The stone wall was as cold as ever. Riko absently traced the embroidery on her apron while staring at the fragment of financier that had fallen through the bars sometime last night. Someone had definitely left it for her. But who, and how—— (It's not Eldo. I figured out in three days that he's not the type to do something considerate like this.) The numbers on her apron read 14. Fourteen days remaining. Riko ignored the heavy weight settling in her stomach. There was no point thinking about it. She could only do what she could do now. ——Then footsteps echoed down the corridor. Light, unhesitating steps. Riko looked up. A figure appeared beyond the bars. A young knight with two-toned hair—purple and black—tied back. Tall, wearing the Tilnard uniform with perfect precision. One eye was azure, the other silver——striking heterochromia that looked directly at Riko and broke into a grin. "Good morning, Momose Riko." "...Um." "[laughing] Oh, I should introduce myself first. I'm Raina Fordil, Fifth Squad of Tilnard. Nice to meet you." Raina crouched in front of the bars and extended a hand smoothly. Asking for a handshake. From outside the cell to the person inside. Riko froze for about three seconds, then for some reason accepted the handshake. "...I'm Momose Riko." "Nice to meet you." After the handshake ended, Riko suddenly came to her senses. (Wait. I just shook hands in a cell. Why?) "[surprised] Um, the financier from last night——" "That was me. Eldo told me about you." Raina settled onto the floor outside the bars. Completely at ease. "A patissiere from another world, huh? And apparently your sweets are delicious. Eldo was acting unusually flustered, so I got curious about what kind of person you were." "Seriously? Eldo was flustered?" "[laughing] If that guy spent three whole times thinking hard about a single financier, wouldn't you be curious?" Riko laughed without thinking. She could definitely imagine Eldo pondering something three times over. "Anyway, the main topic." Raina's voice took on a more serious tone. His smile remained, but his azure and silver eyes grew sharp. "Do you know about the Royal Offriel?" "I do. It's an event held once a year where food is offered to the king. If you're recognized, you get temporary custody protection and a pardon." "Correct. And there's a system that grants participants temporary custody protection during the preliminary period. You could get out of here right now." Riko grabbed the bars. "[surprised] What? If such a system exists——why didn't anyone tell me?" "[sarcastic] Because there was no one to tell you?" That was true. Eldo was too conscientious to teach someone he'd arrested about such a loophole. The knight commander was out of the question. "What are the conditions?" "I'll be your sponsor. In exchange, I'd like you to make sweets for me too." It was a simple condition. Riko didn't hesitate for even a second. "Consider it done!" As Raina stood up, his expression softened for just a moment. Something moved quietly behind that expression——but Riko couldn't see that far. (If I can snatch away the sweets that Eldo's so eager to protect, my position within the knight order will change. And——that aroma from the financier. Honestly, I just wanted to taste it again.) Raina walked down the corridor to handle the paperwork. Riko gripped her apron showing 14 in front of the bars. --- The paperwork went faster than expected. The attending knight confirmed the documents and turned the key. Click. The sound echoed down the corridor——this time it sounded like the sound of liberation. Riko stepped outside. The moment she reached ground level, the morning light came down all at once. Her eyes narrowed. Wind touched her cheek. The courtyard of the stone fortress of Tilnard was filled with clear morning air. "[excited] The air tastes so good……!" Riko took a deep breath. Raina laughed beside her, "[laughing] Three days, huh." Then footsteps came from the depths of the corridor. One step. Then another. Heavy, straight footsteps. Silver short hair. Sharp golden eyes. A thin scar across one eye. Tall, with a presence just standing there——it was Eldo. The moment Eldo's eyes met Riko's, he stopped. His golden eyes wavered for just an instant. He tried to say something, his mouth started to move—— "...So you've been released." "Yeah. Thanks to Raina." Eldo's gaze shifted smoothly to Raina. The temperature dropped. The courtyard air seemed to fall a degree. "[cold] Raina. Do you think I don't understand what you're scheming?" "[sarcastic] I'm not scheming. I'm just being kind." Raina raised both hands. His smile didn't change. Riko could tell that smile sent something running through Eldo's temples. "...Troublesome, though." "[laughing] Eldo, if you wanted to help, you should've just helped her. You're the one who kept her in a cell until last week." "That is——irrelevant." His voice dropped slightly. Riko looked at Eldo's profile. It wasn't anger exactly——something else seemed mixed in. Riko turned her body to position herself between the two of them. "Can you both help me search for ingredients starting today? I need to gather ingredients for sweets I can enter in the preliminaries in the next fourteen days." Raina immediately raised his hand. "Yes. I'll help with everything. I'll take you anywhere." "That'd be great!" In that instant. "[serious] That's my role." Eldo stepped forward. Both Raina and Riko looked at him simultaneously. "...So you're saying you'll protect her." "[sarcastic] Eldo, can you really say that after keeping her in a cell until last week?" "...I have my reasons for that——" "[laughing] Well, honestly, Eldo was the most worried about her anyway." Eldo fell silent. His ears seemed to turn slightly red. Riko looked between the two of them. "[excited] You're both going to help me? Thank you! That's a huge help!" Eldo and Raina looked at Riko simultaneously. Then they both deflated dramatically at the same time. --- By afternoon, Riko had taken out the food scraps remaining in her apron pocket. The last of the Miela honey and a pinch of aero sugar. Plus the butter and small amount of flour she'd brought from Atelier Momo. With this much, she could bake financiers. There was a cooking stove at the edge of the knight order headquarters' courtyard. Riko deftly combined the ingredients. Eldo stood a short distance away with his arms crossed, while Raina leaned in beside him with keen interest. "[excited] When you heat Miela honey, the sweetness triples." "[surprised] Triples?" "Yeah. When you combine it with aero sugar, you get a lightness you can't get with regular sugar. The ingredients from Luca really are amazing." Riko handed the baked financier to Raina. "As promised. Please." Raina took it and took a bite. Silence fell. The mouth that had been moving so much until now completely stopped. Another bite. Silence again. Only the sound of wind passing through the courtyard could be heard. After a while, Raina whispered softly. "[whispers] ...This is cheating." "Huh?" "[laughing] Never mind." Raina immediately returned to his smile. But for that one moment——all calculation, all composure had been stripped away. It was a purely surprised face. A childlike expression. At a distance, Eldo watched the scene. Arms still crossed, he confirmed the fact that Raina had been moved, his face lost in thought. Riko began writing the next ingredient list on the corner of her apron, unaware of the two of them. Then——her phone rang in her bag. "Oh." The screen showed "Daichi." Riko stiffened slightly before answering. "Hello?" "[serious] Riko, I went to the antique shop Cronica." Daichi's voice was calm. But beneath that quiet voice lay something solid. Riko's hand tensed slightly. "Cronica? Kazuki's place?" "Yeah. The shop owner told me something. The Portier apron isn't one-way. The will of the person using it changes the form of the curse." Riko gripped the embroidery on her apron. The number 14 glowed. "...The will changes the form of the curse." "So I'm not going to stop you anymore. I realized it's pointless. But I'm not leaving you alone either." The voice over the phone held gentleness and something stronger mixed together. "[gentle] I'll be by your side." "...Daichi." As Riko searched for words. "[serious] I will protect your sweets." Eldo's voice came from behind. Riko turned around. Eldo stood with his arms crossed, his face serious. "[sarcastic] I think I'm more reliable, though." Raina interjected coolly beside him. Sparks scattered between the two. Daichi's voice came from the phone. Beside her, Eldo and Raina's gazes clashed. Riko stood frozen, surrounded by the presence of three men. "[surprised] Huh? Huh? Why is everyone angry?" Eldo and Raina looked at Riko simultaneously. Daichi said "I'm not angry" from the other end of the phone. But all three had subtle expressions. "[laughing] ...Somehow, this is turning into quite the situation." "Troublesome, though." "Don't worry, I'm here." All three spoke at different times, each in their own way. Riko looked between the phone and the two knights for a while, then took a deep breath. "...Okay." With a determined expression, Riko touched the embroidery on her apron. The number 14. Fourteen days remaining. What she needed to do was clear. Enter sweets in the Royal Offriel preliminaries. Gather the ingredients for them. "Daichi, thank you. I'll call again. Eldo, Raina——I'm counting on you both for the ingredient search starting tomorrow." Both men started to say "I'll" and "I will" simultaneously. Riko laughed and hung up. Evening light poured into the courtyard. Red light stained the stone pavement. Three men, each harboring their own intentions, each facing Riko in their own way. Riko was unaware of any of it. But in the remaining fourteen days, there was still an ingredient she hadn't gathered. The aero sugar inventory was insufficient. Turiela Highland——sixty kilometers west of the capital, a cloud-sea highland at 1500 meters elevation. How to get there from tomorrow onward. Which one to go with, Eldo or Raina. Or should she go with both. (What should I do?) Riko's habitual phrase floated quietly in her chest.