Chapter 69: My Kitchen is a Harsh Place — a Brutally Cold Environment Where Everything is Determined by Skill Alone. In Other Words, Everything Depends on Your Ability. So, Do Your Best.

The harvest festival had begun.

The fruits of Raphael Saga’s technology and the villagers’ efforts filled the warehouses so much that they could easily withstand any cold wave.

Was it thanks to the reassurance that the abundantly filled food warehouses provided?

The village square, in the midst of the harvest festival, was bustling with all sorts of laughter and smiles.

Adventurers who had accumulated a lot of money by completing quests enjoyed the pleasure of consumption,

And small merchants who provided delicious food and alcohol to such adventurers felt the joy of sales; everyone, without exception, wore happy faces.

Even as the sun set and night approached.

The lanterns of Abel Town did not go out.

Rather, as if it were just beginning, people raised large mugs made of oak high into the sky.

In the center of the square, minstrels played adventure stories of famous adventurers,

And those who were tipsy and flushed flicked a few coins from their pockets with their fingertips, enjoying the beautiful melody.

“Cain, look over there!”

And among the vast crowd were Cain and Ria.

Ria, who had lived in a small country village her whole life, was experiencing such a grand festival for the first time.

For her, the scene after the harvest was merely,

The village elders gathering together, drinking fermented liquor made from surplus grain all night long, and then returning home late to rub their prickly beards against their daughters’ faces.

Perhaps that was why.

To Ria, everything about the harvest festival was new and simply enjoyable.

“It would have been nice if Mom, Dad, and my younger sibling had come too.”

“……”

“It will be held again next time, right?”

Ria smiled brightly at Cain.

But he couldn’t give her any answer.

“Lady Lin seems like a truly amazing person. Even though she’s the same age as me. She’s making so many people smile like this.”

“Certainly. Hearing that, it seems so.”

Cain inwardly sighed in relief as the topic naturally shifted.

That’s right.

Even now, Ria was unaware of the catastrophe that had befallen her village.

Though the after-effects of her resurrection played a part,

Lin had kept the truth from her until now, based on the healers’ opinion that Ria might have subconsciously suppressed her memories to avoid mental shock.

In the first place, only a few people knew this fact.

Only the high-ranking healers under the Rosegarden family, Lin’s close maid Heine, and Sara, who was unexpectedly living as the youngest in a doll’s body, knew.

Excluding the possessors, Lin and Cain, that is.

‘I have to tell her someday…’

There were two options.

Would he confess all the truth without reservation?

Or would he hide the truth and fabricate a story about a small epidemic or another natural disaster?

Either way, the fact that she had lost everyone wouldn’t change.

But at least the latter, though deeply sad, would be somewhat understandable.

Cain decided to make the choice himself.

Well, if Lin confessed, it was obvious she would tell every single detail of the truth.

Moreover, because he himself had eliminated Sara’s followers on the train, there was even a possibility that it would create a butterfly effect leading to Ria’s village becoming like that, causing unnecessary misunderstandings.

No, considering her usual behaviour patterns, it was certain to become so.

If that happened, their relationship might be irreparably damaged.

No one wanted such a sad future.

Therefore.

Whether he confessed the truth or hid the truth and fabricated lies.

Whichever choice he made, he had taken on the role of telling Ria everything.

“Ria.”

“Yes?”

Ria looked at Cain.

Her appearance, munching on snacks purchased at a conscientious price that wasn’t excessively gouged despite it being a festival and a prime time for business, seemed truly innocent.

“…No. It’s nothing.”

No matter how clueless he was,

Cain knew at least that now was not the time to confess the truth.

For now, he decided to silently stay by Ria’s side as she enjoyed the harvest festival.

And so, he swallowed his words again today.

***

“Well then, let the Abel Town 1st Harvest Festival Cooking Contest begin!”

“Waaaaaah!!”

The heat of the harvest festival intensified.

A harvest festival with no time to be bored due to all sorts of events constantly being held in between.

This time, a survival contest was being held where the master chefs of the night gathered.

“Our special judge is none other than! The noble Lady Lin Rosegarden, who is serving as the temporary governor of this Abel Town!!!”

The villagers, seeing the small young lady sitting in the special judge’s seat, roared like fanatics.

Unlike the other judges who could each give a maximum of 10 points, a white placard, on which any score could be written without limit, lay flat beside Lin.

“A dish made using tomatoes, Her Ladyship’s symbol…”

“This dish combines tomatoes and southern home-style noodle cuisine…”

“This is an arranged work of a royal court dish said to be eaten by the emperor of the far east, first peeling and blanching the tomatoes…”

“…Why is everyone only presenting tomato dishes?”

However, the monumental first cooking contest event of the harvest festival.

Because only dishes using tomatoes, which could be considered the symbol of the special judge, Lin, were continuously presented, it had virtually degenerated into a tomato cooking contest, it is said.

There were quite a few dishes that didn’t use tomatoes, but they contained tomato sauce or ketchup instead, so it wasn’t much different.

“Ah! As I speak, Her Ladyship’s Nyam-Nyam Score is a whopping 126 points! From the far eastern Three Kingdoms, Michael Kim’s Ketchup Tteokbokki takes the championship!!”

“What’s Tteokbokki?”

“Didn’t you hear the explanation? It’s an eastern dish made using wheat or rice.”

For reference, the winning dish was said to be Ketchup Tteokbokki, which scored an impressive 126 Nyam-Nyam points.

“A very nostalgic…. I felt the taste of home. Congratulations on your victory.”

“Th-Thank you very much!”

It was supposed to be an unfamiliar dish from the far eastern end.

The people wondered why Her Ladyship had commented that she felt the taste of home, but

They decided to applaud for now, considering it a euphemistic expression meaning it suited her palate that much.

“When the harvest festival is over, you are to report to my kitchen from then on.”

“Y-Yes…?”

An individual capable of making Tteokbokki, no less.

Lin, who was personally bestowing the winner’s chalice, did not miss this opportunity and forcibly employed him in her kitchen.

“Heine.”

Snap!

Lin’s fingers snapped crisply.

“Yes, Lady Lin.”

Then, by Heine, who appeared as if waiting,

The first day’s work location and schedule were quickly written on a piece of paper and handed to the chef, and his hands began to tremble uncontrollably.

“Keuk…!”

Afterward, all sorts of emotions came flooding in.

He, who was from the unfamiliar east and had sometimes been discriminated against even more severely than the natives due to the difference of having black hair, collapsed to the ground, tears streaming down his face.

“This holy grace, I will never forget it…! I will work hard, truly hard for Her Ladyship from now on…!!”

“Huhu, that’s a good attitude.”

Lin, admiring herself for committing an act truly befitting a villainess noble lady,

By permanently enslaving a life again today.

Considering the empire had already abolished slavery, it was truly a heinous act.

“For reference, my kitchen is harsh. Not only do you have to wake up early in the morning, but it is an infinitely heartless and cold environment where everything is decided by skill. In other words, everything depends on your abilities. Well then, do your best.”

Kitchens are inherently harsh.

Compared to a typical work environment,

Lin’s kitchen environment, where salaries were paid regularly and everything was evaluated solely on skill without discrimination based on origin or race, was practically a paradise of a workplace.

“That friend, he’s really made it big!”

“He must have suffered a lot coming from the far eastern continent. It turned out really well.”

“Isn’t this all thanks to our Young Lady’s warm heart?”

“Indeed, it is. A skilled person like that deserves such a reward.”

“I used to look down on people just because their origin or race was a little different. Since coming to this village, I’ve been reflecting on my past self…”

The villagers, who had become better people under the Young Lady’s teachings, raised their cups and approached the winner.

Other chefs who had participated in the competition also flocked to him, exchanging various stories and letting their respective culinary philosophies bloom throughout the night.

“Everyone in the village is thoroughly enjoying Lady Lin’s harvest festival.”

Heine, walking alongside Lin right behind her through the village, said with a pleased smile.

Lin, who was in serious villainess noble lady mode, pretended to be indifferent, but the corners of her mouth, which were naturally curving upwards, couldn’t be hidden.

“Hmm! It’s certainly a good festival!”

“…?”

At that moment,

A young girl, raising a large milk glass towards Lin and Heine and shouting.

What she was drinking was clearly milk.

Yet, for some reason, she looked completely drunk, making Lin and Heine tilt their heads.

“A child…?”

“A lost child, perhaps?”

Beside the girl stood a large, horned butler, as still as a statue.

Though it was a race they had never seen before, the more peculiar one was actually the girl.

The child, wearing a translucent black dress, had hair so long that it was spread wide on the floor.

It was to the extent that it wouldn’t be strange if passersby inadvertently stepped on it.

However, no one walking around stepped on the child’s hair.

As if hypnotized.

They were instinctively walking around the child’s hair, which was spread on the floor like a wedding dress.

The strangest part was the people who walked in such a roundabout way, yet walked as if it were normal.

Two clearly heterogeneous people.

No, should one even call them, that girl, a person?

Around the time such a question brushed past her mind, the child gestured slightly and spoke.

“Fear not.”

A small physique, about half the size of an adult.

Nevertheless, a sensation of the whole body freezing, as if a herbivore before a beast, paralyzed the skin.

At the words to come and sit, Lin, without realizing it, obediently complied.

Heine also followed her master and stood in attendance behind her seated master.

“Who… are you?”

“Hmm. A good question.”

Not human.

An instinctive feeling warned Lin, and she naturally adopted a respectful demeanour.

The horned butler’s hand picked up a piece of food.

At the gesture of politely feeding it into her mouth, the child mumbled softly, as if very comfortable.

“What is this body currently called?”

“It is called Astaroth, the Great Demon of Sloth, Your Grace.”

“Great Demon?”

“Presumably, it is the doing of another archangel, Your Grace.”

“Hmm…”

Astaroth made a sullen face, as if not quite liking the title of Great Demon.
However, befitting the title of Sloth, she quickly forgot about it, as if it didn’t matter.

“Well, whatever. Whatever I’m called, the work I have to do doesn’t change.”

“G-Great Demon…?”

“However, would it not be proper to show your true status to the child you are entrusting with work, Your Grace?”

“Then you explain instead. I shall enjoy this sweet thing.”

Though she had appeared out of nowhere and was enjoying delicious snacks, the tension causing cold sweat didn’t ease at all.

Astaroth, who had been cutting and eating a piece of cake heavily laden with cream with a fork, soon, as if bothered, grabbed it with her bare hands and took a mouthful.

Meanwhile, Astaroth’s butler opened his polite lips and spoke.

“First, shall we clear up any misunderstandings? My mother is not a Great Demon, but one of the Archangels who manage this world…”

Among them, the most exalted, the Archangel of the Wheel.

At the same time,

Astaroth, with cream smeared generously on both sides of her lips, smiled with satisfaction.