Meanwhile, at Berk Eatery.
While eating the "nostalgic Karaage Set Meal" she had ordered, Narcissus abruptly declared:
"She wasn't there."
"...Lady Narcissus. I have no idea who you're talking about."
Megadia, sipping her ale, looked exasperated. This was her second drink already.
"Oh, right. What's a subject?"
"..."
"Hmm hmm. What wasn't there, now?"
The witch asked after letting several things slide.
Before her was a cucumber tuna sandwich and a tomato-heavy salad.
"The will of the dungeon."
"Oh my. And how did that come about?"
"I was called as usual, but there was no response at all. I was abandoned in that space. I didn't know what to do, so I made a pickaxe with Banish and started mining half-heartedly, and then I realized I could open and close gates freely. I even thought about inviting Megadia and heading to Heizen!"
"You 'thought about'..."
Megadia grumbled and took a drink.
Narcissus possesses Banish, which she can use with Weaponize to create weapons.
Whether a pickaxe counts as a weapon is up to her.
"Hmm hmm. That's very, very interesting."
"By the way, I heard something terrifying — that you mined through the Great Temple's prayer chamber."
"Well, what else could I do? I couldn't get out." Munch, munch. "This is so good. Here, have some."
She stuffed her cheeks with karaage and ate rice.
The karaage at Berk Eatery was huge — each piece was about one and a half fists in size.
And each one had a different flavor.
Pepper. Soy sauce. Salt. Plain. Sweet and spicy. Sauce.
There were six of them, and they were the nostalgic karaage.
Only Wof, who had come up with the idea, knew what made them nostalgic.
"Don't talk with your mouth full."
"Munch munch munch munch — gulp! Ugh, ugh!?"
"Oh, honestly. There's no rush. Here, drink some water."
"Gulp gulp gulp, hahh! Thank you, Megadia. I thought I was going to die."
"Eat slowly. And wipe your mouth."
As she said that, she wiped Narcissus's mouth with a handkerchief.
Once it was clean, she sighed. Good grief. Then she drank her ale.
The witch grinned.
"My, my, like a mother and daughter."
"I don't want a daughter older than me."
"..."
"What's wrong?"
Narcissus paused to think, then spoke.
"So this is what having a mother is like."
"..."
"Ah, ah, that's right. Yes, yes. That's exactly what it's like."
The witch remembered.
Narcissus's mother had died shortly after she was born.
Because of her hair color, she had been called a reincarnation and possessed Relics befitting a shrine maiden.
There was no way such a girl could have been raised normally.
But no one had expected the result to turn out like this.
"Speaking of mothers, I actually have a reason for bringing you here, Megadia."
"You do?"
"Oh my. That sounds very interesting."
"Megadia. I thought you might be stress-drinking because of everything that happened at home, so I figured a change of scenery might help lighten your mood a little."
She said it casually, then popped a karaage into her mouth.
Megadia and the witch exchanged glances.
"...You actually thought this through for me."
"Mm mm. Such a good girl."
"Of course I'm wonderful." Munch munch.
"So you're searching for the will of the dungeon?"
"Munch munch munch munch munch munch, there's another reason too."
Recklessly, she speared two karaage on her fork and stuffed them in her mouth.
She chewed thoroughly, shoveling rice after it. This time, she drank water properly.
"You have another goal too?"
"...Gulp! It's because it looked like so much fun!"
She exhaled and finished her karaage and rice.
Only cabbage remained on her plate. She hadn't touched a single piece.
"Looked like fun..."
"Well now, that's certainly true. It's definitely fun, no mistake."
"Right?! By the way, where's Wof? Where is he?"
"Before that, Lady Narcissus. You've still got cabbage left."
"...Whatever do you mean?"
She had eaten everything else clean, but she hadn't gone near the cabbage with her fork.
Megadia narrowed her eyes. Narcissus averted her face, cold sweat trickling down.
"My, my, you mustn't leave food uneaten."
"But cabbage isn't tasty..."
"Don't be so childish!"
"Hmm hmm. Eating it plain really is bland, I suppose."
"Exactly. It's not tasty."
"Well then, if there were a way to make it delicious, would you eat it properly?"
"Of course — if such a method exists!"
Narcissus grinned fearlessly.
"What are you planning?"
"Well now, leave it to me. Narcissus, surely you can't fit any more rice?"
"Don't underestimate me! I can still eat!"
"Good, good. Samaniya, could we get a rice refill on the set meal, please?"
"Yees. Right away."
Samaniya promptly brought over a refill of rice.
She set it in front of Narcissus. The witch had ordered it, but refills were part of the set meal service.
"So what are you going to do?"
"First, I'll drizzle this special sauce over the rice. A sweet and spicy demi-glace sauce."
"What!?"
"Then, once it's on, I'll layer the cabbage on top."
"Huh..."
"Next, I'll drizzle more sauce over the cabbage."
"Again!?"
"Hey, isn't that a bit much?"
Even Megadia had to say something.
"Finally, I'll lightly toss the cabbage and rice together."
"You're doing what!?"
"...Don't tell me that's it?"
"Mm mm. Witch's special cabbage rice."
Cabbage and rice drizzled with a sweet and spicy demi-glace sauce.
The presentation was plain, and more than a little shabby.
Narcissus fixed the cabbage rice with a look bordering on contempt.
She was utterly convinced there was no way this could taste good.
Megadia sipped her ale.
Even she was thinking, "Is this really going to work?"
She also silently noted how cheap it looked.
"Now then, bon appétit."
"Hmph. As if cabbage could taste good with — eh? Tasty..."
She took one bite with her fork, and her eyes went wide at the unexpected deliciousness.
She took another bite, stunned.
"This is surprisingly good. More than I expected... it's good."
It wasn't incredibly delicious or mind-blowingly good or anything like that.
Surprisingly, fairly, more than expected — it was perfectly edible. That was the level of taste.
But for Narcissus, it was still a shock.
She polished off the whole thing on momentum.
When she came to, the witch was wearing a triumphant grin.
Narcissus felt a sense of defeat.
But it was a rare defeat for her — one that didn't leave a bitter taste.
"I've learned something. Bland food can be surprisingly delicious with sauce!"
"That's right. I'm glad. Just be careful not to add too much, or it'll become hard to eat."
"Yes, I know!"
Probably. She didn't actually understand.
"Oh, right. Young Wof went to the Subjugation Guild. I think. He should be back soon."
"Then I'll wait. At the witch's nest!"
"What if it were an inn?"
"Of course. I'd stay! For multiple nights!"
"Hmm hmm. It's not an inn, so that's fine. I see, I see — this is going to get interesting."
The witch glanced at Megadia's face and smiled mischievously.
"But first, I'm buying that sauce!"
Narcissus had become a sauce devotee.