Just as Louis had said, after about half a day of waiting, the iron door of the cell opened.
At the sa ti, a familiar face ca into view.
“He-Hero-nim!”
“…Yeah.”
It was Eliya.
She ca dragging a towel bigger than her own body and hurriedly covered with it.
Her eyes looked moist, as if she had been genuinely worried.
“This… I definitely said there was no way… I should have argued your case more actively. I…”
“……”
From her perspective, unaware that everything had happened according to my plan, her reaction was understandable.
Since the War against Demons was ongoing, the Order was particularly strict with matters related to Demonic Species, enforcing them by military law.
Unless it was proven by so thod that I had not beco a thrall of the Succubus.
I would have at least been imprisoned in the Exorcism Prison ‘Darkest Dungeon,’ and I might have even been executed under the pretext of eliminating the Succubus.
…She probably imagined dead a dozen tis over in her head.
Knowing her, a kid who blad herself for every little thing, she had likely been wracked with guilt during this short ti.
It was then.
Rumble—
My stomach, starved from being tied up for days, cried out for food.
…And with a rather unusual sound.
Hearing it, Eliya suddenly frowned and pretended to press her ear against my stomach.
And then.
“That sound… don’t tell …”
“……”
“Were you tortured?”
…Just the fact that Louis had visited was enough for her to start jumping to all sorts of conclusions.
“No… I wasn’t tortured…”
“…I’ve heard about it. That during water torture, where they endlessly pour water into your mouth, you can suffer from abdominal bloating and internal injuries from organ damage.”
“No…”
“…The Inquisitor went too far. How could he torture a Hero Candidate who just arrived…”
“……”
Her skill at jumping to conclusions was such that if she hadn’t beco a priest, she probably would have joined so conspiracy theory club and babbled on all day.
Unable to listen to her imagination any longer, I let out a sigh and called the na of the fussing kid.
“I’ll file a formal complaint about the torture. Still, I heard your innocence was…”
“Hah… Shurellia.”
“Ye-Yes?”
She flinched at the sudden call.
“That’s enough.”
“……”
“I wasn’t tortured, and my body is fine.”
The kid, who had been making a scene, finally shut her mouth, realizing her mistake.
She then looked down at my abdon and made a fumbling motion with her white-gloved hands.
“Then that sound just now was…”
“…It was from being hungry.”
“……”
A mont of silence followed.
Then ca a timid, belated retort.
“…My na is Eliya, not Shurellia.”
Smirk—
Her typical reaction made laugh without realizing it.
It seed to be because of the familiar banter we hadn't shared in a while.
And seeing her face after so long.
It was probably because I was happy to see her.
“How long have I been locked up in here?”
“Uh… The award ceremony was the day before yesterday… so it should be exactly the fourth day.”
“…Let’s go out and grill so pork belly. I’m hungry.”
“Pork belly?”
“Yep. Crispy grilled pork belly with white rice.”
…It had been a while.
***
Fwoosh—
A red and blue fla flared to life.
And intense heat rose from the jet-black cast iron.
But not yet.
The perfect mont had not yet arrived.
“…I’ll put it on now, Hero-nim?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Can’t you tell by looking? It’s not ready yet.”
“…What on earth isn’t ready?”
‘If you put the grill on and lit the fire, you should put the at on…’
Eliya’s whining murmurs reached my ears, but I paid them no mind and kept my eyes fixed on the cast iron.
She seed to be of the opinion that no matter how you cook at, it all tastes the sa, but she really didn't know what she was talking about.
“For fatty ats like pork belly, the key to cooking is grilling the lean at to the right texture. You have to cook it quickly over high heat to minimize moisture loss as the proteins contract and to maximize the Maillard reaction that brings out the savory flavor.”
“But…”
“Especially with a cast iron pan, it has the advantage of high heat retention, but it also takes a long ti to absorb enough heat, so you have to be even more careful.”
“…Why are you so serious about cooking, anyway?”
Soon, a white smoke began to rise from the heated cast iron pan.
This was it.
I picked up a pre-cut piece of fat trimming with tongs and quickly coated the pan with oil.
Sizzle—
The enchanting sound of fat lting in the high heat.
Before that appetite-whetting sound of rain could fade, I placed the at on the grill.
Then, the light drizzle that I heard while coating the pan turned into a downpour, filling the room.
Sizzle— Sizzzzzle—
“…This is it. This is the Maillard reaction.”
Grin—
At that satisfying sound, I couldn’t help but let the corners of my mouth lift.
“…Maillard this, Maillard that. Why make such a fuss over grilling a piece of at? You can just eat it.”
“I’m just a bit serious when it cos to cooking.”
“…Fine. I get that you’re serious about cooking, but.”
At that point, Eliya sighed with a look of utter incomprehension and asked.
“…Why on earth are we grilling at in another Hero Candidate’s room?”
“……”
“And not in a temporary waiting room, but in a hospital room, of all places.”
That’s right.
The place where Eliya and I had set up a cast iron pan to grill at was the hospital room of Kim Sia, who was hospitalized due to the chest wound I had inflicted.
At Eliya’s words, Kim Sia gave an awkward laugh and waved her hand.
“Ahaha… I’m fine.”
“…I’ll apologize on his behalf, Miss Sia.”
“No, no! In many ways, I owe Mr. Seo U-jin a lot. And… I was getting hungry, too.”
The ‘131st Hero Candidate Appointnt Ceremony,’ which could be called the finale of the Gateway Zone, had already ended two days ago.
The Hero Candidates who finished the ceremony had each been assigned a Lair and left, and the only one remaining in the Gateway Order of Priests’ chapel, which was already in the process of wrapping up, was Kim Sia.
…That was the general pretext.
That it would be nice for the two outcasts, who couldn't properly participate in the Hero Candidate Appointnt Ceremony because they were both involved in the Succubus incident, to have a al together.
A plausible explanation that, as the person who stabbed her, it was a moral courtesy for to visit.
“Is your wound okay?”
“Ah, yes. Thanks to you.”
“…That sounds a bit strange.”
She shook her head at my light joke.
“Ah, no, no. Really! My Acolyte Priest told . The probability of a Hero Candidate who beca a Succubus’s host surviving unscathed is extrely low. It’s almost impossible…”
“You were lucky.”
“Thank you again.”
I shrugged at Kim Sia, who was bowing her head.
This ti, she was the one to ask a question.
“So… was your matter resolved well?”
“…Ah. Yes, well. I couldn't eat or sleep properly while I was locked in the cell, but other than that, nothing much happened.”
“That’s a relief. I was very worried when I heard you were in trouble because of …”
With the intervention of the ‘Gateway Order of Priests,’ who had confird the appearance of the Succubus, the was forcibly terminated.
Considering that the also didn't proceed properly because I killed the Cyclops, I thought this 131st batch would probably be rembered as the most chaotic Gateway Zone in history.
Not that I felt any guilt about it.
From the perspective of the Gateway Order of Priests who had to clean up the ss, it must have been a huge headache, but it was a necessary route to follow my plan.
Gulp—
“It’s ready.”
“…Oh.”
Eliya’s blatant gulping announced the completion of the painstakingly grilled pork belly.
Simultaneously, Eliya’s and Kim Sia’s gazes turned to the grill.
Cutting the golden-brown pork belly into bite-sized pieces and carefully transferring them to a plate, I called Eliya’s na.
“Alright, Mozart.”
Gulp—
“…Yes! What should I prepare, Hero-nim?”
“You’re going to the Head Priest’s office now.”
“…What?”
Her brow furrowed in disbelief.
“Go and request the ‘Chosen One’ trait to be issued again. From that Head Priest from before.”
“…What do you an? It was already rejected last ti. No, more importantly, why at this timing of all—.”
“Just go and see. His reaction will probably be different this ti.”
The kid, who was rolling her eyes as if she had so complaint, proposed a compromise.
“…I’ll go in 20 minutes.”
“Now.”
“…Then just 10 minutes.”
“No.”
“…Just one bite.”
“If the trait doesn't get issued because of that, will you take responsibility?”
Soon, an expression of injustice appeared on her face.
“Hey, why is that my fault!”
“It’s your fault if it doesn’t work out because you dawdled when you could have gone right now.”
“But…”
She tried to find a way out by asking Kim Sia for backup, but I thoroughly ignored her words and plated the at.
—Hero-nim, those priest types have a petty streak, so it’s not like their minds will change just because so ti has passed…
—I’m telling you it won’t work anyway! That Head Priest guy is so…
—I’ll go after just one bite. One bite…
And then I added one more comnt.
“…To miss out on the trait like this… How sad.”
“……”
“Last ti, he offered it without even asking, but now my request to have my own acolyte priest stop by the priest’s office right next door is being ignored…”
Unable to listen anymore, Eliya stood up with a face full of anger.
“Aargh— I’m going, I’m going! I said I’m going!!!”
Smirk—
“Be careful on your way.”
Then she flung open the hospital room door and muttered, as if for to hear.
“We’ll see… We’ll see if I ever do anything for you first again!”
“……”
“I’m only going to do exactly what I’m told!”
SLAM—!
The kid, who had slamd the door with all her emotions, stomped away down the hall.
“……”
“……”
A mont of silence flowed by.
“…Co out.”
I called to her.
Kim Sia’s eyes, which had been a shade of brown, turned purple and looked at .
A hollow laugh soon burst out.
“Ha.”
“……”
“…You’re a good actor.”
“…I believe that’s my line.”
That was right.
In front of that kid Louis, I had nonchalantly spouted that I ‘took care of the Succubus.’
…But I hadn't killed the Succubus.
“…Is it okay to talk so openly? I feel like those high-and-mighty Constellations would be quite displeased to see this.”
“Well, we’re out of the Gateway Zone, and that eavesdropping satellite magic won’t be active until I get my dal. It doesn't matter.”
“……”
“…Must be nice. Knowing so much.”
Shrug—
And so, I asked the Succubus that was inhabiting Kim Sia’s body.
“So, about what I said… have you given it so thought?”
“……”
At that, the kid, whose eyes had been darting around, suddenly looked down.
To be precise.
At my left hand holding the plate of pork belly.
And she made an unexpected proposal.
“That.”
“……?”
“Let’s talk while we eat… It looks delicious.”
And my answer to her proposal was.
“…I don’t share a table with demons.”
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