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“…Hah…”

The real class began after the business hours in the afternoon, once I had checked the grains for making bread.

I shoved everything I needed to know about how to make bread and the necessary ingredients into my head.

Being touted as a genius at the Magic Tower, I thought making bread would be a piece of cake.

I wanted to add a little personal twist to it, but the Aunt firmly stated.

[Absolutely! No other ingredients other than the recipe! Got it?]

[…Yes….]

I wasn’t even trying to add something weird, just wanted to throw in some meat, but Aunt was completely taken aback and strongly told me not to even think about it.

“Isn’t it normal to put meat inside? Like croquettes… Ow!”

As I grumbled over my rejected suggestion, Nova smacked my head lightly.

Rubbing my head, I turned to see him wearing an unhappy expression.

“Who would want to put meat in a cream puff… Hah….”

“Why not? It sounds delicious if you mix cream and meat….”

Hmm… now that I think about it, maybe it wouldn’t taste great? No! I haven’t even tried it yet, so to give up now is foolish! After all, geniuses are called pioneers because they tread paths different from others.

So who knows? It might become an incredible hit!

“Hah….”

“Why do you keep sighing like that!”

“Because I can guess what you’re thinking…”

What am I thinking? I’m only filled with thoughts about making delicious bread! Seriously, Nova worries way too much. What’s the big deal about baking?

It looks way easier than cooking, I heartily claimed.

“It’ll be fine! No need for that face, I can manage to bake it!”

“Where does that confidence come from…?”

Trying to swat away the nagging from next to me, I crouched down to watch the bread I was making bake in the oven, looking scrumptious.

“But why is it this black?”

Now that I think about it, a slightly burnt smell was wafting through the air… the brioche I had eaten before was a soft golden-brown, but this one looked like a lump of charcoal no matter how I looked at it.

“I swear I heard it was 180 degrees for 20 minutes… Ahhh!”

Why was the oven set to 220 degrees instead of the 180 it should have been? And the baguette that should have been at 220 was adjusted to 180.

“No! Not good!… Ah, hot!”

As I hurried to take it out, I nearly burned my hand on the heat from the oven.

At my scream, Aunt, who had been resting with her head on the nearby desk, jumped up and rushed over.

“Are you okay? Did you get hurt?”

“I’m fine… I just got a little surprised by the sudden heat….”

“Really?”

Aunt sighed in relief, glancing at the oven, taking a deep breath.

The brioche was burnt to a crisp, while the baguette was undercooked.

She had been by my side correcting me through various mistakes for hours; she must have been really angry with me… I couldn’t muster the courage to speak up; it was entirely my fault, and I couldn’t even lift my head in shame when she grabbed both of my shoulders.

I thought a scolding for my mistake was coming, but she was angry over something completely different.

“No matter how hurried you are, you must be careful when handling the oven!

The first and second rules of baking are safety! Got it?”

“Yes… I’m sorry…. Mom.”

She must have been annoyed with me for a while, but apart from concerns for my safety, she never raised her voice.

Instead, every time I failed, she encouraged me, saying I could do it.

How can a person be so kind? Even a real daughter wouldn’t get this much kindness from her.

This time, I must succeed to make up for all my previous mistakes.

“I’ll be careful next time… then let’s start again….”

Just as I was about to head back to the grain storage to start on the dough again, Aunt abruptly stopped me.

“Wait! Stella.”

“Yes?”

“Why don’t we call it a day? It’s time for dinner anyway….”

Now that I think about it, it was getting dark already. I was astonished to realize three hours had already flown by, along with the fact that not a single bread had come out right.

Even in making the dough, I had confused flour with cornmeal and mixed them wrong, or I had kneaded too hard and turned the bread tough.

I spent a whole hour just getting the first dough into the oven while constantly starting over.

I… really have no talent for cooking… I seriously thought I was putting in my utmost effort, but no matter how much I insisted otherwise, even I had to recognize the truth after trying so hard.

Going on any longer would just be a nuisance… and Nova didn’t even get to taste it.

How long did it take for him to come over to nag me like that?

“Yes… then I’ll go up….”

She gently tugged my cheek and spoke soothingly.

“Okay… don’t be so downhearted. I’ll teach you again tomorrow. I’ll make you a delicious dinner soon, so relax and hang out with Nova upstairs.”

Nodding softly, as I moved to the second floor, I let out a sigh while gazing at the bread bag in my hand.

To call this something worth tasting is purely embarrassing… and Nova would definitely say it’s awful…

“I should just eat it in secret….”

“You back?”

As I entered the room, Nova was waiting for me, sitting on the sofa. His smile as if he had really been looking forward to my return made my feet hesitate.

“What? So, is it done? I thought I’d die from boredom while waiting. Is the bread finished?”

“U-Um… that is…”

Quickly hiding the bag of bread behind my back, but it was clear I had already been caught.

I was trying to glide by without saying anything, but why was he asking me…

Didn’t he show how much he disliked it earlier? Now, it’s not like he’s starving or anything.

“Didn’t you say you didn’t want to eat what I made?”

“When did I say that? I never said I didn’t want it.”

As he stepped closer, Nova took the bag from my hand and peered inside.

What was visible inside was a completely charred lump. No, the burnt brioche proudly revealed itself.

My face burned up, and I couldn’t hold it. Stammering and wriggling my fingers, at that moment,

Nova casually took a big bite out of the brioche, chowing down loud enough to be heard with every chew. It couldn’t possibly taste good…

“It’s a bit burnt, but… you know what? It’s edible.”

“…What?”

After having kept me waiting for so long, and this was the result he had? I had no words to retort, nor could I scoff at that.

I was ready to take it all in and apologize, but what came back was something entirely different.

“The cream inside was tasty! It must have been a tricky combination to make, but you did well.”

“…That’s it?”

“Well, the baking was lacking. Next time, you should lower the temperature a bit.”

That was seriously not enough. The outside was completely burnt, the inside underbaked… it was an utter failure.

How could he go into such detail? Why was he being so serious about assessing it?

“It’s fine to make mistakes the first time. You’re not thinking about giving up, are you? If you bragged that much, shouldn’t you show something for it?”

He was always like this. Even if he pretended not to care, he always looked after me, being unconditionally kind to me…

What was so attractive about being around a troublesome girl like me… really…

“Seriously…”

“You’re going to make me say it’s delicious someday, right? So why would Stella give up at this level….”

“Who said I’d give up?!”

I could feel myself falling for him. I was already halfway there. Do you even realize?

Do you have any clue how much I like you? In my life, which is worse than a dying phoenix with no hopes,

How much light your existence has brought into my life.

[So you’re going to return to the past if you die?… So what?]

[Is this really the time to be worrying about that? Focus on your mission.]

I’ve wandered through many worlds, met countless people, but none of them would listen to my story.

Ignoring me because I was of no concern to them, or because they had their own responsibilities, they just required me to summon strength as a hero saving the world.

“As long as it gets delicious, I’ll eat it until then… hey, are you crying?”

“Ah! I’m not crying..” That casual remark made me so touched that I could easily burst into tears yet again, falling deeper.

How long had it been since I felt this leisurely? Every single day with you is such a joy.

Is it okay for someone like me to feel this happy? In a world where I turned into ashes with so many people living,

What right do I have to live this way, laughing, and chatting as if it were normal?

Whenever I’m with you, it reminds me of the days spent playing back in childhood, and it makes me feel all warm inside.

That’s why I was scared. When I defeat the Demon King and disappear from this world,

“Just you wait! Someday, I will definitely make you say it’s delicious!”

When that moment comes, will I be able to endure being left all alone again?

*

Maybe it was because she felt a bit better, but I could see Stella’s expression brighten up noticeably.

I never realized she would become so gloomy simply from failing at making bread.

She was a person who had the confidence to achieve anything. Not only was her confidence remarkable, but her determination to achieve and dedication to hard work were attractive too.

That gloomy expression didn’t suit her; of course, weakness can be endearing, but for some reason, due to recent events, she seemed more cautious and timid than usual, her self-esteem shattered.

“I’ll have to taste it too! Nom… Eww! How can you eat this?!”

I just want her to be happy. I don’t want to see her in pain ever again.

After living a lifetime of suffering, she deserves to experience happiness.

“This crazy girl… how can you even pass this? Water, where’s the water….”

It was undeniable that what she just ate was way too much. Swallowing it had such a ridiculous taste, it was hard to believe such a flavor existed in this world.

While searching for something to drink, Stella discovered a pink drink from my bag.

“Oh? A drink!… Hmm, this looks familiar….”

“That’s…”

It was the drink Leonard had handed to me before he left with the ConX, but…

He never told me what it was for; however, his expression had raised suspicions…

[You should give that to your girlfriend~ Something fun will definitely happen!]

From what he said, at least it shouldn’t cause her any problems.

But why did I suddenly feel so uneasy about this pink drink…? Just a moment, pink?

“Looks like it’s even cast with preservation magic… Ah, my mouth feels dry.”

“Wait… hey Stella! If you drink that….”

Gulp!

But before I could finish my sentence, Stella raised the drink to her lips.

Suddenly, her pupils dilated, and she stared at me blankly.

Immediately rushing to her side and checking the label on the bottle, I read something written on it.

“Made in Alchemia… Alchemia!?”

Alchemia is the name of Serena’s family… a family famous for alchemy.

Now that I think about it, that Serena used to visit Leonard’s pawn shop often…

“Yah… yah… don’t tell me this is that thing…?”

Suddenly, she grabbed my face with both hands and shot me a piercing gaze before breaking into a coy smile.

“Hehe… No~va♡”

Like someone under a spell, she leaned her face closely to mine, and for a moment, my brain switched off completely, and I found myself knocked back onto the sofa.

“What. what are you doing…?”

“Name.”

“What?”

“Call my name….”

With a face as red as an apple and a faint smile like a little devil… this is dangerous.

She was so cute I felt the strings of reason starting to snap.

What is this adorable creature? So cute I just want to take a bite out of her.

“U-Um… Stella… is that okay?”

“Hehe… I’m happy….”

“…I’m going crazy.”

It was time for dinner, but not going downstairs, I could hear my mom’s voice from below.

“Kids! Come down for dinner!”

“Yes~! We’ll be down soon….”

And thus, I gently spoke to the girl in front of me, trying to be as sweet as possible.

“Hey, Stella… can you please come down now….”

“No!”

Just like that, now looking up at me with a pout, I started to wonder if this was really her true feelings or if it was because of the potion.

“Nova~ No~va… the thing from earlier, can we do it a bit more?♡”

“Well… what should I do about this situation….”

What should I really do?

 

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