At our house in Neverland, there had been so many delicious things, but the one the Demon King chose to eat was wine.
“Wine? Is it really that wine the Demon King likes?”
“We have to hurry. Neither you nor I have much time.”
“Hmph.”
Duke Winterly sneered at me, his face filled with mockery.
Then, with a smooth motion, he vanished, leaving behind his voice.
“Look forward to it. I’ll bring the best wine to present to the Demon King.”
“Yeah, whatever.”
I replied indifferently and opened the system window again.
How much time had passed since I came to meet Duke Winterly?
It seemed about 20 minutes had passed.
It was a short amount of time. The other holy knights probably hadn’t found the Aurora Orb yet.
If they had already found it, I would have been out of the Demon Realm by now.
I wondered how Meteor was doing.
For a moment, his face crossed my mind, but I shook my head. I had to focus on what I could do right now.
Meteor and the other knights would be staying true to their tasks in order to survive and return.
I then chose an additional class to advance into.
Ding!
< Congratulations! >
< You have advanced into the class ‘Everything You Touch Turns into Art Pastry Chef’! >
< As a reward for completing the tutorial, your level has increased by 10 levels! >
Yes.
I had an overpowered buff that raised my level by 10 as soon as I advanced into a new class.
It was a reward for successfully completing the tutorial, something even the adults recognized.
‘Alright, now let’s level up even faster.’
A cake to impress the Demon King—level 10 wouldn’t be enough for that.
I should also use this time to thaw my frozen heart in front of the oven.
***
Inside the Ice Castle.
How long had it been since I started searching the interior? Maybe about 20 minutes?
Meteor opened the door to the 157th room, hoping to find a clue about the Aurora Orb with eyes.
But at this rate, would there be an end to this? He had barely explored a fraction of the castle.
‘I don’t even know for sure if the Aurora Orb with eyes is here.’
He hoped he wasn’t wasting his time as he stepped out of the 157th room.
Once again, he found nothing inside.
Next, he opened the door to the 158th room.
Would it be empty again? Or would there be something here?
Taking a deep breath, Meteor examined the room. As expected, it was empty, with no furniture or items.
He swept his hand across the flat wall, sensing whether there was anything unusual.
He had been so focused on searching the castle that he no longer even felt the cold.
He meticulously checked the floor before looking up at the ceiling.
That was when it happened.
His clear eyes widened slightly.
Something protruded from the ceiling, like a handle. This was something that hadn’t been visible in the other rooms.
Could it have been an accident, with the ice melting slightly?
That was possible.
But was there really any chance for the ice to have melted here?
Meteor took a few steps back from his position. Then, he quickly ran, pushed off the wall, and soared toward the ceiling.
His sword tapped lightly on the handle hanging from the ceiling.
To his surprise, the position of the handle changed.
It wasn’t just a random feature after all.
Now, what would happen?
Meteor remained alert as he waited.
One second, two seconds, three seconds....
Even when four seconds passed, nothing changed, and everything remained silent.
He hesitated for a moment but decided to wait a little longer. Still, the room stayed quiet.
‘Something’s off...’
Feeling an odd unease, he frowned.
At that moment, Meteor felt a strange discomfort—a sensation coming from outside.
He quickly hurried out of the room. He found himself on a landing that looked down over the first-floor lobby of the castle.
Boom!
As soon as he stepped out toward the railing, a terrifying impact shook the castle.
What was that?
Meteor’s eyes widened as an astonishing sight unfolded before him.
Snowballs were flying toward him from all directions at terrifying speeds. The places where the snowballs landed cracked with loud, sharp sounds.
Boom! Crash!
The castle quaked.
If one of those snowballs hit a person, their body would be torn in half, and they’d die instantly.
‘What are these snowballs?’
Meteor scanned the surroundings, trying to see where they were coming from.
To his shock, he saw snowballs slowly emerging from the walls.
He turned his gaze to another wall, and snowballs were appearing there as well.
‘They’re coming through the walls?’
He hadn’t expected this kind of hidden attack.
It made sense now why the castle had felt so empty.
Just then, the ground beneath him began to tremble. Without hesitation, Meteor threw himself over the railing.
The first floor, where Crescent was, was in danger.
Landing perfectly, he rushed forward, and multiple snowballs shot at him with incredible speed.
He swiftly deflected them with his sword, cutting through each one, and the snowballs that flew past him crashed into the ice wall.
Crash!
There was no time to rest.
More snowballs kept coming at him.
While dealing with the snowballs, Meteor opened the door to one of the rooms.
It was the room he had left Crescent in.
“Crescent!”
He called her name urgently as he peered inside the room.
But to his shock, the room was empty.
Where had she gone? There was no trace of Crescent.
No matter how he looked, the room was vacant.
Crunch.
Meteor felt his chest freeze.
Her absence left him feeling unbearably cold.
***
“Ghehehehe...”
Winterly, holding a huge gift box, headed toward the Demon King’s castle.
The red crescent moon still hung in the middle of the night sky.
It wasn’t late at all, and he arrived with plenty of time to spare.
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He had kept his timing impeccable and would present the most delicious cake the Demon King had ever tasted, something he had made himself!
He felt as though he could freeze the entire world with his joy.
The human woman had made an artistic cake in just two hours after heading to the kitchen.
Before that, she had spent an hour making thirteen different kinds of cakes to practice.
He found the sight pitiful.
Wasn’t it supposed to be the job of an outstanding pastry chef to create a perfect cake that would surprise everyone in one try, even with their eyes closed?
He had been deceived, he thought.
Maybe he should just kill her.
At that moment, the human woman had presented him with the thirteenth cake, urging him to taste it.
He had no expectations.
There was no way a cake made by a human would satisfy his refined taste.
Had he just wasted his time?
Filled with immense anger, he took a bite of the cake. In that moment, he felt a wonder, as though his entire body was melting away.
Could it be that a human could captivate a demon’s taste?
Wasn't such a human the true demon?
Finally, while the human woman was busy making the cake to present to the Demon King, Winterly prepared himself to head to the Demon King’s castle.
He was certain that this cake would earn him the Demon King’s favor.
He was absolutely convinced of it.
“Ghehe. Wait, Your Majesty the Demon King. I’ll present to you a birthday cake more beautiful and delicious than anything any demon has ever made.”
Finally, he stood before the gates of the Demon King’s castle.
The guards stopped him.
“Leave the gift and go. Whether His Majesty will open it or not is uncertain. Hmph.”
Whoosh!
Chop.
The sharp icicles that shot from Winterly’s hand sliced through the guards’ necks.
Thud, as their heads fell, blood spurted out like a fountain, staining the floor.
Ignoring such a scene, Winterly kneeled before the Demon King’s castle.
He shouted in the most glorious voice.
“Your Majesty the Demon King! I have brought you a perfect cake befitting Your Majesty’s birthday! It is an artistic cake inspired by Your Majesty’s favorite wine! If you just take one bite, you will know my unwavering loyalty! Your Majesty! Please, at least take a look at this cake―.”
Screech.
It was then.