It was no secret that Shana loved melon bread. Even when facing Crimson Denizens, this normally ice-cold hunter could declare without batting an eye that "Melon bread is justice." Nitocris had previously suggested Hirai Yukari take advantage of this fact to rapidly grow closer to Shana—and Yukari did exactly that, resulting in the two becoming good friends.
This is how it should be, Nitocris thought. How can anyone survive in this world without having some close friends? A person alone easily becomes extreme.
Melon bread held a unique place in Shana's heart. If she was willing to share her melon bread with you, it meant she already considered you a friend—even if she'd stubbornly refuse to admit it aloud.
Then, earlier today, Yukari had suddenly mentioned to Shana that Nitocris was exceptionally skilled at making desserts, claiming confidently that the melon bread made by Nitocris would surely surpass those sold by street vendors.
Shana still harbored doubts, but Yukari trusted Nitocris one hundred percent. After all, the sweets made by Kami-sama were the best in the entire world!
Since the kitchen at home was occupied by Yukari's mother, they couldn't use it. Shana, however, was far too fixated on melon bread to wait patiently for Yukari's mother to leave. After some discussion, the two decided to borrow the school's cooking classroom.
Japanese schools commonly had Home Economics and cooking classes. For instance, at Homurahara Academy, where Illya studied, Miyu had even used leftover ingredients during class to bake a wedding cake taller than herself.
"Hmm… The ingredients here are surprisingly complete. Everything I need is right here…" Nitocris arranged all the necessary ingredients on the countertop, then turned around to speak to Shana, who was standing in the corner of the classroom. "Are you planning to wait here? Or do you prefer somewhere air-conditioned—"
"Urusai! Just focus on your cooking!" Shana replied impatiently, crossing her arms. "I'm still responsible for keeping an eye on you! How could I possibly leave you alone here?"
"It's not even that far away…"
Not long ago, Shana had said she wanted to attend school as well. Nitocris herself had actually held that thought for quite some time but hadn't found a proper reason yet, so Shana bringing it up herself had been a pleasant surprise. When asked why, Shana's explanation had been:
"Your identity right now is too special! Forget those Crimson Denizens—what if other Flame Hazes recognize who you are? If conflict arises between you and other Flame Hazes, it could seriously threaten the world's stability! As this generation's Flame-Haired Burning-Eyed Hunter, I absolutely won't allow any situation that disrupts the balance of the world! So I must watch you at all times, and you… you have to stay by my side and never leave my sight! Understood?!"
Well… It actually made some sense?
Nitocris quickly accepted this explanation. Shana had previously used the same reasoning, trying to convince Yukari to hand over the golden necklace carrying Nitocris's consciousness during school hours, but Yukari had refused.
Moreover, that golden necklace was merely a communication device. Nitocris's power and consciousness always resided within Yukari's body. If Shana's intent was to supervise Nitocris, then simply having the necklace wouldn't achieve anything. It would only allow her to chat with Nitocris.
After Nitocris had explained all this, Shana's expression became rather strained. Nitocris figured Shana probably found her and Yukari quite troublesome as charges to watch over—after all, as a Flame Haze, Shana took her duties very seriously.
Since she couldn't keep her charges at home, Shana could only follow them to school. Thus, for several days afterward, Shana secretly trailed Yukari, watching over her on campus unnoticed by ordinary people. Eventually, Shana succeeded in enrolling as a transfer student at Misaki Municipal High School, joining Yukari's class.
It was clear Shana stuck so closely because she wanted to immediately intervene if Nitocris ever had conflict with other Flame Hazes. Nitocris fully understood Shana's intentions and had nothing further to say about it.
Standing in the corner, Shana, clearly overheated, constantly fanned herself with her hand. Her cheeks flushed adorably pink, and sweat thoroughly soaked her shirt.
Through the pendant around Shana's neck, Alastor suddenly remarked, "If you'd just learn some Unrestricted Spells, you wouldn't have to suffer like this."
"Urusai! It's only an Unrestricted Spell! If I wanted to learn one, I'd master it immediately!"
An obvious lie—anyone could see Shana wasn't particularly talented with Unrestricted Spells. Ever since that time when she'd successfully unleashed flames under Nitocris's guidance, Shana had been continuously trying to master and control these flames further, aiming to develop her very own unique Unrestricted Spell.
Only by having her own unique Unrestricted Spell would Shana's fighting style be truly complete, making her worthy of the title of Flame-Haired Burning-Eyed Hunter.
But when it came to talent in Unrestricted Spells, Shana was far behind professional spellcasters like Margery, Johann, and Leanan-sidhe.
Shana understood this fact clearly, yet her pride refused to acknowledge it, causing her to quietly seethe with frustration.
Suddenly, she felt the air around her cool significantly—as if in the sweltering heat of summer, she'd just taken a refreshing sip of iced cola straight from the fridge.
It wasn't her imagination or heatstroke; Shana immediately realized Nitocris had done something.
Cooling the surrounding air was merely child's play for Nitocris.
"Hmph! I'll say this first—I have very high standards for melon bread! Its color, fragrance, texture, sweetness, and warmth must all meet extremely strict criteria. Don't think you can fool me with some petty tricks! Anything even slightly off can't be called melon bread! On melon bread, I will never play favorites—I'll judge each loaf fairly and perfectly!"
Not even when facing Crimson Denizens had Shana shown such a grave expression.
Watching Nitocris busily tying an apron around her waist and bustling around, the one feeling most complicated emotions was probably the God of Retribution, Alastor.
Seeing another god of the same standing fussing around the kitchen—well, it would be understandable if she were a God of Cooking, Food, the Hearth, or Sweets. But wasn't Nitocris a god of the underworld? Didn't she find it strange, standing in a kitchen?
But Yukari didn't find it strange at all. To her, there was simply nothing impossible for a Pharaoh on earth!
The melon bread wasn't even out of the oven yet, but the mouthwatering fragrance filling the air had already completely captured Shana's attention.
Nitocris handed the body back over to Yukari so that she and Shana could taste the freshly baked melon bread together. Both girls, without hesitation, showered Nitocris with praise.
Even Shana admitted she'd never eaten melon bread this delicious before.
"Even though it annoys me to admit it… the melon bread you made is incredibly delicious—better than any melon bread I've ever eaten…" Shana's expression, previously lit up with happiness, suddenly turned resentful as she recalled something. "You had this kind of ability but deliberately kept it hidden from me this whole time! If Yukari hadn't told me, you'd have kept me in the dark forever!"
Nitocris, faced with such accusations, looked completely innocent.
"You never asked me."
"I didn't even know I needed to ask!" Shana protested.
"I told you, didn't I? There's nothing impossible for a Pharaoh on earth—you should have realized it then."
"How could I possibly realize something like that?!"
Even as she argued with Nitocris, Shana didn't slow her eating at all. In the end, most of the melon bread ended up in Shana's stomach.
In the days afterward, Shana couldn't forget about Nitocris's melon bread, constantly begging to eat it again. The problem was, they couldn't sneak into the school's cooking classroom every day.
Nitocris had casually remarked, "If you had your own place, your own kitchen, you could have melon bread whenever you wanted."
And Shana took this passing remark completely to heart. Not long afterward, Shana actually acquired her own apartment.
Buying an entire apartment just to eat Nitocris's melon bread… Nitocris didn't even know how to comment on this behavior. Plus, Shana rarely even lived in that apartment, still staying mostly at Yukari's home, as if the apartment's kitchen was its only purpose.
What Nitocris was really curious about was how exactly Shana had gotten the apartment. There weren't any Torches left in this city, so Shana couldn't assume someone's existence and inherit their property. As for buying it outright—not to mention whether Shana had the money—Shana, who'd sacrificed her own existence, didn't even have proper identification. How could she purchase property?
So… was it that Outlaw organization? She'd heard Outlaw provided various forms of assistance to Flame Hazes. Housing support would probably be included, right? After all, even though Shana had previously said that sleeping outdoors was normal for Flame Hazes, Nitocris felt sure some Flame Hazes would prefer hotels to benches or bridges.
Today, inside the kitchen of Shana's apartment, it wasn't only Nitocris cooking—Shana had also donned an apron, and had even tied her waterfall-like black hair into a high ponytail, giving her a very different feel than usual.
"How about this—I'll teach you how to make melon bread. That way, you can bake it whenever you want, especially since the kitchen is yours anyway."
It was precisely because of this suggestion that Shana had followed Nitocris into the kitchen.
"Do you know anything about kitchens or cooking?" Nitocris asked.
"No. Wilhelmina said training like this wasn't necessary."
Wilhelmina—the name sounded familiar to Nitocris. She remembered seeing a phantom of Wilhelmina when she'd fought the "Mirage of a Thousand Phantasms," Agris.
She recalled a pink-haired woman dressed in a maid uniform.
Nitocris continued, "So you don't know anything at all? Has Wilhelmina never cooked in front of you?"
"Mmm…" Shana furrowed her brow in thought before answering, "Wilhelmina only used a microwave—just heating up food, or bringing something ready-made."
"I see."
Gap moe—it was common enough in anime and manga. For example, the Raiden Shogun; anyone seeing her elegant appearance would naturally assume she was great at cooking, but in reality, she couldn't cook at all. Similarly, Wilhelmina looked like a perfect maid, yet cooking was clearly not her specialty.
But at least Wilhelmina knew how to use a microwave. If it were the Raiden Shogun, Nitocris wouldn't even dare let her near one.
And as for Wilhelmina telling Shana "training like this wasn't necessary"—wasn't it just because Wilhelmina herself had no idea how to cook, and thus couldn't teach Shana in the first place?
Nitocris's gaze grew complicated as she realized the truth.
...
On this day, another Flame Haze arrived in Japan.
However, she wasn't dispatched by Outlaw—she had come on her own initiative.
She was a beautiful woman, though her face held no expression. Her straight, cherry-blossom pink hair curled slightly outward at the ends, and her eyes were wine-red.
Walking down the street, she easily attracted others' attention—not because of her beautiful appearance or her maid outfit, but because of the massive backpack she carried, large enough to fit two whole people inside.
If Nitocris had been present, she could've easily recognized the female Flame Haze's identity:
"Manipulator of Objects," Wilhelmina Carmel.
"So this place… is Japan. I've finally arrived—indeed."
With her odd speech quirk, Wilhelmina quietly murmured to herself.
Yet in truth, she received a response:
"Remote and unfamiliar."
The voice came from Wilhelmina's headdress, its tone just as emotionless as Wilhelmina herself.
"Bal Masqué… Seireiden's recent movements have been strange—indeed. Could this be related to the Reiji Maigo?"
"Purpose unknown."
Wilhelmina, carrying the huge dark-green backpack, occasionally glanced around, observing the environment and passersby carefully, her expression thoughtful.
"According to the intel, many Denizens should've already reached this country ahead of us—indeed. Then why are the distortions within this city so few? Are they not consuming the Power of Existence here?"
"Anomaly—investigation required."
Without further conversation, the cherry-haired maid lifted her luggage and moved onward.
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A/N: Hmm… Speaking of which, do you guys remember that time when Ashiya Dōman planted a Fantasy Tree in the Nura Clan's world? Before leaving, that tree got stored away by the protagonist.
Actually, back then, the author (me) already wanted to write Director U-Olga Marie. Since there's no Chaldea here, I'd planned to use that Fantasy Tree to create a Spirit Origin. But before I even started writing it, Olga Marie officially landed in the game.
Now that Olga Marie has landed, when is the official game going to introduce the bat-god Camazotz?