Due to the nature of Snow Castle, where snow constantly falls, even with a hearth nearby, the Gardener’s Garden, located just outside the walls of Rondon, was a fairly cold place, much like Bandre Village.

In that sense, the Chef’s pork soup was an excellent choice for the menu.

As if to prove that point, the moment the rice grains that had been piled on the spoon were dipped into the soup and placed in my mouth...

The rice seemed to find its rightful place, dancing beautifully atop the broth, rich with the aroma of meat, and warmly enveloping my mouth.

Chewing became an act of pure dopamine satisfaction, making me continue without pause until the very last swallow.

“...Ahh.”

I felt the warm sensation spreading from my stomach to the back of my head.

“…It was already good before, but your cooking skills have improved a lot.”

“Of course.”

The Chef tilted her head with a pleased smile.

“I practiced hard because I wanted to see this.”

Watching her smile so brightly, hands behind her back, made me feel somewhat awkward, so I cleared my throat to break the atmosphere.

I couldn’t help but recall the time when we stood so close, looking into each other’s eyes, my cheeks held between her hands... the memory was rather embarrassing.

“Well, I thought it might be a bit too common for peasant food, but it’s not bad.”

“…Not bad, you say? You’ve already emptied one bowl.”

“Ugh, i-it’s just… well, I should at least show some respect to the Chef who served it…”

If it’s delicious, just admit it already.

Watching the Dragonslayer fumbling for words, it was clear that she wasn’t being honest with herself.

Look at Bell, quietly focused on eating. How much better is that?

Though, I have to admit that watching her eat the soup as if it were dog food wasn’t an easy sight.

“Woof?”

Noticing my thoughts, Bell tilted her head and looked at me.

Dogs are just too sensitive to people’s emotions, honestly.

…Wait, why am I treating her like a dog without thinking?

“Bell, is it good?”

“Woof!”

…Use your words, for goodness’ sake.

I feel like my sense of ethics is slowly crumbling.

“Anyone want more?”

Just then, the Chef asked, holding up her ladle.

“Me! Me!”

Bell excitedly raised her bowl.

“….”

The Dragonslayer quietly turned her head away and held out her bowl as well.

“Hehe, come over here to get more, then.”

As the two slowly stood and walked toward her, I was about to pick up my spoon again since I hadn’t finished eating yet.

“...”

…But I couldn’t ignore the Gardener’s gaze, which had been stealing glances at me. It made me uncomfortable.

When our eyes met, she quickly turned her head away in a fluster.

“…What is it?”

I couldn’t help but ask, confused by her sudden reaction.

She clearly had something to say, but wasn’t saying it. Leaving things like that could lead to trouble later on.

“Uh, well…”

The Gardener hesitated, glancing at the Dragonslayer and Bell, who were still getting food from the Chef. Then she suddenly stepped closer to me.

She began a series of actions I couldn’t understand—scratching her head, rubbing her deer mask, and tapping her index fingers together.

“…I’m sorry about last time.”

Her sudden apology left me speechless.

What did I just witness?

Her face turned red, and she couldn’t keep still, shifting her feet nervously.

The whole thing was just absurd!

“I realized I didn’t consider your thoughts before acting. I forgot that every individual has reasons for their actions.”

But once she started talking, she spoke with surprising clarity, reviewing her actions in detail.

It seems starting was the hard part, but once she got going, she didn’t hold back.

…Although I was a bit upset back then, hearing a real apology like this made me feel like I’d been a petty person.

“...Including how you acted back then, I was…”

“S-stop! I get it, okay!”

I didn’t know what she was about to say next, but if I let her continue, I felt like my joints would twist in unnatural directions from secondhand embarrassment, so I cut her off.

But it seemed like that’s where it was most important for the Gardener.

She frowned, looking quite troubled.

All creatures must vent their frustrations somewhere, and so the Gardener...

“Fine, that aside! I just want you to listen to me. Stop ignoring me!”

She shouted, expressing her frustration.

“Hey, I’m not ignoring you right now.”

“Oh, really? You’ve been ignoring me the whole time just now.”

“When did I do that?”

But after that, she couldn’t bring herself to say anything, just muttering quietly.

Was I ignoring the Gardener?

That wasn’t true at all.

I’d been keeping an eye on her the whole time, waiting for her to speak. There’s no way I’d ignored her.

After thinking about it, I finally realized.

Could she be talking about how I spoke with the Dragonslayer and Bell but not with her?

Even though I had initiated conversations with them too, it didn’t feel right to just say, ‘You didn’t speak first.’

Hmm.

It seems I lacked a bit of sensitivity in this case.

Still, calling that ‘ignoring’ seems a bit much.

Considering her usual behavior, it wasn’t like the Gardener to make such a fuss over something like this.

And so, I couldn’t resist the urge to tease.

“Oh, dear Gardener! Did you really want to talk to me that badly?”

“What kind of tone is that?”

“I didn’t realize! Shall I apologize with a sweet kiss? Would that make you feel better?”

I spoke with a teasing tone, finding her reaction amusing.

It’s always fun to mess with someone when they’re acting out of character.

So naturally, I expected her to explode in anger, imagining her yelling and flailing in response.

“…Hmm.”

…?

“…You’re the one who said it.”

She wasn’t looking up at me, was she?

Wait, what?

Suddenly, things took a serious turn, and now I was the one feeling embarrassed.

And to top it off, her eyes looked slightly damp.

With memories of the Dragonslayer’s similar behavior flashing before me, I froze.

I was left standing there, staring at the Gardener, unable to say a word.

Her eyebrows furrowed slightly as if she had made some big decision, and her expression was unusually serious.

What’s happening here? This isn’t like her at all.

What do I do now?

The only memory I have of teasing someone like this is getting scolded afterward, so I had no idea how to respond.

Was I really going to have to follow through on what I’d just said?

Just then, a loud voice interrupted.

“If I don’t eat all this, it’ll just go to waste!”

“Yes, thank you for eating so much.”

“Woof woof!”

The sudden chatter jolted me, and the Gardener quickly leapt back to her spot with her utensils.

Whoa, that timing was perfect.

“Human, you haven’t eaten much yet.”

“Your appetite is weak. Is something wrong with your body?”

“Haha, I was just savoring it.”

In response to Bell and the Dragonslayer’s comments, I hurriedly shoveled the soup into my mouth.

But the Chef’s food has a buffing effect on the body.

If you eat too quickly…

“Oh no, my head…”

Thud.

“What’s going on?! Snap out of it!”

“You collapsed while eating? Are you alright?”

“Oh dear, what should we do?”

My vision dimmed, and I felt a throbbing in my head.

Still...

Fainting surrounded by beautiful women with such distinct personalities wasn’t the worst experience.

When I woke up, I found myself lying on a pile of soft leaves, likely placed there by the Gardener.

I checked my body to make sure there was no harm, but I actually felt lighter after getting up.

It seems the Chef’s food has its limits, though.

The boost wasn’t as dramatic as last time.

“They must’ve gone back since I passed out.”

It was probably because I’d eaten too fast, or maybe I’d kept them summoned for too long.

Hmm.

Since both the Chef and the Dragonslayer had appeared at my call...

I focused on the noisy chatter that had been echoing in my head.

“This place is interesting, isn’t it?”

“C-could it be that you two were flirting with this man here? How shameless!”

“What are you talking about?! Flirting?! You’re the one with inappropriate thoughts!”

“So noisy, woof! This is fun!”

Watching the Gardener nonchalantly enjoying herself after everything that had happened made me chuckle.

…If she was so relaxed about it, I suppose I should let it pass too.

Anyway.

I’ve enhanced my physical abilities with the Chef’s food.

Time to head to the library.

I need to gather information on the torturer.