The door to the great hall burst open. "[excited]Excuse us!" ""[excited]Excuse us!!"" Seven women lined up in perfect formation. The Seven Sisters of Purgatory—the furniture who served Beatrice. At their head stood the eldest sister, Lucifer. Her hair was neatly tied back, her eyes brimming with pride. Beside her, Leviathan, with a cold gaze and sleek black hair swaying gently. Then Satan, whose youthful face held a hint of cruelty. Belphegor, looking perpetually drowsy. Mammon, decked out in gaudy accessories and loving every bit of it. Beelzebub, the glutton, already chewing on something. And finally, Asmodeus, letting out a sultry sigh. Battler flinched a little as all seven bowed to him at once. "[nervous]O-Oh. Nice to meet you all." His voice cracked slightly. Beatrice held her fan to her lips, smirking. Lucifer stepped forward. "[serious]Today, we, the Seven Sisters of Purgatory, shall have the honor of serving at this tea party. Please, make yourselves comfortable." Oh, they're actually pretty proper about this. Just as Battler felt a wave of relief— "[serious]And—the star of today's tea party is this scone." Lucifer held aloft a scone on a silver tray. Ah, that looks good, Battler thought, reaching out—but someone stopped his hand. "[cold]Hold on, Sister." Leviathan smoothly stepped in front of Lucifer. "[sarcastic]Still fawning over those dry lumps of wheat, are we? The star today is, of course, this macaron. Anyone who can't appreciate this delicate beauty is no better than a barbarian." Leviathan thrust her tray of colorful macarons right in front of Battler's face. "[angry]W-What did you say?!" Lucifer's face turned bright red. "[angry]Macarons are nothing but lumps of sugar and food coloring! The foundation of confectionery is the rich aroma of butter!" "[sarcastic]Foundation? How hopelessly outdated. These days, only rural nobles fawn over scones." "[angry]Rural nobles?! You—you useless little sister!!" Their foreheads nearly slammed together, sparks flying between them. Battler's eyes darted back and forth in bewilderment. (W-What the hell?! They're fighting already?!) "[laughing]Oh my, dear elder sisters." The young-faced Satan cut in with an innocent smile—or so it seemed. "[gentle]Scones and macarons are both so old-fashioned. Sweets need to be far more sinful. Don't you think?" Satan produced a pitch-black chocolate cake from her own tray. "[gentle]Delicious, bad for you, and therefore the best. This is Satan-chan's specialty: the 'Sloth Mousse'~" "[angry]Hah?! What is that black thing?! It looks absolutely hideous!" "[angry]Indeed! The best is clearly these jewel-like macarons!" "[sad]Aww, that's so mean. It's sad that you can't appreciate true flavor." Then, the drowsy Belphegor sluggishly cut in. "[whispers]Hahh... you're all so loud... Sweets are just... anything edible is fine... Here, this is my 'Sloth Jelly.' For those who find eating too much effort... help yourselves..." "[angry]It is NOT fine!!" "[angry]Absolutely not! Attention to detail is everything!!" "[laughing]Ahahaha! How pitiful, all of you! The value of a sweet is determined by how gorgeous it looks!" Mammon, her gold accessories jangling, held up a large fruit tart. "[laughing]Behold! My 'Greed Tart'! Strawberries, kiwi, mango, peach! A jewel box of fruit! Compared to this, a scone is nothing but a pebble!" "[angry]A pebble?! You nouveau riche harlot!" "[angry]What did you say?! Bold words from someone with such a poor palate!" "[angry]Nom nom... nom nom...!" Before anyone noticed, the gluttonous Beelzebub had been snacking from everyone's trays, completely ignoring the chaos. Her mouth was smeared with cream as she stuffed her cheeks. "[angry]Hey!! Beelzebub, who said you could just help yourself?!" "[angry]My tart has a bite taken out of it!!" "[mumbling]Nom nom... because it looked tasty..." "[angry]No excuses!!" "[laughing]Ufufu, everyone looks like they're having so much fun. Perhaps you're all lacking a kiss of love?" The sultry Asmodeus approached, blowing kisses. "[excited]Let me feed you my special 'Lust Marshmallow'—" "[angry]Whoa, back off, you pervert! Yours is definitely the most dangerous one, isn't it?!" Battler instinctively recoiled. The great hall had become a battlefield of pandemonium. "[angry]Scones are the true—" "[angry]It's macarons—" "[gentle]The Sloth Mousse is—" "[laughing]The Greed Tart—" "[mumbling]Nom nom—" "[excited]You're lacking love—" The angry shouts of the seven echoed throughout the room. "[angry]H-Hold on, all of you!!" Battler shouted, covering his ears. "[angry]What the hell is this fight about?! H-Hey, witch! They're your furniture, do something about this!!" At the head of the large table, Beatrice was elegantly sipping her black tea. "[laughing]Ohohohoho. What are you saying, you useless Battler?" "[angry]Don't 'what are you saying' me!" "[gentle]Energetic furniture is proof that my management is thorough. Just watch. In its own way, this is quite an amusing fight, is it not?" Completely unruffled, Beatrice plucked a macaron from the cake stand. "[angry]It's not amusing! And why the hell are you so calm?! Is this another one of your games?!" "[sarcastic]Hmm. Who knows?" The witch grinned. At that moment, someone grabbed both of Battler's arms. "[surprised]Huh?" He turned to find Lucifer and Leviathan holding his arms from either side. "[serious]Ah, I've just had a wonderful idea." "[cold]Yes, indeed. We simply need a judge." "[nervous]A... a judge?" "[excited]That's right! You will eat them and decide which one is the most delicious!" All seven sisters turned their eyes on Battler at once. "[shocked]Eeeeeeh?!" "[serious]Now, start with my scone. Here." "[cold]No, start with my macaron. Here." "[gentle]Don't forget Satan-chan's mousse~" "[whispers]The jelly too... eat it..." "[laughing]If you eat my tart, you'll unanimously declare it the best!" "[mumbling]Nom nom... you want some...?" "[excited]First, my love marshmallow... say ahh—" "[angry]No, wait wait wait wait!!" Battler backed away step by step. But his escape route was completely surrounded by the seven. "[angry]There's a rule against monopolizing sweets! Being a judge is impossible!" "[serious]This is not monopolization. It is judging." "[nervous]E-Even so—" "[cold]If you refuse, that would be a rule violation, and thus a penalty game." "[angry]Penalty game?! The one where I can't eat sweets anymore?!" "[laughing]A much more fun penalty game. A special one we came up with—" "[angry]A-Alright! I get it! I just have to eat them, right?! I'll eat them!!" Battler's face twitched. What followed was hell. First, a bite of Lucifer's scone. Buttery, and well, it was good. "[gentle]This is... pretty good." "[laughing]See?! As expected of Battler, you understand flavor!" "[angry]Hey! Next is my macaron!" Leviathan shoved a pink macaron into Battler's mouth. Crisp, then melting. Sweet. "[muffled]I-It's good. It's good, but wait, my mouth is still—" "[excited]Now try Satan-chan's mousse!" No waiting. The pitch-black mousse was spooned into his mouth. Sweetness and bitterness exploded on his tongue. "[choking]U-Ugh?!" "[excited]Eat this too... say ahh—" "[angry]I don't want the pervert's marshmallow!!" "[laughing]My tart! This is the pinnacle!" "[mumbling]...Nom nom." Battler desperately swallowed the sweets being shoved into his mouth one after another. The scone had a wonderful buttery aroma, crispy on the outside, moist on the inside. The macaron melted the moment it entered his mouth, spreading sweet happiness. The mousse was melt-in-your-mouth, with a deep chocolate flavor. The fruit tart had juicy fruit, sweet and tart. ...Delicious. They were all delicious. But— "[sad]Ugh... I can't... eat anymore..." After five, then six sweets, Battler's stomach was bulging. His complexion was turning increasingly pale. "[excited]Now, tell us which one was the best!" "[cold]Naturally, it was my macaron, wasn't it?" "[sad]Say it was the mousse...? If you don't, I'll cry..." Sweat pouring down his face, Battler looked at the seven faces in turn. (No matter what I answer, the other six will be furious...!) "[nervous]W-Well, the scone was, you know, buttery and..." "[excited]See!" "[angry]Wait, are you saying the macaron didn't suit your palate?!" "[panicked]N-No... the macaron was good too! It melted in my mouth, really!" "[smug]Hmph, naturally." "[angry]Oh, so you're saying the macaron is better than the scone?!" "[angry]T-That's not what I meant! The mousse too, it was, you know, bitter and good!" "[sad]Bitter... so it really was bad after all..." "[angry]No! It's good! I'm saying it's good!" "[laughing]You haven't forgotten my tart, have you?" "[angry]The tart too! The fruit was juicy and amazing!" "[excited]So the tart is the best?!" "[angry]I didn't say that! Aaaargh, I don't know anymore!!" Battler clutched his head and yelled. Watching this, Beatrice was clutching her stomach, laughing. But still—it wasn't the decisive laugh yet. "[angry]Hey, Beatrice! Stop laughing and help me!" "[laughing]Impossible, ohohohoho! You must handle this yourself." Then, Battler, reaching his limit, suddenly shouted, half in tears. "[angry]Enough!! They're all delicious! The scone, the macaron, the mousse, the tart—all of them are delicious! How could I possibly decide which one is best?! Doing that would be a waste, wouldn't it?!" The great hall fell completely silent. The Seven Sisters blinked for a moment, then exchanged glances. Lucifer looked at Leviathan. Leviathan looked at Satan. ""[snickering]...Pfft."" Someone burst out laughing. It spread like a chain reaction. "[laughing]Ahahahahahahahaha!!" "[laughing]Ohohohohoho! 'All of them are delicious,' he says!" "[laughing]'A waste'—! Ahahaha!" The Seven Sisters were rolling with laughter, as if they had completely forgotten they were fighting moments ago. Lucifer wiped tears from her eyes as she spoke. "[gentle]W-Well, yes... Certainly, each one was something we made with all our hearts." "[gentle]Indeed. It seems we were fighting over something so trivial." "[gentle]Then, this time, let's all line them up together properly." The fierce fight subsided as if it had never happened. The seven obediently rearranged their sweet trays on the table. Battler's strength left him, and he slumped to the floor. "[exhausted]Hahh... hahh... that scared me..." That's when it happened. "[laughing]Aaaahahahahahahahaha!!" An explosion of laughter. Startled, Battler looked over. Beatrice was—clutching her stomach, laughing hysterically. She was slamming her ever-present fan against the table. "[laughing]'A waste,' he says?! Ohohohoho!! M-My eyes, they're tearing up...! Aah, my stomach hurts!!" Her arrogance, her haughtiness, her spite—all of it had vanished. It was simply a smile of pure, uncontrollable joy from the bottom of her heart. Her golden ringlets trembled with her laughter. The tears welling at the corners of her eyes sparkled, reflecting the chandelier's light. "..." Battler stared at that face, dazed. (What the...) (What the hell, you...) (You can smile like that, can't you?) A strange stirring rose in his chest. They had faced each other hundreds of times before. Fought in games, traded insults. But—he had never seen this face. Her usual spiteful smirk. Her composed, haughty laugh. Her angry face, turning away with a huff. He thought those were the only faces she had. And yet, now—she was laughing like this. (I didn't know.) Battler didn't realize he was staring intently at Beatrice. "[surprised]...Hm?" Her laughter subsiding, Beatrice noticed Battler's gaze. "[flustered]W-What is it? Staring at someone's face like that. If you have a complaint, say it." The witch's cheeks flushed slightly as she hid her face