Later that day, Aesc and the group returned to their current lodging.
The room was simple: two single beds, a wooden wardrobe, a single window, and a painting on the wall to keep the room from feeling too plain.
This was Frieren and Fern's room.
A basket filled with an assortment of pastries sat on the wooden floor, its contents carefully arranged on sheets of parchment paper.
Fern reached out, picking up a delicate, pale pink pastry and popping it into her mouth.
Her eyes widened in surprise, and for two seconds, she sat frozen. Then, her entire expression softened, melting into one of pure bliss.
"This… this is amazing…"
"…Aren't you overreacting a bit?" Stark asked hesitantly. He'd seen Fern enjoy plenty of sweets before but had never witnessed such a dramatic response.
"If you think it's just average, you don't have to eat any," Fern said, her voice tinged with challenge.
"That's so cruel! Are you planning to keep all these pastries for yourself?"
Unable to resist his curiosity, Stark glanced at his own portion of the pastries. Skeptical but intrigued, he picked one up and tossed it into his mouth.
Two seconds later…
"This is incredible! It's absurdly good!"
"Hehe, I told you, didn't I?"
Aesc leaned back with her arms crossed, her nose practically in the air. Her untouched pastries sat in front of her as she basked in the reactions of the two taste testers.
Yes, the pastries in the basket were her handiwork.
The dessert-making skills she'd learned from her elder sister, Edelweiss, hadn't dulled in the slightest. Any concerns about ingredient quality had been resolved with some creative application of household magic.
While not perfect—Edelweiss would undoubtedly drag her back into the kitchen for a full refresher course—Fern and Stark were clearly delighted, treating the pastries like the most precious delicacies in the world.
"Lady Aesc," Fern said, her eyes narrowing slightly in mock accusation. "Why didn't you tell us sooner that you could make something this delicious?"
"Uh…"
Caught off guard by Fern's pointed gaze, Aesc scratched the back of her head awkwardly. "I… forgot?"
"Ugh… Just thinking about how I could've had these earlier makes me feel so cheated…" Fern grumbled, her voice tinged with regret. Stark nodded along emphatically, too busy stuffing his face to comment.
"Don't overthink it," Aesc said gently, her tone as light as a breeze through the grasslands. "When you eat sweets, you should focus on enjoying them. Otherwise, even the pastries will weep with you.
"The past is the past—it can't be undone. If you keep mourning what you missed, all you'll do is make your future self suffer. So, instead, just savor the present."
With that, Aesc took a bite of her own pastry.
…Not bad, but Edelweiss's were still better.
Looking up, she noticed Stark and Fern staring at her intently.
"What? Is there something on my face?" Aesc asked, blinking. "Did I get crumbs on me?"
"No, it's just…" Fern hesitated before continuing, "Lady Aesc, these pastries… Someone important must've taught you how to make them, right?"
"…"
Someone important.
Aesc's mind wandered to Edelweiss—clingy, bossy Edelweiss, who had nonetheless cared for her deeply.
As the first person Aesc had met in that world, Edelweiss had taken her in, teaching her swordsmanship, cooking, and everything else she needed to live.
Though a peerless swordswoman known across the world, Edelweiss often acted like a child—pouting over her weight, brightening at the sight of sweets, and insisting on sleeping beside Aesc at night.
At the time, Aesc—then known as Okita Souji—hadn't been particularly strong by that world's standards. She had been far from reaching the pinnacle. But under Edelweiss's protection, she had felt completely safe.
Everyone had known Edelweiss had a younger sister, though they'd never guessed it was her. Only after Aesc had snuck away to join an academy had she begun carving her own path.
Despite Edelweiss's overprotectiveness, Aesc had understood that her sister's actions came from genuine care. She'd meant it when she called her "sister" with such affection.
"…Was it that obvious?" Aesc asked with a small smile.
"Well, yes," Fern replied. "When you were making the pastries… and just now while eating them, you had such a lonely expression."
"…Did I really?"
Aesc turned to Frieren, who was still chewing on a pastry, her cheeks puffed out like a hamster mid-meal.
"How about you? Did I look like that?"
Frieren raised her head, swallowed, and replied blandly, "How should I know?"
"…Figures. Asking you is a waste of time, you clueless elf," Aesc muttered.
Frieren blinked, visibly confused by the insult. "What did I do?"
As Aesc's gaze lingered on Frieren, her thoughts drifted to the past.
The first time she'd made pastries for Himmel and the others, they'd reacted just like Fern and Stark—amazed.
She remembered Heiter trying to steal one of Eisen's pastries, only for Eisen to threaten, "If you take mine, you're eating every single cauliflower we encounter from now on."
Heiter had backed off immediately, though mostly because he knew there'd be more opportunities to enjoy Aesc's cooking.
After all, the cook was part of their party.
Frieren had been there too, quietly savoring her pastries while watching Eisen and Heiter bicker. Meanwhile, Aesc had found herself sitting beside Himmel.
"Do you like it?" she'd asked.
"It's amazing," Himmel had said with heartfelt sincerity. "I've never had anything this good before."
Despite the compliment, Aesc had noticed the subtle shadow in his expression.
"You're not fully enjoying it, are you?" she'd asked softly.
Himmel didn't deny it. He merely smiled, his gaze distant yet warm as it settled on Frieren across the room.
"We went to a great restaurant a while back," he said. "Frieren ordered so much food. I told her, 'You don't have to eat it all now—you can always come back next time.'
"She told me, 'There are so many delicious things we never get to try again because we think there will be a next time.'"
Frieren, sensing she was being talked about, turned to look at them. Himmel waved at her with a gentle smile, waiting for her attention to shift again before continuing.
"I'm glad," he murmured. "At least this pastry won't be lost to time. Frieren will still be able to enjoy it in the future."
His eyes, reflecting Frieren's image, were as blue as the autumn sky and brimming with unspoken tenderness.
Aesc had stared at him in silence before finally speaking.
"You're too optimistic… Who can say what the future holds? For all you know, I might leave this world before any of you."
"…True," Himmel replied quietly. "The future is uncertain, but that's what makes it so exciting… so full of hope."
Back in the present, Aesc glanced around the room. Everyone was enjoying her pastries, their faces full of contentment.
It felt just like those old days.
She stole a glance at Frieren, who was quietly savoring her dessert, and whispered to herself, "You really are a hopelessly oblivious elf…"
Fern, breaking the silence, suddenly asked, "Lady Aesc, could you tell us more about the person who taught you to make these pastries? It feels like your relationship with them is as special as Lady Frieren's connection to her magic."
"Does it?" Frieren tilted her head, uninterested in the comparison.
Frieren had once said she pursued magic because someone had praised her for it, though her interest in magic itself was lukewarm at best.
Her favorite spell, however, was one that made flowers bloom—a spell that connected her to the two most important people in her life: Flamme, her mentor, and Himmel.
It was this spell she'd used to comfort a lost, frightened young Himmel in the woods, sparking a bond that would change both their lives.
Perhaps that was why Himmel had loved flowers so much.
"Well, if you're curious, I don't mind sharing," Aesc said lightly, popping another pastry into her mouth. "Himmel and the others asked me the same thing once. Frieren knows some of it too. It's no big deal."
And so, Aesc began recounting tales from her past—carefully adapted to fit the world's context, concealing her true origins as a traveler from another world.
With delicious pastries and engaging stories to distract her, Fern's anger gradually melted away.
As Aesc glanced at Frieren and Stark, she wondered if they owed her a proper reward for all this effort.
---
The break between the first and second rounds of the exam was three days.
During this time, Aesc and her companions occasionally ran into other participants. It was inevitable, given they all lived in the same city.
The next day, a massive bird delivered letters to each examinee.
When the bird tapped on the window, Aesc jumped in surprise. "What the—? Since when did we have magic-world mailmen crashing into windows?"
Opening the window, Aesc took the letter the bird dropped before it flew off without a sound.
"This bird's got quite the attitude," she joked as she tore the envelope open.
Inside was the notice for the second round of the exam, including the location, time, and the name of the proctor.
After a cursory glance, Aesc tossed the letter onto the bedside table.
"Well, time for a nap. Even if I fail, you two can carry us to victory. No pressure!"
Unlike Aesc's carefree attitude, the other examinees who read the proctor's name were filled with dread.
Sense, the proctor for the second round, had overseen four exams in the past.
And in all four, the number of examinees who had passed was a grand total of… zero.