Hot And Fresh Delivery Pizza, Straight To You! (8)

“Phew… That was like a dream…”

Having polished off every last bit of pizza, the young master murmured happily.

What an impressive appetite. Even I, the one who had served it, was filled with satisfaction.

I quietly poured him some tea, and after taking a sip, the young master spoke.

“This pizza truly is wonderful. Shirley, it was delicious.”

“You honor me with your praise. Thank you very much, young master…!”

A thrill of emotion raced up my spine at his words, and I bowed deeply.

Just as I had hoped, the young master had come to love pizza too… I could hardly contain my happiness.

If only—if only I could have used tomatoes, asparagus, and all sorts of other vegetables, I could have made so many more varieties.

Even so, he had told me once again today that my food was delicious.

That alone was enough to satisfy me.

Anne, bowing beside me in the same way, looked delighted too.

Of course she did. The two of us had worked so hard together.

Our latest challenge had been a resounding success. I had no regrets whatsoever.

Then the young master spoke again.

“By the way, is there no more pizza? I can still eat.”

I had anticipated that.

Knowing the young master, I was sure he could easily have eaten more than ten pizzas.

This time, however, I had deliberately limited the quantity. And the reason was—

“My apologies, young master. That was all the pizza we prepared. However…”

I glanced quietly behind me as I continued.

“Sweet things taste even better after eating something as rich as pizza. How does that sound? Some truly wonderful sweets are waiting for you.”

Indeed, the lovely sweets prepared by the ladies of the other teams were still waiting their turn.

It would have been such a waste to fill his stomach with our pizza alone.

“Indeed, you are right. I do find myself craving something sweet. I shall look forward to pizza another time. Bring me the next dish.”

The young master gave a small smile as he said so.

At once, an energetic “Yes, right away!” rang out, and the next sweet was carried over.

The young master happily began eating it, and as we watched, we withdrew with smiles to our usual positions.

This way, the maid teams could divide up their roles.

And then, instead of needlessly competing with one another, we could all work together to make the young master happy.

Everything had gone exactly as I intended.

Just then, my eyes met Christina-oneesama’s as she happened to be looking my way.

She gave me a gentle smile, and I smiled back.

Even though I had broken convention by asking to have our turn moved forward, she had forgiven me with a smile.

She truly was so kind.

I had managed to live up to her guidance as well, making this the very best snack time imaginable.

However, Jacqueline, who stood lined up beside us, was another matter.

“So because you’re considerate, you’re making sure we get our turn too? How very kind of you.”

She muttered expressionlessly without even looking our way.

…Would the day ever come when I could get along with her too?

“Hmm-hmm…”

It was nighttime on the day I had served pizza to the young master.

I was in the kitchen, humming to myself as I made a pizza for my own enjoyment.

Half of it was a celebration of our success, and the other half was a farewell ceremony for pizza.

The pizza had unquestionably been a success.

The young master had loved it as well. But I probably would not serve it to him again of my own accord.

After all, it really was too heavy to serve repeatedly as a snack.

On top of that, they had even accommodated my rather improper request to move our turn forward this time.

If I got carried away and kept serving the same thing over and over after they had done that for me, I would have no excuse.

It would be different if the young master specifically asked for it, but for the time being, it was probably best to forget about pizza.

I needed to focus on developing the next snack too.

And so, this was the end of pizza. My one-time challenge had now drawn to a close.

“A lot happened, didn’t it… Bob?”

As I slid the pizza into the stone oven, I spoke to Bob behind me.

Bob, who had been lounging leisurely in a chair while cigar smoke drifted around him, replied with deep emotion.

“Yeah… When I first met you, I thought there was no way a little lady like you could bake a proper pizza. Everybody knows a real pizza master’s gotta be either some big burly guy or an old granny.”

“My, what prejudice. As long as you love pizza, I’m sure anyone—young or old, man or woman—can bake a delicious one.”

“Yeah… You’re right. That’s exactly right. Pizza belongs to everybody. Wherever there’s pizza, there are smiles. You said it, little lady.”

Bob smiled happily as he spoke.

Then, with obvious reluctance, he set down his cigar and slowly rose to his feet.

“Well, then. Guess it’s about time I headed back too. Back to my own oven.”

“So this is goodbye, Bob.”

“Yeah. Life’s full of goodbyes, little lady. But don’t let it get you down. We’re connected through pizza. Whenever you’re enjoying pizza, I’ll be there with you. So…”

As his smiling figure slowly dissolved into the world, Bob spoke one final time.

“Keep honing your craft, little lady. Someday, we’ll meet again in front of a stone oven.”

“Yes, Bob. Someday, in front of a stone oven. …Farewell.”

And thus came my final farewell to Bob in this life.

Goodbye, Bob. I’ll never forget the days we shared.

…And while I was getting all worked up by myself, Anne watched from the kitchen entrance and muttered.

“Shirley, from the bottom of my heart, I think you’re an amazing cook, but I still don’t understand you at all… Seriously, who is Bob…?”

Now then, our scene shifted to the day after I served the pizza.

A carriage came to a noisy stop in front of the Royal Palace’s main gate.

It was a lavish carriage adorned with beautiful decorations, the sort that looked as though Cinderella herself might ride in it.

Its door opened, and a petite girl stepped out.

The young girl wore a flower-like smile as she murmured,

“Thank you for waiting, my prince. Your future bride has arrived!”

This girl dreamed of marrying the young master.

And with her arrival, I was about to face the greatest crisis of my life… but that is a story for next time.