Chapter 37 - Uninvited Guests 2

SIZZLE!

The last dish finished cooking on the heated steel plate. The sound had a curious allure that made mouths water just to hear it.

With neat, precise movements, Ash transferred the food onto the waiting plates. Everyone's eyes followed his hands.

Soon, the feast Ash had prepared filled the table.

Glossy twice-cooked pork. Skewers grilled to an appetizing light char, each ingredient retaining its vivid color. And finally, a fragrant vegetable stir-fry.

To everyone watching, it looked less like food than a work of art.

"The ingredients were unfamiliar, so I made what I could with them. Please, eat before it grows cold."

Ash spoke in his usual tone.

Yet no one could readily find their voice. A brief, breathless silence fell as they stared at the plates he had set down.

"Um..."

Akina was the first to break the silence.

"Are we really allowed to eat this?"

Ash nodded without a word.

"... Really?"

"Eat without worry. If it is not enough, I shall make more."

As though that were their cue, everyone cautiously reached for the food. After a moment's hesitation, they finally took a bite.

"Mmph!"

Ifrit's eyes went wide as saucers. The heart-shaped LED lights in her two artificial eyes flashed incessantly.

"... This is insane."

She stared into space, chewing nonstop, as though trying to comprehend what she had just tasted.

"Wow, no, this... What do you even call this flavor? Why is it so good? Why?"

Jack O' Lantern was next.

Having flung aside even the pumpkin helmet he always wore, he stuffed his mouth with food from a skewer, not bothering to push back his sweat-soaked red hair.

His rather handsome face bulged with food.

"Insane... This is seriously insane...!"

Dullahan said nothing.

Nor did he remove his helmet.

Instead, he opened the armor plating around his neck and pushed food inside.

A moment later, a single message appeared on his visor.

[Fucking delicious]

Santa was just as wild about the food.

He carelessly tossed to the ground the cigarette he always held as though it were a lifelong conviction, then began shoveling in twice-cooked pork with both hands.

He said nothing.

He simply kept stuffing it into his mouth.

Ash stopped Akina just as she was about to grab some food with her bare hand, then addressed the group.

"Is it to your liking?"

No one answered.

They merely worked their hands with combative intensity, each determined to eat a little more. Watching them, Ash gave a low chuckle.

"It would seem so. Eat your fill."

The moment Ash finished speaking, the backyard became a veritable battlefield.

Everyone's hands moved furiously as they fought for just a little more food. Not a word of conversation passed between them.

Like beggars who had gone hungry for a week, they knew nothing but the primal urge to lunge for delicious food.

With everyone eating and drinking in a frenzy, the food vanished in no time. Seeing this, Ash returned to the fire.

And so a second round of food appeared, followed by a third. All the while, those gathered in the backyard continued their combative meal.

Only when the third round of plates had finally been scraped clean did they begin sprawling here and there, groaning with full bellies.

"I could die happy now. I mean it."

Santa patted his belly. Only then did everyone begin to talk. There was just one topic of conversation.

"You know..."

Watching Ash, who was still wielding the chest armor like a wok, Jack O' Lantern posed a meaningful question.

"... What exactly is our man Ash?"

Everyone turned to look at Jack O' Lantern.

Apparently uncomfortable under their gazes, Jack hastily pulled his pumpkin helmet back on before continuing.

"He's a great fighter. He's a great cook. Even the way he talks is cool. How do I put it? Doesn't everything about him feel incredibly high-class? Sometimes I look at him and can't believe he's a humanoid."

Ifrit's expression stiffened.

Then, with an exceedingly grave look, she lit up her heart-shaped eyes.

"I just got a hunch."

Her solemn expression drew everyone's attention. Resting her chin on her hand, she cast a sidelong glance at Ash like a detective analyzing a case.

"Yes. Something was off from the start. That casually cool attitude. That refinement he never loses, no matter the situation. And especially those near-perfect cooking skills. I feel like all the pieces are finally coming together."

Ash turned toward them, having listened to them gossip behind his back right to his face.

"Oh dear. Have you discovered my true identity?"

"Heh heh heh."

Instantly adopting a stern, serious expression, Ifrit pointed at Ash.

"You were never just an ordinary humanoid."

"... Oh?" Ash responded.

"Did you all see that? That 'Oh?' Did you see it?!"

"Then what do you believe I am, my lady?"

"Hmm... A super cooking humanoid?"

Santa spat out his drink.

Ifrit paid him no mind and continued.

"You know, an ultra-expensive custom model painstakingly built by one of the Trinity, exclusively for upper-crust suits? Right?"

Ash immediately turned away.

A brief silence followed.

Akina broke it. Her face had turned bright red at some point, and she clapped her hands and cried out.

"Ohhh! No wonder! I thought you were good with a blade! That was actually your cooking skills all along, wasn't it? Wasn't it?"

Ash turned back.

"Someone take Miss Akina's drink away."

Dullahan confiscated Akina's glass, displaying [LMAOOOOOOOO] on his visor.

"Aww! My booze!"

Akina's cry instantly revived the slightly subdued atmosphere.

"Bwahaha! A super cooking humanoid! Never heard those words put together in my life, but it does sound rather plausible!"

At Santa's words, Ifrit proudly puffed out her chest.

"Right? Aw, Grandpa, you know what's what!"

"My lady. That was not a compliment."

Having just finished cooking, Ash approached with a fourth plate.

"We have run out of ingredients. This is the last of it."

He set the plate in the center of the table. The serving of grilled meat and stir-fried vegetables was smaller than before, but even more exquisitely cooked. A rich, savory aroma spread with the curling steam.

Drawn by the scent, everyone who had been sprawled about gathered around the table.

Though already full, their eyes shone eagerly. But just as they all reached for the food, a steel hand suddenly thrust out to stop them.

"One moment before you begin."

It was Ash.

Keeping their hands at bay, he repeated what he had just said.

"As I said, this is the last of it."

Everyone looked at him in puzzlement.

Ignoring their gazes, Ash turned toward a corner of the backyard shrouded in deep darkness.

"You have gone to the trouble of coming all this way. Would you not like at least a taste?"

A moment later, a slender figure emerged from the darkness where Ash was looking.

Ifrit's face twisted into a scowl.

"Siren? What are you doing here?"

The woman with her hat pulled low—Siren—hesitantly answered.

"Um, well... Because of the bet... I mean, I have credits to give Mr. Ash, and I don't think I ever thanked him properly, so I came by, but I didn't know he had guests... So..."

Ifrit's expression hardened as Siren trailed off, but she did not snap at her again.

For one thing, she was not the host. For another, Ash had offered Siren a seat.

"Come. Fortunately, there is still food left."

There was no ill will in his manner, nor any particular warmth. He was simply offering a guest a seat with an air of casual common courtesy.

Siren stood blankly for a moment, then removed the hat that had hidden her entire face and cautiously approached to take a seat.

Watching her, Santa chuckled.

"Ah, now I see! You're the young lady who sparred with Ash, aren't you? Whatever possessed you to make a bet like that with this monster? Tsk, tsk! Anyway, I enjoyed your broadcast, Miss Number One!"

It was impossible to tell whether Santa's muttering was meant as sympathy or mockery, but surprisingly, it eased the tense atmosphere.

Ifrit, who had been radiating hostility, lifted the bottle.

"Well, yeah, you had a rough time too. Getting your ass kicked hurt enough, and now you have to cough up three million credits on top of it. Want a drink? It's on me, in honor of you going broke."

Before Siren could respond to her teasing, Ifrit poured liquor into the glass in front of her.

"... Of all days, why did you have to come today, senior?"

"Hey. Obviously I came because it's today. Perfect time for a party, isn't it? What about you? Why'd you come today?"

Siren merely pouted without answering. Instead, Ash, who had been listening quietly, interrupted their cryptic exchange.

"Today? Is today some special occasion?"

"Oh, you don't know, Ash? Well, today is..."

The slightly tipsy Jack O' Lantern was about to explain when Dullahan stopped him.

[Don't tell him lol. Won't it hit harder if he sees it without knowing?]

"... You think?"

Jack O' Lantern readily nodded in agreement.

That only made Ash more suspicious.

Seeking an answer, he turned toward the two people he could call his closest companions: Santa and Akina.

"What on earth is happening today for you all to act like this?"

But he could get no answer from them either.

Akina simply grinned, while Santa merely waggled his eyebrows as he tipped his glass.

"... Really? All of you?"

Just then, Santa set down the glass he had been sipping from.

"It should be starting soon."

Then he removed the sunglasses that seemed practically a part of his body—the sunglasses he had never once taken off except when he fought Ash.

Without a word, he simply raised his head and gazed up at the sky.

Santa was not the only one looking up.

Everyone gathered there, including the newly arrived Siren, raised their heads.

Everyone except Ash.

"What are you all doing—"

"Oh! It's starting!"

As Ifrit cried out, a strange resonant hum rang through the air.

HMMMM...

At the sound, Ash too raised his head and looked toward a particular spot.

The very heart of the city.

From the top of the Core Spire, the towering structure that normally projected holographic advertisements for corporate products, a beam of golden energy began to extend.

The light spread in a gentle arc.

Soon forming an enormous dome, it covered the entirety of Sanctum's night sky, bathing the city's dazzling nighttime vista in gold.

The sight was breathtakingly majestic and beautiful.

This was the manifestation of the Veil, the ultimate barrier that protected Sanctum from ion storms.

"Really, no matter how many times I see this, it's magnificent."

No one answered Santa's murmur.

They simply gazed upward in a daze at the golden, glittering night sky and its overwhelming splendor.

Ash was no exception.

Even his optical sensors, which always shone teal, glittered gold in the light filling the sky.

Humanity's final line of defense.

The Veil descended.

It marked the end of the active season, the period that encouraged Pathfinders to venture out on expeditions.

And so the rest season began.