422 – On Repentance -5-

Another peaceful day in Desmund.

“Gulp.”

I stood now at the crossroads of life and death.

I had spoken with such bravado.

-I can eat it.

I could eat the young lady’s cooking, I had said.

Only, one thing… Unlike any curry I knew, it was purple, and even with the lights off, you could see bubbles rising… That detail made me uneasy.

-I can’t possibly throw away something the young lady made.

I figured, the common sense of curry I held might simply be different in this world, so I could surely manage to eat it.

But just in case.

I had a vial of antidote ready in my pocket.

-Bubbling…

Rosanna and I sat together in the impeccably tidy kitchen.

“Gulp…”

“Gulp…”

Two plates sat before us.

One held rice, burnt black, and the other, the young lady’s purple curry.

Rosanna and I wore the same expression. A look that asked if we would, indeed, survive eating what lay before us.

“Haha…”

“…”

I spoke, in a voice that trembled, to Rosanna, who hesitated. In my past life, as in this one, one should always respect one’s elders.

“Rosanna-nim, please, you go first.”

“…Haha. Ricardo? You shouldn’t say things like that. It seems Olivia made this for *you*.”

“No, our young lady always takes care of her family first, so surely she was thinking of her mother, Rosanna-nim, more than me when she made it.”

-A tight grip…

“Hahahaha!!”

“Haha…!”

Rosanna and I forced awkward smiles, lowering our heads. If it couldn’t be avoided, it was best to enjoy it.

I picked up the spoon, unusually heavy today, and spoke.

“Shall we eat, then?”

The meal had been delayed by cleaning up the messy kitchen, but let us savor this moment, so carefully prepared by the young lady, with each spoonful.

-Nod.

The young miss, chin propped on her hand as she watched us, smiled with satisfaction as Gome-tang climbed onto her lap.

“I’ll go fetch some water, then.”

“I’ll go, miss.”

“No, you can go with Gome-tang.”

As the young miss disappeared from view, I asked Rosanna in a trembling voice,

“Rosanna-nim, was curry always this color?”

Was the knowledge I possessed wrong?

I thought I had tasted many foods, but faced with a dish that defied all common sense, I asked to confirm what I knew.

But.

“Of course not, Riccardo.”

Rosanna rummaged through the curry, her eyes trembling, and then sighed.

“Riccardo.”

“Yes.”

“Curry isn’t purple. No matter how precious Olivia’s cooking is to you. Curry is absolutely not purple. Don’t brainwash yourself.”

“Ah…”

“Perhaps her cooking skills are just like her father’s…”

Rosanna sighed deeply.

“I’ve brought the water.”

The young miss appeared with a clinking sound, placing the cups down with a bright smile. How much she anticipated us eating with relish; the way she flared her nostrils, puffing out a long breath, made it impossible to tell her we couldn’t possibly eat it.

“Gods above…”

Why are you giving me such trials? I raised my middle finger towards the god watching from somewhere and then began to smile brightly.

“I’m looking forward to it.”

“Don’t expect too much…it’s embarrassing.”

“Haha…”

Seeing the young miss’s shyness, Rosanna and I, who had been complaining about the curry, smiled brightly as if nothing had happened and nodded in agreement.

“I guess there’s no escaping, is there?”

“That’s right.”

The young miss was staring fixedly at our spoons with clear eyes.

“It won’t taste very good…”

“No, miss. It will be delicious.”

“Well now~ our Olivia made this for Mama, so it couldn’t possibly taste bad. If Papa had come home early, he could have eaten with us too….”

Rosanna clenched her fist, continuing with a hint of regret.

“Such a pity.”

The young miss, as if anticipating Rosanna’s disappointment, smiled brightly, gesturing to the pot on the hearth.

“I saved some for Papa and Brother too.”

At the tragic news of Darbab and Kyle, Rosanna and I had clenched our fists and smiled.

“Well done. Our daughter.”

“You’ve done wonderfully.”

“Hehet…”

Faced with the young miss’s shy, hesitant demeanor, we steeled ourselves. After all, we were going to eat it, and we needed to build up the young miss’s confidence so she could wield the kitchen knife again.

‘Practice makes perfect, after all…’

‘The young miss…in a nude apron…’

Having steeled myself, I carefully took a spoon and began to delve into the curry.

Uncut potatoes.

Potatoes that clearly showed the young miss’s clumsy knife skills, still with their skins on. And since they were whole, the inside wouldn’t be seasoned at all.

“Potatoes, I see.”

“Mmhmm. I put them in big, so you could have a lot.”

Alright, these seem safe enough to eat.

Next was a strange root.

Judging by the scent, it smelled like mandrake, but it was mixed with the curry aroma in a strange way, making it quite unpleasant.

“Young miss, this is?”

“I thought it was good for you, so I put in a lot.”

“…”

Alright, I’ll pass on this one.

Besides that, there were countless ingredients in the curry, such as scallions, carrots, chocolate, and onions. It was a combination I’d never seen before in my life. Chocolate in curry, and also eggplants, which I hated most of all.

“…”

Why would the young miss put in all the foods she disliked?

I picked up a limp, drooping bell pepper with my spoon, and let out a soft sigh.

“Intriguing indeed.”

The moment our hesitant forms were caught in the young lady’s gaze, she seemed to grasp the air, and her lips parted with a deflated voice.

“…It looks unappetizing, doesn’t it.”

“…”

“You don’t have to eat it if you don’t want to.”

I shook my head vehemently, facing the young lady. There was no need for her to say such things for future’s sake.

“Is appearance important? The taste is what matters most.”

The young lady, who had been fidgeting with her fingers, beamed at my words and nodded.

“You’re right…!”

“Haha…”

“Hehe…!”

Huh.

“Huh? Young lady, your hand…”

“Hmm? Oh, I hurt it while peeling potatoes.”

The instant I saw the bandage on the young lady’s white hand, I didn’t hesitate. I grabbed a spoon and began mixing the rice and curry with gusto.

This was a dish she had made, even injuring her hands, a young lady whose only experience with touching someone was the hairs of noble ladies.

Even if the rice was burnt black and the curry resembled some chemical concoction, I couldn’t ignore the sincerity of the young lady who had cut her finger while making it.

“Then, I shall eat.”

I felt foolish for having hesitated over such a mouth-watering meal, and I lifted my spoon.

“…”

Before Rosanna, who was sending me a trembling gaze, I plunged a mouthful of curry into my mouth.

“You…!”

I flashed a victorious smile at Rosanna.

“I have won. Mother.”

The young lady’s first dish, I shall claim it.

Of course, I have no memory of what came after that.

*

Luin awoke in an unfamiliar space with a grim expression.

“Where am I now…”

He had simply fallen asleep and upon waking up, found himself opening his eyes in a strange place.

-What is this…

“Where… where are we?”

“We were just gathered in the lobby….”

He wanted to ask the other students, but they were all looking around with bewildered expressions, seemingly in the same predicament as Ruin.

“Haa…”

Ruin expelled a frustrated sigh, overwhelmed by the creeping fatigue. It seemed they had been subjected to spatial displacement.

A densely overgrown forest.

Ruin calmly considered the current situation, comprised not only of the Magic Department, but also the Swordsmanship and Healing Departments.

Likely, that Ricardo fellow had planned another bizarre lesson.

What could it be this time?

Would they be fighting the Undead again, like last time?

Or perhaps they would be tasked with felling a colossal monster?

Whatever it was, Ruin resolved not to be caught off guard like before, and rose to his feet, advancing slowly to assess the situation.

“Everyone… stay calm.”

Especially in situations like this, one must remain calm….

The moment Ruin’s pacifying words left his lips, he spotted a sign and his mouth snapped shut.

[Siege Team.]

“Huh…?”

Ruin’s ominous question echoed through the silent forest.

“You’re awake?”

A gentle, feminine voice spoke, and Ruin’s body began to stiffen. He felt as though he had heard a voice that should not be heard in this place.

The being he had always considered the most terrifying.

Capable of creating cataclysms.

The voice of a being he didn’t even believe to be human.

“Why… why are you?”

Standing before Ruin’s very eyes.

“Welcome, Ruin.”

Ruin raised his trembling gaze to meet the woman’s. He took a deep breath and clenched his fist.

“Why are you here…!”

“Is this the first time you’ve seen me like this?”

Elicia said with a gentle smile.

“We’re on the same team this time, Student Ruin.”

A small name tag was pinned to Elysia’s clothes. It read ‘Siege Team’.

*

“Sorry…”

After the commotion of my upset stomach last night.

The young lady, who was yesterday’s assassin, sat beside me, looking rather subdued.

“Here, eat this.”

“Haha… it did have a certain flavor. Didn’t you try some, Miss?”

“…It looked like it would taste bad, so I didn’t.”

“…”

The young lady, who had handed me a tray of digestive medicine, fidgeted with her fingers, glancing at me cautiously.

“Sorry… I wanted to make it delicious.”

“It’s alright. You can make it even more delicious next time.”

“Un…”

I carefully touched the young lady’s fingers as I spoke.

“Are your fingers alright?”

“…Un.”

“Miss, you see.”

“…”

“Just the fact that you tried to do something for me makes me happy enough.”

“Even so…”

“Because you put in the effort with those pretty hands.”

“Ricardo…”

The young lady began to tell me about her cooking endeavors.

The story of how she’d initially tried to make this dish, but gave up because it was too difficult, and how she’d made it alongside the bone broth, she continued her tale, hiding the bandaged finger behind her back.

How long had we been talking like that?

When the silence finally descended, the young lady pulled an old notebook from a drawer and sat down in front of me, asking.

[Diary.]

“Want to look at it together?”

“…That’s…”

Lip began to parch.