Standing before the walls of Gratine, Toast Hakushaku held both arms spread wide. Beads of sweat seeped faintly through the gaps in his burnt-brown armor. His tall frame of 185 centimeters stood firm against the ground, and from his back spread a barrier of light that held back the yellowish-green aura of decay—the corrosive aura that Necro emitted. The barrier was thin, but solid. It wavered slightly each time the miasma of decay struck against it, but it did not break. Beyond the wall, the residents of Gratine held their breath. A child's crying. Someone's quiet prayers. The light falling on the stone pavement looked slightly distorted because of the barrier. One of the residents—an elderly man with bread-colored skin—spoke softly. "...Thank you, Earl." The Earl did not turn around. His disheveled burnt-brown long hair swayed in the wind. After a moment of silence, only a low voice returned. "I won't run anymore." That was all. The short words slowly spread across the stone plaza. The residents stirred. The man who had once bound them with the Unified Cooking Decree—a law he had established forbidding any dishes other than 47 prescribed menus—now stood silently before them. That fact slowly seeped into the hearts of the people. Hiroshi spectacularly shattered that emotional atmosphere. "Uuugh... so cool...!!" Standing just outside the city wall, near the edge of the barrier, Hiroshi began sobbing with tears streaming from his eyes. His stocky frame belied a delicate sensitivity, his shoulders trembling violently. Takeru quickly jabbed Hiroshi in the ribs with his elbow. "Don't cry! If you get distracted, we'll get hit with an attack!!" "I know!! But!! It's way too cool!!!" "You clearly don't know!!" Hiroshi wailed while tears poured down his face. Takeru desperately retorted. The exchange between the two was completely exposed in front of the city wall. A child among the residents tugged at Yuuki's sleeve. "Hey, what are those people doing?" "...I don't really know either." Takahashi Yuuki—black short hair, brown eyes, burn scars on his fingertips, seventeen years old—answered honestly. And Yuuki didn't miss the way the Earl's brow furrowed ever so slightly. (The Earl... looks uncomfortable.) He seemed to realize that the emotional moment had been ruined in three seconds. ◆ By the city wall, Caramel Hime was working on food distribution. Her golden, loosely flowing long hair swayed down her back. The sixteen-year-old princess held a distribution basket at her waist and smiled gently at the anxious-looking children. "It's alright. The Earl is maintaining the barrier for us." Her voice was calm and composed. Her amber eyes gazed softly at the children. That smile was perfect, and just looking at it brought peace of mind— Crash. A bottle of caramel sauce slipped from the princess's hand and fell onto the stone pavement. "...Oh my." The princess crouched down to pick up the bottle without letting her smile falter. Crash. A second one fell. It slipped from the edge of the basket as she was crouching. The princess reached out further. Crash. A third one fell. Three puddles of caramel sauce spread across the stone pavement. The golden sauce seeped into the gaps between the stones, and a sweet aroma began to drift through the air. A child among the residents stared at the puddle. "Princess, can I drink this?" "...This is a strategic placement." The princess answered after a slight pause, still smiling. Beside her, the spirit Recipe—a semi-transparent small figure floating in the air—hesitantly opened her mouth. "Um... if you step on it and slip, it could be dangerous..." "...I'll wipe it up quietly." Still maintaining her smile, the princess knelt down and gently placed her hand on the stone pavement. She began to quietly gather the caramel sauce with her palm. The legitimate heir to the throne of Sandwich Kingdom was now kneeling on the stone pavement collecting sauce. "The queen is kneeling!!" A pink short bob came flying from somewhere. It was Momo. Her star-shaped orange eyes were wide as saucers as she shouted. In response to her voice, the residents nearby rushed over all at once. "Oh, I'll help wipe it!" "I have a cloth!" "I'll bring water!" In no time, about ten people had gathered and begun wiping the caramel sauce from the stone pavement together. Children and adults alike were kneeling and wiping earnestly. The caramel swamp the princess had created had somehow mobilized all the residents. Yuuki gazed at the scene blankly and realized he was feeling something indescribable. (... This feels warm somehow.) ◆ "Let's have a strategy meeting. We need to think about how to deal with Necro." Yuuki called out to Momo. Momo bounced on the spot while helping put away the basket and turned around. Her apron fluttered. "Okay! But honestly, I can't think of anything." "Me neither." Momo answered cheerfully, but her eyes suddenly turned toward the Earl. She glanced briefly at the large back maintaining the barrier in front of the city wall. She seemed to be thinking about something, but quickly turned her gaze back to Yuuki. Yuuki noticed it. (Momo... is she worried about the Earl?) No one could say for certain how long the Earl could maintain that barrier. Necro's corrosive aura accumulated over time. Since yesterday, the Earl had been receiving it alone all through the night. Yuuki tried to move closer to Momo. "Hey, Momo—" "Oh my." Golden hair cut across his path. Caramel Hime, holding a fresh distribution basket, slipped smoothly between the two of them with a smile. It was a perfect smile. But her eyes weren't smiling at all. "You two are quite close, aren't you?" She passed by. Both Yuuki and Momo froze. "...I feel like the atmosphere just changed." "I think it's just your imagination." "It's definitely not just my imagination." The two looked at each other, then turned back. Yuuki opened his mouth again. "Momo, you were looking at the Earl earlier. I was wondering—" "Oh my." She came again. This time from the opposite direction. She had come out of a different alley. How. Why. "You two are quite close, aren't you?" Again with the same line, the same smile, the same pace as she passed by. Yuuki's mouth hung half-open. Momo was completely frozen. The third time, the moment Yuuki took another step closer to Momo— "Oh my." "Where are you coming from!!" He couldn't help but shout back. Caramel Hime stopped and straightened her posture. "I am constantly making rounds throughout the kingdom." She said it with full dignity, then turned on her heel. Just as she reached the corner of the nearby alley, she stumbled on a stone and lightly bumped into the wall. Everyone present saw it clearly. "..." "..." "..." No one said anything. The princess continued walking as if nothing had happened. Somehow, that made it cut even deeper into everyone's hearts. ◆ "Let's confirm the terrain. If we can see the surroundings from a high place, we might find a clue for a strategy." Near the city wall, there was a place where jagged boulders were stacked on top of each other. About two meters high. From there, they should be able to see the entire plaza and Necro's position at a glance. Momo shouted "Leave it to me!" and quickly began climbing the rocks. She was nimble. Her apron fluttering, she reached the top in no time. "How is it? Can you see?" "I can see! Necro is—" The moment Momo stood up. Fine sand had accumulated on the top of the rock. Perhaps the decay aura from Necro had caused the stone's surface to deteriorate slightly. Momo's foot slipped. "Whoa—!!" Her body tilted. Falling straight down from a height of two meters. Yuuki moved. His body moved before his mind could think. He reached out. He grabbed Momo's wrist. The weight pulled down, and Yuuki braced himself. Momo hung suspended, held back by Yuuki's hand. "..." Momo looked down. Yuuki's hand firmly grasped her wrist. Yuuki, still holding Momo's hand, couldn't say anything. In his palm, he felt Momo's body heat. Her wrist was thinner than he expected. (She didn't fall. Good.) That was all he thought. But there was something else in his chest besides that thought, and Yuuki couldn't quite put it into words. Momo was looking at Yuuki's hand. She was quiet for a moment. The girl who usually had words pouring out of her mouth first—"Hey, hey, try this!"—was unusually silent. Her pink short bob swayed in the wind. Yuuki couldn't say anything either. Silence began to drift between them— CRASH!!!! A loud sound shattered that silence. Glass fragments and caramel sauce scattered across the stone pavement. The fourth one. All three of them turned their gaze toward the sound at once. Caramel Hime stood frozen, still holding the basket. Golden sauce spread at her feet. Her ears were bright red. Momo shouted as she descended from the rock. "The queen is too clumsy!!" Those words echoed across the plaza. Caramel Hime straightened her posture. Her ears remained bright red, but her voice was composed. "This is... a strategy!" She declared it. No one said anything. Yuuki looked at the sky. Momo looked at her own nails. Recipe drifted off somewhere. Hiroshi suddenly began counting the distribution supplies. Takeru started studying the pattern of the stone pavement. And—far away by the city wall, Toast Hakushaku, who had been maintaining the barrier all along, quietly turned his gaze back toward Necro ahead. Everyone simultaneously decided not to have heard anything. The princess alone knelt on the stone pavement and quietly began gathering the fourth bottle of sauce. Her ears were still red. ◆ That warm and somewhat foolish time continued until the color of the sky changed. Above Gratine—the clear blue sky that had been there before—black haze began to thicken gradually. Slowly, quietly, but certainly. Recipe came to a complete stop. Her small body flickered faintly in a pale blue light. "...Um." Her voice was small. But everyone heard it. "It's preparing again." Necro was beginning its second accumulation of decay waves. The atmosphere of the plaza changed. The warmth from before quietly receded. Yuuki looked up at the sky. Black haze swirled and spread. It was darker than yesterday. A small sound came from near the city wall. A creaking sound. The barrier that Toast Hakushaku had been maintaining—a faint, but definite crack ran through it. A hairline fracture appeared in the thin membrane of light. From the edge of the crack, the decay aura seeped out, and the air wavered slightly. The Earl's expression didn't change. Beyond his disheveled long hair, his gray eyes quietly gazed at Necro. He simply poured more strength into both his arms, trying to prevent the crack from spreading. The sweat on his forehead increased. Yuuki looked at Necro. Standing there unchanged since yesterday. Emotionless. Expressionless. The one who had processed cooking as "calorie calculation" and cut off friendship as "inefficient." (How can I reach him?) That question alone spun endlessly in Yuuki's chest. The magic of flavor had reached the Earl's heart. But if the heart itself from the beginning— Yuuki clenched his fists. The answer still hadn't been found. But there was no feeling of giving up either. The black haze grew thicker. The cracks in the barrier slowly, gradually began to spread.