Chapter 25:

Chapter 25: A Frenzied Party

Director-nim! Im here!

Is it you again?

Sushia.

A member of Department 3, an 8th Grade civil servant, and the daughter of the duke.

She was the office snack thief.

The amount of snacks she had stolen till now could probably stack up to form a tower.

Today we have cookies sprinkled with cinnamon, right? Ill just have one.

Oh, fruit drizzled with honey! Its in season and so delicious. Can I have just one?

A tart! How did you know this is my favorite? It looks so good. Can I have just one?

She was what one would call a One-bite Monster. These were culprits who claimed to eat just one bite of whatever one was eating but then gobbled up the whole thing and vanished.

To be honest, a One-bite Monster was rather endearing. The office snacks were quite plentiful, and there wasnt much difference even with one more mouth to feed.

That was until Sushia underwent her dark evolution.

Hmm... The dough seems a bit undercooked today. Not that great.

This fruit is a bit sour, isnt it?

Ugh, I shouldnt have eaten it.

In the end, Sushia became a One-bite Critic.

The One-bite Critic.

The dark evolution of the One-bite Monster.

Not only did she come to take just one bite, but she also audaciously critiques someone elses food after eating it and then disappears nonchalantly.

Lia, from now on, lets ban Sushia from entering.

Understood.

...

The next day:

Director-nim! Director-nim! I made a mistake! Please let me in! I promise I wont do it again!

Sushia desperately knocked on the locked door, but Ascal coldly ignored her.

She shouldnt have crossed the line.

****Several days later,

By chance, Ascal ran into Sushia in the corridor.

Di-Director-nim... I tried baking cookies myself. Would you like to try?

With a slightly timid look in her eyes, Sushia held out a cookie, resembling a poodle seeking its owners approval.

Its tasteless.

Ascal said coldly after taking a bite.

To be precise, the taste was decent.

However, given that the average quality of the snacks in the office was exceedingly high, it tasted relatively bland by comparison.The original appearance of this chapter can be found at Ñøv€lß1n.

A slightly offended Sushia raised her eyebrows.

Then why dont you try making them yourself, Director-nim?

Youre asking me to bake cookies?

Yes. I bet the cookies baked by the Director-nim will taste worse than mine.

Ascal chuckled dryly.

If the cookies I bake taste better than yours, youre banned from entering my office indefinitely.

His words brimmed with confidence. As Sushia hesitated, momentarily stepping back, a scheme popped into her head.

Well, we have the best patisserie and ingredients at home, dont we? I can just ask them to make it for me.

With her plan in place, Sushia spoke with renewed vigor.

****

From early holiday morning, Ascal was bustling about.

What was the most critical ingredient for making cookies?

Obviously, it was the raw materials. For anyone who thought it might be sincerity, hed recommend starting over with basic pastry classes.

Alright. This much flour should do.

After selecting flour from several stores in the shopping district, Ascal moved to buy butter and eggs next.

However, the plaza seemed unusually crowded.Usually, around this time, the plaza would be lively with chattering old ladies, but today it felt twice as noisy.

Did you hear? The Crown Prince is attending the upcoming party!

And even the Second Princess is going. Isnt this one of the biggest events the empire has seen recently?

Of course. Every notable noble seems to be attending. It seems like its just a party in name, but in reality...

'Hmm.'

Ascal nodded to himself, having overheard the conversation.

So, both the Crown Prince and the Second Princess were attending.

It had nothing to do with him.

He should focus on the cookie contest.

As Ascal was about to move on, a hard-to-ignore piece of gossip reached his ears.

This time, even the Third Princess Yulia is said to be attending.

She was rarely seen in public gatherings.

The legendary Third Princess Yulia joined the party.

The empires nobility was abuzz.

What secrets could possibly be hidden in this party?

What kind of secrets would bring out all these significant figures?

Well, Yulia is a princess too. She must be busy.

It was just a list of big names.

If someone as ordinary as himself were to attend, they would be crushed like a shrimp among whales.

Well, its none of my business.

Whistling, Ascal picked out some butter. The sight of his basket filled with ingredients brought satisfaction.

Now, it was time to head home and practice.****First, preheat the stone oven.

In the meantime, carefully mix the sugar with butter, and once they were blended, add the eggs and combine everything.

Gradually add in the flour, stirring until it became cookie dough.

Once it reaches the desired consistency, use a tool to cut the dough into small, round shapes.

Place the cut dough on a greased sheet.

Put the dough into the preheated oven.

Whew.

Even after some time, his skills hadnt rusted.

After a while, the cookies began to turn a golden brown.

Ascal took out the sufficiently hardened cookies and placed them outside to cool.

Crunch.

Using quality ingredients really does make a difference. At this rate, Ill surely win.

Ascal chuckled as he savored the perfectly baked cookie.

I cant wait to see Sushias face fall.

However, what Ascal didnt know was that Sushia was already so devastated that she was preparing for the grandest party ever.

In fact, she was so busy that she didnt even have a moment to inform Ascal about it...

[TN: You can support the translation and read 3 chapters ahead of the release here on Patreon: /OracleTls]