”
Calling her to seek her approval, I received no reply.
Instead, she sat there silently, her thumb in her mouth, staring blankly at me.
“Selian…?”
Carrying her plate with the remaining pie slice, I approached her.
The gentle yet wise azure eyes she once possessed now shone brightly but vacantly as she stared up at me.
“Wow! It’s El! Celi wants to play with El!”
As I got closer, she suddenly pulled her thumb out and gleefully greeted me in her childish tone, raising her hands in a celebratory manner.
“Just like this? Selian…?”
“Uhmm… Celi loves El very much!”
With that, Selian suddenly flung herself at me, clinging tightly.
She clutched my waist and began rubbing her face against my stomach.
Was this some kind of new prank?
“I don’t know how to respond to that, but… can I ask you something first?”
“Umm? What?”
Still tightly hugging me, she tilted her head curiously, looking up at me with a puzzled expression.
“I’m talking about the leftover meat pie. Is it alright if we share it with everyone, including Senior Mariel?”
Her eyes finally shifted from my face to the meat pie in my hand.
With her usually kind-hearted personality, I figured she would agree without hesitation…
“EEEK!”
But unexpectedly, Selian started thrashing about in panic.
The calm and composed Selian now writhed around as if in a seizure, and naturally, so did I under her movements.
In the midst of this chaos, the last piece of the meat pie—
Clunk.
Tumbled down and kissed the cold floor.
“Huuuuh. Nooooo! Celi doesn’t eat that!”
Seemingly unaware of the devastation, or maybe in character with her childlike behavior, Selian continued to violently shake her head in refusal.
But her refusal or lack thereof didn’t matter—there was not a single edible piece of meat pie left.
“My meat pie… the last remaining piece….”
I had wanted my friends to try it…
“Selian….”
While I mourned the final piece of my meat pie that met its fate on the cold floor, Selian had somehow moved right next to me.
Hearing her voice beside me, I turned to see her. Strangely, there was a droplet of saliva gathering at the corner of her mouth.
Then, as if she had spotted something delicious, she swallowed audibly.
“That stuff is garbage! El is much more delicious!”
Wh… What is this?! Selian, wait a moment!
“EEEEK!?”
Without warning, she pushed me onto the floor, positioned herself on top of me, bit my earlobe, and began licking my neck.
Every time she tasted me, a tingling sensation ran through my body and left me powerless.
“Ah… haa… Help…”
Knowing I couldn’t escape by brute force, I reached out to my friends, silently begging for help.
But they only covered their faces with their hands, peeking through their fingers at the scene unfolding before them.
“Well, since Selian mustered up the courage to eat it, maybe this is some form of gratitude….”
Yuli said something incomprehensible.
Please don’t just watch! Help me already!
“Hehe… this is what El tastes like….”
“Uuuhn….”
I finally managed to free myself only after Selian grew tired and fell asleep.
Even in her sleep, she still sucked on my fingers.
…What in the world just happened?
*
“Ah, you’re awake?”
By the time I had tidied up the room after the commotion, Selian slowly woke up, rubbing her eyes.
“Huh…? Did I fall asleep?”
“Do you not remember? You suddenly…”
“WAAH! WAH!”
Suddenly inserting herself between Selian and me, Anne flailed her arms dramatically and shouted loudly.
Why is Anne doing this now?
Selian, startled by Anne’s sudden outburst, seemed to have developed a headache. She winced and pressed her temples.
“Ugh… something feels like it should come back to me… oh well, we agreed to have a cook-off, right? Sorry for falling asleep. Let’s get started.”
“Huh? What are you talking about? We’ve already finished, including the taste test.”
“Hmm? Taste test? We didn’t even start cooking yet. Oh, wait… was it finished while I was asleep? That’s disappointing. I really wanted to taste what El made….”
What exactly is Selian saying?
“My meat pie was the one you tasted, albeit only a tiny bit.”
“What are you talking about? I don’t even remember what it looked like, let alone tasting it…”
“A meat pie. Can you at least describe it using your vast vocabulary? Even if just a little?”
Even with Selian’s exceptional way with words, I knew describing the incredible taste of my meat pie would be difficult.
Still, hearing her explain might give Anne, Yuli, and Mariel an idea.
“Hmm? Meat pie… hic!”
But suddenly, Selian let out a loud hiccup.
“A sudden… hiccup! What in the world… hic!”
And ultimately, due to Selian’s unexpected hiccups, the taste of my meat pie remained a mystery forever.
…Well, I can always bake another pie later.
No. Not just one; I’ll bake several so that all my friends, including Senior Mariel, can enjoy plenty.
Next time, I’ll take my time and put even more effort into making it.
