Chapter 101 Is It Really That Delicious?
After finishing the performance test of the newly made "Rock Iron" and "Earth Crystal Shield" with Io and Garon in the 11th floor of [God's Remains Labyrinth], I returned home in the evening.
As I entered, I was greeted by Fiona, who was wearing an apron I'd never seen before.
The moment I saw Fiona in that unfamiliar apron, my heart skipped a beat. My heart rate increased with each passing second, and I almost pounced on Fiona, but she turned around and said,
"Dinner's ready, so..."
And then, a few minutes later, I found myself sitting at the dining table.
My memories were hazy from the moment I heard Fiona's words. Still, I vaguely remembered washing my hands and moving to the dining room, and sitting down as Fiona told me to.
Right in front of me, Fiona had prepared dinner.
There was bread as the main course, red soup, and a meat dish with an unfamiliar shape, as well as a salad that looked normal at first glance.
The shape of the meat dish was unfamiliar, but everything else looked like a normal meal.
But that was the biggest anomaly.
It looked like a normal meal at first glance? What's going on...?!
To be honest, it was unsettling. It might be my imagination, but I felt a sense of discomfort, like a demon was pretending to be human.
As I secretly trembled with fear, Fiona sat down across from me with a smile that seemed carefree.
"Please, help yourself," she said.
"......"
...Was "help yourself" supposed to mean "go to heaven"?
Fiona was waiting for me to start eating, her smile fixed on her face. That smile was all that was left of the discomfort. It was a fake smile that Fiona would never normally wear.
And contrary to Fiona's expression, the atmosphere was heavy. I felt a sense of tension and pressure, like in the midst of battle, as if she would react immediately to my every move.
But a promise is a promise.
I had to eat all of this.
...But if I couldn't do it in one bite, I'd prostrate myself and beg for mercy. If this is a sign of gratitude, Fiona shouldn't want me to die...!!
I steeled myself, put it in my mouth, chewed, and swallowed.
And then――,
"Ugh, it's delicious! It's just like the bread from the Golden Wheat Cafe! The aroma of wheat is so rich it's bursting out of my nose, and I could eat it all day!!"
"...That's the bread I bought from the Golden Wheat Cafe."
The smile on Fiona's face disappeared.
I panicked and retorted.
"Wait! It was just a joke! Don't give me that knife-and-fork aura!!"
It was supposed to be a joke to lighten the mood, but the reaction was way too intense!!
"...So, okay, no more jokes. Just eat quickly, okay?"
"O-okay..."
I had no choice but to resign myself.
I trembled slightly as I scooped up the red soup with my spoon and poured it into my mouth――――before sniffing it first.
...Strangely, it didn't smell weird at all.
Instead, it smelled like a normal, delicious soup.
But it could be expertly disguised, and I might get attacked by an unexpected pain or shock. I steeled myself for the impact, like I was about to be hit.
I opened my mouth wide and poured the soup in...
"H-ha..."
I poured the soup in...
"...H-hwa..."
I poured the soup in...
"A-a, ao..."
I poured the soup in...
"――Eat quickly, okay!!"
Suddenly, Fiona stretched out her hand from across the table and forced the spoon into my mouth.
"!?!!?"
I couldn't react to the sudden attack, and I ended up swallowing the soup.
In an instant, a vivid image of "death" flashed through my mind. It was like I was suddenly dropped into a deep, endless pit.
There was no escape. I couldn't resist.
I had to accept that this was where I would die.
And then――,
"............?"
But no matter how long I waited, the Grim Reaper didn't come to get me.
But that's not all――my sense of taste hasn't disappeared either. There's no pain or overwhelming stench, and I don't feel like I'm stuck with a weird, gloopy sensation in my mouth.
――Am I... dead...?
I think to myself, feeling a mix of fear and wonder, and try to savor the soup's ingredients.
The potatoes crumble softly, and the sweetness of the onions gently stimulates my tongue. The chicken meat, cut into just the right size, releases a rich, savory broth as I bite into it, and the subtle acidity of the tomato-based soup complements each flavor, bringing them all together in harmony.
In short, it's delicious.
Is it really that delicious?
After swallowing everything, I couldn't believe the reality, so I scooped up another spoonful of soup and brought it to my mouth.
This time, I savored it carefully and swallowed.
"――It's so delicious!!"
I exclaimed, looking at Fiona across from me.
What's going on? Is this reality?!
I, who had just escaped a life-or-death crisis, was left stunned and bewildered for a while. Fiona, meanwhile, puffed out her chest with pride, looking pleased with herself.
"Yeah, I did it! I didn't quite succeed last time, but I got it right this time!"
"No, I don't think last time was just a little failure... How did you suddenly get so good?"
"I learned from my mom!"
Fiona's mom... That would be Mrs. Alisa.
As it turns out, I had met Mrs. Alisa at a food store in the Ackerman merchant guild series near my place. She rarely visited the store, but it seemed she was waiting for me to talk. She took me to the store's reception room and asked me to make Fiona a fine Wooden Swordsmith.
"I see..."
I nodded, and Fiona's face turned bright red as she looked away, saying,
"I mean, it's only natural, right? You're thanking me, but I wouldn't want to serve you food like before either, of course."
"Oh, I see..."
Yeah, that makes sense.
Fiona may have some rough edges to her personality, but she's not the type to serve a poisonous dish as a gift of gratitude. If I had thought about it calmly, I would have realized that she was thankful when she told me so.
Anyway... it was good.
I felt relieved from the bottom of my heart and took another sip of the soup. It had a simple yet rich flavor that didn't get old.
"Try eating some other dishes too."
"Yeah, I will."
Fiona told me, and I reached out to try some other dishes.
First, I picked up a salad with a fork and brought it to my mouth. The crunchy texture of the fresh greens was delightful. The dressing on top was simple but had a refreshing flavor and aroma that cleaned my palate.
"Is this... a fruit?"
"Yeah. It's made with orange juice and pulp."
The dressing was made with olive oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, and orange.
"Wow, it's delicious!"
"Hehe, I know, right!"
Fiona smiled confidently, and I couldn't argue with her. The ingredients were good, and the dressing didn't overpower the natural flavor of the vegetables.
Yeah, that's what makes a salad good, that's what it is.
Next, I reached out to try an unfamiliar meat dish.
"What's this shape? What kind of meat is this?"
"It's ground meat. I'm using pork and beef. It's a popular dish in the royal capital of Arbarheit, where they mix ground meat with onions and breadcrumbs, shape it into a ball, and grill it."
Ground meat, huh.
Usually, ground meat is made from leftover meat scraps, like chopped up bits from various parts, and it's not very high-quality. In the royal capital, where meat is scarce, they came up with this dish to make use of those scraps.
So, the flavor might not be that great... but Fiona seemed confident in the taste and continued to explain enthusiastically.
"Originally, it was a commoner's dish, but now they even use high-quality meat to make it, and it's served in high-end restaurants. It's a soft and easy-to-eat meat dish that's popular among the nobles in the kingdom."
"Using high-quality meat for ground meat... it feels like they're putting the cart before the horse, but if it's popular, that means it's delicious, right?"
I cut the rare dish with a knife into a big bite, and stabbed it with a fork.
It's definitely meat, but it's surprisingly tender. A massive amount of meat juice burst out like a fountain from the cut surface. It's an impossible amount of juice for a steak, but I guess that's what this dish is all about.
When I looked at the cross-section, it didn't seem like it was undercooked, but it had a deep red color. Come to think of it, the sauce on the meat was also slightly red.
"The soup is like that too, isn't it? The kingdom's cuisine has a lot of red dishes. Is this tomato-based?"
"The sauce does use tomatoes, but there are other ingredients too. I just added a little twist."
"Hmm, is that so?"
I nodded, and brought the cut meat to my mouth.
I closed my eyes and savored the flavor, chewing slowly. As I experienced the unknown taste for the first time, I couldn't help but nod multiple times.
"Yeah... yeah..."
And then, I swallowed with a gulp.
"Yeah!!"
"――Where am I? Where is this place?"
When I came to, I was in a beautiful flower field.
For some reason, my memories were hazy, and I couldn't remember where I was or what I was doing just a moment ago.
I looked around to get my bearings, and saw a river flowing near the flower field. The water was very clear, about 20 meters (≈ 66 feet) wide, but not very deep. I could probably wade across.
"This doesn't seem like the Grassland Floor..."
The Grassland Floor in [God's Remains Labyrinth] has areas with beautiful flower fields, but it's not like this, where the flower field stretches to the horizon. There should always be a forest or grassland in sight.
So, this isn't the Grassland Floor.
But when I asked myself where I was, I couldn't answer.
I somehow felt drawn to the river, without any reason. It was as if I was being called by something.
That premonition was correct.
"Wo――――!"
"Hm?"
As I approached the river, I heard a sound carried by the breeze. It wasn't a natural sound, and when I pricked up my ears...
"Hey, Aaron!"
"Over here!"
"Aaron, over here This way!"
"Eh..."
There was a sound――no, a voice coming from the other side of the river.
When I looked, I saw several people waving their hands at me from the other side of the river.
They seemed to be familiar faces...
"Dad... Mom... and, Sis...?"
It was my dear family.
But they weren't the only ones there.
"Aaron!"
"What are you doing over there?!"
"Come here quickly!!"
"You guys...!!"
For some reason, Lion wasn't there, but it was the familiar faces of the ≪Sword of Glory≫ gang.
For some reason, it felt like I hadn't seen their faces in a long time.
I felt happy for no reason and decided to hurry across the river as they called out to me.
"Aaron, over here Come on!"
"Come on, come on!"
"Hurry up, come on!!"
I felt a sense of discomfort from their voices, but that didn't matter!
The faces of my family and friends were somehow backlit and hard to see, but that didn't matter!
The flower field that should have been spreading out on the other side of the river had somehow turned into a wasteland, but that didn't matter!!
I was going to meet everyone I was going to have a fun life with them all!!
"Ah... I'm going now!!"
I stepped into the river and started walking towards the other side.
But at that moment...
"What, what...?!"
The river water seemed to come to life and surged up violently, transforming into a gigantic human figure.
It was a woman with long hair in a ponytail, a small chest, and an erotic rear end.
For some reason, she was holding a giant knife and fork in her hands.
'Aaron...'
She raised the giant fork and...
'I'll eat your soul...!!'
She swung it down with great force, and...
"No, stop it!!"
For some reason, I couldn't use my aura and couldn't dodge it.
"Guh...?!"
The giant fork pierced my stomach, and a burning pain like a hot iron ran through me.
And then...
* * *
――I woke up.
It feels like I had a dream or something. I think it was probably a nightmare, but I can't really remember. My memory of the dream is fading away quickly.
When I opened my eyes, I was apparently in my living room, lying on the sofa.
And...
"A-Aaron, are you awake?"
"...Fiona?"
Fiona was looking down at me from above.
Considering my position, it seems I was getting a lap pillow from Fiona.
I couldn't grasp the situation. When I tried to remember what happened before I lost consciousness, my head started to hurt for some reason.
"――――, how did I...? When did I get back...?"
I asked Fiona in a daze, and for some reason, she looked surprised.
"Don't you remember...?"
"Ah...I don't know, but my memories are hazy...I remember going to the 11th floor with Io and Garon and coming back to the surface, but..."
"Yeah..."
After hearing my words, Fiona nodded and thought for a little while.
Then, with a determined look, she started explaining why I was sleeping here.
"Well, you said you were really tired from the labyrinth and looked like you were about to collapse when you got back, so..."
While she was talking, her gaze kept drifting away for some reason.
"Yeah...that's right. Io was really pushing himself, and it was tough..."
"That's right Mr. Io said you were exhausted, and then you just lay down on the sofa and fell asleep!"
"Was that it...? Or was it...?"
"That's right! Yeah!"
I must have been more exhausted than I thought, using the [Aura Armor] with "Rock Iron" to withstand Io's Thunder magic. Io was also giving it his all, and I was probably mentally drained without realizing it...after all, I'm a delicate person.
"But why the lap pillow...?"
I didn't think I had asked for it.
When I asked, Fiona answered while avoiding eye contact.
"So, so, so, that's it! Uh... yeah! You looked like you were having a hard time sleeping, so I thought you didn't have a pillow, and I gave you a lap pillow!"
What's the reason for that?
Is that even a thing?
...I don't know, maybe it is... yeah... I don't really get it...
...No way. For some reason, my whole body feels heavy and I can't think straight.
Anyway, I thanked Fiona and tried to get up.
"Yeah... thanks. I'll leave now..."
I tried to lift my head with all my might, but I ran out of energy halfway and ended up resting my head on Fiona's thigh again.
It seems I'm more exhausted than I thought. They say that as you get older, it's harder to recover from fatigue, but is this what it feels like?
It's like I've been through an intense battle that pushed my physical limits, or like I've gotten a high fever and collapsed. This exhaustion is insane. Did I maybe catch a cold?
"Sorry, Fiona. I don't think I can move... Can I stay like this for a bit?"
"Uh, yeah. Of course, it's okay. You look tired, so why don't you take another nap?"
"Ah, sorry... I'll take you up on that..."
My sleepiness has reached its limit.
I replied to Fiona and slowly closed my eyes.
Right before that, I glanced to the side and saw a large number of empty bottles on the round table.
(Empty potion bottles? Why...?)
My thoughts didn't have time to come up with an answer before my consciousness started to blur.
As I was about to fall asleep, I felt my hair being stroked, and it seemed like Fiona said something, but I couldn't hear it.
"――Goodnight. ...We'll have dinner again next time."
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