40

A grand atmosphere emanated from Athena's mansion.

There was a luxurious kitchen there that could rival any other.

It was equipped with a variety of cooking tools, meticulously maintained utensils, and the finest ingredients.

For anyone who dreamed of cooking, this was a dazzling and pristine environment where they would want to work.

At least, until just a moment ago.

Boom!-

With a loud crash, the door shattered beyond recognition.

"Ahhh!"

"What… what is this!"

As the chefs were cleaning up, the kitchen door suddenly exploded and flew off.

When they looked where the door used to be.

"H-he… hero?"

She entered the kitchen with a chilling aura, each step heavy.

For some unknown reason, everyone's body began to tremble under the pressure.

Her gaze was calm, but within it was a faint, terrifying presence that their instincts rejected.

"Where's the head chef?"

In this atmosphere, no one had the courage to speak to her.

When no one responded-

Bang- Boom-

"Ahhh!"

"Help! Somebody help!!!"

Like a bomb had gone off, golden mana scattered everywhere, destroying parts of the kitchen.

Then, someone came rushing in.

It was the head chef of this place, a man named Borsch.

He had been resting nearby, leaving the clean-up to his subordinates, but as soon as he heard the noise, he rushed over.

"L-lady Athena!! What in the world is going on..!"

Athena's eyes glinted briefly, and in an instant, she was in front of Borsch, grabbing him by the throat and lifting him up.

"Gah… Guh-hack!"

"Was it you..?"

"Guh… Guh-hah, w-what are you talking about…"

"Did you dare to say Hera's dish was tasteless?"

Dare. Someone like you. Hera's dish.

Just as the head chef's life was about to slip away from her subtle yet burning rage, Athena released his throat.

"Gah!! Huff, huff…!"

As he gasped for air, she looked down at him coldly.

"You have three seconds. Answer, if you don't want to lose your head."

"I-I did say that!! But I was just following orders!!"

Boom-

A large hole appeared in the wall next to Borsch.

Had his head been just slightly to the side, it would have parted from his body.

"Huff… Huff…"

"I know. That's why I'm even more irritated and furious."

Crrrk-

The sound of Athena grinding her teeth sent chills through the kitchen.

Under the weight of her murderous energy, everyone held their breath, staying as still as possible, like mice hiding in fear.

"Fine. Since some of the blame is mine, I'll give you a chance."

She lightly kicked the head chef's knee and continued.

"Hera's dish. Where is it?"

"Wh…what?"

"Hera's dish. You didn't throw it away, did you?"

Crrk-

Her teeth grated once more, sending another wave of chills down his spine.

Borsch instinctively felt that keeping her waiting any longer would be a death sentence.

"I-I have it!! The taste was so peculiar that I stored it in a cold magic device..!"

Without looking back, Borsch sprinted to retrieve the dish.

He handled it as carefully as if his life depended on it, making sure the chicken didn't fall.

When Borsch presented the plate of chicken to Athena, she immediately snatched it from his hands.

She took a piece of the cold chicken and put it in her mouth.

Closing her eyes, she chewed slowly, savoring the taste.

Spicy, with the texture of chicken.

It was exactly the flavor she had told Hera she liked.

In fact, it was delicious. A mysterious taste she had never encountered before.

It seemed that Hera had quite the talent for cooking.

As I thought of Hera, who was making this dish, stitch by stitch, with me in mind, a sharp pain pierced somewhere in my heart.

Soon, I carefully placed the dish on the table and, in a cold voice, gave orders to those around me.

"Make this dish hot, so its original flavor doesn't disappear."

"If the taste I just experienced disappears even a little…"

"None of you here will get off lightly."

With that, the extinguished fire in the kitchen reignited.

The chefs and kitchen staff, without taking a single breath, moved frantically, using every method at their disposal to revive the cold, lifeless chicken.

***

"Sob… sob…"

In a pitch-dark room where not even a sliver of light entered.

Ever since I regained my senses, I had not stopped crying, not even for a moment.

"Idiot!… Fool!!… sob…"

I slammed my fists against my head, hurting myself.

Because unless I did this, I could not forgive myself.

I should have just done nothing.

By now, Athena was probably waiting for me.

I had foolishly insisted on cooking for her, causing her to wait.

But because I didn't want to give her a dish that tasted bad, I had no choice but to run away.

She must be angry, without a doubt.

Maybe she'd abandon me now.

She had promised to love me for a lifetime, but people's hearts can change at any time.

It wouldn't be strange if she fell out of love with this pathetic version of me.

"Idiot…! Idiot…"

Thud, thud.

As I continued to hit my head with my hands, something warm began to flow down from one side.

But in the darkness, I couldn't see what it was.

How much time had passed like that?

Knock, knock.

—Hera. It's me.

A voice came from the door, belonging to the person I least wanted to face right now.

"Do… don't come in…"

But, disregarding my plea, she opened the door and came in.

As she turned on the light, the blinding brightness stung my eyes.

"Ugh."

"Hera!!!!"

During the brief moment when my eyes were adjusting to the light, I heard her scream.

When I opened my eyes again, she was already right in front of me, wearing an expression I had never seen before.

Her eyes trembled fiercely, and she looked like she was in shock.

I reached out my hand to block her from my sight.

"Do… don't look at me…"

Please.

Don't look at this pitiful version of me.

But she gently overpowered my hand and immediately placed her own hand on my head.

"You're bleeding, Hera!!!!"

It seemed the warm thing that had been flowing earlier was my blood after all.

Golden mana flowed from her hand, enveloping my head, and as the warmth seeped in, I felt the wound on my head begin to heal.

I turned my head in the direction the blood had flowed, and saw that the bed sheet had been stained bright red with my blood.

"What were you doing until you ended up like this!!"

Athena, uncharacteristically, screamed sharply at me in anger.

"…."

But I couldn't say anything in response to her.

I thought it might not be so bad to faint from anemia and escape this situation.

Then, at least for a while, I wouldn't have to suffer like this.

As my mind filled with negative thoughts, Athena hugged me tightly.

"Never do something like this again."

Athena, still worrying about me even now.

I had even run away from my promise to her, but she still embraced me warmly.

Tears flowed again, and I buried my face in her shoulder.

"Sob… sob… I'm… I'm sorry…"

She gently patted my back, comforting me.

"What are you sorry for, Hera."

"I… I wanted to cook for you… but it tasted bad… sob…"

"...."

The body that had been hugging me shuddered.

I could feel her body grow cold through the contact of our skin.

I cautiously looked up at her, sensing a shift in the atmosphere.

"…Athena?"

Her face was filled with fury.

Her brows were furrowed, and I could hear the sound of her grinding teeth.

Is she angry at me?

Her expression made my body tremble even more.

"A-Athena… Athena… please don't be mad…"

The reason I didn't want to see her.

I was afraid she'd leave me if she saw me like this.

Not wanting to be abandoned by Athena, I could only shrink before her anger.

But instead, she hugged me even tighter.

"…It's not because of you."

Her words were meant to reassure me.

For no reason, tears began to stream down my cheeks.

After crying in her embrace for a long time, I finally managed to calm myself down.

Athena wiped away all my tears with her hand and spoke.

"Hera. Have you eaten?"

I quietly shook my head.

She smiled gently at me and brought a large bowl from the door.

"I haven't eaten either. Shall we eat this together?"

"T-This is…"

What she brought was the chicken I had struggled to make for hours.

"This… this is no good! It's not tasty at all… you might as well…"

But she ignored my words and took a big bite.

'N-No…'

The dish everyone said was tasteless.

I didn't want Athena to eat it.

I thought the chef had already thrown it away, so why was it in her hands?

Unable to look at her face, I hung my head and mumbled.

"It… won't taste good…"

I was afraid to hear her response.

But what she said was-

"It's delicious."

"…What?"

"This is the best food I've ever had."

Delicious…?

That couldn't be true.

Everyone in the kitchen said it was bad.

Even the chef, known for their expertise, harshly criticized it.

Athena must be saying that just to comfort me.

"…You don't have to lie…"

But she looked at me with a serious expression.

"Hera. I'm not lying. It's truly delicious."

With that, Athena took another piece and popped it into her mouth.

"…What?"

"You should eat too. Wasn't this something we were supposed to eat together?"

Athena cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces and held it out to my mouth.

As I carefully opened my lips, I tasted the spicy seasoning on my tongue.

It was exactly the taste of seasoned chicken I used to enjoy in Korea.

"It's really… delicious?"

"Yeah. It's something I'd love to eat every day."

"..."

As if it was truly tasty, Athena kept eating the chicken without a pause.

I silently watched her for a while.

'…Thank goodness.'

I thought to myself.

I was relieved that Athena liked it.

I was glad my efforts weren't in vain.

As I watched her eat with enjoyment, a strange emotion began to rise within me.

It felt as if the warmth radiating from her was reaching me.

Thump- thump-

My heart began to beat a little faster.

A wave of deep emotion filled my chest.

I was grateful.

I felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude toward her.

For always coming to me, comforting me, even when I'm lacking.

And I wanted to do something for her.

Something she would like.

'Would she like it… if I kissed her?'

Up until now, I had only been on the receiving end, but for once, I felt like I wanted to do something for her first.

Slowly, I looked at her face and saw her lips covered in the red sauce I had made.

Carefully, I pushed the bowl aside and moved closer to her.

"..Hera?"

With a slightly confused expression, she looked at me, and I lunged toward her lips.

-Smooch

I gave her a light kiss.

The first kiss I had ever given her.

Even Athena blinked in surprise, staring at me.

Smooch-smooch-

Like a bird tapping its beak. I kept lightly pressing my lips against hers.

As the sauce on her lips transferred to mine from the repeated kisses, I quickly licked my lips with my tongue, consuming all the sauce.

Athena, who had been staring at me blankly, suddenly rushed at me with a fiery look in her eyes.

She grabbed my shoulders with both hands so tightly it hurt.

"Ouch!"

As if holding back something, she looked at me, breathing heavily.

"Why… why are you..?"

Her ragged breathing and blazing eyes made her look as if she were angry.

Huh..?

Why is she mad?

Did she not like the kiss..?

"Hera… what do you think you're doing?"

"Huh… what?"

Her voice growled low and quietly.

Her threatening tone made my mind race.

I started thinking about what could have made her angry.

As I slowly retraced my actions toward her.

I quickly found the reason.

Ah. I see.

It was such a simple reason.

In fact, It was strange I hadn't noticed sooner.

'…I'm so selfish.'

I had been inconsiderate.

From her perspective, she had every reason to be mad.

I looked at her and smiled softly.

Then, I gave her one last kiss on the lips.

"Sorry… Athena."

"Hera… you…"

"…You can eat."

"Wh… what?"

At my words, something seemed to snap in her eyes.

Panting heavily, she began to slowly approach me.

"Hera. Hera. Hera. Hera. Hera. Hera."

As she charged at me like a beast who had lost all reason, I—

"Here. Say ah~."

Picked up a piece of chicken drenched in sauce and held it out to her.

Flinch-

At my words, her body froze in place, as if caught off guard.

She glanced at me with a slightly uneasy expression before carefully speaking.

"…What is this?"

"Chicken. You were mad because I took it away, right?"

Athena, seriously.

If it's that good, just say so.

As expected, the power of chicken is truly formidable.