Chapter 101: The Cursed Meat Pie and Celian’s Unexpected Antics

“Huff, huff….”

Mariel collapsed onto the floor, gasping for breath, completely drained of energy.

“I was just purifying it, and yet… even with the power of a Saint, it was this overwhelming… That was no ordinary curse….”

Ignoring Mariel’s incomprehensible muttering, I turned my gaze back to the table.

For some reason, my meat pie had burst into flames, burning spectacularly.

The fire was strangely beautiful, mesmerizing enough that I found myself staring at it blankly—

Wait, no!

I immediately sprang to my feet and grabbed the nearest blanket.

Then, I swung it toward my meat pie, which was blazing on the table, in an attempt to put out the fire.

However, before I could even try, Mariel stopped me, gripping me so tightly that I couldn’t move.

“No! The curse might still be lingering! If you touch it carelessly, you’ll collapse just like that child!”

Just moments ago, she had been slumped over, struggling to catch her breath, yet now she held me back with an incredible strength that didn’t match her frail frame.

Her arms wrapped around my underarms, exhibiting an almost superhuman force that seemed impossible for someone of her stature.

“Let go, Senpai! That’s my hard-earned meat pie…!”

“Guys, help! She’s already falling under its influence!”

At Mariel’s words, Yuri remained by Celian’s side, while Anne rushed over and grabbed me by the waist.

Against Anne’s monstrous strength, resistance was futile.

All I could do was helplessly watch as my meat pie turned into a pitch-black lump of charcoal.

My masterpiece of a dish never even had a chance to shine—no, it burned brightly only to disappear into the heavens.

…Even though no one but Celian got to taste it, at least in heaven, maybe the Goddess would enjoy it in my place.

I was proud to have created you, my dear meat pie. It was a joy to have known you, even for a short while. Goodbye.

Rumble! Boom!

As if the sky itself shared in my sorrow, thunder roared outside, and a sudden downpour began.

“Phew… That was a tough opponent. Are you feeling better now?”

Mariel wiped the sweat from her forehead as she asked me.

What was this Saint even talking about?

Did she really think my grief over losing my meat pie would fade so easily?

“Ah! But at least we still have the portions we set aside on our plates….”

Only the meat pie on the table had burned; I had made sure to serve each of my friends a small piece in advance.

“Ah! While helping Celian, I accidentally dropped mine on the floor! I really wanted to eat it, too… What a shame!”

“M-Me too!”

At their sudden exclamations, I turned my head, and sure enough, just as they had said, two pieces of my meat pie were now lying on the floor.

Some of it had burned, and some had fallen—leaving only the piece that Celian had taken a single bite from.

“I guess we’ll just have to share Celian’s piece. With four people… No, five, counting Mariel-senpai, we won’t get more than a tiny bite each, but there’s no helping it….”

Even if she was an unexpected guest, I couldn’t send her away without offering anything.

“Ah, wait! Hold on….”

Anne suddenly looked flustered at my words.

She was probably distressed because her already small portion would become even smaller with Mariel’s inclusion.

“Uh… um… Celian! We should ask for Celian’s permission first, shouldn’t we?”

Come to think of it, I had completely forgotten to ask the owner of the remaining piece—Celian.

I remembered that she had regained consciousness earlier, but since she had been so quiet, it had slipped my mind.

“Celian?”

I called out to her to ask for her consent, but she didn’t respond.

Instead, she simply stared at me blankly while sucking on her thumb.

“Celian…?”

I stepped closer, still holding the plate with her partially eaten meat pie, and peered into her face.

Her usually wise and gentle blue eyes were now wide and bright as she gazed at me intently.

“Waah! It’s El! It’s El! Celian wants to play with El!”

As soon as I approached, she pulled her thumb out of her mouth, raised her arms, and cheered in a childlike voice.

Almost like a little kid.

“Uh… Celian?”

“Hehehe. Celian looooves El!”

Then, she suddenly lunged at me, wrapping her arms around my waist.

She clung to me tightly, rubbing her face enthusiastically against my stomach.

What… kind of new game was this?

“Uhh… I don’t even know how to respond to this, but before that, can I ask you something?”

“Mm? What is it?”

Still hugging me, Celian lifted her head and tilted it curiously.

“This last piece of meat pie… Do you mind if we share it with everyone? Including Mariel-senpai.”

Celian, who had been staring solely at me, finally shifted her gaze to the piece of pie in my hand.

Knowing how kind she was, I was certain she would agree—

“HIIEEK!”

However, for some reason, Celian suddenly began to thrash wildly, as if startled by something.

Since she had been clinging tightly to me, her frantic movements caused my body to shake along with hers.

And in that shaking—

Plop.

The last remaining piece of my meat pie fell from the plate and landed on the floor.

“Uwaaah! No, no! Celian doesn’t want to eat that!”

Whether she noticed what had just happened or not, Celian continued acting like a child, shaking her head furiously in rejection.

But there was nothing to reject anymore—there wasn’t a single piece of meat pie left that could be eaten.

“My meat pie… The very last piece….”

I had wanted my friends to taste it so badly….

“Celian…”

As I mourned the loss of my meat pie, now meeting its untimely end on the cold floor, Celian crept up beside me before I even realized it.

When I turned at the sound of her voice so close to me, I noticed something strange—a small drop of saliva had gathered at the corner of her mouth.

She swallowed, as if she had just spotted something truly delicious.

“I like El better than that! El tastes even better!”

W-Wait! Celian? Hold on—!

“Hiiiek!?”

Before I could react, Celian suddenly pushed me down, climbed on top of me, and started nibbling on my earlobe while licking my neck.

I tried to push her away, but every time she “tasted” me, a strange tingling sensation coursed through my entire body, rendering me powerless.

“Hah… S-Someone… help….”

Realizing I couldn’t escape on my own, I reached out towards the others, pleading for assistance.

But for some reason, all of them had their hands covering their faces, only peeking through their fingers to watch what was happening.

“Well… Since Celian had the courage to try that, maybe she deserves to have her way….”

Yuri muttered something incomprehensible.

Stop watching and help me—!

“Hehe… So this is what El tastes like….”

“Hyaah….”

In the end, I was only freed after Celian, exhausted from her antics, collapsed into a deep sleep.

Even in her sleep, she kept my fingers in her mouth, sucking on them softly.

…What in the world just happened?

“Aah, you’re awake?”

By the time we had cleaned up the mess from the earlier commotion, Celian rubbed her eyes and slowly sat up.

“Huh…? Did I fall asleep?”

“You don’t remember? You suddenly—”

“Wah! Wah!”

Before I could finish, Anne suddenly jumped between me and Celian, waving her hands wildly and shouting loudly.

What’s with her all of a sudden?

Even Celian, startled by Anne’s loud voice, winced and pressed her fingers to her temples, as if she had a headache.

“Ugh… I feel like I almost remember something… But anyway, I’m sorry for falling asleep when we were supposed to have a cooking contest. Let’s get started right away!”

“Huh? What are you talking about? We already finished, including the tasting.”

“What? Tasting? We didn’t even start cooking yet. And… why is the Saint here? Oh! Did you all finish while I was asleep? That’s too bad… I really wanted to try El’s cooking.”

What was Celian even saying?

“You did taste my cooking, Celian. You’re the only one who did, even if it was just one bite.”

“What do you mean? I don’t remember eating anything, let alone seeing what was made….”

“I’m talking about the meat pie. Since the others didn’t get even a single bite, could you at least describe the taste for them?”

Of course, even with Celian’s impressive vocabulary, it would be difficult to fully capture the amazing taste of my meat pie.

Still, if she described it, Anne, Yuri, and even Mariel might be able to imagine it to some extent.

“Huh? Meat pie… Hic!”

Suddenly, Celian let out a loud hiccup.

“Why am I… hic! Suddenly hiccupping… hic!”

And just like that, my meat pie’s flavor was doomed to remain a mystery forever.

…Well, I guess I can always make another batch later.

No—next time, I’ll make plenty, so not only my friends but also Mariel-senpai can have as much as they want.

And that time, I’ll take my time, putting even more care and effort into it than before.