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The Coming-of-Age Ceremony ended earlier than the event in Wintersend.

That means there’s still quite a while until the Dinner Banquet begins.

But in many ways, it’s a joyful day. Plus, a large number of people have gathered.

Perhaps that’s why the Great Hall immediately erupted into a feast.

As they completely extinguished the dying Campfire and cleaned up, the banquet tables and chairs that had been moved for the event were set up, followed by dishes and drinks served in large and small trays and bowls along with the Tableware.

The scent wafting out seemed to have been waiting just for this moment.

The dishes looked so appetizing that they seemed to urge me to eat them right away.

After skipping breakfast and rising early since dawn to attend the Coming-of-Age Ceremony, there was more than enough to stir the appetites of the guests.

However, the people didn’t eat or drink. Most hadn’t even taken their seats yet.

To cut to the chase.

They couldn’t escape.

“Could you at least give me a hint about what the item presented to the Winter Mistress is?”

“Vanilla! What a truly astonishing discovery!”

“I’m glad you’re pleased; I feel it was worthwhile to find it.”

“How on earth did the thought of consuming Fire Witch Finger cross your mind?”

“To be honest, thinking about eating it isn’t exactly sane!”

Ugh… No thanks. A crowd of people.

Karem, the one receiving all the attention from countless strangers he didn’t even know, felt immensely uncomfortable.

He hardly had to answer any questions. Whenever he tried to speak, someone nearby would interrupt and ramble on, distracting him.

“I knew he’d be popular, but this is quite something.”

“He has practically overhauled more than half of Iceland’s Food Culture by himself. It’s no wonder there’s curiosity. He’s going to have a rough time.”

“What are you planning to do?”

“We have nothing to do.”

“Then what will you eat?”

The ones who caused this chaos by burning their letters nonchalantly watched the scene as if it had nothing to do with them.

Karem did not miss the faint yet familiar voices beyond the crowd.

‘Could someone please help me!!!’

But the fervent thoughts of the two attendants, Catherine and Mary, to pierce through the crowd and reach him would never be conveyed.

They didn’t even come out as words.

“Is it true you made spices from beans? I received a letter from my cousin working in the North, and I was uncertain!”

“I’ve heard that the raw material for vanilla comes from that thing of the Monster. I hope it’s not true. No way could that be…!”

“A chef who cares for the world more than anyone else! I’d like to express my gratitude to you for the slight improvement in my wife’s dismal cooking skills, but I could never get in touch—thank goodness I can see you now.”

There were at least dozens of people visible right now, meaning there had to be even more surrounding them.

With everyone chiming in their thoughts, there was simply no opportunity to speak.

‘Hmm, now I understand why celebrities might suffer from panic attacks.’

For the first time, Karem found himself relating to the plight of famous people.

And then help reached out from outside.

“Make way! Make way! King Frost is coming through!”

“Iceberg Mountain beer! Bersengzeto wine! And ice cream of all flavors ready to serve!”

“What’s going on? Why is everyone standing around? Hurry, get the cups!”

As the crowd turned like meerkats, Karem seized the chance to slip away.

The Common Seats closest to the Royal Seats.

He sprinted to the familiar hand gesture at the far right end and sat next to Mary.

“You got a good view of that, huh?”

“If you saw, couldn’t you have helped me?”

“Get used to it. Being popular is like that. Get used to it.”

Catherine, chuckling, furrowed her brow as she bit into the grapes Mary handed her while observing the bustling crowd.

“Well, once everyone sits down, it might get annoying.”

“Contractor, shall we return to the Tower? I heard there’s a ball scheduled too.”

“Seems like it. That little brat alone is causing enough trouble with all these people around. If those wanting to munch on me join in, it’ll be twice as bothersome.”

“It may even be more than twice.”

“I didn’t mean it literally.”

Catherine shot a sharp look at Mary, who was provoking her by raising her shoulders.

“Enough chit-chat; can we please go back to the Tower?”

Karem didn’t care about the panic attack any longer. He just wanted to return to the cozy and safe Tower as soon as possible.

“No, and since the Coming-of-Age Ceremony is over, aren’t you going to let go of that brat now?”

“I planned to. But—”

“But?”

“It’s more delicious than I expected, and it feels a bit regrettable to let go.”

“No, wait.”

Catherine chuckled as she saw Karem’s horrified reaction.

“Let’s get going before the crowd gets distracted by King Frost.”

“By the way, Contractor. Should I pour you a glass of wine like last time?”

“Bersengzeto? Ruaere?”

“I heard it’s from a different winery.”

“Well then, that’s fine.”

As King Frost drew the crowd’s attention, Karem followed Catherine and Mary, keeping an eye out as they hastily left the Great Hall.

The corridors leading to the pathways decorated for the Coming-of-Age Ceremony and the adjacent corridors had sharp distinctions, lined with servants moving trays and plates filled with food towards the Great Hall.

“Phew, I’m tired. Really tired.”

“So you seem to lack stamina.”

“Have you ever had to listen to people surrounding you, throwing around their words as they please?”

“I’ll pass on that experience; I hope you, Karem, get a lot of practice.”

With that, Mary resolutely declined the suggestion beside Catherine.

“By the way, once we return to the Tower like this, we’ll have to prepare lunch.”

“Now that you mention it, I guess. Ugh. What do you feel like eating?”

Physically, he wasn’t that tired. Mentally was the problem. Mentally.

Karem had never been surrounded by such a crowd of this size in either his past or present life. It was a completely new kind of exhaustion he had never experienced before.

Karem stretched his tired body.

Still, I have to cook for our Catherine.

“Mary, you’ll take care of lunch today.”

The earth-shattering words echoing beside him.

“Why ever for?!”

“Normally, I would have said something, but given your state, I’ll let it slide today.”

With her lightly fluttering eyelids, Catherine took a small hand mirror from her pocket and held it out proudly.

In the mirror, the cursed and familiar appearance reflected back, yet it was evidently different.

She looked a little older—not ten years, maybe just around five—but distinctly worn, with dark circles under her eyes.

“Sir Atanitas, I can do it!”

“I’m worried just looking at you, so no. Mary, you’re handling lunch today.”

“Yay! I’m really happy. Wait, I’m sad. It’s awful that my junior is suffering like this. As a senior, I must set an example. Thus, Karem, you can take a full rest for lunch today.”

Mary, expressionless, raised her fist into the air in triumph, then suddenly clasped her hands together in a polite manner against her stomach and spoke calmly.

“Sir Atanitas.”

“What is it?”

“Is that brownie right now frothing?”

“It’s nothing different from usual. Just ignore it. Just ignore.”

Heh. Mary let out a small victorious smile.

Karem felt a wave of irritation rising from deep within but as soon as they arrived at the Tower, Mary vanished as if she had flowed like water.

“Chief Magic Consultant, is the Coming-of-Age Ceremony over?”

“Yes. Get to work.”

Catherine lightly tapped Karem’s waist to remind him to calm down from his useless rage.

“By the way, what were you preparing that caused such a ruckus?”

Catherine curiously asked Karem without hiding her intrigue.

*

*

*

“Amadeus? I definitely recall reading about it in some old imperial documents.”

While Mary headed to the kitchen for cleanup, Catherine sat at the Royal Seats and looked down at the uneven rocky Rocher she had laid on her plate for a rather late lunch.

“It must have been a drink made with milk and sugar.”

“The Dryad who made her partner said that the special rare fruit she grew was Amadeus.”

“Who? The Dryad in the greenhouse must only be just spinning around.”

“Ah… Sir Skadi. She was invited to visit the Divine Domain known as Isvid.”

“…”

Upon hearing this, Catherine narrowed her eyes.

It wasn’t just that they came and went; they were invited over here?

“The goddess of the Three-Shrines, the Winter Mistress, Skadi?”

“Yeah, Lord Tutatis came too and guided us, but contrary to what I had imagined, both of them were quite down-to-earth and lived in a pastoral place.”

As Karem delved into specific experiences surely impossible to recount had he not visited, Catherine waved her hand with a strong gesture signaling him to stop.

Skadi, Tutatis, Divine Domain Isvid, the raven deity Raina, the fallen Palatino Empire, Dryads.

Hah. The more she listened and thought about it, the more her head throbbed.

So she decided to drop it.

“And… um. I feel like I forgot something important.”

“Anyway, set that aside. I’ll check if you took my warning seriously.”

“Yes. You should take the first bite in one go.”

“Isn’t that a bit too large for that?”

“There’s a reason for that, you know.”

Catherine urged Karem by tapping the table, and obeying her words, she popped the Rocher into her mouth.

“Oh.”

The Rocher looked uneven on the outside, but there was no jarring texture because of the coating.

Besides, despite its solid appearance, it felt surprisingly light, a sensation she had never experienced before.

Candy, caramel, custard, pastries.

This was unlike any of many sweets or pastries.

If she had to find the closest comparison, it would be ice cream.

It felt similar to the texture of slowly melting ice cream at room temperature, but far heavier and incomparably richer.

“This is… I can’t even describe it.”

“It’s not meant to be melted; you chew it.”

“Hmm. Somehow, I’m starting to sense the almonds.”

Tasting and savoring, Catherine added a small remark, and right after, she began chewing the Rocher, which had turned gooey in her mouth.

Crunch—

What she felt through her teeth was the same resistance when breaking a crunchy biscuit, precisely as it appeared.

The difference was that it was much thinner and lighter.

It resembled those buttery flavored crispy cookies she had felt when eating Rocher for the first time, yet it had a denser, stickier, and almost gooey texture.

Crunch—! Gum!

The variations didn’t end there.

Her molars penetrated the gooey center, and as the tasty hazelnut burst along with the crushed almonds on the surface, the savory flavor exploded.

Could such a small piece of candy hold this many variations?

With a soft almond-infused exterior.

The crispy biscuit flavor intensified due to its thinness.

The outer layer was similar but denser and stickier.

The intensively nutty hazelnut at the very center.

The continuously stimulated mouth, tongue, and nose through various textures and flavors led to an ongoing explosion of sensations.

And above all, it had an addictive taste and aroma, somewhat reminiscent of Alraune’s Tear, yet distinctly different upon deeper savoring.

“What, how on earth did you make this?”

“Well, I had something similar in my past life. It was called chocolate. Even passing children bought it easily.”

This one here was a high-end product reproduced from a company named Pere X—

That was something Karem would usually find interesting, but right now he had no time to fuss over it.

To say it could be simply bought when it’s only made seldomly by Dryads who gain a partner?

Now that she thought about it…

Catherine suddenly recalled that lighthearted talk of Karem’s past life.

…….

She decided to focus on Amadeus Rocher.

 

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