"Oh! I'm surprised that Miss Emma made this dish! Look at its appearance; you've done a great job!"
"No, ma'am. I only assisted the chef."
"Oh, come on, helping is already something. I can't even peel an egg properly without crushing it to bits. Hoho."
Lisa's chatter was loud from the morning.
In this high-class inn, they prepared meals for us on time if we just stayed still, but Emma wanted to help with breakfast, and that was how it all started.
She was quite something.
If her progress in awakening the hero's talent were slow, I might have stopped her, but she kept exceeding my expectations, so I couldn't really criticize her.
I guessed I had to accept it as part of Emma's nature. It was hard to believe, but maybe helping others reduced her stress levels.
"Master, aren't you hungry after training since morning? The eggs are fresh. Why don't you at least try them…?"
She didn't say, "Are you not eating because I made them?" but her tense face showed it all. At this point, she might as well just say it.
"I will eat, so stop pestering. I was just staring because I'm once again struck by how peculiar you are."
"Uh… thank you for the compliment…?"
"It's an insult, you fool."
Smack⎯!
My finger hurt.
"Ow…"
"It seems you're getting dumber by the day. Does magic have that kind of effect?"
"Isn't it because you hit her so much that she's getting toughened? So maybe you should stop… whoa, what's all this? Mr. Rick, try some of this; it's really tasty."
Lisa, avoiding my gaze, clung to Rick again.
One day, I would drain all the blood from her and throw her dirty mouth to the bugs.
"Are these dishes you made back in your hometown, Miss Emma? They have a unique aroma."
"Oh… yes. I made them because I saw some herbs from my hometown. Do they taste okay?"
"They're delicious. You must have been famous back home, Miss Emma. Beautiful and a good cook—men must have lined up for you."
"No, not really…"
Emma replied evasively with a shy smile. At least that was how it seemed to me.
But Lisa wasn't sharp enough to notice such nuances.
"Tell us about your hometown, Miss Emma. Even your past is fine. We'll be seeing each other for a long time, and we don't know anything about each other."
"Oh… my hometown…"
"Did I touch on something sensitive…?"
Even Lisa noticed that Emma's reaction was different from usual at this point.
Emma, looking troubled, fiddled with her fingers. Lisa, sensing the growing awkwardness, spoke up again.
"Suddenly I remembered, I have a question for the Master. I didn't notice in the mansion, but after spending a few days together, I realized something."
Lisa continued nonchalantly. I could ignore her, but I would be magnanimous this once.
"What is it?"
"Do you sleep, Master? I've never seen you with your eyes closed for a long time except when handling mana. I've often seen you reading magical books or training mana, though."
"Oh, I'm curious too."
"Miss Emma thinks so too? If even someone who's always with you says that, isn't it serious?"
She wasn't asking out of concern. It was pure curiosity.
But still, the question was too low-level. I was human, after all. Of course, I slept and rested. Without that, my body wouldn't function.
As I thought that, Emma cautiously added more. Unlike Lisa, she was careful, and her tone was slightly different.
"… indeed, it's worrying to see you always engrossed in something to the point where it seems like you lack sleep. Effort is a virtue, but I'm worried it might harm your health."
"Am I overexerting myself?"
"Yes. You're always so focused that you seem sleep-deprived…"
As I looked at her strangely, Emma's voice grew softer, as if reconsidering if she said something odd.
"What nonsense are you talking about? I'm not that foolish."
"Uh…? But you're the one who wakes up the earliest and sleeps the latest…"
"That's because you all rest too much."
"… I'll take that as a cue to follow your example, Master. … but it also proves how hard you're working, doesn't it?"
What was she saying since earlier?
"If you don't do at least that much, what's the difference between being alive and being dead?"
A moment of silence ensued.
It became so quiet that you could hear the birds chirping outside the window.
It was Lisa who broke the silence first.
"Wow… Master, are you serious about that statement? With that one sentence, you've practically killed not just us here but most people in the world."
"How pathetic. If you expect to gain something without doing even that much, it's not even worth calling it greed."
"Uh…? Then what is it?"
I spoke to Lisa, who seemed clueless.
"It's delusion, delusion."
An utterly unattainable, worthless, and hopeless delusion.
Like putting a 1 dollar coin into a vending machine and expecting a 10-dollar drink to come out, and then getting angry and kicking the machine when it didn't.