Just as Louis had said, after about half a day of waiting, the iron door of the cell opened.
At the same time, a familiar face came into view.
“He-Hero-nim!”
“…Yeah.”
It was Eliya.
She came dragging a towel bigger than her own body and hurriedly covered me with it.
Her eyes looked moist, as if she had been genuinely worried.
“This… I definitely said there was no way… I should have argued your case more actively. I…”
“……”
From her perspective, unaware that everything had happened according to my plan, her reaction was understandable.
Since the War against Demons was ongoing, the Order was particularly strict with matters related to Demonic Species, enforcing them by military law.
Unless it was proven by some method that I had not become a thrall of the Succubus.
I would have at least been imprisoned in the Exorcism Prison ‘Darkest Dungeon,’ and I might have even been executed under the pretext of eliminating the Succubus.
…She probably imagined me dead a dozen times over in her head.
Knowing her, a kid who blamed herself for every little thing, she had likely been wracked with guilt during this short time.
It was then.
Rumble—
My stomach, starved from being tied up for days, cried out for food.
…And with a rather unusual sound.
Hearing it, Eliya suddenly frowned and pretended to press her ear against my stomach.
And then.
“That sound… don’t tell me…”
“……”
“Were you tortured?”
…Just the fact that Louis had visited was enough for her to start jumping to all sorts of conclusions.
“No… I wasn’t tortured…”
“…I’ve heard about it. That during water torture, where they endlessly pour water into your mouth, you can suffer from abdominal bloating and internal injuries from organ damage.”
“No…”
“…The Inquisitor went too far. How could he torture a Hero Candidate who just arrived…”
“……”
Her skill at jumping to conclusions was such that if she hadn’t become a priest, she probably would have joined some conspiracy theory club and babbled on all day.
Unable to listen to her imagination any longer, I let out a sigh and called the name of the fussing kid.
“I’ll file a formal complaint about the torture. Still, I heard your innocence was…”
“Hah… Shurellia.”
“Ye-Yes?”
She flinched at the sudden call.
“That’s enough.”
“……”
“I wasn’t tortured, and my body is fine.”
The kid, who had been making a scene, finally shut her mouth, realizing her mistake.
She then looked down at my abdomen and made a fumbling motion with her white-gloved hands.
“Then that sound just now was…”
“…It was from being hungry.”
“……”
A moment of silence followed.
Then came a timid, belated retort.
“…My name is Eliya, not Shurellia.”
Smirk—
Her typical reaction made me laugh without realizing it.
It seemed to be because of the familiar banter we hadn't shared in a while.
And seeing her face after so long.
It was probably because I was happy to see her.
“How long have I been locked up in here?”
“Uh… The award ceremony was the day before yesterday… so it should be exactly the fourth day.”
“…Let’s go out and grill some pork belly. I’m hungry.”
“Pork belly?”
“Yep. Crispy grilled pork belly with white rice.”
…It had been a while.
***
Fwoosh—
A red and blue flame flared to life.
And intense heat rose from the jet-black cast iron.
But not yet.
The perfect moment had not yet arrived.
“…I’ll put it on now, Hero-nim?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Can’t you tell by looking? It’s not ready yet.”
“…What on earth isn’t ready?”
‘If you put the grill on and lit the fire, you should put the meat on…’
Eliya’s whining murmurs reached my ears, but I paid them no mind and kept my eyes fixed on the cast iron.
She seemed to be of the opinion that no matter how you cook meat, it all tastes the same, but she really didn't know what she was talking about.
“For fatty meats like pork belly, the key to cooking is grilling the lean meat to the right texture. You have to cook it quickly over high heat to minimize moisture loss as the proteins contract and to maximize the Maillard reaction that brings out the savory flavor.”
“But…”
“Especially with a cast iron pan, it has the advantage of high heat retention, but it also takes a long time to absorb enough heat, so you have to be even more careful.”
“…Why are you so serious about cooking, anyway?”
Soon, a white smoke began to rise from the heated cast iron pan.
This was it.
I picked up a pre-cut piece of fat trimming with tongs and quickly coated the pan with oil.
Sizzle—
The enchanting sound of fat melting in the high heat.
Before that appetite-whetting sound of rain could fade, I placed the meat on the grill.
Then, the light drizzle that I heard while coating the pan turned into a downpour, filling the room.
Sizzle— Sizzzzzle—
“…This is it. This is the Maillard reaction.”
Grin—
At that satisfying sound, I couldn’t help but let the corners of my mouth lift.
“…Maillard this, Maillard that. Why make such a fuss over grilling a piece of meat? You can just eat it.”
“I’m just a bit serious when it comes to cooking.”
“…Fine. I get that you’re serious about cooking, but.”
At that point, Eliya sighed with a look of utter incomprehension and asked.
“…Why on earth are we grilling meat in another Hero Candidate’s room?”
“……”
“And not in a temporary waiting room, but in a hospital room, of all places.”
That’s right.
The place where Eliya and I had set up a cast iron pan to grill meat was the hospital room of Kim Sia, who was hospitalized due to the chest wound I had inflicted.
At Eliya’s words, Kim Sia gave an awkward laugh and waved her hand.
“Ahaha… I’m fine.”
“…I’ll apologize on his behalf, Miss Sia.”
“No, no! In many ways, I owe Mr. Seo U-jin a lot. And… I was getting hungry, too.”
The ‘131st Hero Candidate Appointment Ceremony,’ which could be called the finale of the Gateway Zone, had already ended two days ago.
The Hero Candidates who finished the ceremony had each been assigned a Lair and left, and the only one remaining in the Gateway Order of Priests’ chapel, which was already in the process of wrapping up, was Kim Sia.
…That was the general pretext.
That it would be nice for the two outcasts, who couldn't properly participate in the Hero Candidate Appointment Ceremony because they were both involved in the Succubus incident, to have a meal together.
A plausible explanation that, as the person who stabbed her, it was a moral courtesy for me to visit.
“Is your wound okay?”
“Ah, yes. Thanks to you.”
“…That sounds a bit strange.”
She shook her head at my light joke.
“Ah, no, no. Really! My Acolyte Priest told me. The probability of a Hero Candidate who became a Succubus’s host surviving unscathed is extremely low. It’s almost impossible…”
“You were lucky.”
“Thank you again.”
I shrugged at Kim Sia, who was bowing her head.
This time, she was the one to ask a question.
“So… was your matter resolved well?”
“…Ah. Yes, well. I couldn't eat or sleep properly while I was locked in the cell, but other than that, nothing much happened.”
“That’s a relief. I was very worried when I heard you were in trouble because of me…”
With the intervention of the ‘Gateway Order of Priests,’ who had confirmed the appearance of the Succubus, the <Third Gateway: Fortress Siege> was forcibly terminated.
Considering that the <Second Gateway: The Cyclops’s Vineyard> also didn't proceed properly because I killed the Cyclops, I thought this 131st batch would probably be remembered as the most chaotic Gateway Zone in history.
Not that I felt any guilt about it.
From the perspective of the Gateway Order of Priests who had to clean up the mess, it must have been a huge headache, but it was a necessary route to follow my plan.
Gulp—
“It’s ready.”
“…Oh.”
Eliya’s blatant gulping announced the completion of the painstakingly grilled pork belly.
Simultaneously, Eliya’s and Kim Sia’s gazes turned to the grill.
Cutting the golden-brown pork belly into bite-sized pieces and carefully transferring them to a plate, I called Eliya’s name.
“Alright, Mozart.”
Gulp—
“…Yes! What should I prepare, Hero-nim?”
“You’re going to the Head Priest’s office now.”
“…What?”
Her brow furrowed in disbelief.
“Go and request the ‘Chosen One’ trait to be issued again. From that Head Priest from before.”
“…What do you mean? It was already rejected last time. No, more importantly, why at this timing of all—.”
“Just go and see. His reaction will probably be different this time.”
The kid, who was rolling her eyes as if she had some complaint, proposed a compromise.
“…I’ll go in 20 minutes.”
“Now.”
“…Then just 10 minutes.”
“No.”
“…Just one bite.”
“If the trait doesn't get issued because of that, will you take responsibility?”
Soon, an expression of injustice appeared on her face.
“Hey, why is that my fault!”
“It’s your fault if it doesn’t work out because you dawdled when you could have gone right now.”
“But…”
She tried to find a way out by asking Kim Sia for backup, but I thoroughly ignored her words and plated the meat.
—Hero-nim, those priest types have a petty streak, so it’s not like their minds will change just because some time has passed…
—I’m telling you it won’t work anyway! That Head Priest guy is so…
—I’ll go after just one bite. One bite…
And then I added one more comment.
“…To miss out on the trait like this… How sad.”
“……”
“Last time, he offered it without me even asking, but now my request to have my own acolyte priest stop by the priest’s office right next door is being ignored…”
Unable to listen anymore, Eliya stood up with a face full of anger.
“Aargh— I’m going, I’m going! I said I’m going!!!”
Smirk—
“Be careful on your way.”
Then she flung open the hospital room door and muttered, as if for me to hear.
“We’ll see… We’ll see if I ever do anything for you first again!”
“……”
“I’m only going to do exactly what I’m told!”
SLAM—!
The kid, who had slammed the door with all her emotions, stomped away down the hall.
“……”
“……”
A moment of silence flowed by.
“…Come out.”
I called to her.
Kim Sia’s eyes, which had been a shade of brown, turned purple and looked at me.
A hollow laugh soon burst out.
“Ha.”
“……”
“…You’re a good actor.”
“…I believe that’s my line.”
That was right.
In front of that kid Louis, I had nonchalantly spouted that I ‘took care of the Succubus.’
…But I hadn't killed the Succubus.
“…Is it okay to talk so openly? I feel like those high-and-mighty Constellations would be quite displeased to see this.”
“Well, we’re out of the Gateway Zone, and that eavesdropping satellite magic won’t be active until I get my medal. It doesn't matter.”
“……”
“…Must be nice. Knowing so much.”
Shrug—
And so, I asked the Succubus that was inhabiting Kim Sia’s body.
“So, about what I said… have you given it some thought?”
“……”
At that, the kid, whose eyes had been darting around, suddenly looked down.
To be precise.
At my left hand holding the plate of pork belly.
And she made an unexpected proposal.
“That.”
“……?”
“Let’s talk while we eat… It looks delicious.”
And my answer to her proposal was.
“…I don’t share a table with demons.”