Chapter 235: A Sudden Attack!
"Sister, Sister. Shiro-sama looks really uncomfortable."
"Rem, Rem. Shiro-sama looks like he's about to die."
Two nearly identical voices came from the front of the carriage.
One of them even contained a curse ominous enough to make anyone listening feel uneasy.
"Hey, Ram."
"Don't think I can't hear you just because you're sitting at the front of the dragon carriage."
Shiro leaned against the window with one hand supporting his cheek and replied weakly.
Emilia sat beside him with an awkward expression.
A day had passed since the Royal Selection meeting.
Shiro, Emilia, and the others were currently riding a dragon carriage back toward Roswaal Mansion.
Originally, they should have departed last night.
Unfortunately—Something unexpected happened.
The cause traced back to what Shiro had casually said during the day.
Before leaving the royal capital, he had told Emilia that he was tired of eating sandwiches and salads and wanted something different.
At the time, Shiro had no idea how disastrous those words would become.
Not until that evening—When Emilia confidently placed a bowl of pitch-black unidentified matter in front of him.
An appearance resembling charcoal.
Sticky liquid.
A pungent smell.
Calling that thing "food" would have been an insult to food.
It was more like a calamity.
Shiro genuinely could not understand how Emilia had managed to transform perfectly ordinary ingredients from the kitchen into a biochemical weapon like this.
Even more absurdly—She seemed to believe her cooking was actually good.
While Shiro stared at the mysterious black substance, Emilia watched him with expectant eyes, clearly hoping for praise.
When Shiro desperately looked toward Rem and Ram for help—He received only Rem's pitying gaze and Ram's expression of delighted anticipation.
At that moment, he understood.
There was no escape.
Still...
Maybe it merely looked horrible but tasted surprisingly good?
After all, the world had things like stinky tofu.
Clinging to that faint hope and unable to resist Emilia's expectant gaze, Shiro stabbed the dark mass with a fork and cautiously tasted a small bite.
The result—
Sour.
Sweet.
Bitter.
Spicy.
Salty.
Within a single second, five completely different flavors exploded across Shiro's tongue.
Then they merged into an indescribable sixth sensation beyond human language.
The divine markings on his back instantly began heating up.
At the critical moment, [Abnormal Resistance] activated and dragged him back from hell.
"Ram already warned Shiro-sama before Lady Emilia entered the kitchen."
Ram's emotionless voice came from the front.
"Ah, Ram really is an idiot."
"To think Ram actually expected Shiro-sama to understand adorable Ram's warning."
"I sincerely apologize for not listening to you."
Shiro's eyes went dark just remembering yesterday.
"But next time, could you make your warning a little more direct?"
"I'd prefer you simply tell me not to let Emilia cook instead of silently bringing out every piece of emergency medical equipment in the mansion the moment she walks into the kitchen."
Shiro had already sealed yesterday's memory away in the deepest corner of his mind.
Yet the moment Ram mentioned it—He still felt his vision darken.
That was his biological instinct warning him never to remember the incident again.
"Sorry..."
Emilia lowered her head and spoke softly.
"I'll pay more attention to how I cook next time..."
She had tried cooking by herself before.
But when she served the food to Puck, he had clearly told her it tasted good.
Could it be—Were a spirit's taste buds different from a human's?
Emilia suddenly came to a realization.
The innocent girl never considered the possibility that Puck simply had not eaten her cooking that day.
Instead, she became convinced that the problem lay in her preparation method.
She was even thinking about improving it and cooking for Shiro again next time.
"Ah..."
Shiro immediately sensed danger.
"For now, you should focus on becoming king."
"Right."
"Have you decided what you're going to do once we return to gain more support?"
For the sake of his own survival, Shiro spared no effort redirecting Emilia's attention.
He desperately hoped she would forget cooking somewhere at the edge of the world.
Of course—He had another reason for asking.
Yesterday, Shiro had accidentally learned from Felix that Crusch was preparing to organize a force to hunt the White Whale.
It was one of the Three Great Mabeasts that had terrorized this world for centuries.
If Crusch successfully killed it—Countless merchants who had suffered enormous losses because of the White Whale would immediately shift toward her faction.
Crusch's reputation would also rise to unprecedented heights.
She already possessed an enormous advantage in the Royal Selection.
If she expanded that lead even further—She would become extremely difficult to compete against.
Although, setting magic aside—Crusch genuinely seemed the most suitable among the five Dragon Maidens to become ruler.
Anastasia came second.
Unless something unexpected happened, Emilia becoming king with her current abilities might not necessarily be a good thing.
Fortunately—To Shiro's relief, Emilia could still distinguish what was currently most important.
The moment she heard his question, she decisively forgot about cooking.
She lowered her head and began thinking seriously.
The carriage fell quiet again.
Unfortunately—That peace lasted only about three minutes.
Perhaps it was because Shiro had just been thinking about unexpected events.
Or perhaps his natural luck was simply terrible whenever he did not actively manipulate fate.
Just as Emilia finished thinking and prepared to explain her plans—An accident occurred.
BOOM—!
A series of explosions erupted ahead.
The speeding dragon carriage abruptly came to a violent stop.
With the Earth Dragon's sudden movement, the entire carriage shook heavily.
Loose objects inside flew uncontrollably toward the front.
"What happened?!"
Shiro stabilized himself inside the carriage while simultaneously catching Emilia before she was thrown outside.
Then he shouted toward Rem and Ram in the driver's seat.
"This smell..."
"Rem could never mistake it!"
A sharp voice came from the front.
Although it sounded very different from her usual gentle tone—Shiro immediately recognized Rem.
He leaned out from the carriage and looked toward the driver's seat.
Her body was visibly trembling.
Not from cold.
From rage.
For some reason—Rem had suddenly become furious beyond restraint.
Her Oni horn had already emerged.
And at some point, the reins in her hand had been replaced by her morning star.
She was already fully prepared for battle.
"Damn Witch Cult!!!"
A roar like that of an enraged demon erupted from the girl's mouth.
…
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