The Earl's barrier let out a small, creaking sound. At that noise, Yuuki instinctively turned around. Standing before the castle wall with both arms spread wide was Toast Hakushaku. White light seeped through his burnt-brown armor, holding back the sickly green aura of decay. All through the night. The Earl had been standing like that the entire time. The cracks in the barrier were still small. But they were definitely there. "For now, it's holding," Resipe said. The spirit Resipe floated beside Yuuki's shoulder, bobbing gently. His translucent small form caught the morning light and glowed faintly. There was something cautious in his tone of voice. "...For now, yeah," Yuuki repeated quietly. Those two words—"for now"—caught in his mind, hanging there. That's when a deafening sound echoed from the direction of Gratinee's city gates. CRASH! BANG! CLATTER!!!! "What!?!?" Yuuki exclaimed. "I think it's here," Resipe said. "Here? What's 'it'!?" Yuuki demanded. What came through the gates was a massive cargo wagon being pulled by red horses. Not actual horses, but creatures with fur as red as flames—running beasts born from spicy chili peppers brought from Spicy Kingdom—four of them pulling the wagon. The driver on the platform shouted with pride. "Greetings! We bring reinforcement supplies from Red King, the Culinary Monarch of Spicy Kingdom!!" "Red King!!" Yuuki exclaimed. Right. Red King, the Culinary Monarch of Spicy Kingdom—that rough but honorable man who wielded flame and spice—had said he'd send reinforcements. He must have departed from Peppern, eighty kilometers north of Gratinee, sometime during the night. The wagon's canvas cover was removed. Boxes. Stacked like mountains. "What is this? What's inside?" Momo asked. Momo had appeared beside him at some point. Her pink short bob bounced as her eyes went perfectly round. Her pastry-making apron fluttered in the wind. "Let's open one," Yuuki suggested. Hiroshi threw himself at one of the boxes. With surprising speed for his stocky frame, he pried the lid open. In an instant, a tremendous sting pierced deep into his nasal passages. STING!!!!! "BWAAAHHH—!!!!!" Hiroshi cried out. Tears and snot poured from Hiroshi's eyes all at once. He staggered backward and crashed into Takeru. "Whoa!! What are you doing!!" Takeru shouted. "My eyes!! My eyeeeees!!" Hiroshi wailed. "Hey, get away!! It stinks!! Wait, is that—super spicy chili peppers!? A mountain of them!?!?" Takeru gagged. The box contained flame chili peppers. Spicy Kingdom's specialty—true red peppers with more than ten times the heat of ordinary chili peppers—packed in tightly. When they opened the other boxes, they found numbing Sichuan pepper, ultra-spicy seasonings, and more varieties of chili peppers. All of it was Spicy Kingdom's heat-based ingredients. Yuuki turned back to the messenger. "...So the message is to burn away the enemy with spice?" he asked. "Yes! His Majesty's words were: burn away the enemy with spice!!" the messenger replied cheerfully. "What am I supposed to do with all this—!!!!!" Takeru screamed at the sky. The messenger stood there beaming with pride. Hiroshi was still spinning around, clutching his eyes. "Actually, um..." Resipe began hesitantly. Resipe opened his mouth carefully. "It seems that spice components can be effective against decay-type enemies. Though the evidence is thin..." he said. Everyone's gaze focused on Resipe. "Don't say that now!!!!!" everyone shouted in unison. Five voices of complaint echoed across Gratinee's plaza. Resipe trembled, his light flickering. "It was hard to bring up!!" Resipe protested. "I get that!! But now!?!? While Hiroshi's face is falling apart!!!!!" Takeru yelled. "I'm so sorry—!!" Resipe wailed. Laughter rang out across the plaza. Soft giggles leaked from among the residents. The tense atmosphere softened just a little. Still, everyone worked together to unload the supplies from the wagon, complaining the whole time. Takeru gave directions, Hiroshi carried, Momo organized. Yuuki also ran with boxes in his arms. Every time he held a flame chili pepper box, his eyes stung, but no one stopped. ◆ When they finished unloading the reinforcement supplies, a moment of calm had returned to the plaza. The residents gathered along the walls, children nestled against adults. Someone was baking bread—a sweet smell drifted through the air. That smell hadn't been there yesterday. The Unified Cooking Ordinance—the decree the Earl had established forbidding any dishes outside of forty-seven set menus—had been abolished, and for the first time, everyone was making what they loved. Yuuki looked at the basket in his hands. Peaches, lychees, and mangoes that Momo had sorted from Fruit Kingdom's supplies. And another basket he held. This one contained vegetables they'd picked together with the residents' children, and a few slices of bread. The Earl continued to hold his barrier, standing before the castle wall. Yuuki took a deep breath and walked toward him. As he drew closer, the Earl's condition became clearer. Sweat seeping through the gaps in his armor. His burnt-brown long hair, disheveled, swayed slightly despite the absence of wind. The muscles in both his arms were faintly taut. All night long. "Earl," Yuuki called softly. Toast Hakushaku didn't turn around. His gray eyes remained fixed on Necro, unmoving. Necro stood at the edge of the plaza, observing them quietly. He didn't approach. But he didn't disappear either. "Please eat something. It'll help restore your strength," Yuuki said. Yuuki held out the basket to the side. The warmth of the bread transmitted through his palm. The Earl's gaze shifted for the first time. He looked into the basket, then faced forward again. Slowly, he extended only one arm toward the basket. He took a slice of bread and bit into it directly. It was quiet. Only the sound of chewing existed between them. "...I'm glad I lost to you," Toast Hakushaku said. The Earl's voice was low and emotionless. But the weight of those words was unmistakable. Twelve years. The Unified Cooking Ordinance. The ridicule at the Grand Festival. Carrying all of it, this man had walked alone the entire time. Yuuki didn't understand all of it. But those words were stained with twelve years of something. "Let's protect it together," Yuuki replied. It was just one sentence, but no other words came to him. The Earl said nothing. But his shoulders seemed to relax, just slightly. A quiet, warm atmosphere spread across the plaza. In the distance, Momo stood with Hiroshi and Takeru, watching. All three watched without speaking. Momo's star-shaped eyes were slightly moist. (Ah, she's about to cry,) Yuuki thought. That's when it happened. CRASH!!!!! A jar of caramel sauce fell onto the stone pavement. The sound of breaking glass echoed violently across the plaza. The emotional atmosphere evaporated at sonic speed. Caramel Hime, who had been holding a supply basket, stood motionless before the stones. Her golden long hair swayed. Her amber eyes looked down at her feet with a subtle expression. "This is...a signal to express emotion," Caramel Hime announced. No one could say anything. Everyone looked away with strained expressions. "That's quite an elaborate signal," Toast Hakushaku said dryly. There was something like a smile in his voice. Momo burst out laughing. Hiroshi bent backward, barely containing his laughter. Takeru covered his face with his hand. And it spread—a child from the residents let out a "kyahahaha!" and the laughter rippled across the plaza. Caramel Hime straightened her posture and stood properly, but only the tips of her ears gradually turned red. ◆ "Let's make sandwiches together. For the residents," Yuuki said. Work tables were arranged in the center of the plaza, and ingredients were brought out. Red King's spice supplies were held in reserve for now, and instead they used yesterday's leftover vegetables, bread, and the fruit Momo had brought. They would divide the work to prepare sandwiches for all the residents—about four thousand people lived in Gratinee, but they were making enough for the roughly two hundred gathered in the plaza. Momo was the first to jump at the work table. She clapped her hands together in front of her apron and stood before the ingredients. "Can I use the peach slices over here and...this herb too?" Momo asked. "Do whatever you want," Yuuki replied. Yuuki lined up beside her. As he began slicing bread, he observed the arrangement of ingredients. The herb's aroma tickled his nose. Fresh and slightly sweet. He didn't dislike that kind of scent. "Hey, about the Earl..." Momo said suddenly, her voice a bit quieter than before. "...He's really cool, isn't he?" she continued. Yuuki stopped slicing bread. Momo kept her gaze forward, slicing peaches. Her pink hair fell across her cheek, obscuring her expression. Her voice was different from the energetic tone from before. "Yeah, really," Yuuki replied honestly. It wasn't a lie. A man who could stand alone holding a barrier all night and then say he was glad to lose—there was no way he wasn't cool. The two continued working quietly. The sound of slicing bread and peaches overlapped in a steady rhythm. Momo's shoulder and his were just slightly close. The herb's aroma mixed with the sweet scent drifting from Momo's hair. Somehow, it was calming. (This kind of time isn't so bad,) Yuuki was thinking when— "I shall assist!!" Caramel Hime announced. Caramel Hime slipped between them, cradling a mountain of ingredients. Her golden hair swayed with momentum. Both hands held vegetables and some kind of jar—one of which was upside down. Splash. "Oh my," Caramel Hime said. Vegetables scattered across the floor. Lettuce rolled, and a couple of tomatoes tumbled away. Yuuki and Momo both froze. The Hime quickly crouched down and carefully picked up each item one by one. Her back was faintly red. But her voice remained composed. Perfectly composed. "It's quite alright. No problem whatsoever," Caramel Hime said. "That's definitely a problem," Momo said flatly. "...If I pick them up, it's resolved," Caramel Hime replied. "That's not the kind of problem we're talking about!!" Momo protested. The Hime finished gathering all the vegetables and returned to the work table. This time she held them carefully in both hands. She tried to step between Yuuki and Momo again—and caught her foot slightly on the table's edge. She stumbled. "Whoa," Yuuki said. Yuuki reflexively extended his arm. He caught the Hime's arm and steadied her. Her body stabilized from his grip. The body temperature of the hundred-sixty-centimeter-tall Hime transmitted through his palm. The sensation of her slender arm came through the soft fabric of her sleeve. The Hime's breath caught for just a moment. Then, gradually, gradually—her ears turned red. Her amber eyes looked away, her gaze wandering. "This is merely...confirming my posture..." Caramel Hime began. "So that's a strategy too!!!!!" Momo called out preemptively. The Hime fell silent. Yuuki released his hand. Everyone's laughter echoed across the plaza. Children's laughter mixed in. A resident man murmured, "The Hime is so cute." That sparked more laughter, and the plaza gradually brightened. Caramel Hime straightened her posture and continued working as if nothing had happened. Her ears remained red, but a small smile played at her lips. ◆ "Earl, here," Momo said. Between tasks, Momo gathered peaches, lychees, and mangoes into a basket and walked over to the Earl. She set the basket on the ground and pushed it forward. "Please eat all of this to recover your magical power," Momo said. The Earl looked at the basket. Then he took only one peach and returned the rest in the basket to Momo. "This much is enough," Toast Hakushaku said. "Eat all of it," Momo insisted. Her voice had grown stronger. Not her