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Catherine had lived for a long time.

After all, she was a genius Grand Wizard who achieved immortality solely through her own strength, without anyone’s help.

As such, it was natural that the regions she had not visited in Europa were few and far between, and she had tasted a variety of foods.

Her favorite dish was Servianus cuisine.

Of course, she was currently deep in thought.

A gentle season all year round.

The closest location to the Kingdom of Adobice.

And despite being devastated by the Demon King’s main forces during the Ancient Palatino Empire era, the characteristics of the peninsula surrounded by the sea were enough to develop a culinary culture from scratch.

Although they sometimes made onlookers uncomfortable by indulging in “specific seafood,” which was shunned across Europa, there was no such thing as food without a flaw.

With so many foods already available in Servianus, there was more than enough cuisine for the average Europan even without the “specific seafood.”

Pizza was one of the prime examples.

Having probably eaten the most pizza in Iceland, Catherine glared at the calzone hill on the plate placed on her office table.

“First off, that looks more like a pie than a pizza.”

“Right? My junior says so.”

Mary, who had been waiting for the verdict, turned her head as if to say, “Look at this.”

However, Karem did not agree with that verdict.

“There are only two people here, after all. The others—”

“Are you saying that in Iceland there are more people who don’t even know what pizza is? People who have only ever seen pies would just hold and eat something with filling inside, right?”

Karem’s argument sank without a trace.

As Mary basked in the victory without showing any emotion, Catherine lightly kicked Karem, who had slumped in his chair.

“So why the sudden bread? I hear you made it yourself.”

“There was some bread dough, and I had leftover tomato paste, so I just used all the available ingredients to bake pizza. Tomatoes and cheese pair well together, after all.”

“So you’re saying this looks like a pie.”

“Let’s compromise and call it a calzone.”

“Calzone? Like a pocket?”

Catherine turned her head back to the calzone on the plate. The faint crescent shape and the doubled dough to keep the filling from leaking looked somewhat alike.

“Well, kid. You’ve put quite a bit of thought into the name for your age.”

“Do you have something to say about my naming sense?”

“Oh, I could count more than one or two.”

Once again silencing Karem lightly, Catherine stretched and pointed with her chin towards the calzone.

Following the command, Mary moved the calzone to a side plate and picked up a fork and knife.

“Ah, that’s not something to cut with a knife.”

“What do you mean, Karem?”

“You eat it with your hands.”

“Hmm?”

“First, you tear it in half.”

Mary raised her eyebrows in a puzzled manner.

What’s the big deal? It’s the cooking hero’s way of eating, and without much thought, Mary put down the cutlery and picked up the calzone.

Crunch—

Catherine and Mary soon discovered why Karem had said that.

As the crescent-shaped bread made a crispy noise and cracked open, the sauce and oil that had been trapped inside began to ooze out.

The sour and savory smells tickled their noses.

Catherine quickly recognized the source of those two aromas.

The bright red tomato sauce melted together with the hot cheese, stretching out like a web as if it couldn’t resist its own weight.

That enchanting smell and appearance made her mouth water after a long night of work that had left it parched like a desert.

Mary, too, was equally captivated by its alluring look.

However, this was Catherine’s breakfast.

And her portion was set aside.

Once Mary recalled her own share, she easily shook off the temptation.

Quickly moving the piece of cheese that was about to slip off her plate, she carefully offered it to Catherine.

Seeing the unexpected act of freeing herself from temptation, Catherine looked at Mary in surprise.

“Hmm, that’s unexpected. I didn’t think you would shake off this temptation, Mary.”

“Of course. I’m a house fairy. You shouldn’t think I would succumb to temptation forever.”

“In fact, the calzone you’re going to eat later—”

Cough, cough! Cough! Cough!

The hidden truth was revealed.

Just as expected.

Catherine chuckled at Mary and tossed her hair back, leaning forward to take a bite of the calzone.

Crunch.

The first thing she noticed was the fresh, nutty aroma of the bread.

The outside of the calzone was crunchy, and the texture of the chewy inside filled her mouth.

But the flavor of the bread was overshadowed.

The first thing that registered on her palate was the sweet-and-sour taste that had just made her mouth water, combined with the rich flavor of finely shredded beef in the distinctive tomato sauce.

The intense scent of the sauce, enriched by various spices, spread rapidly inside Catherine’s mouth, followed closely by the smooth and chewy texture of the cheese.

With each bite, the rich flavor of the cheese oozed out, mixing with the tangy tomato sauce to create a unique flavor experience.

Although the type of wheat was different, making it slightly different from the pizza she remembered, it had a completely new face for a familiar dish.

It was something she had felt even during the Caprese salad, but she wouldn’t have imagined that the variant of Fire Witch Finger would pair so well with cheese.

Excluding the various spices, the ingredients for the calzone were simple.

The three components were the dough that made the calzone, finely shredded beef, and the abundant tomato sauce topped with cheese.

But, remarkably, it complemented steak with red wine and sausage with beer astonishingly well.

Most importantly—

Schlurp—

The calzone was stretching towards Catherine’s mouth, its cross-section visible from the other side.

“Allow me to tidy up for a moment—”

“Mmm-mmm-mmm.”

Catherine shook her head, stopping Mary, and as if she were a spinning wheel drawing in thread, she grabbed the stretched cheese with her lips and pulled, silently snapping it.

The thin, translucent white cheese was moist yet chewy, evoking the very sensation she had felt when eating in Servianus.

“I might need to make a correction on this.”

“Contractor, what do you mean?”

“It may look like a pie, but it’s definitely much closer to pizza.”

In an instant, Karem and Mary’s expressions shifted between joy and despair.

“Mary, the judge says so.”

“Heh! Even so, including you, there are only two people. The others—Oh wait!”

“Do you understand without me having to say it?”

“To think Mary’s own words would become an obstacle…!”

In the middle of their trivial childish argument, Catherine, who had been stretching her neck to take another bite, called out to Mary.

“I’m not interested in the two of you bickering, so bring that calzone piece over here quickly.”

“Understood, Contractor. However, could you please retract what you said—”

“Whatever it is, we’ll talk about it after the meal.”

Mary, who had been protesting softly, had no choice but to extend the calzone.

As she did, Karem, who had just shaken off the feeling of defeat, smacked his lips together.

“Surely, our Sir Atanitas has a knack for eating shows.”

In eating shows, the most important thing is the visual.

While appearance counts, it means how appetizingly one eats, and in that sense, Catherine had a remarkable talent in eating shows.

She was the undisputed number one in Winterhome.

Not as much as Alicia, but still.

Grumble—

It was enough to stir the appetite of a boy who had already eaten breakfast.

Having glanced briefly, Karem turned away from the scene that was making him feel hungry.

It was only then that the scenery of the office caught his eye.

As usual, it was a mess, with various ingredients, parchments, and books strewn about, a testament to the research Catherine had focused on throughout the night.

In other words, it meant it was much dirtier than usual.

Books and parchments stacked haphazardly on the table.

Various used ingredients and tools left lying around without being cleaned up.

Glass bottles and pouches filled with liquids of assorted colors on the shelves.

At least it was good that there was no dust rolling around.

“Hmm? Hmm. What’s that smell?”

Amidst the aromas of old books and various magic materials, Karem faintly picked up the sharp scent that tickled his nose.

The source was the research table, where a small pot completely extinguished and a deep red glass bottle drew his attention.

“What are you staring at? Ah, that’s it.”

“Is that potion the reason you were working all night?”

“Right.”

Catherine nodded after taking a sip of the wine Mary handed her.

“Thanks to your Giant’s Rose soup from the last feast, I could finally finish it.”

“…Cold Resistance Potion? You’ve finally completed it?”

“The completion was done last early summer.”

As Catherine cast a sideways glance at the cold resistance potion, Mary quickly brought it back and placed it in Catherine’s hand.

“However, the rest just took longer than expected to lower the price for mass production and to secure a wide customer base.”

“Oh, didn’t you say that just a slight modification in ingredients would make it a noble-exclusive item? How much was the original price—”

“An average of 1 crown.”

“Oh, one gold coin.”

“Depending on the situation, there might be more price changes.”

“That seems a bit steep.”

After all, considering it was a potion, it might not have reached the price of high-grade potions worth dozens of gold coins, but being in the gold range meant it was practically out of reach for the average person.

“Well, I managed to lower that to an average of 10 shillings, down to ten silver coins. Ha, truly a testament to my skill.”

“That’s quite a drastic price difference, isn’t it?”

“Honestly, if I hadn’t put it in a glass bottle, the price could have gone even lower.”

Catherine offered the cold resistance potion to Karem as if to say, “Take a look.”

As soon as it touched his hand, he felt a gentle warmth.

Even without consuming it, it was slightly warmer than a hand warmer.

“Oh, by the way, I almost forgot.”

“What did you forget?”

“Oh, it’s nothing much.”

Karem returned the potion bottle to its place.

“What was it? Thank you, Sir Atanitas.”

“Yeah, what?”

Even as the cheese from the calzone was stretching, Catherine looked wide-eyed at Karem.

“Mary said that Sir Atanitas asked for stamina potions to be delivered. So—”

“Thanks are not necessary. I just happened to have a stamina potion, and seeing you were exhausted, I handed it to you. It was nothing for me.”

Catherine waved her hand as if it were no big deal and then quickly pulled the stretching cheese into her mouth.

“Considering that, Karem, you’re behaving a bit younger than your age, and you dropped your research to personally manufacture stamina potions right on the spot—”

“Enough!” Catherine shouted.

Her face flushed, and her eyes flickered with rage.

“What are you blabbering on about?!”

“Blabbering? I couldn’t let the words of someone in a higher position just go by. You seemed concerned.”

“Who said I was concerned?!”

“Ah, ah! Contractor. Karem is watching! My head hurts!”

“You’re the one spouting nonsense—Ahem.”

Catherine, who didn’t know where that sudden strength came from, squeezed Mary’s head with a loud crack, finally noticing Karem looking at her oddly.

Catherine sat back in her chair as if nothing had happened.

“Anyway, kid. Since your age is what it is, take it easy with the hardships. You won’t grow any taller.”

“Um… Thank you.”

“Well, once you two finish your breakfast, let’s look for magic tools for self-defense.”

“Oh, finally.”

Though everyone could tell she was trying to change the subject, Karem faithfully followed her intent, considering his thoughtful nature.

After that statement, the sounds of the crispy calzone echoed throughout the office while Mary was subjected to all-around pressure as she rubbed her sore head.

 

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