≈ Chapter 5 ≈
A cold silence filled the hall.
“…”
“…”
“…”
Not only me, who had heard those words directly…
Even Kyrios and Zigfried looked completely stunned.
Caesar stared at me blankly for a moment before finally coming to his senses.
“My apologies. May I ask who this young lady is?”
“M-My name is… Tatiana…”
Huh?
He doesn’t seem to dislike me as much as I expected.
Even though I was confused, I felt a little relieved.
Just then, Kyrios joined the conversation.
“Hey, Caesar! Can you even see us?”
He looked at Caesar with an openly disappointed expression.
“You just think the kid is cute, don’t you? You’re a priest. How can you be so easily distracted by appearances?”
Caesar immediately became serious.
“Everything cute in this world deserves to be loved.”
“…”
“Little animals… and children who are like angels… they all deserve to be cherished.”
Then he continued speaking for quite a while.
“The young lady before us is no different. Isn’t it only natural to mistake such a cute and lovely child for an angel?”
Um…
Everything you’re saying is nice…
But I feel like my ears are about to bleed.
I couldn’t bring myself to interrupt Caesar while he was defending me.
So I could only smile awkwardly.
Kyrios looked at Caesar unhappily and asked,
“Then what about us?”
Caesar frowned as if he had just heard something terrible.
“Do you expect me to care about grown men like you too?”
“…”
My mouth fell open.
The original novel never mentioned this…
But it seems Caesar is only full of love when it comes to children and animals…
Meanwhile, Caesar glanced down at the bandage wrapped around his arm before asking me,
“By the way, Miss Tatiana… have you been taking care of me this whole time?”
“Y-Yes…”
I couldn’t help lowering my eyes in embarrassment.
Ah…
Just look at that bandage.
Now my plan to earn points by taking care of them is completely ruined!
Just then—
“Hehe.”
A quiet laugh echoed.
‘Huh? He’s laughing?’
I immediately looked up at Caesar with wide eyes.
When our eyes met, Caesar smiled awkwardly.
“My apologies. You looked so cute when you avoided my eyes that I couldn’t help laughing.”
Hmm…
Let’s just ignore the expressions on Zigfried’s and Kyrios’s faces that clearly said they wanted to die from watching this.
“You’ve worked very hard because of me. Thank you.”
“No! I only did it because I wanted to!”
I quickly answered.
Thankfully…
It seemed my ‘Operation: Increase the Warriors’ Favorability’ hadn’t failed yet.
Caesar skillfully rewrapped the bandage around his arm as he continued speaking.
“My name is Caesar. Please call me Caesar from now on.”
Wow…
He’s really so kind…
Do you secretly have wings growing on your back or something?
After dealing with Zigfried’s and Kyrios’s cold attitudes…
Talking to Caesar felt almost like heaven.
Feeling grateful, I smiled as brightly as I could.
“Then please call me Titi too!”
“…”
For a moment…
Caesar simply stared at my face.
Then he quietly whispered,
“…Cute.”
“Hm? What did you say?”
“No… it’s nothing.”
Caesar quickly shook his head.
Hmm…
His face looks a little red.
He’s not getting a fever, is he?
✦ ✦ ✦
After that…
I headed toward the kitchen.
Caesar hadn’t eaten anything until now.
I wanted to bring him some food.
But…
There was one person who kept following behind me.
‘Ugh… he’s so annoying!!’
I turned around sharply.
When our eyes met, Kyrios shamelessly asked,
“What are you looking at?”
No, why do you keep following me everywhere?
You’re so annoying!
…Of course, I didn’t have the courage to actually say that.
“It’s nothing.”
I forced down my anger and smiled sweetly.
Stay calm.
I have a goal.
I have to make those annoying Warriors become my guardians so I can safely grow into an adult.
Only then can I awaken as the Demon King…
And get revenge on the people who made my life miserable!
Kyrios spoke loudly on purpose so I could hear him.
“Is that really the face of someone who’s thinking about nothing? To me, it looks like you want to punch me.”
‘Ah… I really want to punch you right in the stomach…’
Without thinking…
I clenched my fist tightly.
My little fist trembled.
But…
‘No. I have to endure it.’
After barely calming myself down, I forced another smile.
“Of course not.”
“…”
Kyrios looked down at me with a strange expression.
Seriously…
What’s wrong with you?
Still…
There was nothing to gain from arguing with him.
So I quietly walked into the kitchen instead.
At the same time, Kyrios leaned his head inside.
“This is the kitchen?”
“Yes.”
I nodded.
The kitchen reminded me of the laundry room I had visited earlier.
Just then, I heard Kyrios click his tongue.
“What is this…? I’ve never seen such a luxurious kitchen.”
I completely agreed.
The entire kitchen sparkled without even a speck of dust.
Every cooking tool was neatly organized.
The most noticeable thing was a large cabinet protected by preservation magic.
It was filled with rare ingredients gathered from all over the world.
‘Honestly… I don’t even recognize half of these ingredients.’
Cold sweat ran down my back.
For now…
I picked out only the ingredients I recognized.
Onions.
Bacon.
Potatoes.
Eggs.
Olive oil.
Soft white bread.
Milk.
And cheese.
Looking at the ingredients…
I fell into deep thought.
“If it’s food for a patient… maybe I should make soup?”
“Patient food?”
Kyrios laughed.
“What patient food? Caesar could probably chew through a piece of iron.”
“But he’s still hurt.”
“He’s awake now, so he’s fine. He’ll recover quickly. A kid like you doesn’t need to wor—”
Halfway through explaining…
Kyrios suddenly became annoyed.
“Wait… why am I explaining all this?”
I never asked you to.
I secretly glared at him.
Maybe he felt embarrassed.
Kyrios awkwardly cleared his throat before asking,
“Do you even know how to cook?”
“Umm… I guess I’ll figure it out.”
I tried to stay positive.
But soon…
I ran into a problem.
‘How do I light the fire?’
I stood in front of a huge cooking station that looked like a mix between an oven, a stove, and a fireplace.
I fell into deep thought.
It was obviously a magical cooking tool.
But no matter what I did…
It wouldn’t light.
Just then—
“What’s wrong? Why are you just standing there?”
Kyrios suddenly walked over.
I looked up at him awkwardly.
“I-I can’t make the fire start…”
“The fire?”
Kyrios looked over the cooking station.
Then he suddenly spoke.
“The mana circuit is messed up.”
“M-Mana circuit?”
“Yeah. If I fix it like this…”
His long, elegant fingers gently touched the cooking station.
Tiny sparkling lights sank into it.
Then…
Kyrios turned the valve attached to the side.
Click.
And a miracle happened.
Something inside clicked into place.
A moment later…
Heat began rising from the cooking station.
“Woooow…”
My eyes sparkled as I looked up at Kyrios.
Well…
Even useless things can be useful sometimes.
He’s actually pretty capable.
I guess he really is the great mage.
At the same time, Kyrios looked down at me with an uninterested expression.
“Hey. Move.”
“Huh?”
Seeing my confused face, Kyrios pointed toward the corner of the kitchen.
“You’re way too small to be cooking. Go sit over there.”
“B-But…”
“How is a four-year-old supposed to use knives and fire? If you get hurt, Caesar will probably kill me.”
“…”
Wow.
He’s really treating me like a child.
Before I knew it…
I had been pushed into a corner of the kitchen.
I pouted unhappily.
Kyrios skillfully heated a frying pan.
Soon…
The sound of bacon sizzling filled the room.
Then he cracked an egg into the bacon grease.
The rich smell spread through the kitchen.
‘Ah… that smells so good.’
I sniffed the air.
Then I suddenly came back to my senses.
“B-But Caesar should eat patient food!”
“He won’t die from eating this.”
Kyrios only shrugged as he sliced the white bread.
I stared at his back with unhappy eyes.
It’s okay if I glare a little, right?
He’s not even looking this way—
“Hey.”
“Wah!”
I jumped in surprise.
Do you have eyes on the back of your head or something?!
Kyrios glanced over his shoulder and narrowed his eyes.
“What did you do? Why do you suddenly look so guilty?”
“I-I didn’t do anything.”
“Hmm…”
Kyrios still looked suspicious.
But he didn’t ask any more questions.
Instead…
He turned back and finished cooking.
As he placed the bacon and fried eggs onto a large plate…
He suddenly called out to me.
“Hey, kid.”
“Yes?”
“Why don’t you cry?”
Huh?
What’s that supposed to mean?
Do you want me to cry and beg for my life or something?
I stared at Kyrios with cold eyes.
Then I quickly put on an innocent expression and tilted my head.
“What do you mean?”
“Aren’t you scared?”
Maybe it was just my imagination…
But his voice sounded much quieter than before.
“You’re just a child. Normally you’d be crying your eyes out. So why are you acting so mature?”
