Chapter 273 – Black’s Lunchtime

Sure enough『Force Boost』was activated.

It did, but,

「But, the time limit is just two seconds……」

My physical strength increased vastly and explosively just like that Wrath-Pun, but only for that much of time.

Concentrating that much, pouring even more magical energy and the magic created from that gives the effect for just two seconds period, this is not at all cost-effective.

Which reminds me, Fiona told me that she could use the enhancement-type magic, but as she had bad magic control that its consumption was many times more than normal.

Differing from offensive magic, the Boost effect would not be reflected with just magical energy, and it would truly become a loss.

That is why Fiona’s speciality was offensive magic, but still the reason she used enhancement magic was purely because there was no one who could use that in our party.

Although it’s too late, but Fiona truly has to go through trouble. I’m sorry, when you return I will surely treat you with tasty sus.h.i.+ and tempura……

At any rate, the current me is also the same, moreover I haven’t even reached the minimum level to use this in combat.

「Hah, so it needs a lot more improvements, eh」

But, I have jumped above the first wall with this.

Surely other adventurers too do like this, and had reached the level to use the power of divine protection more strongly.

That is why, I am happy to have taken the first step.

「Thank you very much. Thanks to Nell-san I have understood the knack for activating it」

「No, I’m happy to have helped you」

Nell-san smiled gently while on her forehead beads of sweat appeared.

It was her who communicated via Telepathy and indirectly activated『Force Boost』. Probably she might have exhausted herself because of getting caught in between of magical energy waves that were like spontaneous discharge.

「Excuse me, is your body okay?」

「I have gotten somewhat tired, but it’s fine!」

I seem to become healed endlessly while watching the bright smile of Nell-san.

This healing levels rivals that of little Lily’s smile, truly frightening this Princess of Avalon is.

I become calmed down within my heart.

SFX: Kyuuuuu~

Suddenly, a cute small animals’ cry like high-pitched sound rang out.

The source was, the person in front smiling at me, Nell-san, her stomach.

「Ah, I-I’m sorry!」

The next instant, her face blushed with red, she was embarra.s.sed of this physiological phenomenon appealing the hunger.

「No, you see――It’s already noon time, so it’s only natural to be hungry」

“Ahaha”, I replied appropriately, while my heartbeat increased seeing the cuteness of this blus.h.i.+ng princess.

How to say, the blus.h.i.+ng girls surely have astonis.h.i.+ng destructive power. She even reacted this much just because her stomach’s hungry bugs cried a little.

I want,――

「I have become hungry Kurono-san」

――A witch from somewhere who heartily lets her stomach roar and then speaks out proudly about the fact that she is hungry, to learn something from this princess.

Well then, leaving that aside, just like I said it is already going to be lunchtime, so I need to change the topic towards that, after all the probability of Nell-san crying is high if I kept on teasing her.

「So, I will preparing for the lunch, but what will Nell-san do?」

「Ah, That, you see, I always use the school cafeteria for lunches, but――」

I see, so it was not coincidence but inevitable to meet her in the cafeteria.

I thought she would go to the school cafeteria today too, but,

「Today I will cook!」

「Ah, I see. Please have fun」

「Um, I don’t mean that, I am saying that I will make Kurono-san’s lunch!」

Just what sort of logical leap is this?

From this flow, I could easily guess that we would be eating lunch together, but Nell-san actually proposed to make her handmade food.

「No, you don’t need to. It feels bad to make you work that much――」

「Ah, I’m sorry……was it annoying?」

Uwah, isn’t it against the rules to show an seemingly sad expression at this moment. It is to the extent that I could even see an onomatopoeic effect of *glitter* in her eyes.

I doubt there would many men who could refuse her when she makes this face, or rather, it is alright to take her proposal as a true matter from the bottom of her heart, it truly isn’t any joke or lip service.

「It is not at all any annoyance. I truly want to eat Nell-san’s handmade food!」

「Oh my, is that true! Well then, I will give it my best!!」

Like that, Nell-san again took on my requested and showed an expression br.i.m.m.i.n.g with motivation.

However, to eat a girls handmade food at such an unexpected turn, looks like I’m quite lucky today.

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I used to be elated, as it is the talk about past.

「Here you go Kurono-san, please eat it without reserve!」

Nell-san handed out something while smiling happily. It was ‘something’ blackish, creepy, gave out foul stench and was in between the sandwich.

My enhanced vision, olfaction and sixth sense emitted wariness in full throttle. They seemed to tell that the stuff in front of me was a bio-hazard.

The instincts fired off strong rejection will so as to not let my palate, that catches taste on everything very keenly, to even touch that thing, but,

「So, please by all means!」

I forced it with rationality.

Even if I know intuitively that this s.h.i.+t is dangerous, it’s still not good to not even eat a single bite, now that is forgetting favours. Even more when the other person used their ability’s for my sake.

However, just what sort of will she had when she used her ability that the normal ingredients degenerated to form this dangerous hazard. Even if I casted blackening on food, it would look several times better than this.

After all this is carbonized no matter what. The feel given from it is the same from the corpses of monsters burned from Fiona’s flames.

And what did she add in it, a sweet yet sour yet rotten, simply speaking an offensive smell wafted from it.

That thing was made into a sandwich in between normal white breads, as if emphasize that she had touched the breads at least.

The buns part are normal, but it only adds to the fact this all is a food.

The probability that Nell-san mistook her food for raw garbage can’t happen even in one-in-a-million times.

Sandwich, a food that could eaten easily by anyone was not this hazard, and it was her who created a bio-hazard that could make anyone resolve for death.

「Um, are you not going to eat it?」

I was sitting obediently beside the dining table but regardless of the fact that the bio-hazard was in front of me I didn’t try to even touch that, seeing me like that Nell asked in a purely inquisitive voice, but still the pressure behind those words wasn’t something lukewarm.

Her blue eyes were clear without end, and there was no cloudiness in it.

Apparently she is neither trying to entrap me, and neither is this a royal joke that can’t be understood by commoners.

Nell-san purely made a food for my sake, it was just that much.

「U-Um, Kurono-san?」

I reached my limits.

I need to already stop this glaring match between the hazardous dark matter and the coldly sweating me.

「Nell-san, thank you for the food」

I resolved myself, probably, the warriors that were to be disembowelled thought like this, no doubt about that.

In place of the blade that would tear and rip my stomach from outside, I took the bio-hazardous sandwich that could destroy my stomach from inside.

Alright, I don’ give a s.h.i.+t! I opened my mouth and took a bit of the thing――

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「――Kurono-san?」

「Huh, a dream, huh……」

Oh c.r.a.p, my consciousness left me for a while.

Seriously, that was quite the nightmare I watched, there’s no way the angelic Nell-san would try to kill me by poisoning by eating that hazardous substance, no she wouldn’t even make it.

「What happened, you suddenly stared dreamily right after eating the sandwich?」

Ah, I see my consciousness went away because Nell-san’s sandwich was too tasty, no doubt.

That’s right, this Princess of Avalon’s handmade bio-hazard.

「H-Huh……」

No, wait, am I being r.e.t.a.r.ded, what is a bio-hazard. Am I mistaking reality with the dream I saw before――I want retort like that with all my strength, but seeing the true s.h.i.+t with my eyes, I need to accept the reality regardless of my choice.

That’s right, in other words, the offensive smelling bio-hazard, stuffed in between the sandwich, was enshrined on top of plate in front of me while releasing a pressure just like that of a demon lord.

Moreover, just what sort of hero was took on a strike of sword, the remains of it are still left in my mouth.

I see, so I was a, hero.

「Fufu, was it very tasty to the point of fainting?」

Her cute way of talking, more than half didn’t enter my head.

If this was actually tasty, no, if this actually had a safe taste that isn’t bad or even good, I could’ve agreed to her words without hesitation.

But If I say that in this situation, it would not be good.

「Kurono-san, there are many servings, so eat a lot」

No, d.a.m.n no, f.u.c.k no, absolutely no, I don’t wanna die, this my limit!

「……Nell-san, I need to talk something serious with you, can you hear it out?」

I heard a truth much more cruel than death sentence, that I stopped running from reality and used all my power to survive.

That’s right, no matter how much shrewd and cruel method I have to use, I will live, I will survive, just you see.

「Eh, Yes, what happened?」

I resolved myself. To the fact that I might make this angelic beautiful princess cry.

「This sandwich sucks!」

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「I’m sorry」

It was not me but Nell-san who spoke out words of apology with all her heart.

No, even I should be apologizing.

I had her accompany me in the magic training, and even had her make food for me. It is the work of savage to make the person who did this much with good will to say words of apology to you.

But there is something called limits to everything. Even while being tormented by the pangs of conscience I have decided to walk the path of Shura while turning into a demon rakshasa.

In short, I told her that her food sucked.

Well, a dispute occurred, but Nell-san ate the bio-hazard that she gave birth to, and agreed to the validity of my complaint.

「I’m truly sorry……I never thought my food was this bad……」

I sensed a strange nuance in Nell-san’s excuse,

「Well, it can’t be helped when no one actually pointed it out」

Looks like, the one who admonished Princess’ handmade cooking for the first time in history is just me.

Seeing Nell-san accepting the shocking truth while in tears, it doesn’t seem like I would be sentenced to capital punishment, so I can be relieved.

「I had gotten a misunderstanding that it was tasty because everyone used to eat it without leaving anything……ufufu, I’m such an idiot」

Her white face seemed to suffer from heartache, seeing that expression all the men in the world would do anything to make her smile, that much of emptiness could be felt from her.

But, as for me, I want to pay my regards to the brave heroes who ate all of her food as to not to let her know her cooking was bad, yeah truly brave.

Especially the ones that stopped Nell-san’s bio-terrorism before she started treating others her food were the members of『Wing Road』.

I can respect that from the bottom of my heart this time truly, I can now accept that they are Rank 5 Adventurer Party both in name and reality.

But, their touching hard work had become nothing due to me.

I understand their consideration for not letting Nell-san know the cruel truth about her cooking. But, surely but slowly, a day she would know the truth would come.

It was only by fortune that I was able to point it out to her without looking at the risks.

No matter what Nell-san thought, if this was Avalon nation I would’ve been sentenced with lese majeste.

However, there was also a limit in immersing herself in justifying her deeds, because,

「I was making everyone eat this filth with happy faces……I’m dead as a person……fufu, over……」

Nell-san was overwhelmed by the shock that her self-hatred ran towards in a dangerous direction.

It felt like if I left her she would slash her own wrists.

Her clear blue eyes that seemed like blue skies also seemed to have darkened as if dark clouds appeared in them.

It would bad to leave her alone. I need to take the responsibility and follow-up for her.

But, what should I say.

It isn’t bad enough to be inedible? No just no, that bio-hazard has already deviated from the general idea of food, even completely flawlessly.

If I actually said that and she replied, “Then please eat it Kurono-san”, I don’t doubt that I would say NO to her.

d.a.m.n it, no matter what I do, I can’t follow-up this sandwich……no, wait, I see, it’s just best to ignore this stuff.

「Nell-san, every person is not good in cooking from the start」

Well, if asked that every inexperienced person in cooking could create that poison stuff then the answer would be no.

「If you are bad at cooking currently! Then it’s just left to become good from now on!」

In short, this motif is “Let’s forget the disastrous past and look at bright future!”.

「But since I was small I have always had an interest in cooking, but with it this bad, I don’t think it will be good……」

「That is wrong, the way you made it till now was just wrong, so it will be fine if you learn it from now onwards!」

「B-b.u.t.tt――」

「You can do, you can do, you can definitely do! If you try you can do it definitely! Let’s make everyone eat good food!!」

I attacked her with positive words as if to press for an answer.

If I back down here there would no backtrack, hold out me! I can do it if want to!

「Y-You’re right……this time I will work hard for making good food!」

Great, Nell-san has recovered by responding to my pa.s.sionate feelings. Her clouded eyes were also s.h.i.+ning greatly with the light of hope beyond recognition.

「By the way Nell-san, from whom did you learn the cooking till now?」

「Eh? It was self-taught」

I see, so that is the source of all evil and crimes……