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When it was past noon, most people had already returned back to the square.

We would take the voting papers off their hands and hand out food in exchange. After that, we would tally the votes while they dined, and release the results along with the rewarding ceremony… or so the plan went.

“Illya, this pot’s empty!”
“Okay. How much is left still?”
“About ten people’s worth!”
“Around the same on my side too.”

Cynthia and Claris who stood before the middle and left pots answered my question. I could see impatience in their half-smiling expression, and even their tones were closer to yells.

“Understood. I will go get some from the branch, so please try to hold out until then.”

I headed to the branch after giving a vague smile to the dejected group. Even as I was reluctantly entrusting Haku, who tried to follow me, to Ria, the people kept flooding in.

“Another! You have more, right?!”
“How many does this make!”
“You’re one to speak!”

Their plates were first filled with pure white rice. And then a brown sauce was poured over it. It had a combination of spiciness that fit its stimulating aroma and sweetness of subtle fruit-based seasonings…

This was the recreation of curry from my homeworld Japan that I spent years perfecting.

When I returned to the branch, Bard and Daren, who were holding the fort there, welcomed me with surprised expressions.

“Illya, is something the matter?”
“Oh, no it’s alright. I just came for the curry refill.”

I headed into the kitchen, changed and washed my hands, and then started blending the spices while looking at the menu paper.

This blend was quite troublesome. The original curry of India used around ten types at most, but in japan, we blended close to thirty spices. There were too many of them on top of being hard to obtain, so I really had a hard time reproducing the taste.

…I mean, I guess I can’t say anything back if you told me to just not be so fixated on it.

“Oh, whoops!”

I cast a fixed barrier on the door to block people from suddenly rushing in, and then lined up the necessary ingredients and equipment on the table.

All that was left was to use space-time magic so I wouldn’t get the refrigerator and seasonings mixed in.

“—What I seek is the paradise beyond. Rotation of the stars, untie the serpent from its shackles, and bring about a sublime world.”

It was a space-time magic that cut off arbitrary space and sped up the flow of time in it.

“—Ride Fall.”

With this, the space that this spell was meddling with would be accelerated 1000 times the normal speed.

Its demerits were the continuous consumption of the magic power and the passed time when the flow returns to normal… in other other words my life force would remain consumed. But I was an elf. And I was overpowered beyond that too.

Anyway, back to cooking.

I just had to cut the meat and vegetables into bite-sized pieces and—(omitted)—and just let it ferment!

I undid the spell and this time only reapplied it to the pot alone. It was 1000x speed so I undid it after 40 seconds.

…And done.

We just needed to take three pots to the square and reheat it there one more time.

“Ah…!”

…I forgot to cook the additional rice.

“Sorry for the wait.”

When I brought one of them with a cart, there was already a long line there.

What a frightening magic power curry has. It warms you right up when it’s cold.

“I’ve been waiting, Illya!”
“We have to heat it up again, so you have to wait a bit longer. I’m sorry.”
“No way!”

Next to the working staff, I searched for someone among the crowd.

“Gabril.”

Gabril, who was shoveling curry into his mouth, noticed me and faced me while chewing down the food.

Parsha was sitting on his shoulder as always, but her mouth had food marks, probably from having eaten curry already. I wiped her mouth with the handkerchief from my pocket and once again addressed Gabril.

“Gabril. Sorry, but can you help me with transporting curry?”
“Sure, I will.”

He readily agreed.

Actually, I bet he didn’t even give it a deeper thought.

I heard a fluttering sound and saw Haku jumping at me as I looked toward the source. I hurriedly caught it and it rubbed its cheeks at me in delight. Though it could move around independently now, it probably still wanted attention.

As we headed to the branch with Haku in my arms, I addressed the two.

“How have you been after that?”

I of course already heard it from Gnomid, but I wanted to use the opportunity to ask the two directly.

We’ve talked many times ever since our reunion. But the topics involved were things like how they settled a conflict of a non-member nation near the archipelago provinces, or how they went through a painful experience after getting rolled up in a duel between the beastmen during the breeding season, or how they took a ride on a giant serpent in the Ford Sea… and so on.

They never mentioned a thing about the slate.

If they just wanted hints from me, they had a lot of opportunities to do so by now.

My question made Gabril smile.

“How? We love each other as you can see.”

I’m not asking that!

“I can tell that. I mean, you aren’t going to the fairy kingdom?”
“Well…”

Parsha hesitated to continue.

My question would be interpreted as – have you given up on becoming a fairiel?

The two… I mean, Gabril, didn’t seem to be dissatisfied with the present state of things, so I don’t think there’s a need to “become the same kind and tie the knot” like in fairy tales from the point of love.

Many fairies wanted to become fairiels mostly due to love matters, but even including the graphic things, it was in the end to dispel their anxiety.

But these two were a little different.

It all started when Gabril saved Parsha from a pirate ship whose captain was manipulated by a demon back when I was keeping Gabril company during his training by the ogre god’s commission. Following that, Parsha, who followed us around, was taken over by a demon and Gabril offered his own body to save her. In the end, both of them were taken over, but they ended up seeing each other’s past during the occasion which led to them developing feelings for each other.

Their start was different from everyone else, but when I met them the next time during the time I made a blunder with great spirit, the two’s bonds had been strengthened through the fairy king’s trials.

To the point that the fairy king’s trials that fanned suspicion and anxiety didn’t perturb them even a bit.