Chapter 16

“I’m—I’m such a bad girl! I’m not worthy of you, Lord Kaito…!! Waaaaaahhh!!” Lilia dissolved into a crying mess right where she stood. Aaaargh! The trouble these people cause me… Cautiously, Kaito crept closer to Lilia, who had tossed herself on the ground, wailing. I just want to get my apples and go home. “Lilia, listen to me,” Kaito said gently. Lilia looked up at him, her face drenched with tears. “I want you to be the first person to taste the apple pie that I make. You understand that feeling?” “Lord Kaito…” Lilia stopped crying and looked at him with moist, red eyes. Okay, I’ve got her attention. “So I do want you to be hungry, because it’ll taste better that way, right?” “Oh…” Lilia’s eyes widened as she grasped what he was saying. “So please…don’t eat any more apples, okay?” “…Yes, sir! I’ll restrain myself!” She nodded firmly. “Right, that’s great. Maybe you could join Hans on guard duty?” “Okay!” Fired up and overjoyed, Lilia went and stood next to Hans. The two monster eaters were keeping close watch. “Phew…” Kaito was starting to feel pretty tired, but he couldn’t stop now. He set out apple picking for the third time. Man, if I’d known this was gonna happen, I would have just come by myself to begin with… It would’ve been faster. Stupid, stupid, stupid me… Kaito heaped abuse on himself as he picked the fruit. “I’m all done!” Finally, he had an entire basketful. At those words, Hans and Lilia came rushing over. “I’ll carry it for you!” “No, I will!” “No thanks, but I appreciate the gesture!” Kaito tried desperately to protect his basket from the two elves running at him with their arms outstretched. Don’t crush or eat these apples I worked so hard to piiiiiiick!! I can’t pick any more! My muscles hurt and I can barely raise my arms and I’m covered in sweat and my feet ache and I just don’t have the willpower or physical strength to do this all over again! “But—!” “But—!” His two helpers were still coming. Sometimes the well-intentioned ones are the worst… “This is part of the hero’s duty, too! Okay?” Kaito desperately invoked the one word sure to get their attention—hero. “Oh, it is…?” “Okay, then.” His ploy worked. Lilia and Hans stopped obediently where they were. Kaito resisted the urge to put a hand to his chest in relief. Once Kaito finally made it home with his apples, he went right to work. First, he had to peel the apple skins. “Shall I help you…?” Lilia was looking closely at him. “I promise I won’t eat any more.” “Well, all right then.” Kaito decided to trust Lilia. He handed her an apple. As each apple was peeled, he removed the core and sliced it. A certain crunchiness would enhance the experience, so he was careful not to make the slices too thin. Then he took a lemon he had gotten from Fiona and peeled that, too, before squeezing it over the apple slices, covering them in lemon juice. “Oooooh!” Hans leaned in to watch as if this were deeply surprising. “Hey, uh, Hans, don’t get too close now, okay?” Kaito added butter and sugar to the sliced apples and sautéed them. “Wow… What a wonderful smell!!” “Mm-hmm.” Kaito greased a pie plate with butter, then dusted it with wheat flour. Next, he took out the dough he had set aside and cut it up, stretching and rounding each piece. He put the pieces onto the pie plate, then added the sautéed apples. He stretched the remaining dough and cut it into strips about a centimeter wide each. The piecrust was now in thin, rectangular strips, which he laid in a crosswise pattern on top of the filling. “All right! Baking time!” He put the pie on a pizza peel, then into the oven. He kept a close eye on it and took it out just when it was perfectly browned. “There! Done!” The entire shop filled with the enticing aroma of apples and butter. “Oooohhhh…” Lilia appeared absolutely entranced. Kaito cut the pie up, passing out slices to his companions. “Here you go!” “Bon appétit!” It was his first apple pie—his first dessert. Excited but anxious, Kaito brought a piece to his mouth. “Ow! Hot, hot, hot!” The fresh-baked pie hadn’t had time to cool. When he took a bite, though, the fragrant crust and the sweet juice of the apples filled his mouth. “Wooow…” The lovely scent of butter drifted to his nose. The sweetness of the fresh apples was thrown into sharp relief by the sour lemon juice. “It’s so sweeeeeet! And deliiiiiiicious!” Lilia’s plate was already empty. “I’ve never had such a rich and satisfying sweet. Who knew fruit could be so powerful…?” “There’s seconds!” “Yes please!” Hans shoved his plate in front of Lilia’s. “I have a great idea!” he said, and he began dousing his new slice of apple pie in honey. “Hans! Don’t put honey on it!!” What, he wants it to be even sweeter?! And he’s going to get even fatter! Kaito managed not to say the words out loud. “That’s deeeeeelicious!” An expression of bliss came over Hans’s face. “Is… Is it?” Now Kaito was a little curious. “Maybe I’ll try some.” He dribbled just a little honey on his pie. “Hey—that’s pretty good!!” The honey deepened the sweetness even further and give it some punch. “Hmm, maybe I can invite people to add honey to taste!” In any event, the apple pie was a delicious success. “Looks like we’ve got ourselves a new menu item!” I’ll have to let Belinda know. The three of them finished the pie in no time at all.