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“Hmm…”

Karem abruptly covered the pan with dough, retrieved six more pans, and repeated the same process. Even after placing them all in the oven, Alicia would not lower her guard.

“What did I say?”

“It has a sweet aroma.”

“What on earth are you doing? It should taste good, right?”

Alicia finally let her guard down.

As time passed, the caramel scent grew stronger.

The rich aroma of autumn condensing in high heat.

It couldn’t be helped. It seemed like it would taste delicious.

Having just escaped a meal, my activated stomach was now vibrating with the scent of caramelized fruit.

The frequency only intensified as the oven warmed up.

While waiting with a seriously serious expression beside Gordon, Alicia was finally rewarded with words from Karem.

“It seems to be getting ready soon.”

Karem peered into the oven and immediately opened it. Six pans, waiting to be devoured by someone, released hot steam into the cold air.

“Can we eat now? The smell is really exciting!”

“Where did the person full of doubt go?”

“Doubt? I don’t know anyone like that. Who would doubt Karem’s skills? Alicia has believed in Karem from the very beginning!”

With that, as if demanding it to be served quickly, Alicia grabbed the tableware with shining eyes.

“You were full of doubt until the smell started wafting!”

“W-Well, it’s true that I had a moment of doubt, but it’s also true that I believed in Karem, so it’s not a lie!”

When Gordon poked her with words, Alicia floundered like she was caught off guard.

“Okay, I got it, so I’ll take the plates.”

“Huh? Speaking of plates—wait a moment, Karem.”

Alicia, captivated by the sweet dessert scent, suddenly shook her gaze.

“Y-Your hand! It’s smoking!”

“W-What? My hand?”

What on earth is she talking about? Karem looked down at his hand. The hand gripping the hot handle of a cast iron pan that had just come from the oven was hissing, releasing white steam.

“It’s not hot at all.”

“How can it not be hot?!”

“Oh, did I not show it to you, Alicia?”

Thinking back, it hadn’t been long since he passed, and he hadn’t shown it to anyone except Catherine, Mary, and the wizards of the Mage Tower.

Karem momentarily set the pan with the overturned plate down on the table.

“This is how it is.”

Drip drip—

As he summoned Divine Power and exerted strength, ice crystals began to form all over his hand and arm.

Gordon whistled at the sudden display of Divine Power.

“Wow. After being held by Elder Iona like that, your control is quite precise.”

“If I hadn’t practiced, I would’ve been hit over and over again.”

“Well, that much is true, right?”

…Wait. That nuance is strange.

He didn’t voice it out loud. Instead, Karem glared at Gordon with suspicion in his sharp eyes.

“You seem to pick things up faster through experience than words. I told Elder Iona that.”

“Are you saying I got hit by Elder Iona?”

“No, that’s just Elder Iona’s teaching method.”

It’s suspicious, but there was no proof.

Besides, Alicia was constantly throwing glances at him.

What it meant was obvious.

Grabbing the pot again, Karem held the plate and quickly flipped the handle over. Feeling the weight on the plate, he cleared the pot away.

“Here, it’s done, so feel free to eat.”

Freshly harvested fruits, glistening with caramel, sat atop the plate, tinged in a rich brown.

The thick and sticky caramel sauce pooled like a puddle after rain on the pastry.

The process of making it was ridiculous, but the result was excellent.

“But it seems a bit thin.”

“Oh, you’ll understand once you taste it.”

“Does that mean there’s a reason for making it this thin?”

“Well… I guess so?”

Karem’s response lingered with a question mark, as he mumbled. In truth, he was unsure of the reason.

No, there likely wasn’t a reason at all.

Tarte Tatin is a prime example of a dish born from mistakes.

Originally intended to bake an apple pie, it was a mistake that somehow turned into something unexpectedly well-received due to guests and insufficient time to fix it.

At least that’s how Karem remembered it.

And he wasn’t particularly wrong.

“How regretful it was to only taste the pancake!”

In fact, Alicia wasn’t particularly curious.

After all, there was a dish right in front of her; what could be more important than that?

Stabbing the thin Tatin with her fork, Alicia could no longer hold herself back and moved the knife by instinct.

She lifted a piece of the Tatin that effortlessly fell apart, and thick, sticky caramel sauce slowly drizzled down.

Just one pancake (which was a bit large).

Before the antsiness could kick in, Alicia immediately took a bite of the Tarte.

Crisp—

“Mm?”

The moment the Tarte touched her tongue and she pulled the fork away, it was crunchy.

The soaked appearance felt completely different in texture.

But the crunchiness was only felt initially. After that, only the sensation of soft pastry carefully soaked in sweet caramel sauce remained on her tongue.

“It seemed to be crispy for a moment.”

But as the intense caramel aroma adjusted, with each chew, the soft and squishy juices of the fruits, including apples and pears, overwhelmed it.

Yes, whether it was an illusion or not didn’t matter much.

Though it was called a Tart, the dessert before her was predominantly soft except for that first sensation.

Perhaps because of that softness, before Alicia could fully savor the flavor, both taste and texture vanished like the tide.

“It’s like baking a whole basket of autumn to eat.”

“It’s just the outer appearance that’s flawed; it’s perfectly fresh fruit, after all.”

“However, Alicia has one complaint.”

“A complaint?”

This was quite shocking.

Karem had somewhat confidence in his skills, and it was even more shocking that Alicia, who could be somewhat picky, would voice a complaint.

“Th-This thin Tart. It’s too thin, and it’s unsatisfactory.”

Perhaps after just having eaten a thick pancake, her mouth and stomach felt unsatisfied.

Alicia pouted her lips and poked the Tarte Tatin with her fork. The simmered apples wobbled helplessly.

“I agree too. Karem, it tastes good, but it’s so thin that it hardly feels like I’ve eaten anything.”

“So you’re eating it just like that?”

Gordon nodded as he took a forkful of the Tarte Tatin that he had rolled up irregularly in his fork, taking a large bite.

“Yum. Yep, doing it this way makes it feel like I’ve eaten something finally.”

“My goodness. I can’t believe there was a way to eat it like that.”

“Alicia, you should try eating it this way too.”

“Even without you saying so, I would!”

Alicia immediately used her knife to support the bottom and folded the Tarte Tatin effortlessly. With a fork, she took a big bite out of the unevenly shaped Tarte Tatin roll.

Crunch—

“Ughh!”

As she bit into the forcibly thick pastry and the simmered fruit, the absorbed and condensed butter, caramel, and juices exploded in her mouth, filling it.

Only when it filled her mouth could she finally feel the satisfaction.

Even though it was soft, it was the texture felt after repeated layering.

And the sweet explosion like a flood.

Yes, this was it. This was exactly what Alicia wanted.

“Oh, this isn’t how it’s normally eaten.”

“You might change your mind once you try it this way.”

“No, I think I know how it feels.”

Butter-laden caramel, the soft pastry soaked in that caramel, and the last untouched crispy layer of pastry on the very bottom.

Eating that rolled thickly in one bite couldn’t possibly be unappealing.

“I think I might be a bit short if I eat all of that.”

“What? Short? Umm… it might be a little short.”

Gordon nodded as he looked at the pans slowly cooling on the outdoor kitchen shelf.

For an ordinary person, having even two might be overwhelming.

However, the two people seated here were not included in that category.

For the two gluttons from Winterhome, five?

Even if two times that was brought, it would still be nothing.

Three times perhaps would fill them.

“Per person, right?”

“I could manage that much. The princess might eat a bit less than me?”

“Unthinkable!”

Consumed in her Tarte Tatin roll, Alicia was furious like she had heard the most ridiculous statement.

“How could you say that to Alicia! No, wait! It’s clear that Gordon is fabricating nonsense to steal Alicia’s portion—”

“However, Alicia, please eat less than I do.”

“I’ve never seen her do that!”

“I saw it! You ate less than me!”

The sight of an adult, older than him, teasing a little girl was comically humorous.

“However, I won’t be making more for you.”

“E-Why not?”

A sudden unwelcome piece of news made Alicia’s face fall like the sky was suddenly crashing down.

If Robin, a few years younger, were to see her and say, “Is that really surprising, pig?” it would have been something, but it was taken seriously by Alicia.

Of course, there was a proper reason.

“Though there’s still some time left, lunch is coming up soon.”

“Ah.”

To be precise, there was still ample time until lunch. However, when considering the time spent thinking about what to make and actually preparing it, it wasn’t as plentiful.

Arriving at the greenhouse with Alicia in tow.

Chatting, making Tarte Tatin.

Making portions for Corvus and Flora.

And if all that was done, there wouldn’t be much time left, was Karem’s thought.

“In that sense, these are the portions for the two of you.”

“Hmm.”

“One each should be enough for Corvus and Flora…”

In that case, it wouldn’t suffice, but Karem couldn’t throw a fuss about needing to make more. Insufficient, but still.

Gordon’s gaze naturally fell on the remaining Tarte Tatin being placed on the plate.

Alicia felt the same.

Naturally, the two gluttons’ eyes collided in the air.

“…”

“…”

A jolt— A jolt— A jolt—

Swearing on all the numerous and unknown nicknames she knew, Alicia was determined not to concede. After barely managing to escape while just beginning to eat, she finally wanted to eat satisfactorily. She had to eat even more.

On the other hand, Gordon had every intention of conceding.

Lacking in amount could be compensated for later.

Besides, Flora began learning to cook, so he could eat that. But why was he acting this way? Simply to tease Alicia.

“Well, feel free to negotiate how much each of you will eat.”

Turning his back to the table, Karem sighed when he saw the mountains of pans.

Anyway, let’s make the portions for Flora and Corvus first. Thinking that way, he began to grab the pans containing the Tarte Tatin and place them back on the cooking range.

 

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