Twilight seeped through the shelter's windows when the footsteps outside began to multiply. Regular footsteps. Multiple. Drawing closer. Takahashi Yuuki noticed the sound with his back still pressed against the wall. After making a sandwich for the girl last night, he'd spent the rest of the night unable to sleep. The tear stains had long since dried. But that faint orange light glowing deep in his chest—the light that had returned the moment the girl said "delicious!"—was still there. (A taste auditor?) The footsteps formed a clear encirclement pattern. Not just one location. From the north, from the east, from the south too. It felt like the walls were closing in from outside, tightening gradually. "We're surrounded," the spirit Recipe said in a hushed voice beside his shoulder. There was more light in her than last night. Her small, translucent body trembled with tension. "I know," Yuuki replied. Recipe floated up into the air. She drifted toward the window as if seeking help, then came back. Her movements were too restless, almost comical. Then it happened. Boom. An explosion sounded outside. Not just one. Two more followed, then three. Orange flames shot up beyond the window. A sharp smell—that stinging sensation in the back of the nose, the same smell he'd caught in Spicy Country—drifted in through the gaps. It was the heat wave of flame peppers. "What the—!?" Yuuki exclaimed. "Outside! Something huge is happening outside!" Recipe cried. "I can see that!!" Yuuki shot back. The shelter erupted into chaos. Residents of Fruit Country jolted awake. Children cried. An elderly man pushed himself up against the wall. Then came the ground tremors. Thud, thud, thud. Multiple footsteps. But different this time—they were heading toward them. The door burst open. "Hey! Is everyone okay!?" Momo appeared in the doorway, her pink short bob catching the light. She wore the same apron as last night, but now covered in dirt, with a streak of soot across her cheek. Her star-shaped orange eyes scanned the room quickly. Yuuki was about to say something, but before the words came, another shadow entered behind Momo. He was huge. More than a head taller than the doorframe. A man clad in reddish-bronze armor walked through the low entrance of the shelter and— Gong. A clean sound rang out. The man's forehead collided directly with the upper frame of the door. The room fell completely silent. "..." the Red King stood motionless, his forehead still pressed against the frame. The Cooking King of Spicy Country, Red King—Yuuki recognized him instantly from having witnessed his fiery cooking techniques up close in the scorching arena—remained standing rigidly in place. Forehead still touching the frame. About twenty elite soldiers tried to follow him in but froze. One started to say something, then quickly covered his own mouth. "...It's nothing," Red King said quietly, maintaining his dignity with obvious effort. "Part of the strategy," he added. No one contradicted him. No one could. But only Momo turned to the side, her shoulders trembling slightly. Yuuki stood up, suppressing his laughter. The tension that had filled the shelter moments before—the anxiety of the dawn siege—suddenly dissipated like a gentle breeze. "Red King! You saved us!" Yuuki called out. "Of course. I merely fulfilled the duty of the Three-Nation Alliance," Red King replied. The forehead incident was apparently forgotten. Yuuki decided to forget it too. Caramel Hime walked out from the back of the room. Her golden hair swayed in the pale light. She stood quietly, her right arm wrapped in bandages—the same bandages that had been slowly staining gray since last night—held firmly with her left hand. There was no hesitation in her expression. Momo came to stand in front of Yuuki. Feet planted firmly. Both hands on her hips, looking directly into his eyes. There was a moment of silence. "I saw you last night," Momo said, her voice lower than usual. Not her typical high-energy tone. "I watched you the whole time. Making that sandwich for her while you were crying," she continued. Yuuki couldn't say anything. He'd only just learned he'd been watched. "I misjudged you," Momo said. She extended her right hand. It was an offer to shake hands. The hand emerging from her apron sleeve was slightly stained with fruit juice. A rough palm, weathered from continued confectionery work. Yuuki took her hand. "My workshop got destroyed by Mold General. Peach Blossom Workshop—my candy shop in the Citralian suburbs—it's gone," Momo said, her voice wavering for just a moment before steadying again. "So I don't want anyone else to lose what's precious to them. I'm going to help. Be grateful! I'm never abandoning anyone again!" she said, speaking faster toward the end. As soon as she finished, she turned her back. Her ears were red. Yuuki laughed. Feeling something well up inside him, he spoke with full voice. "Thank you, Momo!!" "Shut up! I can hear you!" Momo shot back. ◆ Before departure, the spirit Recipe used the time. Everyone gathered. Red King's twenty elite soldiers waited outside. Inside the shelter, Yuuki, Caramel Hime, Momo, and Red King formed a circle. Recipe floated in the air, her pages opening. Ancient writings appeared that they'd never seen before, glowing faintly in pale gold letters. "I will tell you about Toast Hakushaku," Recipe said, her voice quieter than usual. "His real name is Brion Crust. Twelve years ago, he was the most respected chef in the Culinary Otherworld," she continued. The room fell silent. "At the Grand Flavor Festival—the largest culinary competition held annually in the Culinary Otherworld—Brion was about to unveil a new dish. A dish he'd been preparing for months, for years. There were thousands of spectators. Everyone was watching him," Recipe said. Yuuki held his breath. "An accident occurred during the cooking. The flavors completely collapsed. In front of thousands of people," Recipe said. A pause. "He was laughed at," Recipe said. No one spoke. Momo pinched the hem of her apron between her fingers. Caramel Hime's hand holding the bandage tightened slightly. Red King crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes. "From that day on, Brion believed that free cooking was the source of all suffering. He created the Unified Cooking Decree. He controlled cooking. For twelve years, he hasn't eaten his own food," Recipe said. Recipe's pages closed. The light faded. Yuuki looked at the floor. For a moment, he simply stared at it. (Because he was laughed at. Just because of that.) No, it wasn't just that. In front of thousands. At the highest stage. His full-effort cooking collapsed, and he was bathed in laughter. Something broke completely in that moment. "He doesn't want to win," Yuuki said aloud. His voice came out clearly, surprising even himself. "I have to move this person's heart. With cooking," he said. The three of them looked at Yuuki. Caramel Hime opened her mouth quietly. "I've been thinking the same thing all along," she said, her voice calm and composed. Beneath her gentle manner of speaking lay something thin but unbreakable. Hearing her voice, something in Yuuki's chest warmed slightly. Their eyes met. Just for a moment. But it felt like more than words passed between them. "Complaints can wait," Red King said, his arms still crossed, his tone brooking no argument. "First, we take the castle," he said. ◆ When the walls of Gratinée—the capital of Sandwich Kingdom—came into view, the sky was still gray. The circular walls made of toast-colored toast brick floated hazily in the morning mist. Beyond them, the tall tower of Crouton Castle loomed. Everyone stopped before the castle gate. Mustard soldiers. Soldiers clad entirely in yellow mustard-colored armor lined the gate. One, ten, a hundred—Yuuki stopped counting. Two hundred, roughly. On both flanks stood thirty Pickle Knights with swords of acidic green at their waists. A wall. A wall of people. "This is bad, right?" Yuuki muttered. "Bad," Momo agreed, both speaking simultaneously. Red King stepped forward. His armor's shoulders reflected the sunlight. He pulled flame peppers—the red peppers native to Spicy Country that generated heat waves—from his pouch and began mixing them as he spoke in a low voice. "Clear the way," he said. That was all. The next instant, heat waves erupted from both of Red King's hands. Boom!! The front row of Mustard soldiers flew backward in a line. Yellow armor danced through the air. The soldiers who landed writhed in pain—Mustard soldiers' weakness was the slipperiness beneath their feet, and the sudden heat wave threw off their balance, compounded by the weight of their armor. An opening appeared. "Now!!" Yuuki shouted. Caramel Hime ran forward while opening a small bottle at her waist. Special caramel sauce—a golden sweet sauce made from honey flower sugar—arced through the air and spread across the ground. The sweet aroma spread instantly. The Mustard soldiers stepped forward. Splat. Their feet stuck. Mustard soldiers' weakness was slippery footing. Reversed, the sticky sweetness immobilized them. Soldiers trying to move got caught and tumbled like dominoes. "Up! Let's go!!" Momo shouted. Momo leaped onto a building's protrusion and scrambled to an even higher vantage point. She pulled wooden fruits from her apron pockets and began rapid-firing them at the Pickle Knights. A fruit barrage. Each time sweet juice hit the green swords, they made a sizzling sound and the acidic glow faded. The knights' movements dulled as they held their swords aloft. "It's working! It's actually working!" Yuuki exclaimed. "Of course! Pickle Knights are weak to sweetness!" Momo shouted triumphantly, continuing her assault. Her right hand emptied. Her left hand emptied too. She patted her pockets. Nothing came out. "Oh no," Momo said, looking at her empty hands in disbelief. Then she reached into the pocket's depths and pulled something out. It was what remained after Yuuki had made sandwiches at the shelter last night and distributed them to the children of Fruit Country—no, it was her own homemade fruit candy. Small round pellets like hard candies, filling an entire bag. "...Well, sweetness is sweetness, right?" Momo muttered, throwing the entire bag toward the Pickle Knights' feet. The candies scattered across the ground with a jingling sound. One knight stepped on one. "Ow...!!" the Pickle Knight cried out. Small but hard. The impact on the sole of his foot was painful even through the armor. A second knight stepped on one, then a third, and they began hopping around in place. Momo herself looked the most surprised. "Why is it working!?" she exclaimed. Red King glanced sideways at her, his expression deadly serious. "If it's sweet, anything works," he said. "Why are you analyzing this, General!!" Yuuki shouted in confusion. In the chaos, Yuuki ran. He wove through the knights trampling on candies and passed through the castle gate. He entered the castle. A corridor stretched ahead. Stone walls. Inner walls made of toast-colored baked bread illuminated by dim light. The door to the throne room was at the end of the corridor. It was heavy. He pushed with both hands. Slowly, it opened. ◆ A high ceiling. A dimly lit great hall. A throne at the far end. The man on the throne looked at Yuuki. A jet-black cloak. Charred-brown armor. Charred-brown disheveled long hair falling over his shoulders. Faint burn scars on his face. And cold gray eyes—those eyes fixed on Yuuki. "You came," Toast Hakushaku said, his voice low. It was quiet, bottomless. The air in the room grew heavy all at once. Toast Hakushaku's mouth curved slightly upward. A cold smile. "A mere otherworld cooking enthusiast. Quite the laughingstock," he said with derision. Even hearing this, Yuuki's feet didn't stop. He took another step forward. "I want to c