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In his past life, Karem had very little to do with shopping and fashion.

He just wore whatever came out of his closet without thinking.

Every time his few friends saw him, they teased him for being a fashion terrorist, but honestly, they were no different.

It was just a classic case of comparing acorns.

There wasn’t really a special reason behind it.

He was simply too lazy to dig through his closet and just wore whatever was at hand.

It would have been different if he even had a girlfriend.

After elementary school, he went to a boys’ middle school, then a boys’ high school, and ended up in a computer science department, so it was impossible for him to have any connection with girls.

The closest he could get was a couple of game buddies he knew through voice chat or a couple of colleagues he spoke with for work.

Any “close female friend” would simply mean the friends of his parents or acquaintances, that’s it.

He liked to stay cooped up at home and avoided going out.

That was the dry atmosphere of his home.

In his previous life, Karem was not a recluse.

He just preferred being indoors to going out; it would be more accurate to say he was just very lazy.

His parents were pretty much the same way.

Thanks to that, Karem naturally became an introvert in every sense of the word and, as mentioned earlier, obviously had no romantic relationships whatsoever.

This extended to games as well.

He tried a few dating simulators, but they were just not his style.

If the story was good, he enjoyed it like reading a novel.

But now, it had been 11 years since he reincarnated as a serf.

For some reason, Karem could now empathize with the emotions of a boyfriend being dragged along to his girlfriend’s shopping.

“Hmm, the performance isn’t bad, but it’s all about single-element defense and momentary output. Above all, the design stinks.”

Rejected. Catherine tossed the bracelet she had been examining onto the table. Just a moment ago, it had been adorning Karem’s wrist as a magic tool.

The bracelet dropped hopelessly on top of a pile of various other rejected bracelets and necklaces.

And that pile was only going to grow.

“Let’s see… about half still to go.”

“Sir Atanitas, can’t we just check the performance for now?”

“Don’t be ridiculous, kid. Do you really think you’re still a poor 10-year-old serf in some backwater of Kingsland?”

Catherine closed her eyes and pressed her tired forehead as she relaxed her eyes, which had been strained from all the blinking while inspecting the magic tools.

“Who do you think will end up looking bad if you walk around in such a shabby getup?”

“Well, it would be you, Sir Atanitas, right?”

“Who would even say something like that?”

“But Mary helped me pick out my clothes.”

“Then why would you start off wearing such a ridiculous combination?”

This time, Catherine pulled her hands away from her eyes and asked in disbelief.

“I never imagined that a simple combination of black and white could turn out so horrifically bad.”

“Hmm, I guess Mary keeps saying she wants to be like Titania.”

“Tutatis, merciful god.”

Catherine had no clue how to fix Karem’s fashion choices, which just looked like they came from a happy-go-lucky character. Given that he was indeed a serf, that might explain a bit.

Of course, if they found out that Karem had been like this from the start, they’d most likely be astounded, wondering if he was under some kind of curse.

“But then, is sorting out those magic tools a part of this process as well?”

“Exactly. Unless the performance is sufficiently good, if the design is lousy or has fallen out of fashion, then that’s a story for another time.”

“Uh-huh. Definitely.”

No matter how much he looked, he just could not tell the difference between the magic tools he deemed unattractive and the ones he selected as worthy.

To Karem’s eyes, aside from a very few exceptions, everything seemed plain next to the modern, dazzling, and stylish jewelry and accessories.

Sure, there were some that looked a bit better, but it was hard to understand which ones had been selected and which had been rejected.

“I give up. I just don’t get it.”

“Yeah, well, quick give-ups are important.”

“I can’t wrap my head around anything!”

“That’s why I’m here to help you, right?”

“…But how long do we have to stand here like this?”

“Didn’t I say it earlier?”

Catherine tapped the now somewhat deflated leather pouch placed on one side of the table.

“There’s still a long way to go.”

Karem suddenly felt an overwhelming fatigue wash over him.

Of course, it wasn’t like he had done much.

He was just standing there, wearing magic tools and trading them, looking blankly.

But he felt mentally fatigued for some inexplicable reason.

“Then we should at least take a little break. I’m dead tired.”

Ignoring Catherine’s words, Karem slumped into a chair.

Catherine raised her eyebrows at him but soon shook her head.

“Hmm, this chair is quite comfortable.”

Karem wasn’t joking.

At a glance, the luxurious black wood chair seemed both solid and soft, cradling him nicely the moment he sat down.

He even wondered if this chair was a type of magic tool too.

It wasn’t that far-fetched, considering that despite Catherine’s nature of rarely sitting still in one place, most of her day was spent sitting at a desk.

And for a desk worker, having a comfortable chair is of utmost importance.

The chair he sat on had a delightful seating feel.

As he relaxed, Karem’s mind started racing.

He felt like he had forgotten something. No, he actually had.

‘But is there really anything to forget in between?’

Thinking back, there was indeed something, but he had already taken care of it.

The meju was fermenting in a dusty corner of the room.

The finished soy sauce was in the refrigerator, and the soybean paste was secretly tucked away by Karem.

He hadn’t even made the gochujang yet.

But what was this uneasy feeling?

“Kid. You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“Ugh. I feel like I’ve forgotten something—ah!”

“Uh?”

Catherine raised her eyebrows at his sudden exclamation.

But Karem had no time to focus on that.

He turned his gaze to the window.

It would still be a while before it was time to prepare Catherine’s lunch.

But before that, there was one important thing Karem needed to do.

Catherine’s snack.

Goodness.

It was snack time.

It was high time Catherine should be all set to enjoy her snack.

Knock, knock, knock.

Before Karem could rush to take action, the knocking sound came.

Mary entered with one hand opening the door while holding a bowl full of irregularly shaped, roundish bread-like items in her other hand.

Well, that was a concern, but not the main one right now.

“Hehehe.”

“…The way you walked out earlier was excessively casual. No way.”

“Karem, my junior, what you’re thinking is actually right.”

“Still? I thought you would have given up by now.”

“Not a chance!”

Despite her numerous failures to extract a particular item, the fact that she had now succeeded during this moment of negligence felt like a sneak attack.

It seemed she was aware of Karem’s feelings, as she glared at him defiantly.

“After a lengthy period of humiliation, I finally succeeded.”

“But it’s only been a year now.”

“Shut it. Karem, my junior. I have been through the unbearable humiliation of stealing the work of a house fairy, despite having a house fairy!”

“That’s not my concern. Just give me the snack you brought.”

To Catherine, all of this felt trivial.

“Understood.”

A small protest escaped.

But Mary dutifully followed Catherine’s command.

The bowl with her creation was soon placed at an empty spot on the table.

Karem could now see the contents more clearly.

Bread that was irregular and slightly smaller than a fist.

Those pieces were piled onto the bowl in a cone shape.

They looked like they had overflowed and burst open from being overly inflated, yet overall, they appeared round.

While a darker hue was visible in certain parts, they mostly took on a light beige tone that gave a gentle impression.

Most notably, the white, cloud-like whipped cream, dimly visible as it peeked through the subtly crispy outer shell.

All those features combined led to a dessert that felt very familiar to Karem.

Cream puff.

Or rather, there were pastries and whipped cream involved, but did she really make this all by herself? Was the house fairy’s obsession with baking this monstrous!?

Mary seemed pleased with Karem’s reaction as she stood with a stiff face, hands on her hips, proudly puffing out her chest.

“This has quite a unique appearance. Have you given it a name?”

“I have a name ready. It’s called Cream Puff.”

“How to put this? Sounds like it’s going to be fluffy. Is it filled with whipped cream?”

“Yes. You can count on it being delicious.”

A puff pastry filled with cream.

To shorten it, Cream Puff.

Karem was more familiar with the French variation of the name, “Choux Cream.”

This dessert, which had spread globally in his previous life, finally made its debut in Europa thanks to Mary’s culinary exploration after learning from Karem.

Karem couldn’t take his eyes off it. Observing Catherine’s confused expression, she tilted her head slightly.

“You seem quite interested. Considering the amount, it looks like not just me but you and that guy also have some coming. Want to try it first?”

“Yes, no. Hmm.”

“I don’t mind!”

“Still, it wouldn’t be right for me to eat first with a senior present.”

To be honest, Karem wanted to accept Catherine’s suggestion.

But no matter what, he had his conscience.

Fundamentally, this was a snack prepared for Catherine.

Even if he got lost in his duties as her contractor, he was still supposed to manage these things.

Although Mary, who stood behind Catherine with victorious eyes, was slightly irritating him, it was indeed not right for Karem to dig in first.

“Then alright. But the size is somewhat awkward.”

“Contractor. For the first bite, it’s best to pop the whole thing in your mouth.”

“Then bring it over here.”

As soon as Catherine’s command was given, Mary, without relishing her victory for even a moment, discreetly shifted positions behind her and carefully pierced the cream puff with a fork.

Crumble—

It was a sound different from what Catherine had in mind.

The outer shell was still crispy, but the inside was completely different.

The fork broke through the outer layer without any resistance due to the moisture of the whipped cream, smoothly entering inside.

“Oh. It’s softer than I expected.”

“To create a pastry embodying both crispiness and softness, just how much dough, butter, and milk had to be sacrificed? It’s enough to bring a tear to my eye—”

“Why bring tears? I’d bet you ended up eating all the failed batches anyway.”

“Though it was a failure, it was genuinely delicious.”

Catherine shook her head as if she couldn’t be helped and hesitated before opening her mouth.

 

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