Chapter 84

A town girl named Koruka’s day began at 6:00 AM.

On this particular day, she lifted her slightly weary body from her cheap bed.

“Mm… yawn. Hm… is it morning already?”

Having left her parents’ home at a young age and drifted from job to job, she was currently being taken in by the tavern master where she worked, living in his house. The master was divorced, lived alone, and had no children. Perhaps that was why he treated Koruka somewhat like a daughter. For Koruka, whose relationship with her own parents wasn’t great, the master was a benefactor, and she had been sponging off his house for several years now.

Now, why did Koruka wake up at 6:00 AM? It was to cook breakfast—or rather, to ask permission to make it as cooking practice. The reason was simply to become a “good woman”… in short, it was bridal training.

Thanks to the master providing her with food, clothing, and shelter, Koruka gained some peace of mind, and she eventually ended up dating a man she had confessed her feelings to. As a woman, she naturally yearned for love and marriage.

However, that romance ended in a breakup shortly after.

The reason was her lack of basic living skills.

Koruka’s room was clean and organized now, but when she first moved in, her personal belongings, undergarments, and accessories were scattered everywhere; she had absolutely no ability to tidy up, which troubled the master. Her cooking was so careless that she couldn’t tell the difference between sugar and salt—she was a useless woman who could work but couldn’t take care of her daily needs.

After her boyfriend pointed that out and dumped her, Koruka cried over her own pathetic nature more than the breakup itself, and that very day, she asked the master to start her “bridal training.” However, this day was a little different from usual.

“……Today is the tenth. The master cooks on days that are multiples of five, so what should I do?”

Koruka’s cooking had improved dramatically under the master’s instruction, but because the master had fewer opportunities to cook, they had introduced this “duty rotation” rule. Simply put, since the master loved to cook and would demand, “Let me make it today!”, there wasn’t much reason for Koruka to wake up early on such days. The tavern didn’t open until noon, and on these days, the master finished cleaning and laundry perfectly. He was a perfectionist.

Still, since she was already up, Koruka got out of bed, stretched with a big uugh, stood before the large mirror, changed, and began brushing her hair. While grooming herself, she vaguely thought about the unpleasant encounter she’d had recently, the wonderful encounter she’d had yesterday, and the complicated encounter she’d had that night. The third one, in particular, was on her mind.

“I was somewhat confident in my face… but after seeing skin that beautiful, I can’t help but resent these freckles…!”

Koruka glared at the faint freckles on the upper part of her cheeks as if they were her parents’ killer. Eventually, sighing in resignation, she looked at her reflection in the mirror. It wasn’t to brag, but she was confident that her figure had a feminine line that exceeded the average. In fact, she was approached by men from time to time. But even that didn’t satisfy the current Koruka.

“I think my proportions are better… but, what about grace? That kind of… quality…”

The person she was comparing herself to was a young girl currently staying at the inn.

With refined features and a slender body that combined doll-like beauty with feminine softness, she possessed an aura—a grace that seemed to say, “I am refined, you know?” Above all, she lacked any of the unpleasantness that comes from looking down on others, possessing a charming personality that occasionally revealed a mischievous, childlike smile.

The girl’s name was Sedona. Sedona Scuderia, was it?

She knew of the name Scuderia. They were a family of unfathomably wealthy people who always ranked in the top three on the kingdom’s rich list, and it was said that even nobles who normally looked down on self-made merchants would change their attitude in front of this family. In a country with many wealthy people relative to its size, being top-class meant being top-class in the world.

“The opponent is a super-elite, perfect young lady raised in the upper class… huh. No wonder Orcus-san would fall for her.”

Seemingly reluctant to admit it, Koruka let out a sigh. The reason she was comparing herself so intensely to Sedona was precisely because Sedona had a deep connection to that Orcus—who was actually a different person.

Frankly speaking, Koruka had feelings for Orcus.

That day—when she was finally caught by the fake Varna and dragged away by force, Koruka couldn’t run. Between the difference in strength and the fact that the man knew where she lived—the master’s house—she knew she had no escape. The moment she realized that if she did something foolish, the master would be harmed, she knew she had no way out, even as she resisted.

“I’m going to be treated like a slave by this cowardly, ugly, violent knight.”

She was terrified, but she didn’t want to cause trouble for the master. She hoped the man would give up, but that moment he dragged her away, she realized her hopes were in vain.

“Facing someone who drags a woman around by force and talks about threats, it would be impossible for me not to have a complaint. You should treat women more kindly.”

A man should be kind to women—a man appeared who honestly practiced such old-fashioned, beautiful ideals. A humble hero who looked a little younger than her. At first, she feared it was reckless or mere brute courage, but that expectation was overturned when he showed his sword.

She, who had despaired of the very existence of knights, had been saved by one.

This was the ambition, resolve, and dependability of a real knight.

Koruka no longer felt any danger from the young knight who had extended a hand to her. Rather, she was captivated by his knight-like attitude of showing respect to her—someone older—and his occasional flashes of boyish cuteness.

But there was one thing Orcus said that deeply hurt her.

Sedona. Just hearing Orcus mention that woman’s name caused Koruka a stabbing pain in her chest, making her not want to see or hear anything more. That was the name of the woman in Orcus’s heart. She tried her best not to show it on her face and acted cheerful, but after Orcus left the shop, Koruka bowed her head.

That was when it happened. Before Koruka could understand the meaning of that pain, the master said this:

“Are you in love, Koruka-chan?”

“Eh—?”

“You’ve fallen for Knight Orcus-sama, haven’t you? I can tell just by looking.”

Falling in love—hearing that, she finally realized it: Is that what this is?

She had liked people several times before, but this was a completely different pounding of her heart, so she hadn’t thought it was love. But, the pain she felt when hearing the name Sedona—could it be because there was no place for her by his side?

“Wait, I’m getting dumped before I even confess… Orcus-san likes someone named Sedona, right? Haa, that was a short romance.”

When you think about it, he’s a knight, and she’s a commoner.

And from what she heard, Sedona seemed to be a knight, too.

Knights were essentially a privileged class, or even if not, they were super-elites reigning at the top of the commoners. It was a case of “different social standings” or “no chance of winning,” so she thought she could give up.

Yes, that’s what she thought.

But, even if you think you’ve extinguished a fire, it will ignite again if the wind blows.

“Eh! You’re giving up!? That’s such a waste!”

One of the regular female customers blew wind onto Koruka’s flickering light, causing it to flare up instead.

“After all, falling in love with the knight who rushed to save you and having a happy ending is so romantic! Besides, the knight likes that Sedona girl, but they aren’t dating, right!? In that case, there’s still plenty of a chance for Koruka-chan!”

“Eh… b-but. Against a wonderful woman that Orcus-san falls for, I have no chance…”

“Oh, come on! There’s no winning or losing in love, and it costs nothing to try, right!? Listen, Koruka-chan! Love is something you’ll regret if you get dumped, but if you let him end up with another woman without ever telling him how you feel, you’ll regret it a hundred times more! …Like that night in the fog!!”

She felt like there was some personal grievance mixed into that, but setting that aside—the other customers, stirred up by the woman’s intensity, eagerly joined in the excitement. “If you want to catch your crush, you can’t be shy,” “With Koruka-chan’s charm, you could even marry into wealth”… Everyone was irresponsibly cheering on her love.

Honestly, it was true that her heart had wavered a little at that moment.

The time to show the efforts she’d made to become a “good woman”… in other words, wasn’t she doing all these things she wasn’t used to for a time just like this? Koruka’s heart swayed between hesitation and moving forward.

The deciding factor that tilted the scales was a single word from the master she respected and loved.

“I’m always cheering for you. Of course, even for your love life.”

“……I understand!! Alright, I’ll rush in, prepared for a glorious defeat!!”

Thus, for a reason she herself thought was simple, Koruka decided to rush headlong into love for Orcus (who was an imposter). He would probably be in this town for a while to catch the fake Varna, so maybe she should just confess the next time she saw him. She even had that kind of resolve. But—

“That’s my classmate, Sedona. We’ve decided to form a joint front to catch… ah… you know who.”

“Hello! I’m Orcus-kun’s classmate, Sedona! Nice to meet you?”

‘Ah, Goddess of Fate. You really do have a twisted personality, or rather, a bent soul…!!’

With the arrival of her romantic rival at the absolute worst timing imaginable, Koruka’s vision went white for a moment. The sudden spike in difficulty piled up to an overwhelming height like a summer cumulonimbus cloud, and Koruka’s bold resolve was grandly shrunken.

“I wish she were more arrogant and unpleasant; that would have made things easier… She’s naturally cute while playing with pillows, she doesn’t get angry even when I hit her face with a pillow and just says ‘I got hit!’, and she tidies up the messy linen room more carefully than I do. It’s infuriating how there’s so little to complain about!”

At the moment, the difference in their combat strength was, from Koruka’s perspective, overwhelming.

It was easy to imagine that if Koruka and Sedona started working at the same tavern, Sedona would be the one drawing in the customers. Koruka was betting a little on the possibility that Sedona was just “playing the innocent,” but either way, the strategic situation was overwhelmingly disadvantageous.

“Umm, but in reality, how should I appeal to Orcus-san… He looked like he wasn’t even twenty yet, right? I don’t know the trends for boys his age… well, whatever! I’ll just go with the flow!”

Basically, she was someone who relied on momentum. Koruka was a very reckless woman.

However, at the time, she had no way of knowing that her first chance to make an appeal would arrive sooner than expected.

Now, while Koruka generally relied on momentum, you could also say she was weak when that momentum was killed.

“Ah, good morning! Um, you’re Koruka-san, right?”

“Um… good morning. Um, Scuderia-sama…”

‘If I were dealing with a fussy noble, I would have been thrown out for stuttering so much that my service was unacceptable. Why, of all people, did the first face I see in the morning have to be my romantic rival?’

Koruka inwardly glared at the Goddess of Fate as she looked at Sedona, whose flawless smile—now with her hair tied back differently than yesterday—seemed untroubled by the world. The Goddess seemed to insist, “It’s not my fault, is it!?” in her mind.

“Um, I don’t really like being called by my surname, so I’d be happy if you called me Sedona!”

“I-I’m terribly sorry… Sedona-sama.”

“And you don’t have to use ‘-sama’ either, you know? Orcus-kun is just ‘-san,’ so I feel a bit bad if only I’m called ‘-sama’.”

With a gesture of touching her fingertip to her lips as if in thought, she gently lowered the rank of the honorifics. Was this proof of someone from the privileged class who had room in her heart, or was it just her natural temperament? Either way, why was she walking outside her room at this hour?

“Um, breakfast is still being prepared, but did you need something?”

“Oh, I just naturally wake up around this time. For a knight, the body is their capital, so many people do light exercise or practice sword swings in the morning, you know? Though, in a room in the middle of town, I can only do simple training. I bet Orcus-kun is doing one-handed handstand push-ups around now, too.”

“Orcus-san does things like that!? I mean, can he even do that!?”

“Despite how he looks, Orcus-kun’s back is all buff!”

For some reason, Sedona winked and gave a thumbs-up as if bragging about him.

Koruka was surprised by the incredible strength required for Orcus to do training that sounded like it would break your fingers just listening to it, but she was also intrigued by Sedona’s testimony about his “buff back.” The way she spoke suggested she’d seen or touched it, which made Koruka wonder—was the distance between Sedona and Orcus even closer than she’d thought? Or rather, closer than Koruka’s own imagination?

‘This is bad… if I don’t show a more direct difference in feminine charm, I can’t win! What skills do I have to beat a well-bred young lady… cooking, housework, laundry!? But how do I show that off—’

“Hey, Koruka-chan!”

“……Eh? Oh, Master?”

The laid-back voice that eased Koruka’s anxiety came from behind, interrupting her thoughts. When she turned around, she saw the master’s familiar face. However, from the neck down, there was a slight difference. At this time of day, the master should have been wearing an apron since he was in charge of breakfast, but he wasn’t. Furthermore, looking closely at his right hand, a bandage stained with reddish-black spots was wrapped around his finger.

“W-what happened to that finger!?”

“Oh, I accidentally cut it while sharpening a kitchen knife… I’m sorry, but could I leave breakfast to you today, Koruka-chan?”

“The Master, cutting his finger with a knife? That’s a blunder the Master would never make…”

Koruka had never once seen the master cut his own finger with his own knife. In the first place, the master, who was particular about his cooking, had professional-grade dedication to handling his knives. Could such a person really mismanage an edged tool?—Thinking that, she realized with a start.

Could it be that the Master was lying?

He had made up a plausible excuse about injuring his finger to push the work onto Koruka. No, this wasn’t pushing work onto her; it was a chance. The Master had prepared the perfect opportunity for Koruka to appeal to Orcus that she was a domestic woman who could cook.

She looked into the Master’s eyes. There, she felt not the apologetic feeling of someone asking a favor, but the kindness of a father watching over his daughter. Thank you, she muttered inwardly, and Koruka nodded firmly.

“……No, I understand! I’ll prepare breakfast today!”

“Then I’ll help out too!”

“……Eh?”

Did Koruka mishear? It felt like the young lady, who should have been in the position of a guest, had energetically declared, “I’ll stand in the kitchen, too.” It must have been her imagination. No, but to have an auditory hallucination so loud. Don’t be hasty, don’t know the truth until you check, she thought, panicking to herself as she nervously slid her gaze over—and there she saw Sedona, hand raised high.

Sedona noticed her gaze and looked up at her, feeling a bit anxious. She seemed aware that she was being selfish as a guest, but she still seemed to have a reason other than just play that made her offer.

“Um, is it not okay? You and the Master both put up with my selfishness yesterday, so I wanted to thank you…”

“——Of course, you’re very welcome.”

“Eh? Wait, Master!?”

For a moment, Koruka doubted if the Master had suddenly bowed to power, but the Master immediately whispered into Koruka’s ear.

‘Stay calm, Koruka-chan. In a way, this is a chance to show the difference in ability. Besides, if you can talk to her alone, it’s a chance to extract information about Orcus-sama. You can’t miss this opportunity!’

‘T-the Master is truly amazing… to think there was such a deep intention! I’ll do my best to beat Sedona-san while getting the information I need!’

Thus, unknown to Orcus (the imposter), two maidens embarked on their first battle.

As for Sedona, one half of the pair who had no idea she was being challenged, she was thinking:

‘I wonder why there’s a faint smell of tomato ketchup and sauce mixed together coming from the Master’s finger…’

She tilted her head, wondering why the reddish-black color faintly seeping through the bandage the master had wrapped smelled strangely appetizing.

Beyond this point lies a battlefield.

Read your opponent’s stomach, put on a facade, and even if you cut their throat, you are praised as being justified. It is a crucible of chaos and tyranny where ethics and good and evil are twisted, leading people into madness. Here, no mistakes or rests are permitted. Use all five senses to the fullest and create a future called the unknown.

—The ancients said, the kitchen is a battlefield.

‘…Though I’ve steeled myself to that extent’

“~~♪ ~~♪”

Looking to the side, Koruka saw Sedona skillfully using the one-person kitchen to bake pancakes. Apparently, for Sedona, pancakes were a favorite food as well as a memento, and hearing that the town’s honey was delicious, she had wanted to put it on pancakes.

Pancakes. Honestly, Koruka thought inwardly, they were so simple to make that it was debatable whether they could even be called “cooking.” She felt unsatisfied as a culinary student that a girl who could only make such a “girly” item was standing in her kitchen. Koruka harbored a slightly skeptical feeling toward Sedona’s cooking skills.

However, seeing Sedona’s fingertips as she started cooking the pancakes—light, nimble, and effortless, as if playing the piano—Koruka was inwardly shocked. That was clearly the handiwork of someone very accustomed to cooking. Was it possible that highly educated people were different even in their cooking skills?

“Um… are you good at cooking?”

“I wouldn’t say I’m ‘good,’ but I like it… hopp!”

With a skillful snap of her wrist, the pancake Sedona was cooking did a beautiful somersault in the air. I can make pancakes without using such stylish methods, Koruka thought, a mysterious sense of rivalry rising in her chest, but she stopped herself, thinking it was hollow to dwell on such things.

Incidentally, Koruka was currently processing the chicken for the honey-mustard salad. Since this was, in a sense, the main dish, why did it feel like she was the one doing the duller work while watching Sedona?

‘Hey, that’s strange. Was I always this negative of a person?’

“……? Is something wrong, Koruka-san?”

“Eh? Oh no, I was just wondering if people of the privileged class learn to cook, too…”

“I think it depends on the house, but for me, it’s like a hobby? When I make it, Papa and everyone eat it with such joy, so that makes me happy, and I work harder to make them even happier the next time!”

‘Ugh, what wholesome improvement…! It’s d-dazzling! The gap between myself, who started cooking to be popular with men, is too dazzling to look at directly…!!’

It seemed her eyes would burn from that full-bloom smile, like a sunflower soaking up the sunlight. Were the reasons for the young lady’s actions also top-class? Moreover, as someone who wasn’t exactly on good terms with her own family, Koruka felt the opposite. She had heard that privileged class society had strict education, but she felt nothing but warmth from Sedona’s story.

“……However, if I cook too much, it seems the cook’s salary at the mansion would go down, so it’s only the dessert-types that I can make so skillfully.”

“I-I see…”

“Orcus-kun can cook too, but he ends up making everything ‘herb-grilled.’ It’s very delicious, but he says he doesn’t know any other cooking methods…”

Koruka, who was being crushed in a strange way—“to be able to be considerate even of the house servants…”—recalled her original purpose upon hearing about Orcus. That’s right, she had a noble goal here beyond cooking: to extract information about Orcus.

“O-oh right, I haven’t heard what Orcus-san likes or dislikes to eat! Does Sedona-san happen to know?”

“Dislikes… I’ve never heard. He said he doesn’t really like sweet, sticky things, but I think honey is fine. His favorite is chicken, so I’m sure he’ll be happy with Koruka-san’s salad! In the land where Orcus-kun lived, chicken was a celebratory dish, and he said it was his favorite.”

“Is that so… Do you know a lot about Orcus-san?”

“Eh? Ah, yeah. I guess I know a fair amount?”

Faced with an answer that sounded like she didn’t know him all that well, Koruka nearly started thinking negatively again. What am I, trying to extract information from someone who doesn’t even know him well… she thought, but Koruka decided to just shrug it off and learn as she went.

‘But, Orcus-san likes her so much, yet Sedona-san is on friendly terms with the real Knight Varna, right? Does she lack an eye for men…? Even though he’s such a wonderful person.’

—In truth, the reason Sedona hesitated was because she was wondering, “Where should I draw the line between Orcus and Varna’s ‘settings’?” If she made the settings too close to the real Orcus, their relationship would become unbalanced despite their cooperation, so she added elements of Varna in moderation. That was the delicate, indescribable balance she had struck.

Koruka, unaware of that fact, re-thought, “Well, that’s to my advantage, so that’s fine!”

Basically, she moved according to her mood at the moment.

Koruka was a woman who mastered the art of “roughness” in the name of decisiveness.

“Hey, hey, Sedona-san. What kind of person is Orcus-san usually?”

‘Eh!? It’s scary to be asked that deeply because I might slip up… Uh, Orcus-kun is from a noble family, but the current Varna-kun is like a commoner knight, so I’ll lean toward that… Ah, man! Why did you use a fake name, Varna-kun!?’

Striving not to show her internal agitation, Sedona spoke of Varna as Orcus within a range that didn’t tread too far into his private life.

Still, Sedona thought. There had been many people who wanted to know about Varna because he was the strongest knight, but the fact that someone would come to ask like this without knowing that—didn’t it mean that Varna, as a man apart from his sword, was equally attractive?

‘Hehehe, to realize that, Koruka-san really has a good eye! Oh man, if it wasn’t a fake name, I could tell her so much more♪’

…Sedona didn’t know that if Koruka heard that, she would be shaking, thinking, “Is that her bragging that she knows Orcus-san better than me!?” In fact, it might not be that she didn’t have such thoughts.

Regardless, the conversation between the delighted Sedona and the naturally friendly Koruka heated up while they cooked, and by the time Orcus (the imposter) woke up, they were already genuinely good friends, saying, “Hey, Sedona-chan!” and “Hey, Koruka-san!”

‘Somehow, they’ve closed the distance between them incredibly fast in such a short time… Girls have that kind of thing, don’t they.’

‘Koruka-chan!? You’re becoming friends with your romantic rival like it’s nothing, are you really okay with that!?’

As an aside, the breakfast pancakes, chicken honey-mustard salad, soup, and other dishes were all extremely delicious.

Though, it felt like most men would say it was delicious just by seeing the face of the person who made it, even if the final result was dark matter. Especially if Sedona had been a wielder of dark matter, the world might have been overflowing with even more misery.

Cooking showdown, result—a draw.