chapter 35
Bang!
I slammed my fist hard against the counter.
“That bastard Blake—what the hell is he?!”
In the temple’s private kitchen, I lay slumped over the counter, utterly defeated.
Not since I first learned that over 95% of the Empire’s population followed the Iris faith had I felt this level of despair.
“How can he possibly think my food tastes no different from that garbage restaurant’s cooking?!”
I had expected the Duke to have the palate of a wooden plank, but this was beyond belief. I was starting to wonder if he could even taste at all.
“It’s already the sixth day!”
That’s right.
It had been five days since that cursed dinner with the Duke. The Spring Atwal festival was the day after tomorrow, and the quest time limit expired tomorrow.
In other words, with only one day remaining, I still hadn’t completed it.
[Time Limit: 1 Day Remaining]
There exists a pitiful soul who has never known what it truly means to find something delicious! As the Saintess of Amure, serve him a meal and awaken a new emotion within his heart.
I glared bitterly at the timer counting down in front of me.
Awaken new emotions, my ass. How was I supposed to awaken emotions in that cyborg of a man?
In just five days, the “His Grace” had been demoted in my mind to simply “Blake” — or even “that guy.”
And in those five days, a lot had happened.
First, I finally summoned the familiar I’d been putting off.
[Summoning support familiar: “Honeybee.”]
[You may name your familiar.]
“A name? Hmm… since it’s a honeybee, let’s call it ‘Bumble.’”
[Familiar name registered: Bumble.]
[Support Familiar]
Name: Bumble
Species: Honeybee
Unique Abilities:
‘Clone Summon’ – Can summon miniature clone bees. Plants pollinated by these clones yield more fruit and honey.
‘Rapid Growth’ – Plants pollinated by Bumble herself grow significantly faster.
‘Delicious Honey’ – Honey produced in Bumble’s hive is imbued with divine power, purifying toxins and enhancing flavor.
The system even cracked a bad pun at the end, but I ignored it. Bumble had a whole arsenal of impressive-sounding skills anyway.
When I summoned her, she was bigger than I expected—about the size of my fist—and looked more like a fat bumblebee than a honeybee.
Still, she’s cute, so whatever.
After I assigned her a section of the temple grounds, she responded with an enthusiastic “Bzz-Bzz!”—she could even talk!
While I was still stunned, she busied herself summoning clones and zipping around industriously.
Next, I gave Hamilton his task.
“Are you really sure you want to quit being the duke’s head chef?”
“Of course, Saintess! I, Hamilton, am ready to devote every fiber of my being to the Church of Amure!”
“…Let’s not get too literal about that ‘every fiber’ part.”
Yes—Hamilton had actually quit his job as head chef of a ducal household.
I did feel a stab of guilt, but he’d already submitted his resignation—Father even knew he’d be joining the temple soon.
His eyes were practically burning with zeal, to the point I thought they might explode.
Well, fine. If that’s what he wants…
Once upon a time, my conscience would have screamed, You can’t drag him into a cult! and I might’ve begged him to return to his old job. But now? I just shrugged.
After all, there were already other believers of Amure, and honestly, it seemed healthier for Hamilton to believe in my religion than in Iris’s.
“Good. Then I’ll give you a building.”
“Wh—what?! A building?!”
“Yes. You’ll be the Church of Amure’s first… hmm, not priest, since you lack divine power—so let’s say head chef. I’ll ask Father to have a proper kitchen built there. You can use it however you like.”
“Saintess…!”
“But, there’s something you’ll need to do.”
I gave the emotional Hamilton his special mission—cultivating Amure.
While I could summon Amure indefinitely, there were almost no farms in the Empire that grew it for food use. To sustain the church, it was better to make it accessible to others.
“This seed carries my divine power. Use it to cultivate your first crop.”
“…! I will carry out your holy task flawlessly, Saintess!”
Even after being effectively demoted to farmer, he saluted me like he’d just received divine revelation. I’d gotten so used to his dramatics that they barely fazed me anymore.
Honestly, he’s kind of useful.
Then came the kitchen tools I’d commissioned from Edwin.
I had asked for a gas stove, an oven, and a microwave.
The Empire already had similar magic devices, but precise heat control was impossible—you had to use fire magic manually.
I’d requested something that functioned like the gas stoves from my past life, and the result was remarkably similar. The oven and microwave were just as perfect.
Edwin had been too busy to deliver them himself, so a servant came with a note.
— To my most esteemed sister,
I apologize for not escorting you home when you visited the Magic Tower.
I’ve completed the magical appliances you requested and have sent them along.
Please entrust me with any future commissions.
It was a great joy to see you again—come visit anytime.
— Always thinking of you, Edwin
P.S. I intend to convert to the Church of Amure soon and will visit the temple personally.
My eyes bulged at that last line.
Edwin’s converting?!
Would Father even allow that?
Where is this religion even going…
All I’d wanted was to eat delicious food, but things were spiraling way out of control.
Oh, whatever. He’s an adult next year; he can make his own choices.
At this point, I decided to stop worrying. Even if he converted, it wasn’t like society would shun him—he was already a top candidate for Tower Master, and he hated social gatherings anyway.
Should I just make the Church of Amure as big as Iris’s and be done with it?
That thought alone seemed like something the system would love.
Before the servant left, I sent Edwin a reply letter.
Besides that, I’d also done plenty more.
With Edwin’s donation from the Tower, I hired temple staff, cooks to make lemon-honey drinks, and assistants for Hamilton. In the process, we even gained a few new believers. The progress bar for the “Recruit Followers” quest inched closer to completion—a small but satisfying win.
For five straight days, I had worked like an ox.
Now that the temple of Amure was finally running smoothly, I could focus on my main problem:
“How the hell do I make that cursed Duke Blake actually taste something delicious?!”
But no matter what I tried, every battle with his taste buds ended in crushing defeat:
Record so far—0 wins, 5 losses.
* * *
At first, I thought, If he just eats my cooking, he’ll obviously find it delicious.
After all, my food was far superior to the Empire’s bland cuisine.
So on the first day—
When the Duke arrived at the temple, I served him in the reception room of the private building: Cream of Mushroom Soup.
— Cream of Mushroom Soup Lv. 3
— Bonus Stat: Purification +1
A smooth, savory soup made from finely blended organic mushrooms.
Topped with crunchy croutons made from fresh baguette.
I’d even added the croutons this time, which bumped the recipe level from 2 to 3.
Even my strict father had praised this soup—so surely the Duke would, too.
“Your Grace, how does it taste?”
“…You made this yourself?”
“Yes. It may be unfamiliar, but the Church of Amure is devoted to pursuing superior cuisine.”
I could now recite my own fake doctrine with a perfectly straight face.
After staring at the soup for a moment, the Duke lifted his spoon and took a sip.
“It’s good.”
He said it was good!
Oh, that was easy!
The quest was ranked Rare, but this was practically a freebie! I waited cheerfully for the completion message…
Huh? Why isn’t it showing up?
No quest completion appeared.
A new system window popped up instead.
[Quest “Guiding the Lost Lamb” has not met the completion conditions.]
“What…?”
“Lady? What’s wrong?”
The quest description had said to awaken new emotions in someone who’d never known true taste.
So—did that mean he didn’t find my food new or special enough?
Come to think of it… he’d said the restaurant food last time was “good,” too, hadn’t he?
“Lady?”
Which meant—he thought my food tasted about the same as that restaurant’s.
The Duke called my name several times, but I was too stunned and furious to respond.
And so began the fierce, one-sided war between my cooking and the Duke’s hopelessly dull taste buds—
a war he didn’t even know existed.
