Chapter 25
How to Enjoy Dessert (2)
After thinking a bit about the principles behind a cat’s behavior, I came to a conclusion.
This cat feeds on “stories.”
Yet it insists on supplying those stories by inserting a “woman” or someone like me in between.
Then doesn’t that mean it can’t eat without me in the end?
‘Well… it did say there’s also a way to suck my brain dry, but putting that aside.’
Coincidentally, this cat had shown interest in the story of the Reapers.
Even now, the way it licked around its mouth with its tongue made it look as if it was quite attached to “this story.”
Faced with the flood of facts, the cat flinched slightly before asking.
“Then… can you finish this story deliciously for me……?”
“If I can finish it, you’ll help me?”
“Weaak!”
The paper cat let out a shriek.
Was that a yes?
The cat furrowed its brow deeply and kept smacking my leg with its tail.
Since the tail was paper anyway, it didn’t particularly hurt.
After a while of slapping the floor with its tail, the cat suddenly changed its attitude.
As if switching tactics, it came closer to my leg and began rubbing its body against me.
And it even cried out gently, “Meow,” while doing so.
‘This might be a little cute?’
When I lightly patted its head, the cat suddenly shuddered violently.
It seemed to really dislike physical contact.
Then the cat tilted its head toward my hand.
Ah, no, I guess it actually likes being petted?
“Pfft!”
“Don’t laugh, nya.”
Rustle, rustle.
Every time I stroked the paper cat, a rough texture brushed against my hand.
The cat must have liked it quite a bit, because it began to purr softly.
But after some time passed, the cat abruptly pulled its head away.
“You just need restoration?”
Ideally, I would’ve liked preservation magic as well.
But this cat demanded payment every time it used magic.
There was no need to increase my debt any further.
“Yeah, I just want to check it for now.
If possible, restore it to the moment right before someone ate this food.”
“If that’s all~.”
The cat leapt up onto the table.
When its paw landed on the bowl, light flared up from that spot.
The light floated in the air and carved letters into the tip of the cat’s paw.
When the cat lifted its paw, the letters disappeared along with the light.
At the same time, perfectly intact white noodles appeared in the bowl that had only held scraps before.
Round, white pieces of ice floated on top as well.
‘According to what Kallio told me, one way to enjoy yakcha is to eat it with ice floating on top, or by adding frozen fruit.’
I examined the ice in the bowl closely.
“Hoo.”
And I confirmed that my expectations were correct.
Relaxing the tension that had stiffened my body, I clasped my hands together and covered my nose and mouth.
I gathered the Reapers, their attendants, and even the court mage in one place.
The location was the Reaper Hall, which also served as their lounge.
It was rather open for announcing such a sensitive matter, but I chose this place precisely because I wanted to make this incident widely known.
However, the presence of an uninvited guest made me uncomfortable.
“To leave me out of something like this.
How disappointing, Radi.”
The human who was always eager to wage another conquest war while the Reapers fought among themselves spoke up.
Did he catch some interesting scent or something?
Kallio trotted over and stood beside me, smiling slyly like a fox.
…Let’s just focus on the task at hand.
“First of all, thank you all for coming despite the difficulty.”
“No need to mention it.”
Kallio, please shut up.
“The reason I called you all here is to determine why an abnormality occurred with the envoy Rai of the Yahuts Kingdom.”
As soon as I began speaking, those around me subtly leaned their bodies toward me.
They blinked rapidly, yet their gazes remained fixed entirely on me.
“Court mage, please come here.”
I handed the bowl I had brought from the Empress’s palace to the court mage.
I instructed him to use restoration magic and preservation magic on it.
Based on my request, the mage restored the food in the bowl to its state before the Reapers had eaten it.
Murmurs broke out among the onlookers.
“Isn’t that yakcha?”
“But it doesn’t look like it’s poisoned, does it?”
Someone pointed at something in the bowl.
What he indicated was the round piece of ice.
It was small enough that, unless you looked closely inside, it was hard to distinguish it from ordinary ice.
I announced to everyone.
“This is ice made from milk.
More precisely, milk was slightly mixed in during the freezing process.”
“What?”
“If you doubt my words, you may taste it yourself.
Or shall I taste it first?”
When I pretended to pick up the bowl, people waved their hands one by one.
Everyone was hesitating, unsure of themselves.
As I continued speaking, I organized my thoughts in my head.
“I’ve heard that Envoy Rai’s condition worsens when he consumes milk.
That is why he reacted badly to the ice containing frozen milk.”
According to what Rai himself told me, he shows allergic reactions to peanuts, milk, and wheat.
That meant one of those three had been mixed into the yakcha.
Yakcha, a dish made by placing thinly sliced rice noodles over shaved ice, shouldn’t normally contain peanuts, milk, or wheat.
Then, Kallio’s words became the decisive hint.
‘Ah, if that’s how you enjoy yakcha…… sometimes people add more ice or even milk.’
That meant there was a possibility milk could be added to yakcha.
So I used symbolic magic to restore the food to the time of the incident and verified the hypothesis.
And the result was what I was now explaining.
“If Her Majesty the Empress says so much, I’ll believe it.
But then why was this ice here in the first place?”
“In the Amir Empire, yakcha is traditionally eaten this way as well.”
“Ah, I see……”
“However, such ice would never be served to an envoy who cannot consume milk.”
The emperor of this country may be insane, but not all his subordinates are.
Who would be mad enough to do something like this to an envoy’s food?
As Kallio said, conflicts with envoys could easily escalate into war if mishandled.
That is why the imperial kitchen receives prior instructions from the envoy delegation regarding dietary preferences and restrictions.
If the food had been prepared according to those instructions, there was no way ice containing milk would be served to an envoy with a milk allergy.
“So that means someone deliberately added it.”
“What?”
“At a glance, it looks just like ordinary ice in color, and it’s a menu item no one would easily suspect.
You could say this was carried out under a very meticulous plan.”
Phew.
After finishing my explanation, I took a moment to steady my heavy breathing.
The Reapers listening to the story nodded and exchanged glances with others.
From the murmurs and occasional admiring remarks, it seemed the outcome wasn’t bad at all.
‘That man Kallio has been quiet for a while now, as if he’s bored.’
When I glanced sideways at Kallio nearby, he had his palm pressed to his mouth and his head slightly bowed.
I thought he was yawning because of how indifferent he looked.
But when Kallio lifted his head, I flinched without realizing it.
His eyes and cheeks were faintly flushed, and he stared at me obsessively.
The golden gleam in his eyes at that moment was… disturbingly chilling.
‘Still, with the Reapers here… he wouldn’t do anything reckless, right?’
I barely managed to calm my turbulent thoughts.
To organize the chaotic situation, I directed a question at one of the Reapers.
“Do you have any idea who might have added this ice?”
“No, the three of us were busy talking.”
“Then what about someone other than you three?”
While the Reapers hesitated, the attendants standing nearby began whispering among themselves.
“When eating yakcha, attendants keep adding ice from the side so it stays cold……”
At that moment.
Rai, the envoy with the milk allergy, turned around to look behind him.
But before Rai could interrogate him, the attendant tried to flee the spot.
“Catch him!”
At Rai’s shout, his nearby attendants grabbed the man who was trying to escape.
The captured attendant glared viciously at Rai, while Rai rubbed his face with both hands, looking confused.
Clap, clap, clap—!
Kallio, who had watched the entire scene, applauded.
“Looks like the situation is more or less sorted out.”
With a bright, childlike smile on his face.
“Shall we start the real investigation now?”
He fixed his persistent gaze on me.
Those golden eyes, filled with sunlight, sparkled vividly with life.
