Chapter 100: The Dreaded Meat Pie

“D-Do we… really have to eat this…?”

Huh?

Anne, staring at my meat pie, hesitated as if she didn’t want to eat it.

Ah!

She must have realized the winner the moment she saw my dish.

Of course.

All she had done was grill meat, so she must have felt completely outclassed by my dish’s flawless appearance.

They say the main character always enters last, and appropriately, it was finally my turn.

“What do you think of my meat pie? Doesn’t it look delicious?”

Before cutting it, I proudly showed off its perfect shape one last time.

“T-This… is a meat pie…?”

“The meat pies I’ve seen before were… completely different…”

Heh.

Even Celian and Yuri, who had probably eaten high-class meat pies made by top-tier chefs, had never seen anything like this.

That meant…

I had surpassed first-class chefs.

Wanting to meet their expectations, I placed my knife on the pie’s surface and lightly scraped it.

Kak kak!

The crispy texture made a pleasant sound, filling me with satisfaction.

Aesthetics, aroma, texture—everything was perfect.

Now, to cut it properly.

I pressed my knife down, aiming to slice the pie in half first.

Ka-kak!

…?

The knife didn’t cut through.

Had I baked the crust too crispy?

How troublesome…

Being too perfect was a curse in itself.

If I forced it, the shape might get ruined.

To be safe, I lightly coated my knife with aura.

With just a little pressure, my knife sliced through smoothly, as if cutting through pudding.

After making four clean cuts, I successfully divided the pie into eight equal slices—the perfect size for serving.

With four people and eight slices, each of us could have two pieces.

This way, no one would fight over extra portions after inevitably falling in love with my masterpiece.

“U-Um… El?”

Just as I was about to place a piece on Yuri’s plate, she subtly pulled her plate away.

“…Could you maybe cut it into smaller pieces? Like… sixteen? Or… thirty-two? Or even… sixty-four?”

Huh?

Why would I do that?

Eight slices were perfectly balanced.

If I made them smaller, they’d fall apart, and the filling would spill out.

“…If I cut it any more, you won’t taste it properly.”

That must be it.

Yuri must have wanted to savor every bite.

How cute.

“…Aha… ha… You’re right… T-Thank you… I’ll… enjoy it…”

I placed the first slice onto Yuri’s plate.

Next was Celian.

As I lifted the next piece, I heard a familiar sound.

Gulp.

Celian swallowed nervously.

Haha.

Even Celian couldn’t wait to eat it.

In that case…

I quietly switched slices, picking out the largest one and placing it on her plate.

Celian blinked, looking slightly startled.

She had noticed.

She knew I had given her the biggest piece in secret.

To reassure her, I winked and subtly gave her a thumbs-up.

After all, considering everything she’s done for me, this was the least I could do.

This should increase her affection for me quite a bit.

Now, onto Anne.

Before I could even pick up a slice, she was intensely scanning the pie, as if searching for the biggest piece.

…Sorry, Anne.

The biggest one was already taken.

Feeling a little guilty, I picked out the next biggest slice, which looked meatier, and placed it on her plate.

That should make her happy—after all, she loved meat.

Anne’s hands trembled slightly, as if overwhelmed by my generosity.

“Alright, everyone, enjoy! And be honest with your feedback.”

Not that I expected harsh criticism—but just in case jealousy made them downplay my dish, I wanted to remind them to be fair.

However…

None of them touched their food.

They just stared at their slices, seemingly unable to take a bite.

“There’s… another slice each, so you don’t have to hold back…”

At my words, the three of them flinched slightly.

It was as if they had just realized that eating one piece wouldn’t deprive them of another.

“…We have to eat this, right…?”

“Yuri! Celian! Are you sure you don’t want my piece? I can give it to you.”

…Wait.

Anne, who never shared her meat dishes, was now offering her slice to others?

Before she could pass it over, Celian swiftly blocked Anne’s fork mid-air—just like she would in combat training.

Meanwhile, Yuri turned her entire body away, ignoring Anne completely.

“No, no! This dish is too delicious to share. El gave you that piece, so you should eat it.”

Even though Anne had been the one most eager to eat my meat pie, she was now desperately trying to give her portion away.

Celian immediately rejected the offer without hesitation.

See? We’re such good friends, everyone.

Tick, tick, tick.

However, despite our great friendship, the only sound that filled the room was the ticking of the clock.

No one dared to be the first to take a bite.

Everyone just exchanged glances, hesitating.

“I-I’ll go first.”

The one to break the silence was none other than Celian.

Since she had been the most excited about my dish, it made sense that she would be the first to step up.

She picked up her fork, ready to cut into the pie.

Kak!

Or rather, she tried.

Oh, right.

Even when I cut it earlier, the crust had been a little too crispy.

Celian, who had never seen a pie like this before, seemed taken aback by how solid it was.

However, she quickly regained her composure.

Just as I had done earlier, she coated her fork with aura and successfully cut a bite-sized piece.

For a moment, she just stared at the pie.

Then, she took a deep breath.

Finally, after preparing herself mentally, Celian lifted the piece of pie and placed it into her mouth.

Chomp.

Her eyes widened in shock the moment she took a bite.

It was a reaction I had never seen from Celian before.

And then—

Thud!

“C-Celian?!”

“No! Stay strong, Celian! You can fight this!”

Celian collapsed.

Anne shook her, panic filling her voice.

Meanwhile, Yuri chose to cheer her on instead.

Celian was a Sword Master.

Her body and mind were stronger than most.

She wouldn’t faint easily, and not even deadly poison could affect her.

Yet here she was, unconscious—all because of my meat pie.

What on earth had I created?

Had my cooking skills become too powerful?

Maybe…

Maybe opening a restaurant was too dangerous.

If I did, half the customers would be carried out on stretchers.

Knock, knock.

Just as I was wondering what to do with Celian’s sudden collapse, there was a knock at the door.

Since Anne and Yuri were too preoccupied with Celian, I went to open it.

“Hello, Hero! I’ve come to bring you great news!”

A cheerful voice greeted me as Mariel, the Saintess, entered the room.

“Fufu… I’ve brought something that’s perfect for you, Hero— Ah!?”

Mariel had reached into her robe, ready to pull out some item to sell me—as usual.

But the moment she spotted Celian unconscious behind me, her expression changed completely.

It was just food coma, but she was acting so dramatic about it.

“There’s no way… These are symptoms of poisoning! How did a toxin get into the academy? Could it be… the demons have infiltrated?!”

…What?

“I’ll heal her immediately. Just hold on!”

Before I could even process what was happening, Mariel had already knelt beside Celian and began praying.

“…And so, may this child be purified by your grace. Cure!”

A brilliant light surrounded Celian’s body.

As expected of a Saintess—even a simple healing spell felt divine.

But…

Celian wasn’t poisoned.

She had just passed out from the flavor.

Cure magic wasn’t—

“HIEEK!”

Celian suddenly shot up, letting out a small shriek.

“This level of toxicity… Just what happened here—wait!?”

Mariel’s eyes landed on the table.

There, she saw my meat pie.

…Ah.

She must have fallen for its delicious appearance too.

Just like Celian.

“So this is the source of the poisoning! The evil aura it emits… Just looking at it feels cursed… But no matter! It won’t stand against the Saintess!”

…?

What?

Mariel suddenly placed both hands together in prayer.

“Oh Serena, goddess of all, there lies before me a being of darkness.

With your infinite mercy, embrace this curse and cleanse it from this world.

Purification!”

Her holy magic enveloped my meat pie.

But come on.

It was just food.

There was no way something would—

WHOOSH!

…?

…Did my pie just catch fire?!