Chapter 25
Soon, Pastry Chef Merkh returned, pushing a cart loaded with plates.
Plates filled with dazzling desserts.
And a sword hidden from view inside a long wooden case.
‘There it is.’
The four-star greatsword that would soon be mine.
“So, what do you mean by raising the stakes?”
“I understand you recently purchased a large quantity of Vasis incense, an herb that also doubles as a spice, from this shop.”
Merkh narrowed his eyes.
“I don't know how you found out, but you want to wager that?”
“Yes.”
According to the academy schedule, we'd have another off-campus activity in two weeks.
I needed it to prepare in advance for the incident that would happen then.
Vasis incense was a potent remedy against paralytic poison.
“Very well. But in that case, I should receive an equivalent reward. What is your name, guest?”
“Gilliam Everchess.”
“Then, Lord Everchess, while you're at the academy, please visit our shop at least once a week. And of course, bring at least one friend each time.”
Wow.
This guy really has a nasty personality.
He wants to put me down in front of my friends with a ‘heh…’? And once a week for four years?
‘I'd get sick of it even if someone asked me to.’
But this had nothing to do with me anyway.
There was no way I could lose this wager.
“Fine.”
“Excellent.”
Merkh lifted the long wooden case.
“Then let me show it to you first. This was the sword my late father used.”
He opened the wooden case.
A softly gleaming silver-blue sword appeared inside.
<Waterfall Cutter>
Elegant form.
Razor-sharp blade.
The moment she saw it, Elettra's eyes widened.
She used a sword as her main weapon, after all.
‘Why is a sword like that appearing in a dessert café!?’
Elettra had her Sealing Sword, a top-tier weapon that unleashed its power according to spoken commands.
But even Elettra couldn't take her eyes off this one.
‘Did Gilliam know about it beforehand…? I don't know how he did it, but his information network is incredible.’
If that was the reward, this ridiculous wager was worth trying. The question was whether he could win, though.
Merkh placed five plates on the table in total.
“Please identify ten ingredients in each item.”
“Not all of them, just ten?”
“Hmph. You couldn't identify them all even if I asked you to, could you?”
“Does water count as an ingredient?”
Elettra thought Gilliam's question was pathetic.
‘Why would you ask something like that? Water obviously isn't an ingredient.’
Merkh nodded with a grave expression.
“Water is one of the most important ingredients. However, I'll only count it if you added water directly. You can't use logic like ‘some of the milk is water.’”
“….”
Elettra felt embarrassed.
At least she was glad she hadn't said it out loud.
“Can we start now?”
“Yes. Feel free to analyze them until closing time. You're our only customers right now, anyway.”
“No, five minutes is enough.”
“Heh heh… You're arrogant, as nobles tend to be. Heh, if I could humiliate someone like this in front of his friends… slurp…!”
Merkh licked his lips ostentatiously.
…He really was a weird guy.
Gilliam reached for the first dish with his fork.
“For reference, that cake is called an opera. As a hint—”
“Almond flour, flour, eggs, sugar, butter, coffee syrup, espresso, dark chocolate, heavy cream, cocoa powder.”
“…Huh?”
“That's ten, right?”
“Y-yes, that's right… Haha! It seems you prepared for this wager in advance.”
Gilliam's body gave a slight twitch.
“Don't worry, I won't invalidate the wager over that. Analyzing a few items on the menu in advance wouldn't let you know the rest.”
Merkh pushed the second plate forward.
“The second is a lovely little pastry called religieuse. Now then—”
“Flour, eggs, butter, water, milk, chocolate, coffee, sugar, vanilla, heavy cream.”
“….”
“….”
“….”
Merkh, as well as Maron and Elettra, stared at Gilliam in a daze.
‘How does he know them that well…?’
‘I don't think even I could do that, and I'm a princess…?’
The same thing happened with the remaining three dishes.
Merkh introduced each dish by name.
Gilliam took a bite and rattled off the ingredients in an instant.
“…And finally, vanilla syrup.”
He'd named the last ingredient in the last dish.
“…Correct.”
A one-sided victory that didn't even take five minutes.
A total defeat for Merkh, the proud genius.
“Grrk….”
Merkh trembled.
His white hat, as stiffly upright as his pride, fell off.
‘Is he going to explode?’
There were two witnesses, so he couldn't get away with making excuses, but I hoped nothing troublesome would happen—
“Lord Everchess!!”
“!!”
Merkh grabbed my knee.
But his gaze was full of reverence, not anger toward me.
“You are truly incredible!! I've never met anyone like you in my life!!! I, Merkh, am in awe!!”
“Uh… thank you? The sword—”
“Of course it's yours!! Just a moment!!”
Merkh dashed into the kitchen, then came back with a huge basket brimming with Vasis incense.
“Wow…!”
Maron exclaimed in admiration.
She'd never seen so much of that expensive herb all together before.
<Vasis Incense>
Description: A potent remedy for paralysis found only in the southern regions of the continent, and a precious dessert ingredient thanks to its unique flavor. The downside is that it's incredibly expensive!
“And!”
Merkh took out something like a check.
“A free-use pass for our shop! It's valid for the next hundred years, so please visit anytime!”
“No, you don't have to—”
“You must visit at least once a week!”
Merkh bowed his head to the floor and pleaded.
“Please, I beg you! I'll make and serve you the finest desserts every week!”
Well, eating dessert at a café every week was a bit much.
“Can I lend it to a friend?”
“No, I'm afraid not.”
How strict.
Anyway.
I'd accomplished everything I'd come to this café for.
I lifted the greatsword that now belonged to me.
<Waterfall Cutter>
Description: The legacy of someone who mastered an ephemeral sword style. If you listen closely, you can almost hear the thunder of rushing water.
And then.
〈You have qualified to learn the Two-Handed Sword Hidden Skill (4-star): Water Severing (斬水)〉
‘Oh?’
【Shop】
<Category: Two-Handed Swords>
- Horizontal Slash (1-star): 300 points
- Vertical Slash (1-star): 300 points
(…)
- HIDDEN! Water Severing (4-star): 50000 points
(…)
‘Apparently, this is a skill only someone wielding Waterfall Cutter can learn?’
A smile came to my face naturally.
I got everything I wanted, plus an unexpected bonus.
And when I looked up, the table in front of us was packed with desserts.
“…What is all this?”
It was far too much for three people.
Maron explained.
“While you were looking at the sword, that pastry chef brought all of it out for you, Liam.”
“How is one person supposed to eat all this?”
“And there's no use calling him. He said he was leaving on a trip to develop new recipes.”
“…So we're the only ones in the shop now?”
“Oh, he asked us to lock the door when we leave and put the key under the mat at the back entrance.”
This is ridiculous.
I sighed.
“He's not here, so I can say it, but he's a real lunatic.”
“You're one to talk.”
“That's something you should be saying, Liam?”
“…?”
What was wrong with me?
I was just a little bad at reading the room.
Still, it was a good thing Merkh had cleared out.
If there was no one else in the shop, we didn't have to worry about anyone seeing us.
“Maron, Elettra.”
I only had to call their names in a serious voice.
“Eep….”
“Yes!”
The two of them stood up, embarrassed, as if the moment they'd been expecting had finally arrived.
“I-I'll show you now!”
Maron looked at me, one hand clutching her top while the fingers of her other hand hooked into the waistbands of her skirt and panties.
“I-I can do it too, okay!”
Elettra turned around like before, stuck her rear out toward me, and grabbed her skirt.
“Hoo….”
“Haa….”
The two of them took a deep breath.
Slowly.
They showed me their embarrassing parts.
“E-ehehehe… Ah, aah….”
“Ngh, haaah…!”
Maron and Elettra each moaned in embarrassment.
‘Sorry.’
I didn't want to do this either.
The very system of this world was forcing me to do this.
As expected, Maron's star mark was a chestnut-brown symbol on her lower abdomen, below her navel. A geometric pattern that seemed to ripple in curves.
I couldn't quite see the lower part.
“I-I can't lower it any farther, or you'll see something else….”
“It's okay. You don't have to explain.”
I quickly turned my head to the side.
The location of Elettra's star mark was—
‘So it was on her butt.’
Her buttocks formed a large, beautiful curve.
On the upper part of the right one was a blue symbol.
This was a geometric pattern too, but unlike Maron's, it was mostly made up of sharp lines.
Since it was on the upper part of her butt rather than the lower, Elettra had to lift her skirt and use a finger to shift her white panties slightly to the side.
“Y-you can see it, right!? You can see everything!?”
【Bond Quest - Star of Blazing Dominion】
〈Encounter with the Tyrant of Blazing Dominion〉
Objective: Touch the sigil of the Star of Blazing Dominion
Reward: Connection with the Star of Blazing Dominion (LV.1)
“Yeah. I can see everything.”
The quest had appeared, so it was certain.
“Then I'll touch it now?”
“Y-yes…!”
“Fine, just hurry up and do it!!”
“….”
“Why are you just standing there!?”
“No, it's just, all of a sudden…”
“All of a sudden what!?”
“W-what was all of a sudden?”
“I started wondering if I was doing something really awful to you two.”
“….”
“….”