"Maybe elf sister is preparing some surprise for us inside."
"Surprise?"
Heimdall stood to the side, holding a glass of water.
The meaningful curve at the corner of his mouth was impossible to suppress.
"Hmm?"
Right at that moment, Kirukiru Amou, who also hadn't participated in any discussion.
suddenly moved.
Her delicate nostrils twitched slightly twice.
Immediately after.
Her eyebrows, extremely rarely, furrowed.
"What's wrong, Amauha?"
Noticing Kirukiru Amou's expression, Tamaba Satori, sitting beside her, asked curiously.
"..."
Kirukiru Amou didn't answer immediately.
She just twitched her nose once more.
This time.
Confirmed.
"It's burnt."
"Huh?"
"What's burnt?"
Before the group could react.
*Clang—!*
The carved wooden kitchen door was pushed open from the inside by Ryu.
A wave of intense smoke and charred air rushed out into the dining room.
No matter how good this mansion's ventilation system was.
That acrid, brain-piercing smell of burnt charcoal was utterly impossible to hide.
"Ahem..."
Hanazake Warabi, sitting closest to the kitchen, bore the brunt of it. She coughed twice, covering her nose with a look of sheer terror.
"Wha... what?!"
"Is there a fire?!"
Under the shocked and uncertain gazes of everyone.
A figure in deep green finally emerged from the cloud of smoke.
—Ryu Rion.
However.
At this moment.
Although she was still wearing her standard maid uniform, her posture was as ramrod straight as ever, and her face still wore the same unsmiling, aloof expression.
But.
If one looked closely.
They would notice.
A few smudges of black soot now marred her formerly pristine white apron.
Her delicate lace headpiece was slightly askew.
Most importantly.
The source of that unsettling burnt odor was emanating from the large silver tray she held in her hands.
"Sorry for the wait."
Ryu walked to the dining table.
Not even daring to meet anyone's eyes.
"This is today's breakfast."
"Special... grilled sandwiches."
Ryu placed the tray in the center of the table.
"Please enjoy."
"..."
For a moment.
A deathly silence fell over the dining room.
Everyone widened their eyes and craned their necks to look at the contents of the tray.
There.
Lay a dozen or so neatly arranged black objects.
If not told they were sandwiches.
Anyone would have thought they were charcoal bricks someone had dug out of a fireplace.
The parts that should have been soft, white bread were now completely carbonized, taking on a sinister deep black hue, even glistening slightly with an oily sheen of char.
As for the vegetables and meat slices inside...
Sorry.
Before this level of blackness, all life was equal.
It was impossible to tell what was what.
One could only vaguely discern, from the twisted, lumpy shapes, the inhuman treatment they had likely suffered in their previous lives.
"..."
The fork in Kikakujuo Mary's hand clattered onto her plate.
Hanazake Warabi's jaw hung open, nearly hitting the table.
Was this really edible?
Was this not meant for murder?
"Um..."
After a long while.
It was the straightforward Rin who finally broke the silence.
She shakily extended a finger, pointing at the plate of charcoal, and swallowed hard.
"M-Miss Elf..."
"Th-this... is what you call a sandwich?"
"Are you sure this thing..."
"...wasn't picked out of a fire pit?"
"..."
-------------------------------
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