"W-Wow!"
"T-This is amazing!"
"Haruto… how did you?"
"... Impressive."
"We think this is awesome, Onii-chan."
"You're an excellent chef, Haruto-kun."
"Uoooooo! Delicious! It's really delicious! This is why I always love it when you cook, bro!"
I smirked, smug as everyone beheld the extravagant meal I laid before them. I wore a white apron, having just finished placing the final dish on the table.
The reason everyone was so shocked was because all of the food on the table looked like a feast made for a king—No—SEVERAL kings. And it tasted just as nice if the expressions on everyone's faces were anything to go by.
There were a few dozen different cultural dishes all spread out across the table.
I nodded, feeling a little full of myself. "Of course! One such as I would never allow a single dish to taste anything less than amazing!" I jabbed a thumb at Asia. "I also would've had a lot of trouble if I didn't have my adorable assistant!" Asia's face lit up red again. She pointed her gaze downward, placing with her hands.
"I-It was nothing! I-I'm j-just happy I was able to be of use to Haruto-san!"
"This is really good, Haruto-kun!" Kalawarner praised. "If you aren't careful, I might just scoop you up myself!"
"Like you haven't already tried…" I muttered under my breath, turning away as I remembered the awkward situation from earlier.
"Hm?"
"Nothing!"
"Although, I do admit I feel a little bad for starting without Leviathan-sama." Yuuki said, continuing to eat her food after speaking.
And THAT was when the atmosphere in the room froze. I mean it LITERALLY froze. The temperature in the air around us began to slowly cool down, becoming a bit chilly after a few minutes. Not cold enough to freeze the food, but cold enough to send shivers down our spines.
"... How cruel…"
Eh?
The person who spoke was…
Huh?
All of our gazes were directed towards the open door that led to the current room we were eating in.
Who was this girl?
She had messy, waist-length, black hair that looked like she had refused to comb, causing it to fall sloppily over her eyes, obscuring them from our sight. Her skin was a pale-white color as though she had never once seen the sun and she wore a long, black dress that was surprisingly see through, allowing us to view the white garments that hid underneath. It honestly made me feel a little uncomfortable looking at her, especially since the cold feeling in the air seemed to be radiating from this girl.
"...Beginning dinner without me… how cold… I feel sad…" Her voice was dry and sounded as if it hadn't been used for a long while. While she showed no sadness on her face, I could tell from her voice that she spoke her feelings honestly. There was an awkward feeling in the air as we were uncertain what to make of this girl as she took a seat at the far end of the table, furthest away from me.
Of course I realized by that point that this was actually my master, Serafall Leviathan-sama, who was dressed so strangely in front of us.
"Errr… Sorry?" Mittelt said, just as confused as everyone else.
Getting the strange feeling we should not disturb Leviathan-sama, we silently gathered food for a plate to give to her. When I moved closer to her, I noticed the scent of sweat and tears coming from her.
Feeling even more uncomfortable, I backed away to my seat as soon as possible.
Our meal passed in awkward silence. At the start, Rias-senpai looked like she had wanted to discuss something, but the presence of our "guest" unsettled her to the point of silence.
"A-Ah, Haruto…" Issei tried to speak up, always having been the person who could stand such awkward silences the least. "Y-Your cooking is as good as always…"
I chuckled awkwardly. "Well, I always do my best… I… I think, before becoming a Devil, I-I intended to become a chef…"
"... You would've done well…" The mysterious girl who seemed to wear my childishly cheerful master's skin and who acted nothing like her complimented as she raised a piece of food to her mouth, leaving me with more of a chill in my stomach than the smug feeling I had before.
"Aha… Thanks…"
And we were once again forced into awkward silence.
But Rias-senpai clearly had more determination than the others. "So, Haruto, how did you get to be so good at cooking?"
It took me a few moments to find the ability to speak again, but I managed to answer her.
"W-Well, back when I was growing up, Naru-nee was the only cook in the house…" Then an expression of horror crossed my face as a chill went down my spine. "It was either learn to cook or perish." The deathly grave look on my face clearly meant I was not joking.
"Well who taught you?" Rias-senpai asked.
I shrugged. "I'm more self-taught more than anything. It took a lot of trial and error, but I learned more and more with each dish prepared. Just me bein' myself."
"I refuse to believe that." Rias-senpai teased. "Surely your mother must have had some hand in teaching you."
For a brief moment, my heart stopped.
I didn't want to ruin the mood further, so I hid my discomfort with a small smile.
"No. I ASSURE you. My mother had nothing to do with my cooking skills." I said, trying to keep bitterness out of my tone. "I originally started practicing after an old, childhood friend of mine gave me the idea." Issei stared at me worriedly. It was not that I realized it. Issei and I were the only ones who knew about my family and childhood.
"Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever seen Haruto-san's Okaa-san." Asia noted with a cute frown.
"She…" I wanted to think of something, say something to end this conversation, but my mind thought of nothing.
"I bet Haruto-kun's Okaa-san told him to learn to cook to impress a crush." Akeno-san teased. "For what other reason than to impress a woman would a man learn to such a degree?"
"My reasons are the truth." I said taking another bite of my food.
"But where IS your Okaa-san, Haruto?" Yuuki asked. "Come ooooon! Tell us! What is she like? Does she travel a lot?" I began clenching my fists, beginning to feel agitated by this.
"Even I'm curious by this point." Mittelt admitted. "What is she like? Are you ashamed about something? Or are you just embarrassed about her? Come ooooon! Tell us about her! Where is she anyway!? Tell uuuusss! Tell us! Tell us! Tell us! Tell us! Tell us! Come to think of it, what was your whole childhood like?! Tell—!"
SLAM!
I slammed my hands onto the table, clenching my teeth in fury.
"She's dead, okay." I hung my head. "To sum up my whole childhood: Okaa-sama died because I was too weak to save her, I ended up alone, raised by Naru-nee, met Issei and then the first girl I ever loved, my first love moved away. I've been doomed to the pattern of losing the people I love and/or seeing them in pain ever since I was little. Happy? You happy you know about how my mother was dead and left me alone?"
"... Not particularly."
That was all that could be said. If the atmosphere wasn't dead before, it sure as hell was now. And my mood was probably worse than that of anyone else there. The banquet before us no longer seemed as appetizing as it once did. Those who even tried to make an effort for it simply pushed the food around on their plates. The others didn't even bother trying to eat. Even Mittelt, a Fallen Angel whose sin was Gluttony, didn't even touch her food.
Rias-senpai covered her mouth in horror and shame. "Oh, Haruto… I… I didn't know. I…"
"I'm sorry, Haruto-san." Asia looked so guilty now, perhaps having felt that she hurt me by dragging up such bitter memories.
I shook my head, managing a hollow smile. "Don't be sorry. It's like I said. There are so many who have it just as bad as me, so I don't have any right to complain." I shoved my plate away and stood up abruptly, bowing my head. "Sorry for ruining your meal. I'm going to turn in early tonight." Without hesitation, I walked out of the room.