"I'm just well-prepared, that's all!"
Dorian shook his head vigorously, insisting that he absolutely did not have some weird obsessive-compulsive disorder.
"Yeah, yeah. I got it."
Raon brushed off Dorian's words and approached Gluttony.
"Anyway, you're saying you can transfer your Authority to Dorian?"
"Yes. I can do it."
Gluttony nodded slowly, indicating it was quite possible.
"The Authority of Gluttony will weaken a bit, but it's definitely doable."
She raised her small hand, indicating that while it would be somewhat diminished, it wouldn't be insufficient.
"If that human accepts my Authority well, even if I fight an Archangel with all my might, the Authority of Gluttony within you probably won't disappear completely, right? Probably?"
Gluttony repeated exactly what Sloth had said earlier. However, since this was her first time doing this as well, she didn't seem entirely confident.
"That's good enough."
Since he had been prepared to deplete all the Demon Kings' Authority from the start, this was perfectly acceptable.
"...You're quite peculiar."
Gluttony tilted her head slowly while looking at Raon.
"What's peculiar about me?"
Raon narrowed his eyes as he asked the question.
"The Authority of Gluttony I gave you has changed."
Gluttony's red eyes flashed as if peering into her own soul.
"It's completely different from when I had it."
"Is that a bad thing?"
"I don't know."
She shook her head, saying she couldn't tell right now. She closed her mouth, seemingly unwilling to say more.
"I-I'm going to receive the Authority of Gluttony...?"
Dorian's jaw trembled as if he couldn't believe he had to receive a Demon King's Authority.
"Ughhhh..."
He muttered for help as he slumped to the floor.
"Gluttony."
Raon left Dorian to his strange moaning and turned back to Gluttony.
"Tell me in detail what kind of food you want to eat."
Since Gluttony had said she wanted something novel and more delicious than any bead ice cream she'd had so far, Raon wanted to hear her detailed requirements.
"Hmm..."
Gluttony closed her eyes while resting her chin on her finger.
"I'm not sure."
She opened her eyes again and muttered that she herself didn't know what she wanted.
"This isn't going to be easy."
Raon sighed with his hands on his hips. This seemed like it would be much more difficult than dealing with Sloth.
"Still, I'd like some bead ice cream."
Gluttony suddenly raised her hand.
"I thought as much."
Raon smacked his lips as he recalled the bead ice cream they'd eaten so far.
"And I think it would be nice to taste multiple flavors simultaneously."
Gluttony raised her head, indicating she had one more thing to add.
"Multiple flavors..."
"And I'd like those multiple flavors to burst all at once, not separately."
Despite saying she wasn't sure, she had given quite a few hints.
"Make it with bead ice cream, and have multiple flavors burst at once..."
Raon furrowed his brows as he repeated Gluttony's words.
'This really won't be easy.'
A sigh escaped his lips as he couldn't figure out where to begin.
-Don't worry! Your King is here!
Wrath raised his hand confidently.
-When it comes to taste testing, no one can compare to me!
He clenched his fist, telling Raon to trust him.
'Wipe the drool from your mouth before you speak.'
Raon closed Wrath's jaw as he drooled like a hungry dog.
-I-it's not because I want to eat! I just want to help you! Yes, as a friend! As your friend!
Wrath shook his head while swallowing his endless drool.
'Well, I suppose you'll be helpful anyway.'
Since Wrath had eaten various foods with him, he could be of sufficient help.
'Though his taste evaluation is terrible.'
It seemed best to ignore his evaluations and only use him to determine if something was edible or not.
"Dorian."
Raon beckoned to Dorian.
"Let's start right away."
"M-me too? I'm joining in?"
Dorian's eyes widened in surprise, as if he hadn't expected to be included.
"Since you're the one who needs to receive the Authority of Gluttony, you have to join in."
Raon grabbed the back of Dorian's head and opened the door to their quarters.
"Uhhhhh..."
Dorian's jaw trembled as if he wanted neither to go out nor receive the Authority of Gluttony.
"Wait here, I'll be back soon with something."
Raon waved to Gluttony and left the room.
"A new taste..."
Gluttony drew a faint smile, seeming to trust Raon's words. The new emotion burning within her Authority of Gluttony began to shine more intensely.
"I'm looking forward to it."
***
"Whew..."
Burren lowered his sword while slowly catching his breath. He wiped the sweat flowing from his entire body and curled his lips.
'This is definitely the kind of training that feels satisfying.'
Thanks to Rimmer in his childhood and Raon after he grew up, he had become so accustomed to pushing his body that training didn't feel like training unless he was sweating.
'The others probably feel the same way.'
The other swordsmen seemed to share his feelings as they swung their swords with all their might, working up a sweat.
'Even without Raon here, everyone's working hard.'
In the past, the swordsmen would secretly reduce their training intensity when Raon wasn't at the training ground. But now that Raon was aiming to become the head of house, they were training at full force to avoid bringing him shame.
It was the Light Wind Palace's own resolve - they didn't mind being looked down upon themselves, but they couldn't let their lord be disgraced.
'I can't just sit idle either.'
Just as Burren tossed aside his sweat-soaked towel and prepared to resume his swordsmanship as Vice Palace Master, a snoring sound broke through the training ground filled with shouts of exertion.
"Mmm..."
When Burren turned around with furrowed brows, he saw Runaan sleeping while leaning against a tree.
'Is she sleeping again?'
Runaan had always been sleepy by nature, but she used to strictly maintain focus during training hours. Lately, however, she seemed to spend more time sleeping than swinging her sword during practice. It was especially noticeable since the other swordsmen were training so diligently.
"Sigh..."
Burren sighed, expelling the heat rising within him.
'I'll talk to her later.'
Since Runaan was also a Division Leader guiding the swordsmen, it would be better to speak with her privately rather than in front of everyone.
'Now then, back to...'
Just as Burren collected himself and tried to look forward again, Runaan slumped down against the tree and began snoring even louder.
"D-did she not get enough sleep last night?"
"She's snoring quite heavily today."
"She'll be alright, right?"
The other swordsmen also began tilting their heads as they looked at Runaan.
"Sigh..."
Burren lowered his sword again and approached Runaan.
'I can't stand this.'
He had intended to let it slide, but seeing her openly sleeping during training hours was unbearable.
"Runaan!"
Burren reached out and grabbed the snoring Runaan's shoulder.
"Wake up! It's training time!"
He shook her shoulder, shouting that she should set an example as a Division Leader.
"Mmm..."
Runaan slowly opened her eyes and looked at Burren.
"I was training..."
She blinked dazedly, claiming she had been training properly.
"What nonsense! Raon might let this slide, but I won't!"
Burren shook his head, telling her to stop talking nonsense and pick up her sword.
"But it's true..."
Runaan yawned widely as she slowly got to her feet.
"Watch..."
She drew the sword at her waist and aimed it at the setting sun. As Runaan's blade pointed toward the tilting sun, blue light blazed forth and waves of frost began overflowing in all directions. Like Raon wielding his Fire Spirit with cold energy, magnificent and grand fragments of frost swept across the darkening sky.
"W-what is this...?"
Burren's jaw trembled as he sensed Runaan's swordsmanship far surpassing his own. This wasn't a level that someone could reach just by sleeping.
"This is i-insane..."
"This is Lady Runaan's swordsmanship?"
"She's c-changed so much?"
"But she's been sleeping every day lately, how...?"
The other swordsmen couldn't close their gaping mouths, seemingly shocked.
"See...?"
Runaan sheathed her sword and leaned back against the tree.
"I told you I was training hard..."
She closed her eyes again, telling them not to disturb her.
"Uhh. Okay..."
Burren swallowed dryly as he stepped back.
'Isn't this too unfair?'
He was both amazed and slightly jealous that Runaan, who had done nothing but sleep, had become stronger than him despite his daily dawn training with Karoon. While effort didn't always guarantee rewards, he felt betrayed by the world. (E/N: I...I want to be able to do all my duties and chores by sleeping too...)
"It's okay..."
Runaan slowly waved her hand as if she knew what he was thinking.
"You'll have it soon too."
She let out those quiet words suggesting he would gain something if he waited, then fell back asleep.
"No way..."
Burren narrowed his eyes as he watched Runaan sleeping peacefully.
"Is Raon up to something again?"
***
-You really did it!
Wrath wiped his tongue thoroughly with his palm.
-Who in their right mind pours ice cream into spicy stew!
He ground his teeth as if wondering how anyone could think of putting mint chocolate ice cream in red stew.
'I just like stew, that's all...'
Raon shook his head, saying he had just tried it once.
"It's interesting in terms of novelty, but the taste isn't great."
Dorian also furrowed his brows as if disapproving.
"It's not easy to create new flavors without combining them with other foods."
Gluttony had already eaten all existing bead ice cream, and thanks to Dorian, she had also tried ice cream with various spices and new fruits. To satisfy her, they had no choice but to try something new.
"I'm sorry. I got too excited..."
Dorian scratched his head, apologizing that there weren't many options left because of him.
"No, you did well. Thanks to you, Gluttony agreed to my request."
Raon patted Dorian's shoulder, telling him not to blame himself.
"It's difficult from the start since ice cream needs to be the base. It's hard to adapt it to warm dishes."
Dorian sighed, noting that there weren't many cold dishes to begin with.
-And we have to make sure it tastes good too.
Wrath clicked his tongue, saying it wouldn't be easy to satisfy Gluttony now that she had developed a refined palate.
'Should we try combining fruits?'
Raon created colorful bead ice cream by combining fruits like apples, strawberries, and bananas.
"The taste is pretty good, isn't it?"
Dorian gave a thumbs up, saying it tasted quite excellent.
"Let's see."
Raon took the fruit-combined bead ice cream to Gluttony.
"It's delicious. But it's a taste I've had many times before..."
Gluttony shook her head, acknowledging the taste was good but noting it wasn't novel.
-I think the same. This level won't be enough to twist causality.
Wrath also lowered his hand, indicating it was still far from sufficient.
"This is frustrating."
Raon returned to the room and flopped onto the bed.
'I've been making ice cream all day, but there's no solution.'
He had spent over a day researching ice cream with Dorian since yesterday, but still couldn't figure out how to create a new flavor.
'I'm even scared to go back to her.'
After being criticized so much by Gluttony, even seeing her face had become painful.
-Heheheheh...
Meanwhile, Wrath was patting his round belly with a satisfied smile, seemingly happy just to have eaten lots of ice cream.
'That useless...'
At first he had acted like he would take care of everything, but it turned out he was just suggesting combinations he wanted to eat. Such an irritating demon king.
"Should we get more of that next time?"
Since it was about supplies, Dorian seemed tireless as he took notes about new ingredients they needed to acquire. Though he denied being obsessive-compulsive, to Raon it looked exactly like that.
"Let's take a break for now."
Just as Raon waved his hand and was about to close his eyes, there was a gentle knock at the door.
"Come in."
Knowing who it was, he nodded immediately.
"Looks like things aren't going well."
Evelyn smiled as she opened the door and entered.
"Is it that hard to find a new ice cream flavor?"
"H-how did you know about...?"
Raon let out a confused breath. Evelyn hadn't been present during the conversation with Gluttony, so how did she know everything about it?
-I'm telling you, she must have cast an eavesdropping spell on your body!
Wrath screamed that they couldn't escape from Evelyn unless they tore off their flesh.
"You looked like you were having a hard time, so I made you a sandwich."
Evelyn set down a sandwich with ham, cheese, and egg on the table, telling him to eat it while it was fresh.
"Huh? This is..."
"That's right. I learned it from your mother."
She gave a gentle smile, saying she had made the sandwich following Sylvia's recipe.
"Mother's sandwich?"
Though he had been scared of Evelyn just moments ago, learning that she had made a sandwich using his mother's recipe filled him with stronger feelings of gratitude.
-She's a good madwoman after all!
Wrath exclaimed in delight, his fear of Evelyn seemingly dispelled by a single sandwich. He really was a simple demon king.
"I'll enjoy it."
Raon picked up the sandwich and took a bite.
"It's delicious."
He had thought it would taste a bit different even with the same recipe, but it tasted exactly like the sandwiches Sylvia would bring during training.
-It really is! It's Mother's taste!
Wrath nodded, agreeing it was a well-made sandwich.
"Your mother taught me well. She said not to toast the bread that wraps the ingredients too much."
Evelyn twisted her body slightly as if embarrassed.
"When you put scrambled eggs, ham, and cheese on well-toasted bread, it creates exactly that taste."
Though she spoke as if it were nothing special, he could feel the care that had gone into it.
"Thank you. Thanks to you, I feel a little... huh?"
Raon suddenly sat up while thanking her for the sandwich.
"This is it!"
***
"It's complete."
Raon stood before Gluttony with a silver-lidded plate.
"An ice cream dish that can satisfy you."
This time he smiled confidently, declaring it was perfect.
"Really?"
Gluttony stared blankly at the plate.
"It's not just tasty again, is it?"
She lowered her eyes slightly, seeming somewhat doubtful.
"This time you'll have to be satisfied. It's a taste you've never had before, it has multiple flavors, and they're all in harmony."
Raon curled his lips as he lifted the silver lid covering the plate. A white cold mist dissipated to reveal the food beneath. It was a new creation - pale yellow bead ice cream pressed into an oval shape between thin slices of bread.
"Ice cream sandwich. The new taste you've been looking for."
Raon stroked his chin as he offered the plate with the ice cream sandwich to Gluttony.
"Hmm..."
Gluttony tilted her head as she looked at the ice cream sandwiched between bread like a sandwich.
"It's certainly unique."
She muttered that it was a form she'd never seen before as she picked up the ice cream sandwich with both hands.
"W-will it be okay?"
Dorian bit his pale, trembling lips with worry.
"It'll be fine."
Raon clenched his fist as he watched Gluttony put the ice cream sandwich in her mouth.
"That taste satisfied even the pickiest glutton of a demon king. And..."
He grinned as he watched the sticky liquid flowing between the bread.
"There's a secret weapon inside too."
As soon as Raon finished speaking, Gluttony's eyes flew wide open after tasting the ice cream sandwich.
"Oh!"
An even more enthusiastic exclamation burst from Gluttony's mouth than when she had first tasted bead ice cream.