Chapter 77: Secret of the Night.
[Late at night, you open the camera in the kitchen.]
[What enters your eyes is the sneaky figure of Medea Lily.]
"Maple syrup～ vanilla cream～"
In the silent kitchen at midnight, Medea swung her magic wand with an extremely serious expression.
The pitch-black, taboo-laden summoning circle continued to expand, as if something terrifyingly monstrous were about to crawl out from within.
No way—why is a witch's incantation so sweet, sounding no different from a magical girl spell for children?! Meanwhile, the scene before his eyes looks exactly like she's summoning Cthulhu. This contrast is way too much!
And Medea's ritual had already reached its final stage. Holding her wand with both hands, she spoke solemnly:
"Choux pastry～! Let's Summon! Appear from the traces of magic, kin of the Abyss!"
Whoosh!
The summoning circle erupted with violent light, magical energy condensing into a gigantic monster with an extremely terrifying face.
Seeing that summon radiating an aura of evil, Eikou, watching through the camera, was so frightened that he sharply inhaled a breath of cold air.
That thing was actually... a Demon God Pillar?!
What on earth was she summoning such a terrifying tentacled monstrosity into the hotel for in the middle of the night?!
"——Who calls me."
A crimson Demon God Pillar stood towering in the kitchen, slowly speaking in a majestic and chilling voice.
"Who is it that has summoned me here."
"It's me, it's me!"
Medea excitedly waved at it. "Disciple of Goddess Hecate, Medea, has summoned you."
"So you are someone connected to a deity. Then I acknowledge you as my summoner. I am one of the Seventy-Two Demon God Pillars—Haagenti, who turns water into wealth, and wealth into water."
Demon God Pillar Haagenti spoke in a voice filled with authority.
"Speak your wish. Is it the annihilation of mankind, or the destruction of the planet? Speak your evil wish, offer up your filthy curses!"
Watching the Demon God Pillar appear, Eikou couldn't help swallowing hard.
Could it be that the series of haunted incidents these past few days were all caused by Medea and this Demon God Pillar?
What exactly was her true objective...?
"Umu, then I'll just say it directly..."
Medea looked at the Demon God Pillar before her, her eyes revealing a seriousness never seen before.
"I hope you can become an ingredient for my cooking!"
Demon God Pillar Haagenti: "Huh?"
Eikou watching the camera: "Huh?"
"Wait—"
Before Demon God Pillar Haagenti could say anything, it already sensed magic traps densely deployed from all directions.
In the blink of an eye, the Demon God Pillar was pierced straight through its core by a fatal strike.
"O o o o, this terrifying nightmare a a a a a——"
The Demon God Pillar began to tremble violently, its agonized screams before death echoing throughout the kitchen.
Meanwhile, Medea showed no sign of panic. Calmly waving her wand, she gradually shrank the Demon God Pillar as it faded away, until it was small enough to fit neatly into a mixing bowl.
Looking at the Demon God Pillar inside the bowl, a satisfied smile bloomed on Medea's cute face.
"Very good, now I've got the ingredients to make pancakes!"
No way—making such a huge fuss just to make some pancakes?! Hearing this, even Solomon would probably shed tears. The meaning of this sacrifice is just way too low!
Eikou couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
He could suddenly understand how Jason felt—Medea in her young days was truly terrifyingly naïve.
And thinking about it, since the Demon God Pillar was turned into ingredients immediately after being summoned, it seemed this time the culprit behind the haunted incidents probably wasn't it either.
Eikou felt somewhat speechless and silently fast-forwarded the camera footage.
[You begin fast-forwarding. The camera footage is filled entirely with Medea's cooking steps.]
[Converting the Demon God Pillar's magical energy into wheat flour, then mixing it evenly. After a series of detailed and professional cooking processes, the Demon God Pillar is finally turned into sweet and fragrant witch pancakes.]
[At this point, the time in the video has reached eleven-thirty at night.]
Looking at the finished pancake in the camera, only shock remained in Eikou's heart.
Worthy of being a witch of Greece, she really did turn a Demon God Pillar into a delicious pancake...
But if anyone were to find out what the true ingredient of this thing was, would anyone still dare to eat it?
"Etto, Lord Eikou..."
Medea, with a shy expression, began rehearsing tomorrow's steps in advance, speaking to the air.
"I see you always eating junk food, so I'm a bit worried that your nutrition might not be enough. If... if you don't mind... would you like to try my pancake? It's really very tasty, you know?"
So it wasn't made for Jason, but for me?!
Watching Medea on the camera, Eikou slapped his forehead hard.
Damn it, if I'd known this would happen, I really shouldn't have installed a camera in the kitchen. Like this, how am I supposed to eat it anymore?!
And Medea continued rehearsing with the air. Her small, fair face suddenly flushed red, as if she had just received an unexpected confession.
"What? Compared to pancake, you… you actually want to eat me?"
The purple-haired witch blushed shyly, raising a hand to touch her cheek, her body twisting bashfully.
"Y-you… you're being way too straightforward!"
Hey, just what kind of dialogue are you rehearsing anyway?! The line you just said is the one that's way too straightforward! You and I only known each other for two days, haven't even properly talked much yet, and you already started practicing flirt lines like a newlywed couple?! Where the hell did your beloved Lord Jason die off to?!
Enough already, I seriously can't bear to watch this anymore—fast-forward.
Eikou continued to fast-forward the video.
After that, Medea wrapped the baked pancake in plastic wrap, put it into the refrigerator, then left the kitchen with a cheerful smile.
Fast-forward about ten minutes, and another figure appeared in the kitchen.
It was… it was Caenis.
This dark-skinned beauty was wearing only a thin tank top and underwear, her tall and sexy curves fully on display. She appeared in the kitchen with a bold and seductive demeanor, opened the refrigerator, and very quickly carried the entire plate of pancake out.
"Awesome, I knew the hotel kitchen would have a late-night snack!"
So the one who secretly ate the stuff Medea made in the middle of the night was her! We really wronged Artoria after all!
The video played for another ten minutes. Caenis had already eaten more than half of the pancake that Medea had painstakingly made.
"Haha, the taste's not bad at all. I really like this kind of sweetness…"
She also showed a satisfied smile, rubbed her stomach, and then returned to her room.
But not long after Caenis left, yet another figure stepped into the kitchen.
"I… I smell a late-night snack!"
There's someone else too?!
Are you people really going to eat Medea's pancake completely clean before you're satisfied?! That thing was made from a Demon God Pillar, you know! And you still think it tastes good?!
Eikou looked at the uninvited guest in the kitchen and raised an eyebrow in slight surprise.
This time, the one who appeared was… Lancer King of Knights, the adult Super-Cup version of Artoria!
"Umu, it really is Artoria…"
Why did Artoria come out in the middle of the night?
Eikou frowned slightly in confusion.
The culprits who secretly ate the pancake had been found, but the ghost in the hallway still hadn't been investigated.
[You pay some attention to Artoria, so you begin extracting the hallway camera footage.]
[Very quickly, you discover that Artoria had appeared in the hotel hallway not long before.]
[Before secretly eating the pancake, Artoria stealthily passed through the hotel hallway, followed the corridor all the way to the room at the end of the hall, then stopped in front of a door.]
[...That was your room.]
"???"
Damn it, Artoria even came to my room tonight too?!