Soft morning light poured down on Gratinée Plaza. Toast-colored castle walls—built up like stacked baked bread—were warmed by the newly risen sun, taking on a gentle warmth. The sky that had been gray until yesterday was now a pale water-blue. For the first time in twelve years, it was genuinely clear weather. A makeshift table sat on the stone plaza. On it lay the remains of a rainbow-colored friendship sandwich on a plate. The sandwich they'd all made together last night, eaten together, and cried over together. "...Yeah, this is seriously messed up, right?" Takahashi Yuuki muttered, arms crossed in front of the plate. Takahashi Yuuki—seventeen years old with short black hair and brown eyes, his fingertips marked with burn scars—stared at the sandwich with red eyes. They'd been red since last night. He'd cried too much. Beside him, Caramel Hime gently pressed her eyes while her golden hair swayed softly. Her amber eyes were slightly moist, and she gripped a small bottle of her special caramel sauce tightly. "It really is... the Unified Cooking Decree has been abolished," she said, her voice trembling slightly. Momo sat down flat on the stone plaza, her pink short bob drooping. Her star-shaped orange eyes grew misty, and she gripped the edge of her apron tightly to hide it. "I was totally planning not to cry," Momo said. "But you're crying," Yuuki replied. "I'm not! It's just liquid coming from my eyes!!" Momo protested. "That's the same thing," Yuuki said. And standing a little distance away—clad in dark brown armor, his disheveled long hair falling over his shoulders—was Toast Hakushaku. Faint burn marks scarred his face. His eyes, once cold and gray, now quietly surveyed the plaza. From the rainbow-colored market street below the castle town, the scent of cooking had begun to drift for the first time in a while. The smell of sautéed onions. The sweet aroma of freshly baked bread. Somewhere, someone was making their favorite food for the first time in twelve years. The earl quietly inhaled the scent through his nose. "...I see," Toast Hakushaku said. That was all. But within that voice lay twelve years of something. Yuuki glanced at the earl's profile. The face that had worn nothing but cold smiles until yesterday was now quiet. Simply quiet. And somehow, that made his chest tighten. (That earl...) Just as he was lost in contemplation— "...Um, hey." A small voice came from near his shoulder. It was the spirit レシピ. A semi-transparent small form floated in the morning light. Usually it glowed a pale white, but today its shimmer seemed somehow weaker. "I was trying to tell you," レシピ said. "Hm?" Yuuki replied. "I was trying to tell you, but everyone was crying so I couldn't," レシピ continued. "Yeah," Yuuki said. "I couldn't say it, couldn't say it, but I had to say it," レシピ said. Momo lifted her head. "Hey, I'm getting a really bad feeling about this," Momo said. "It's not just since yesterday that I couldn't say it... Actually, since the day before yesterday," レシピ said. "The day before yesterday!?" Yuuki exclaimed. レシピ trembled. Its light grew even weaker. "A dimensional rift is opening," レシピ said. Silence. The air in the plaza froze in an instant. Caramel Hime dropped the small bottle of caramel sauce she'd been holding. Momo stood up, hands on her hips, and stared at レシピ with an intense expression. A strange sound came from Yuuki's throat. "...Huh? What did you just say?" Yuuki asked. "A dimensional rift. There's a black crack in the sky above Gratinée... It's been there since the day before yesterday," レシピ said. "Since the day before yesterday!!!" Yuuki shouted. "I couldn't say it!!" レシピ cried. "That's when we were fighting General Mold!! It's been there this whole time!?" Yuuki demanded. "Everyone seemed so busy!!" レシピ protested. Momo put her hand to her forehead. "Wait, hold on. You could've said it a minute ago. You could've said it just now. Why now!!!!!" Momo demanded. Caramel Hime picked up the small bottle from the stone plaza and spoke in a calm voice. "...Um, Yuuki-san. What do you think about this?" Caramel Hime asked. "What do I think—that's not the point!?" Yuuki exclaimed. Toast Hakushaku crossed his arms and looked at レシピ. He was calm. However, his eyes weren't smiling. "What's on the other side of the rift," Toast Hakushaku said. レシピ answered while trembling. "...The Four Heavenly Kings of Demon Lord ヴォイド. Because of Toast Hakushaku's change of heart—and I'm really glad you did change your heart—but when the earl's negative emotions disappeared, the remnants of dark power that were lingering in the world had nowhere to go... and they took concrete form as a dimensional rift," レシピ said. "Don't end with 'I think,'" Momo said. "...I think," レシピ said. "You ended with it anyway!!!" Momo shouted. That was the moment. Gratinée's sky creaked. It wasn't a tearing sound. It was quieter—the sound of the world developing a crack. Yuuki looked up at the sky. Black lines ran across the pale blue morning sky. One. Two. Three. As if someone had scratched the sky, dark cracks spread outward. The plaza's residents looked up, and murmurs spread. Yuuki's fingertips grew hot—his taste magic was reacting. But he didn't yet know what it was reacting to. The edge of the rift opened with a crack. What emerged from it was—quiet. It wasn't a flashy entrance. No explosions. No roars. Just something in human form slowly descended from the sky's rift. Nearly twice Yuuki's height. Clothes of pure black. Despite having human skin, light didn't reflect off it. There were eyes—or so it seemed—but nothing was reflected in the pupils. There was no expression. Not anger, not sadness, not cold laughter, not disgust. There was simply nothing. レシピ trembled violently. "The Four Heavenly Kings of Demon Lord ヴォイド... the Corrosion King ネクロ. I haven't been able to confirm the details yet, but," レシピ said. "You're saying it without confirming!!" Yuuki shouted. The Corrosion King ネクロ descended silently onto the plaza's stone pavement. There wasn't even a footstep. Yuuki stepped forward. (It's okay. I moved the earl's heart with cooking. I moved General Mold's heart. This time too...) The confidence he'd built up in the previous arc burned steadily in his chest. If an opponent had a heart, cooking could reach it. That was Yuuki's way of fighting. He picked up a piece of the friendship sandwich that remained on the table, plate and all. The rainbow light had faded, but warmth still transmitted to his palm. "Look, just hear me out. This is seriously messed up, right!" Yuuki said. With a serious expression, Yuuki held out the friendship sandwich toward ネクロ. ネクロ accepted it. Slowly, he took a bite. The plaza fell silent. ネクロ opened his mouth. "Wheat-derived carbohydrates, 43 grams. Protein, 18 grams. Fat, 12 grams. Estimated calories, 346 kilocalories. Nutritional balance—acceptable," ネクロ said. His voice was flat. Devoid of any emotion. Yuuki's eyes went wide. (...Huh?) Momo let out a small "what?" Caramel Hime gripped her bottle of caramel sauce tighter. "Wait, try eating it again," Yuuki said. "Really taste it this time." "Processing complete," ネクロ replied. "No, not processing—savor it. Feel that it's delicious," Yuuki said. "Unknown," ネクロ said. "Be moved by it!!" Yuuki demanded. "Unmeasurable," ネクロ said. It was like being punched three times in a row. Something in Yuuki's head began spinning quietly. Momo quickly pulled a peach candy from her apron pocket. A single piece—the culmination of years of candy-making technique honed in the Fruit Kingdom of Citlaria. The kind that spread sweet memories of an orchard the moment it melted on your tongue. "Hey, hey, try eating this!!" Momo said. ネクロ accepted it. Put it in his mouth. "Excessive sugar content. Consumption not recommended," ネクロ said. Momo's smile froze in 0.3 seconds. "...Consumption... not recommended?" Momo asked. "Excessive sugar reduces metabolic efficiency," ネクロ said. "You're talking about metabolic efficiency to my candy!!!!!" Momo shouted. Caramel Hime stepped forward. Her hands trembled slightly, but she hid it as she pulled a small bottle from her pocket and quickly applied the remaining special caramel sauce to a leftover sandwich piece—except in her nervousness, half the sauce fell onto the stone plaza. "This is... a warm-up, I suppose," Caramel Hime said. "I don't think you drop sauce during a warm-up," Yuuki said. "It's part of the warm-up process," Caramel Hime said. She insisted with a straight face while somehow managing to apply sauce to the sandwich and offer it to ネクロ. "Special caramel sauce infused with the magic of sweetness. Made with care for the ingredients. Please..." Caramel Hime said. ネクロ put it in his mouth. "Additional sauce confirmed. Sugar concentration—increased. Flavor data—updated," ネクロ said. "Flavor data!!!!!" Yuuki shouted. Something snapped in Yuuki's head. "It's not data! There's taste! There's actual taste! Hime made it with her heart!" Yuuki said. "..." ネクロ said. "Can't you feel it!?" Yuuki demanded. "Emotional parameter—does not exist," ネクロ said. Those words fell quietly onto the plaza. Emotional parameter—does not exist. Momo clenched her fists. Momo didn't usually hide her anger. But now there was nowhere to direct it, and she just bit her lip. Caramel Hime looked down for a moment. Then she quietly looked up again. In those amber eyes, there was no resignation. Just something complex swaying. Yuuki looked into ネクロ's eyes. Eyes that didn't reflect light. Eyes with nothing in them. The earl had cold laughter. General Mold had negative emotions. But ネクロ's eyes held—truly nothing. No pain. No anger. Not even hatred. Just emptiness. (How can I... reach him?) At that moment, ネクロ moved. He spread his arms wide. Just that simple motion. But an ash-black aura began seeping from ネクロ's body—the power of corrosion. Similar to the power General Mold had possessed, but colder. A quieter aura of destruction. The edge of the stone plaza began to discolor. Part of the castle wall made of food ingredients turned gray. The plaza's residents screamed. The sound of retreating footsteps spread across the plaza. "Fall back!!" Yuuki shouted. Faster than his shout—someone stepped forward. A black cloak. Dark brown armor. A 185-centimeter frame stood between the residents and ネクロ. It was Toast Hakushaku. He extended both hands forward, deploying a magical barrier. A wall of blackish light held back the corrosive aura. With a grinding sound, but certainly, protecting the people. A sound rose from the plaza. A small voice. But definitely a voice. "The earl is... protecting us." "That person is..." The residents' eyes turned toward the earl. The eyes of people who had feared his name for twelve years. But now, there was no fear in those gazes. Gratitude. The earl's shoulders moved slightly. He must have noticed. The gaze directed at him for the first time—not contempt. Yuuki saw his profile. A face trying to maintain composure. But the tips of his ears were slightly red. (That earl...) As warmth kindled in his chest, Caramel Hime beside him took a small breath. Her golden hair caught the morning sun and glimmered. Her profile quietly watched over the earl. A peaceful face, slightly dazzled. Yuuki looked at that profile for just a moment. It was beautiful, he thought. (—But this isn't the time for that!!) He shook his head and turned back to ネクロ. ネクロ looked at the barrier and tilted his head slightly. "Inefficient defensive formation. Energy consumption rate—excessive," ネクロ said. "Shut up!!" Yuuki shouted. But Yuuki's mind was working at full speed. The earl's heart was reached. General Mold was defeated. But— (Emotional parameter—does not exist) Those words kept spinning in his head. The activation condition for taste magic was "sincere feelings toward the person eating." But wasn't that p