This time, the cooking took a very long time.
A full three hours passed before the sounds from the kitchen finally ceased.
"It's done!"
Elise brought out the dish she had prepared from the kitchen and placed it in front of Freya.
"It smells amazing!"
Because it was covered with a lid, Freya couldn't see what Elise had made, but the aroma drifting out made it clear that this was no ordinary food.
"This is the best dish I can make under the current circumstances, Lady Freya. Please savor it carefully!"
"Then I won't hold back!"
When she lifted the lid, Freya revealed a slightly astonished expression. She had never expected that what Elise called her best dish would actually be a bowl of rice.
"This is..."
Freya examined it closely and found that it seemed exactly as she had thought—there was nothing in the bowl except rice. No side dishes, nothing else at all.
What kind of dish was this?
Freya couldn't quite understand the meaning behind Elise serving this, but since Elise said it was her best work, then it undoubtedly was.
"You'll understand once you taste it."
Elise smiled mysteriously, thoroughly piquing Freya's curiosity. Without hesitation, she scooped up a large spoonful and put it into her mouth.
At first, it tasted just like ordinary rice—nothing special. Only when Freya chewed it thoroughly did she notice something unusual.
"These grains of rice... could it be that each one is...?"
Freya used her spoon to crush a single grain of rice. From within, a yellow-colored broth flowed out.
Then she crushed several more grains. Some released red liquid, others blue—each one different.
In other words, every single grain of rice in this bowl was, in a sense, a dish of its own. So how many grains were there in this bowl?
No one knew.
Freya had no idea how Elise had managed to perform such an astonishing feat right under her nose.
At the beginning, she had clearly watched Elise for quite a while, yet she hadn't noticed anything like this. Just how had Elise done it?
Though each grain of rice was small, the broth that flowed out was anything but faint.
Not only that—even though every grain had a different flavor, when they were chewed together, there was no clash at all. Instead, they complemented each other, elevating the taste to an entirely new level.
So when eating this rice, the number of grains and the types of broth they contained would both influence the final flavor.
In a sense, this was a dish with infinite possibilities.
"As expected of you..."
I really do want to have you...
Just as Freya's thoughts began to drift, Elise spoke.
"Didn't you once say you wanted to eat me?"
"While I can't let you do that in a physical sense, if I turn myself into a dish, then you can eat me, can't you?"
"So I've named this dish 'Elise.' I hope you like it, Lady Freya!"
With its pure white appearance deceiving the diner, only revealing its true self once tasted—
Vibrant, mysterious, dazzling.
In a way, it really was just like Elise herself.
How unfair.
If it's like this, how could I possibly refuse?
Freya picked up her spoon and, without caring about her image at all, began eating the dish Elise had made in large mouthfuls.
Just as Elise had said, every bite carried a different flavor, a different possibility.
"Ahh—it's so delicious!"
Very quickly, the entire bowl of rice was gone. Not a single grain remained.
If not for the traces of broth left on the bowl, one might have thought it had never been used at all—it was that thoroughly cleaned.
"If you want to eat it again, I can come to your Familia and make this dish for you in the future!"
"Mm..."
Freya happily started to respond, but stopped the next moment.
"Thank you for the thought. But let's talk about it when we meet again."
This meeting with Freya hadn't revealed much—she had only cooked a meal for her.
But for some reason, an inexplicable sense of tension lingered in Elise's heart, as if something extremely dangerous was about to happen.
For a while... I should stay a bit more vigilant.
"Goodbye! I look forward to our next meeting, Lady Freya!"
As time passed, it was finally time for Elise and Freya to part ways. Their relationship seemed to have become a little more normal.
Freya stood at the entrance of the Hostess of Fertility, smiling as she waved to Elise in the distance. Only after Elise's figure completely disappeared from sight did the smile on her face begin to fade.
Then, Freya quickly ran back into the shop and entered an empty room.
"Hah... hah...!"
The moment she closed the door, Freya's breathing became labored, growing heavier and louder.
Clutching her arms, her entire body trembled as if she were suppressing something.
"She refused... she really refused me!"
"I can't take it anymore... I can't hold it back! It's just too delicious!"
"Not just Elise—even this Elise... I want to taste it again!"
"Ah!"
An unknown liquid gradually spread around Freya—what it was needed no explanation.
"Hah... hah...!"
"As expected... I have to have her. Elise."
After a long while, Freya's condition finally began to settle down. But the trace of madness in her eyes was impossible to hide—especially after tasting Elise's cooking, it had only grown stronger.
Recalling her meeting with Elise, it hadn't been particularly wonderful, but it certainly hadn't been bad either.
No one would have imagined that someone like her would be chosen by Freya as her partner.
If this had been told to the Freya of a year ago, she would never have believed it.
Elise's appearance was like the sun, illuminating Freya's gray past and bringing new colors into it.
"Elise... Elise..."
Freya softly murmured Elise's name over and over, completely unconcerned with the state of her now-soiled clothes.
Image?
When had Freya ever cared about such things?
No matter the outcome, this war had to be fought.
Everything... is to bring you into my embrace!