Chapter 5

A chilly silence passed.

“………”

“………”

“………”

Not only I, the person who heard that, but also Kirios and Siegfried had disgusted faces.

Cesar, who had been staring at me blankly, soon came to his senses.

“Excuse me. Who is this little lady?”

“I’m Ta-Tatiana….”

What, could it be that you don’t hate me as much as I thought?

I was a little relieved in the midst of my bewilderment.

Just in time, Kirios intervened in the conversation. “Hey, Cesar! Can you even see us?”

Then, with a blatantly pitiful expression, he glanced at Cesar.

“You, is it because the kid is cute? How can you be swayed by looks when you’re a priest?”

Then Cesar put on a straight face and answered, “All the cute things in the world deserve to be loved.”

“…….”

“All small animal friends and angelic children should be treated with preciously.”

A long speech followed.

“The same goes for this lady in front of me. Isn’t it natural to mistake such a cute and lovely child as an angel?”

Well, frankly, I’m not a fan of flattery to this degree. It felt like my ears were bleeding….

I couldn’t say anything to Cesar, who was on my side, so I just laughed awkwardly.

Kirios, who was looking at Cesar dissatisfied, asked back in a sulky voice, “What about us?”

Then Cesar wrinkled his forehead as if he had heard the world’s most terrible words.

“No, should I care about disgusting grown men like you?”

“………”

I opened my mouth wide.

That wasn’t described in the original, so I didn’t know that.

In fact, Cesar’s philanthropic generosity must have been limited to children and animals…..

Meanwhile, Cesar glanced down at the bandage wrapped around his arm before asking me a question.

“By the way, has Miss Tatiana been taking care of me all this time?”

“Yes….”

Unable to overcome my embarrassment, I averted my gaze.

Oh, what kind of bandage work is that?

This will ruin my plan to score points through caregiving!

But then.

“Whoa.”

A soft laugh rang out.

‘Huh? You’re laughing?’

I reflexively looked back at Cesar with my eyes wide open.

Cesar, who made eye contact with me, smiled shyly.

“Oh, I’m sorry. It’s so cute to see Miss Tatiana avert her eyes.”

Well, let’s ignore Kirios and Siegfried’s expressions of dying……

“You had a hard time because of me. Thank you.”

“No, I did it because I wanted to!”

I answered immediately.

Fortunately the “operation to increase the favorability of the warriors” had not failed yet.

Cesar continued, skillfully rewrapping the bandage around his arm.

“My name is Cesar. Please call me Cesar from now on.”

Wow, that’s really sweet…..

Aren’t you the one with wings on your back?

After being troubled by the feisty Siegfried and Kirios, this moment of talking to Cesar felt like heaven.

With gratitude, I smiled as brightly as I could.

“Then call me Tati, too!”

“………”

Cesar stared blankly at my face for a moment.

Then he murmured like a sigh, “….so sweet.”

“Hmm? Did you say something?”

“No, nothing.” Cesar hurriedly shook his head.

Well, I thought Cesar’s face seemed somehow to get a little red.

Don’t tell me, do you have a fever?

***

After that– 

I headed to the kitchen.

Cesar must have been starving all this time, so I had to bring him something to eat.

But there was a person who kept following me.

‘Ah, that’s really annoying!!’

I strained my eyes and glanced back.

Kirios, who met my eyes, brazenly asked me back.

“What are you looking at?”

Why do you keep following me? It’s so annoying!

…..I didn’t have the courage to say this.

“Nothing at all.”

I tried to suppress my boiling insides and smiled brightly.

Hah, hold it in. Hold it in.

I have a purpose, don’t I?

I have to take care of those damn warriors to grow up safely with them as my guardians.

That way, I can awaken as the Demon King and take revenge on those who harassed me!

Kirios sarcastically asked, “Is that the expression of nothing? It seems to me that you want to punch me right away.”

I really did want to hit the pit of his stomach hard….

I reflexively clenched my fists.

The clenched fist trembled.

However– 

‘No, I have to hold it in.’

After barely regaining my reason, I smiled, pushing the corners of my mouth upward.

“Oh, that can’t be.”

“………”

Then Kirios looked down at me with strange eyes.

What the hell is wrong with you?

If I continued to have a war of nerves with Kirios, I would be the one to lose.

I chose to just go into the kitchen quietly.

At the same time, Kirios stuck his head out.

“Is this the kitchen?”

“Yes.”

I nodded.

The scene in the kitchen in front of me reminded me of the laundry room I visited earlier.

Just in time, I heard Kirios click his tongue briefly.

“What’s this…..I’ve never seen such an extravagant kitchen.”

I agreed with that.

Inside the sparkling, dust-free kitchen, all kinds of cooking utensils were neatly arranged.

What stood out in particular was the hanging cupboard with preservation magic on it.

The cupboard was filled with rare ingredients from all over the world.

‘Honestly, I couldn’t even recognize half of these ingredients….’

Breaking out in a cold sweat, I first selected only familiar ingredients.

Onions, bacon, potatoes, eggs, olive oil, soft white bread, and mild cheese.

With the ingredients in front of me, I was deeply troubled.

“If it’s a patient’s meal, should I boil soup?”

“What, patient food?” Kirios snorted. “What’s all this about patient food? That son of a bitch Cesar – he would even eat a lump of metal.”

“You’re sick, though.”

“For now I’ve come to my senses, so that’s enough. I’ll recover soon, so you don’t have to worry about that kid…..” Kirios, who was explaining, got annoyed. “No, why am I talking about this?!”

Well, I never ask for an explanation……

I glanced at Kirios.

Perhaps a little embarrassed, Kirios cleared his throat and asked, “Do you know how to cook?”

“Um…….I can do it.”

I thought about it as positively as possible.

I was up against a brick wall.

‘How do I light a fire?’

I stood in front of a large countertop that looked like an oven, brazier, and gas stove combined.

I fell into deep anguish.

It was clearly a magic tool used for cooking, but it wouldn’t catch fire at all.

But then.

“What, why are you standing there doing nothing?”

Kirios suddenly came up to me.

I looked up at Kirios with a troubled face.

“The, the fire didn’t start……”

“Fire?”

Kirios, who was looking at the kitchen counter, opened his mouth. “The mana circuit is twisted.”

“Eh, the mana circuit?”

“Yes, if you modify the circuit like this…..”

The wizard’s long and elegant fingers touched the countertop.

Sparkling powder seeped into the countertop.

Kirios turned the valve attached to the countertop.

Click.

And a miracle happened.

With the sound of something interlocking, the heat began to rise on the cooktop!

“Wow…..”

I looked up at Kirios with twinkling eyes.

I heard that dog poop could also be used for medicine, and surprisingly, this person ended up being quite useful, huh?

You’re still a great magician, right?

At the same time, Kirios looked down at me with a sour stare.

“Hey, get out of the way.”

“Huh?”

When I made a puzzled face, Kirios jutted his chin to the corner of the kitchen.

“Your tiny self can only cook something small. You go and sit over there.”

“Okay.”

“How can a four-year-old use a knife and fire? And if you get hurt, wouldn’t Cesar try to kill me?”

“………”

Wow, that’s very mean.

Having been pushed to the corner of the kitchen like that, I pouted my lips in dissatisfaction.

Kirios skillfully heated up the frying pan, and then started to fry the bacon.

Sizzling sounds filled the area.

As he cracked the eggs over the bacon grease, the savory smell of oil began to vibrate everywhere.

It smelled good.

I was sniffing and suddenly came to my senses.

“Cesar needs to eat patient food!”

“Will he die if he eats this?”

But Kirios just shrugged his shoulders and sliced the white bread.

I glared at Kirios’s back with dissatisfied eyes.

Do you mind me glaring at you? You’re not even looking this way anyway.

“Hey.”

“Woah!” 

Surprised, I jumped up.

Do you have eyes on the back of your head?!

Kirios glanced back and narrowed his eyes.

“What the hell did you do to make your face look so scrunched?”

“Oh, I didn’t do anything.”

“Hmm……”

Kirios had a suspicious look on his face, but he didn’t question me further.

Instead, he turned around and finished cooking.

He took out a large plate and piled it up with bacon and fried eggs.

“Hey, kid,” Kirios called me out of nowhere.

“What?”

“Why aren’t you crying?”

What the hell are you talking about?

Would you feel better if I cried and begged for my life?

Looking at Kirios with cold eyes, I soon managed my expression and tilted my head in a naive manner.

“What are you implying?”

“Aren’t you afraid of the current situation?”

Maybe it was just my feeling, but his voice sounded strangely subdued.

“It’s only natural for a child to come and make a fuss, so why are you acting like an adult?”