Yuri and the others left the Chamber of Heavenly Blossoms and headed deeper inside, then turned right at the end of the passage and opened the sliding doors to the corridor room that led to the kitchen.
"Oh, Fiona, welcome back. Are you all right?"
One of the maids inside, dressed in a servant's uniform, called out to Fiona with gentle concern.
"Ah... y-yeah..."
Fiona answered, looking a little uncertain.
"What's wrong?"
When the maid asked anxiously, Fiona went on, sounding awkward about having to say it.
"My lord husband is here... Could you unlock the kitchen?"
"What? No way."
The maid stared at Fiona in surprise, but the instant Yuri stepped into the room, she hurriedly bowed her head deeply.
There was something like a long serving counter inside, and on top of it a lavish salad had been beautifully arranged on a large platter.
The maid Fiona had asked unlocked the heavy doors set into the back wall with trembling hands, then slowly pulled them open to either side.
"T-the kitchen is through here..."
She spoke with obvious tension, and Fiona went in first to prepare sandals for Yuri and the others.
"My lord husband, this way, please."
Prompted by Fiona, Yuri and the others stepped into the kitchen.
From behind them, they could hear the maid whispering to Chloe.
"Hey, why is my lord husband in the kitchen? What happened?"
"No idea. But... it looks like things will work out somehow."
Chloe replied with a slight shrug.
"What? What does that even mean?"
The maid sounded bewildered, but Chloe ignored it, set out her sandals, and went into the kitchen.
As Yuri and the others entered, a stout woman who had been standing there with a ladle in her right hand, frowning in thought, noticed them and called out.
"Oh—Lady Celine... and my lord husband, I presume. Please forgive me for not greeting you sooner. I am Katarina Rochefort, the head cook here at the harem palace."
The woman who introduced herself as Katarina pressed a hand to her chef's cap and bowed deeply.
"Ah, not at all. It's a pleasure to meet you too."
Yuri bowed in return, a little stiff with nerves.
At that moment, he heard Celine give a small cough.
Yuri froze, then hastily straightened again.
"...Ah—um, sorry."
Scratching the back of his head in embarrassment, he glanced sidelong at Celine.
She smiled faintly, leaned close, and whispered into his ear.
"You still have a little more studying to do."
The instant she did, Yuri's face went hot all at once, and all he could manage was a strangled, "I-I'll do my best."
"So then, how much food are you short?"
When Celine asked Katarina, the cook answered with a troubled look.
"We overturned one of the pots while the meat was marinating... The meat dishes and the soup are total losses. We'd switch to something else, but we don't have enough ingredients left."
At Katarina's pained reply, the air in the entire kitchen turned heavy for a moment.
Fiona suddenly lowered her head and bowed hard.
"I'm so, so sorry! It's all my fault... I ruined everything..."
Her voice trembled, on the verge of tears.
Katarina gave a hearty laugh, as though brushing the whole thing aside.
"The important thing is that you didn't get hurt, Fiona! Running short on food hurts, sure, but people matter more!"
Laughing boisterously, Katarina patted Fiona lightly on the back.
That robust laughter helped Fiona relax a little, and the tension in the room eased.
Then Katarina turned back to Celine, her expression growing serious again.
"So, Lady Celine—what brings you here?"
Celine swept her gaze around the room, checking each maid in turn before she spoke.
"Margaret, may I assume that only the live-in maids are here?"
"Yes, that is correct, my lady."
"I see. Then line up here, all of you."
At Celine's words, Margaret, Katarina, Fiona, Chloe, and Lily lined up, with five more maids falling into place behind them.
Celine regarded them all with a stern gaze.
"I would like all of you to repeat what I am about to say. If any of you cannot do so, then leave this kitchen at once."
Those words made the maids go still and tense.
"I swear by Idea, the Great Goddess of Compassion, that I will not disclose any information whatsoever concerning Yuri von Strauss that I see or hear within the harem from this moment on."
One by one, with strained expressions, Margaret and the others repeated the solemn vow after Celine.
When all of them had finished, Celine continued.
"Later, I will have each of you sign a magical contract as well. Be prepared for that."
"I understand. So there truly is a reason you must go this far, Lady Celine."
Margaret answered quietly.
"There is. I expect my lord husband will surprise you many times from here on, but you are not to breathe a word of it to anyone. And if you do... consider yourselves exiled from the barony."
For an instant, unease flashed across the maids' faces.
At the harsh reality of exile, they drew sharp breaths.
Then all of them spoke at once.
"Yes, understood. We will never speak of it."
Satisfied, Celine turned to Yuri with a smile and said gently,
"Now then, my lord husband, would you be so kind as to bring out the ingredients?"
Yuri nodded, closed his eyes, and called up the inventory of ingredients stored away in his extra-dimensional storage.
From the stream of items that rose one after another in his mind, he searched for edible magical beasts and selected the one best suited for the situation—a Wild Boar.
As he focused his will, he felt the air twist ever so slightly.
Slowly, he thrust a hand into that invisible distortion.
Though it could not be seen, it was undeniably there. Reaching through that hidden pocket of extra-dimensional space, Yuri drew out an enormous Wild Boar from thin air and dropped it onto the floor with a heavy thud.
"..."
The ladle slipped from Katarina's hand.
Fiona, Chloe, Lily, and the other maids froze in shock, and then murmurs of alarm began to spread through the room.
Yuri paid none of it any mind.
He went on pulling out more—two, three, four Wild Boars in all.
"W-wait, my lord husband! Just how many are you planning to bring out?"
Katarina cried out in a trembling voice, aghast at the sight before her.
She was so stunned that she forgot even the proper respect due her master and practically demanded an answer.
Her face had gone pale, and her eyes could not tear themselves away from the huge Wild Boars appearing one after another.
She looked as though she could not quite believe this was real, and stood there dazed for several moments.
"Hm? Ah—sorry. Right, of course. How many do you need?"
"There are... more?"
Katarina asked in a hoarse, shaking voice.
Yuri nodded innocently.
"Mm. I think I've got at least fifty more. I've also got Horned Rabbits, Fang Wolves, Flame Toads, and Giant Vipers."
At those words, Katarina and the others went rigid all over, as motionless as statues.
They forgot even to exchange looks, and could only stand there in mute astonishment.
"Hehe. Well? My lord husband is amazing, isn't he?"
Celine placed her hands on her hips and puffed out her chest proudly.
At that moment, the fabric of her dress clung to her body as though drawn to it, making her beautiful curves stand out all the more.
That tiny motion alone set those soft lines swaying, and Yuri's eyes were drawn to them before he even realized it.
A sweet, gentle scent—like warm milk—drifted through the air and tickled his nose.
Their first night together flashed suddenly through his mind, and heat began to spread through him from deep inside.
He tried desperately to steady the pounding of his heart, but like a butterfly lured by flower nectar, he could not tear his gaze away from Celine.
This is bad... Calm down...!
But his body refused to listen.
It was as though his reason were slowly crumbling away.
His body had already begun to react.
At last even his self-control surrendered completely, and in a panic he bent forward.
C-calm down...! If something weird happens here, this is going to be a disaster...!
He tried to cover it with a cough and force himself upright, but inside he was in a complete panic.
Cold sweat slowly gathered across his face, and the more desperately he tried to look away, the more painfully aware of Celine he became instead.
Oblivious to his distress, Celine simply went on smiling proudly, her generous bosom thrust forward.
"Hehe. What do you think of my lord husband? Reliable, isn't he?"
Reliable is fine, but please, I'm begging you, stop showing off your chest like that...
Even as Yuri cried out inwardly, struggling with all his might to stay composed, he was being utterly overwhelmed by Celine's sweet scent and soft curves.
Watching him, Lieselotte let out a deep sigh and shook her head.
"Lord Yuri... why are you bent over like that?"
Her eyes half-lidded, she murmured the words with a chill that fell over him like cold water.
That single line stabbed clean through Yuri's mind and blew away the tide of temptation in an instant.
His spine straightened as though struck by lightning, and reason won a decisive victory.
His heart became pure once more, and the turmoil inside him quieted as though wiped away along with the cold sweat.
For some reason, the moment Lieselotte fixed him with that chilly, half-lidded stare, Yuri felt a strange sense of relief.
...Wh-what is this pleasant feeling?
The severity of her gaze and the coldness of her words had, inexplicably, brought him a sweet little thrill.
Feeling Lieselotte's stare on him, the corners of his mouth loosened.
...This is bad. Lotte's eyes are incredible...
Oblivious to the fact that Yuri was now heading toward an entirely new frontier, Ophelia studied the enormous Wild Boars he had produced, then murmured quietly with a faint frown.
"Truly... you defy all common sense, do you not? My lord husband, just how many Wild Boars did you hunt?"
"I-I honestly don't know... not exactly, anyway. If anything, I think my partner got more than I did..."
Yuri found himself recalling how Kokuyou, his star spirit, had grown huge and taken down magical beasts with a single punch.
"And why have they not been dressed?
It would seem they have not even been bled."
Tilting her head, Ophelia asked the question in a calm, even tone.
"Well... dressing them and bleeding them was a bit..."
Yuri answered with an awkward scratch of the head.
"Have you actually dressed game before, Ophelia?"
Ophelia smiled faintly and narrowed her eyes.
"My homeland was not a wealthy one."
Her voice was calm, but there was a slight shadow in it, as if she were tracing a distant memory.
"If one is both noble and mage, then one must be prepared to fight, whether man or woman. I may not look it, but I am reasonably confident when it comes to dressing birds and boars."
Yuri's eyes widened.
He could not imagine a beautiful girl like Ophelia hunting or butchering animals with blood all over her.
Seriously? She can do that...? There's absolutely no way I could. But... wow...
The thought slipped out in his mind before he could stop it, and unable to hide his surprise and admiration, Yuri gave her a wry smile.
"That's impressive. If it ever comes to it, I'll be counting on you."
Ophelia tilted her head slightly and gave him a puzzled look.
"For my part, I find it more surprising that there is anything at all you cannot do."
Then she smiled—a small smile like a flower coming into bloom.
It was almost as though she were trying to hide her embarrassment.
That smile was so much softer than her cool exterior would ever have suggested that Yuri caught his breath for a moment.
"...But perhaps that only makes you more human."
At those words, Yuri felt something warm spread quietly through his chest.
"In that case, would it not have been better to have them dressed at the Adventurers' Guild?"
With a hand lightly to her mouth, Ophelia pointed out the obvious.
For a moment Yuri lost his voice, inwardly flustered.
Right... I could've had them dress them at the guild...!
Scratching his head with an embarrassed smile, he answered,
"Well... the truth is... I'm not actually registered as an adventurer..."
Yuri looked away and let out a dry laugh.
To be honest, he had simply found it troublesome and kept putting it off.
"My lord husband...? Surely you are not about to tell me that you never obtained a permit?"
Celine turned slowly toward Yuri with a brittle smile on her face.
Despite the softness of that smile, a sharp light gleamed in her eyes, and the pressure rolling off her was as terrifying as if he had stepped on a dragon's tail.
Huh...? Did I mess something up?