Chapter 100 I Have To Do Something Before My Daughter Kills Someone
The moment Aaron put a spoonful of soup in his mouth, his reaction was intense.
"Ngghhhhhhhh!!!?"
He panicked, covering his mouth with both hands, his eyes wide open, and his head shaking violently, like a boy rolling on the ground in agony.
The reason he didn't spit out the contents of his mouth was that he was being stared at intensely by the person across from him.
The tense atmosphere in the dining room was palpable. Aaron, a seasoned veteran, sensed that this tension could escalate into a killing intent at any moment, thanks to his sharp instincts and intuition.
He had been headbanging for a while, but eventually, to escape the unbearable pain, he thought it would be better to swallow the contents of his mouth.
He tilted his head back, facing the ceiling, and――Gulp! Forced himself to swallow the soup.
And then――
THUD!
Like a marionette whose strings had been cut, he suddenly collapsed onto the table, or rather, crashed into it.
A loud noise echoed, but he didn't scream in pain; instead, his body convulsed occasionally.
His eyes spun, his consciousness grew hazy, and his body lost all strength.
The lingering flavors of sweetness, bitterness, spiciness, saltiness, and umami in his mouth were a chaotic mix. The sensation was awful, like having mud stuck in his mouth. With each breath, the stench from his stomach rose to the surface, a smell that surpassed the limits of human endurance. His sense of taste was being killed, and his senses were growing numb.
This is disgusting.
But, fortunately, the sensation of dying saved him from shock death.
However,
(My stomach is burning with pain!!)
It was just one spoonful.
Just one spoonful did this.
Aaron wanted to scream in agony, but his entire body was in a defensive response due to the intense pain, and his muscles were stiff, making it impossible for him to even move a finger, let alone scream.
Meanwhile, Fiona, who was watching him from across the table, blushed a lovely shade of pink, her face filled with a mixture of embarrassment and amusement.
Her smile was incredibly charming, and if he had seen it in a normal, everyday situation, he would have fallen in love with her for a hundred years.
Well, the only person who could see that was lying on the table.
And no matter how lovely the smile was, the situation was crucial, or so it seemed. Even if I saw it when I was on the verge of death, I wouldn't fall in love, Aaron thought.
"G-Geez, it's too much, Aaron! But... was it really that delicious?"
It seemed like Aaron's reaction was overwhelmed by the deliciousness.
Although he didn't say a word about the taste, it was obvious. But, if people's perception is filtered by their preconceptions, would they end up like this?
"I, until now..."
Aaron started talking in a trembling voice, still lying on the table.
The peak had passed.
Aaron had recovered enough to squeeze out his voice with his incredible vitality.
"Until now, I've eaten... among them... the worst..."
"T-the worst... ah, yeah! Haha I added various seasonings and used top-notch cooking techniques, after all!"
"No... the worst... it's disgusting!!"
Aaron said honestly.
It wasn't about flattery or consideration for the other person; it wasn't that kind of conversation.
"――――what?"
The face that had broken into a joyful smile suddenly turned serious, and the eyes that had lost their sparkle stared at Aaron.
With a voice that echoed from the depths, like a boastful masterpiece, she asked.
"...what do you mean?"
"Do, um, that... uh, well... it's... disgusting!!"
"Even if you're going to criticize, aren't you overdoing it? If there was something you didn't like, just say so!"
"It's not that I didn't like it...!! It's just that... uh, that dimension... is...!!"
"Then what is it?"
"Well, simply... it's disgusting, that's all...!! Oh, you, did you even taste it...?"
"Taste it...?"
Fiona suddenly came back to her senses.
Come to think of it, she might have forgotten to taste it while making it with all her might, and...
But what is tasting, anyway? Is it something you do to make it delicious?
"I'm telling you, that's not possible!!
There are dishes in this world that can't be fixed no matter how much you taste and adjust!!
But, well.
Fiona remembered that she hadn't tasted it, and decided to try her "Super Luxurious Minestrone" to see just how delicious it was.
If it didn't taste bad, I'd stab Aaron――she thought, and took a spoonful of the soup....
"Uggghhh~~~!!?"
She naturally reacted with a look of disgust.
And the next day――.
* * *
"That's what happened,."
In the Ackerman family's living room, which was modest in scale compared to the merchant guild, Alisa Ackerman was listening to her beloved daughter's story.
Alisa was a woman in her early forties with a slender build.
But she didn't give off a weak or timid impression; instead, she exuded a strong and courageous aura. Her hair and eyes were brown, and anyone could tell she had a strong personality from her sharp facial features.
Her daughter's hair and eye color were inherited from her husband Cliff, but everything else was similar to her own.
Her daughter, who had suddenly come to visit around evening after finishing work, had asked for her advice on something very unusual.
Usually, Alisa was strict and stern, but this was her beloved daughter's request. Of course, Alisa accepted without hesitation.
So, in the Ackerman family's living room, Alisa listened to her daughter Fiona's story....
(Ah... God...!! Did I raise her badly...!?)
After listening to her daughter's story, Alisa, who was known for her bravery, was pale and shaking with fear.
It wasn't from the cold. It was from terror.
There were parts where she didn't say it clearly, or looked embarrassed and hesitant, but to summarize her daughter's story, it seemed to be about this:
――She had served her favorite guy a homemade meal.
This was the gist of the incident that had occurred.
Alisa particularly asked Fiona about how she had made the dish, what ingredients she had used, and in what order she had added them, questioning her thoroughly.
The result was clear: it seemed that the bad one was her daughter.
Her daughter was fuming, saying things like "How dare he says someone's cooking is disgusting! That's so rude!" But that was just a ridiculous excuse. If someone served her such a terrible dish, she'd be furious too.
"Hey, Fiona..."
"What is it, Mom?"
"You...you served that awful, industrial-waste-level dish to someone you like...?"
She couldn't believe it, so she asked again.
But her daughter gave a ridiculous answer.
"What's with that?! I didn't serve it to someone I like or anything!"
"It doesn't matter who it was! Your attitude says it all!!"
Does she think she can hide it? If so, that's a problem in itself.
"What's with you, Mom?! You're going too far, saying my cooking is industrial-waste-level?"
"I'm not going too far...it's terrifying...!!"
If this were a dream or something, that would be great.
But unfortunately, the fact that her daughter served industrial-waste-level food to someone else couldn't be erased.
So, to prevent further harm, she had to do something as a mother, and a sense of mission began to boil up in her heart.
(I have to do something before my daughter kills someone...!!)
She deeply regretted it.
After losing her husband and son, and escaping the bloody power struggle, she returned to her family's home in Necronia with her daughter, and to forget her sorrow, she threw herself into helping with the family business.
She traveled to various places, opening up new supply routes, relying on the few connections she had made as Mrs. Rockwell to expand their sales channels, and sometimes even clashed with rival merchant guilds. She made a huge contribution to the Ackerman merchant guild.
Thanks to that, she became known as the "Female Hero of Ackerman," surpassing her brother, the guild leader.
But because of that, she wondered if she had neglected her duties as a mother.
It's already too late for her daughter to have taken the path of an explorer, which is like being a yakuza. But at the very least, she should have taught her the basics, like a normal mother would, no matter how busy she was, no matter how much she hated it.
Specifically, she's talking about cooking.
To be honest, she never taught her daughter how to cook until she was this age. She never thought it would lead to such a disaster.
Alisa was painfully reminded of the importance of education.
It's clear that humans need education.
(God, please... I hope my daughter's cooking can be improved through education...)
Just as Alisa wished, a cracking sound was heard.
When she looked, she saw that the teacup her daughter was drinking from had a crack in it.
"Ah, no! Mom, this teacup, didn't you buy a cheap one? It broke even though I didn't do anything!"
"...That's a high-quality product from the Republic..."
(God...?)
For some reason, Alisa's faith was shaken.
"But, well... I understand what you're saying."
However, she was a positive person.
She forced herself to cheer up and summarized her daughter's request.
"So, you want me to teach you how to cook?"
"Yeah, that's right. I'm fed up with it, so I want to make something delicious this time!"
"Okay, got it. Come back when you have time, and I'll teach you how to cook properly. Of course, I'll teach you the right way to make minestro too."
In any case, the other party was still alive. So, it was still possible to turn things around――or so she thought.
(Huh?)
Alisa tilted her head slightly.
It was a small question.
(From what I've heard, Fiona's cooking was so bad it wasn't even edible for humans... and yet, the other party ate it in one bite...)
The person who could eat such a terrible dish without hesitation didn't seem to have romantic feelings for Fiona.
But when she thought about it calmly, how many people could eat such a poisonous homemade dish?
At the very least, as a mother and undoubtedly loving her daughter, she wouldn't say such a thing.
But even if it's just a single word, he ate it...?
To be honest, it's not a sane decision. So, when she thinks about why humans make insane choices, one answer comes to mind.
(Maybe, Fiona's favorite person is? He's ridiculously in love with her?)
She knows that Fiona's mentor as an explorer is a certain someone. She even know his name.
But she doesn't know anything about that person's background.
(It could be my daughter's last chance before she misses her wedding... I can't let him escape...)
Glaring, her eyes sparkled.
Alisa decided to investigate Aaron Gale thoroughly.
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