The kitchen of Lumière Tavern was filled with a sweet aroma starting at five in the morning. Momose Riko's gaze fell on the embroidery of her apron, where the numbers read 13. Thirteen days remaining. Yesterday's commotion—the sparks between Eldo and Raina, the contact from Daichi—flashed through her mind like a revolving lantern, and she shook her head lightly. Today was the preliminary round. That's all she needed to think about. Three types of ingredients were lined up on a wooden table. Aero sugar—a light, fluffy sugar refined from cloud crystals—sat in a small jar. The golden light of Miela honey wavered gently as it caught the lamplight. And Prisma berries, fruit that shimmered in seven colors under this morning's light, glowed quietly in a basket. Footsteps thundered, and the kitchen door swung open. "[excited]Good morning, Riko. I put together the recipe notes last night" Raina, her purple and black two-toned hair tied back, held out a folded piece of paper. Her mismatched eyes—one cyan, one silver—looked straight at Riko's face, and she grinned. "Thank you so much, Raina! That helps" The moment Riko took the memo. A large hand reached from the side and snatched the paper away. It was Eldo. Silver short hair, golden eyes, a thin scar running across one eye. Standing in the kitchen doorway with his arms crossed, he read the memo. "...No problems" He said only that and handed it back to Riko. Raina's smile froze at an awkward angle. "[sarcastic]You're censoring my notes?" "Checking the contents" "That's the same thing" "It's not" Riko looked between the two of them. Why were they so tense at five in the morning? "[surprised]Um... are you two fighting?" "We're not" They answered in perfect unison, with identical volume. The awkward silence that followed only made the air more strained. Riko quietly looked away. Just then, her phone rang from inside her bag. The screen showed "Daichi." "Hello?" "[serious]The preliminary round is today, right? You better win" His voice was short and warm. Riko's lips naturally relaxed. (Everyone's looking out for me. I'm really grateful.) "[excited]Yeah! I'll do my best! Thanks, Daichi" After hanging up and putting her phone away, Eldo stood beside her with his arms still crossed, his eyes narrowed. She had a feeling he'd caught a glimpse of her phone screen. "...Who was that" "A childhood friend. He's cheering me on" "I see" He fell silent. But the way he held his arms seemed somehow more tense than before. Raina murmured coolly, "[laughing]Quite the lively morning," with a laugh. --- The moment Riko stepped into the kitchen of Palais Dore—the royal palace of Luca—she involuntarily stopped in her tracks. The ceiling was high. White marble walls and floors reflected light, making the entire room glow softly. Three cooking stations, one judging table in the center. As befitted a royal palace kitchen, every tool and fixture was of a quality she'd never seen before. Three people sat at the judging table. On the far left was an elderly woman with white hair and warm eyes—Roy, a recommender from the Gourmet Artisan Guild. Small in stature, but her bearing was steeped in years of experience. In the center was a well-built middle-aged man, the court's head chef, Bernard. And on the far right. Riko looked at the man on the right and felt a slight tension. Mid-thirties. Neatly groomed black hair, a navy civil servant's uniform. His expression was rigid, and he never once looked Riko's way. That was Sion, the civil servant examiner backed by Knight Commander Vales Gardeen—Raina had told her yesterday. Roy stood quietly and spoke. "[serious]Then we shall begin the preliminary round. You have one hour. After evaluation by all examiners, qualification for the finals will be determined" A bell rang out with a clear, pure tone. Riko began to move. First, she took out the Aero sugar. Fifty grams, fifteen leaves of rare sugar. When she pinched it with her fingers, it was truly light as a feather. She whipped it with a whisk, incorporating air to create the first layer of mousse. (Good. The lightness is coming through.) Next, she poured Miela honey into a small pot and set it over heat. As the temperature gradually rose, the golden honey began to shimmer—and a sweet aroma spread through the kitchen. Riko's nose twitched. The fragrance had tripled in sweetness. This would be the middle layer. She chopped the Prisma berries. With each cut of the knife, the fruit's cross-section shifted through seven colors. A fruit whose taste changes with the eater's mood—if processed correctly and set into a gel, it would become the top layer. After forty-five minutes, the three-layer mousse cake was assembled. The moment she placed the finished product on the judging table, the Prisma berry layer caught the light and shimmered in rainbow colors. From the white Aero sugar layer, a delicate wisp of fragrance began to drift. Roy and Bernard leaned forward simultaneously. "Oh..." Something warm bloomed in Riko's chest. —That was the moment. "[cold]That will do" The civil servant on the right stood up. "A confection made with ingredients brought by an interdimensional intruder has no place in this sacred examination" Sion waved his hand. A sharp crack echoed through the kitchen. The three-layer mousse cake was smashed against the white marble floor. The seven-colored Prisma berry layer shattered, the golden Miela honey spreading in a dark stain. The light Aero sugar sponge flattened with a pathetic sound, and forty-five minutes of work vanished in seconds. The kitchen fell completely silent. Roy's brow furrowed slightly. Bernard opened his mouth, then closed it. The court attendants in the viewing area held their breath. Eldo, standing at the edge of the room, stopped his hand near the hilt of his sword. Raina muttered "Hey" and started to stand. Riko's eyes moved between the scattered cake and the broken plate fragments on the floor. Her lips trembled. (Forty-five minutes. Going to Turiela Plateau to gather ingredients, to Miela Forest, to Tinola Hills. All of it, right now, on the floor.) Tears threatened to come. She bit down hard on her back teeth. Crying would be losing. Crying would mean the confection lost. Riko knelt down. She began picking up the broken plate pieces one by one. Her fingers were shaking. But she did it carefully, deliberately. "...My confections are" Her voice shook. But she continued. "made to bring smiles to the people who eat them" She stood up. Opening her ingredient bag, she checked what remained. Miela honey left, eggs, flour, butter. Enough. "[serious]If they won't be tasted, I'll make another one" Raina froze in place. Sion opened his mouth to speak. "What are you—" Riko was already moving. She poured batter into a financier mold. Set the Miela honey over heat. Her body remembered the same process from before. From the back of the room, Eldo watched Riko's back. His golden eyes looked distant for just a moment. The sunset over Tinola Hills, pulling her up from the cliff's edge, her hand in his, when she'd said softly "sweet" and smiled. That face overlapped with her back now. (The moment I can stand in front—is now.) Eldo began to walk. In the minutes before the financiers finished baking, the heated sweetness of Miela honey spread through the white marble kitchen. The attendants in the viewing area twitched their noses. Roy leaned forward from the judging table. Bernard murmured low, "This is..." Raina was the first to reach for the finished financier. She took a bite—and stopped. The same expression from that night in the kitchen when she'd first tasted it appeared on her face. All calculation, all composure stripped away, pure surprise. "[whispers]...Again, this" At that moment, Eldo stood directly beside Riko. Facing Sion head-on, looking him straight in the eye. "[serious]Judge her confection fairly" "This is not a place for knights to interfere" "It's the knight order's—no" A second of silence. "This nation's pride" He didn't move. Every eye in the viewing area turned to Sion. Roy stood quietly and spoke. "[serious]Let us continue the examination" Riko could see Sion's jaw clench. Three seconds. Sion picked up the financier. Put it in his mouth. Another three seconds of silence. Everyone in the kitchen held their breath, watching. "[cold]...Delicious" His voice sounded wrung out. Roy and Bernard raised their hands simultaneously. Full marks. Finals qualification confirmed. "[crying]...We did it" Her voice was small. Hoarse. Tears pooled in her eyes as she said only that. She couldn't shout. Her voice wouldn't come. But something overflowed from deep in her chest, and Riko simply stood there, waiting for it to settle. --- When they stepped into the western corridor of Palais Dore, the sunset was painting the white stone columns orange. Eldo walked beside Riko. Long shadows stretched across the stone pavement. After walking for a while, Eldo stopped. He turned to face Riko. His golden eyes looked at her seriously. "[serious]...I'm sorry" He bowed his head. The height made it a deep bow. "I abandoned you" Riko paused for a moment. The fourteen days in the cell flashed through her mind. Cold stone walls, only the numbers on her apron to hold onto. But— "You came at the end" Riko smiled. "Thank you, Eldo" Eldo lifted his head. The distance between them naturally shortened. In the sunset, Eldo's golden eyes looked straight at Riko's face. Close. Suddenly very close. Something pulsed in Riko's chest, and (Wait, what is this—) "[excited]How touching~" A voice came from the end of the corridor. Raina leaned against a pillar, arms crossed, laughing. When had she gotten here? "[serious]But supporting you in the finals is my job. Looking forward to it, Riko" Eldo's brow furrowed immediately. "[angry]Who decided that" "I did" "Absolutely not" "Well, honestly, I think I'm better suited than Eldo anyway" At that moment, Riko's phone rang. She looked at the screen. "Daichi." "Hello?" "[excited]Congratulations on passing the preliminary round. I asked Kazuki from the antique shop Chronica again. I'm heading there now, wait for me" Riko's face went pale. "[surprised]Wait, you're coming to Luca?" Standing frozen with the phone in her hand, Eldo asked in a low voice. "[serious]Who is that" Raina's eyes lit up. "[surprised]There's another one?" Riko looked at Eldo, then at Raina, then at her phone. Three directions of gazes converging on her. "[surprised]Huh? What? What's happening here?" "I'm the one asking" "Honestly, things are getting interesting" Eldo glared at Raina. Raina shrugged. On the other end of the phone, Daichi was saying "Riko? Can you hear me?" —At that moment. Riko sensed a presence in the corridor ahead. She turned around. Behind the palace door, an elderly man stood. White hair, warm eyes. The refined robes of a court official. The moment Riko's gaze met his, the man stepped back half a pace. His eyes fell on Riko's chest—on the embroidery of her apron. The man whispered something no one else could hear. He disappeared into the doorway. "[surprised]Was someone just there?" Eldo turned around. The corridor ahead was empty now. At that moment, Riko noticed the embroidery on her apron was glowing faintly. The number 13 remained the same. But a new character was appearing within the embroidery. Riko couldn't read the character. Eldo looked at Riko's chest and furrowed his brow. "[serious]...This character" "You can read it?" "It's ancient script used in the royal family's crest" Riko looked down at the embroidery. The royal family's crest. Ancient script. A two-hundred-year-old apron. And the old man's gaze just now. "So what does that mean?" Eldo answered quietly. "[serious]If you meet the king in the finals—you might find out