◇

"--The winner is Lulu Watari! The pupil of the miracle chef, Lulu Watari has won the overall victory!"

Called by the host, Lulu who looks nervous gets up on the stage.

I, who was sitting on the special judge seat, also got called by the official to go up the stage.
I"m in charge of giving the trophy to the champion.

Since one of my companion is partic.i.p.ating in the contest, I only had to give brief comments on the grading.

"You"ve done well Lulu. Congratulations for the victory."
"Yes, thank you very much!"

The venue is filled with applauses when Lulu receives the trophy.
This place is a big theater prepared by Echigoya Firm, so the guests should be able to see this scene from their seats.
There are a lot of people buying and consuming food, maybe because they saw some appetizing dishes during the contest.

"Next, the runner up, the chef of Echigoya Firm, Mr. X!"

On top of wearing a black mantle, his body is covered in bandages and he"s even wearing sungla.s.ses.
The only people who know the real ident.i.ty of Mr. X in this place are Arisa and me.

"During the final, he was defeated with a very narrow margin by Lulu Watari, his cooking ability which he displayed up until that time had won him complete victories, it was truly miraculous! Together with Chevalier Lulu Watari, hone your skills and broaden the road of culinary in s.h.i.+ga Kingdom!"

The host praises Mr. X with an awfully pa.s.sionate speech.

When I gave him a trophy that"s smaller than the one before, the applause from the judge"s seats were more pa.s.sionate than the ones from the audience.
From their point of view, the flavor cooked by Mr. X which was more attuned to the judges is probably better liked than Lulu"s flavor which was more attuned to me and my companions.
If Lulu didn"t notice that during the final, she probably wouldn"t have won.

"--U-um! Mr. X-san."
"What is it, Lulu-dono?"

Lulu called Mr. X who came down the stage after receiving the trophy.

"Thank you for teaching me the point I was lacking at!"
"Hmph, it was you who noticed it by yourself."
"No! If you didn"t tell me, 『Whom do you intend to feed those cooking for』 I might have continued making my mistaken self-conceited dishes."
"If you understand that, make more delicious cooking from now on. I look forward to the day we meet again."
"Yes! I won"t lose next time!"

Lulu who should be the winner declared like she was the challenger toward Mr. X who went away while raising his arm.

After seeing that off, I gave partic.i.p.ating medals and some brief comments to the partic.i.p.ants who didn"t won the third place.
The other six chefs" cooking were delicious too, but Lulu was prominent even among them.
Looks like preparing a rival so that she won"t become conceited is a good decision.

"Lulu! Congratulations for your victory!"
"Congrats~"
"Happy nodesu!"
"Nn, great."

Lulu who came back to the waiting room got congratulated by the other girls one by one.
Then, the sound of rumbling stomaches resound.

The sounds of Tama and Pochi who were being carried by Liza on her arms were the loudest, but my Attentive Ears skill picked up the sounds from Liza"s and Lady Karina"s stomaches.

"There"s still a long time before the meal, should we borrow the cookwares from the contest management to make something and eat?"
"""Ye~s"""
"Yay! Nanodesu!"

Tama seems very happy, she makes five clone bodies and dances.
One of that body is still being carried by Liza.

Unlike the kagebuns.h.i.+n that appears in manga, this must be a type of magic.
I"ll study under Tamsensei and try to become a genuine ninja.

And then, even though I only intended to make some light lunches for my companion, somehow or another it became a barbecue feast with the venue.
Since I had taken some [Digestive Medicine] and eaten a lot of cooking during the contest, I got to only work as a skewer turner, but since everyone was happy, I deem it good.

In addition, since remote controlling Satou"s doll AKA Mr.X while doing another thing was quite difficult, I ought to think of another way before the next match with Lulu.

◇

"We bestow Lulu Watari with 『Oyugock Dukedom"s Special Grade Kitchen Master』 Noren and supplementary prizes."

During the ceremony in the duke castle, Lulu was given a congratulatory address and Noren from the duke.
I"ve never seen any shop that hangs Noren on its entrance, it"s probably some kind of good luck charm like when you give surume and kombu during an engagement gifts exchange.

The female executive branch manager of Echigoya Firm in Oyugock Dukedom, who came in place of Mr. X-sensei as he was "sick", received the [Oyugock Dukedom"s First-cla.s.s Grade Kitchen Master] Noren and the supplementary prizes with a stiff face.
I"ll present her with some liquor for this hards.h.i.+p later.

After completing the ceremony without accident, we left the castle and went to one part of the n.o.ble district.

"Hee, so this is the mansion that Lulu got?"
"Y-Yes... That seems to be the case."

Viewing from the carriage that had stopped in front of the mansion, we saw a big mansion that Lulu received as the supplementary prize.
It"s small compared to an upper cla.s.s n.o.ble"s mansion, but it"s on the upper side of a lower cla.s.s n.o.ble, a splendid mansion that look like it"s for a baron.
It"s located in the lower cla.s.s n.o.ble district, but since it"s facing toward the main street that connects the n.o.ble-use harbor and the duke castle, its location is quite good.

"I"m sorry to have kept you waiting, Viscount Pendragon-sama. The gate will open shortly, please wait a little."

A butler who ran from the mansion told me so and opened the gate.

I thought he looked familiar, turned out he was the butler who was managing the detached building of Earl Wolguck"s mansion when we stayed there.
It was probably arranged by the previous Earl Wolguck who are in the duchy capital.

Around 30 maids are standing in line in the rotary before the mansion"s entrance.

Everyone is wonderfully wearing a maid uniform.
Looks like it"s finally begun to spread in s.h.i.+ga Kingdom.

"""Welcome back Master."""

When I got off the carriage, the maids bowed their heads all at once.
According to the AR readings, it seems they"re employees dispatched by Marquis Lloyd and Earl Houen.

"The master of this mansion is not me, but Chevalier Watari over here you know?"
"P-please excuse us."

The butler apologized while bowing his head.
It seems there"s a discrepancy in the communication.

Not only the mansion has been cleaned, fine furnitures that are usually found in the mansion of an upper cla.s.s n.o.ble have also been prepared inside.

Moreover--.

"It"s amazing! It"s completely equipped with magic tools for cooking."
"They are items from Earl Houen"s magic tool workshop which are coveted among the merchants. My master would be pleased if Chevalier-sama would use them habitually."

A veteran maid dispatched from Earl Houen house answered Lulu who was gleefully looking at the brand new magic tools.
We"re not going to permanently stay here, so I tell her not to bring things like microwave oven, steam cooking and IH cooking heater.

Lulu wanted to cook with the mithril kitchen knife set she got along with the Noren, but since we"re invited to a banquet in the evening, there"s no time for it.
Lulu was longingly watching at the kitchen, but when Arisa called her, she went to the closet room to dress up while looking like her back hair stood up.

◇

"Now my lady, allow me to take your hand."
"Eh, um? Is it alright for me to be escorted?"

Lulu happily takes my hand even while looking hesitant.
Lulu is the lead role today, so there"s no need to hesitate.

"Sir Pendragon has come!"
"Viscount-sama! Do you remember me?"
"Satou-sama! Please dance with me."

When we entered the a.s.sembly hall, some familiar loli n.o.ble daughters and unfamiliar young ladies met me.
I don"t know the reason why I"m this popular, but thanks to Sera and the princess"s guards, I escorted Lulu without any interruption.

"C-can I really dance in such a prominent dance party?"
"Please don"t worry. Zensama looks beautiful even compared to the other ladies."

Liza backed up Zensan who was getting anxious.
I think the parties in the royal castle were more flashy, but it"s probably just a rounding error of the refined Zensan.
In order to make her get accustomed to this early on, I"ll let her partic.i.p.ate in this kind of events more.

"Meat tasty~"
"This meat here is delicious too nodesu."
"Cut fruit."
"Mia! This fruit is a rose, so I report."
"Nn, pretty."

Tama, Pochi, Mia and Nana are engrossed with the dishes together with Lady Karina.

"It seems you add this sauce to the meat."
"The sauce is spilling~?"
"If you put another meat above the meat, it won"t spill nodesu."
"As expected of Pochi desuwa."
"Nice~"

Glad that they"re enjoying it.

"Did you not know? Sir Orion has gone back to visit his hometown."

When I asked a familiar-looking young n.o.ble about Lady Karina"s little brother, Orion-kun, I was told that he"s currently visiting Muno Earldom.
I haven"t got any mail from Muno Earldom since I"ve been traveling with an airs.h.i.+p recently.

"Satou-dono, I"ve collected the pedigree of the eastern small country group."
"Thank you."

Toruma gave me a booklet that contains the condensed information of the eastern small country group.
I only skimmed at it, but I saw that it had information about the tastes and the ways to negotiate with important figures, even better than the tourist book.

He"d have been successful if he used this talent in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs....

"Satou-dono! Why didn"t you invite me to the barbecue meeting!"
"Truly truly! It was already over when I rushed there after my retainer informed me about it!"

Marquis Lloyd and Earl Houen who were usually always smiling pressed me with menacing looks.
These two should have eaten a lot as the judges, I never thought that they had enough willpower to eat more.

"I"m very sorry. I was worried about your stomaches so I kept it a secret while intending to invite you two for another day."
"I-is that so! As expected of Satou-dono."
"U-umu! I"m looking forward to the next barbecue meeting!"

The barbecue meeting is already decided huh.... These two"s stomaches sure are youthful.

Afterwards, Viscount s.h.i.+men, Viscount Emlin, and even the previous Earl Wolguck couple wanted to partic.i.p.ate too, the scope of the barbecue meeting was getting bigger.
I intended it to be a small meeting, but since the invitee had increased too much, we will open the meeting in two days, borrowing the duke"s castle open s.p.a.ce.
The retainers of Marquis Lloyd will handle everything besides the cooking, so I only need to tell the required ingredients and tools to him.

"Head Miko-sama is?!"

Sera who was talking with a priest of Parion Temple leaked out a voice of surprise.
I had a bad feeling when I saw Sera running toward me with a pale face.

◇

"Head Miko-sama!"

Together with Sera, I visited TenionTemple, and the two of us were led to the sanctuary where the Head Miko was.
They might misunderstood that I was Sera"s fiance since everyone including the princess had stayed in the parlor.

"....Sera, I"m happy to see you in the end...."
"Don"t say the end! Please don"t say the end...."

When we met the Head Miko in the sanctuary she feebly lied sideway.
She has [Infirmity] condition.

"....You"ve brought Nanas.h.i.+-san along too."
"No, this person is Satou-san."
"The child back then....Come...."

Beckoned by the Head Miko, I sit down beside Sera.

"....Please take care of Sera."

The Head Miko"s shaking hand puts my hand on top of Sera"s and then she puts her own hand above them.
Thin, light hand....

"....Sera you"ve overcome your fate."

Light is lost in the Head Miko"s eyes.

"That"s why....Find your happiness...."
"Head Miko-sama!"

Sera clings to the Head Miko who has lost her consciousness.

"""Head Miko-sama!"""

The priests make Sera fall back, and then they begin to heal the Head Miko with holy magic.
Sera wanted to partic.i.p.ate too, but since the boost effect from the sanctuary would decrease if people without priesthood partic.i.p.ated, she was rejected.

Before long, her condition stabilized with the effort of the high ranking priests, priests and miko, we left the sanctuary.
Sera wanted to stay, but since she looked like she would be a hindrance, I took her back.
In addition, I gave a lot of recovery magic potion to the temple.

◇

....Life span huh.

I think about the Head Miko"s condition while patting Sera"s head.
Sera who was crying while clinging to me until just a while ago had cried herself to sleep.

I lightly put her under mind magic [Quiet Sleep]. She should be able to rest until tomorrow now.

I change into Nanas.h.i.+ and then head to Tenion Temple"s sanctuary.
Head Miko"s [Coma] condition had gone away, so I visited her as Nanas.h.i.+.

The inside of the temple was not under my dominion, so I didn"t use Unit Arrangement, I intruded using Sky Drive after getting near.
There was a miko on guard duty inside the room but since she looked like she was sleeping due to tiredness, I let her sleep under [Quiet Sleep] magic like Sera.

"....Nanas.h.i.+-san?"

Head Miko"s transparent voice reverberate in the moonlit room.

"I"m sorry for the late visit."
"It"s okay....You came after all...."

I catch the hand which has extended to me.

"....The heaven has called for me."

The Head Miko calmly shook her head before I could deny it.

"It"s alright....I know my own condition well...."

It"s exasperating that my experience is lacking.
Unable to say even a word to soothe her at a time like this--.

"Hey, I have one last wish....Take off your mask and please show me your face...."

Since the Head Miko requested for it, I took off my white mask.

"So you really are Nanas.h.i.+-san...."

Head Miko let out a smile that looks like it"ll disappear.

"Please take care of Sera...."

The light on Head Miko"s eyes decrease like during the daytime.
I use the same [Awaking] magic that the miko on duty uses.

"Head Miko!"
"Please call me by my name....I"m Lily...."

I hold her in my arms and call her name, but Head Miko closes her eyes after fleetingly smiled.
Her life wavelength is disappearing in my arms.

The miko on duty went to call the priests in panic, but they had also fallen from the overworked condition.
I have to do something until they come.

"Lily!"

I use the forbidden magic [Life Force Transfer] while calling the Head Miko"s name.
Her stamina stopped decreasing for only a moment, but it quickly began to decrease again.

I took out a holy sword from the Storage and repeated [Life Force Transfer] for as long as the magic power continued.
Aside from magic power, I don"t have enough Blood Beads needed for the [Life Force Transfer].

It seems the priests seem to be in a hurry too, but their conditions are worse than during the day.
Even if they could make it, I don"t think they can do anything about it.

I"ve used up all the Blood Beads.
There"s no time to get more from the True Ancestor Ban.

100...90...80, Miko Head"s life is running out while I"m thinking.

--Not yet!

I open the [Life Force Transfer] code and modify it so that it uses higher grade item than the Blood Bead, Blood Sphere.

...70...80....

My over-abused brain complained about the burn-like pain, but I don"t want to hear it.

...50...40....

I did it!
However, there"s no time to chant the [Life Force Transfer Rev] spell.
I decided to use a trick. I overwrite the registered [Life Force Magic] in the magic column with the revised version.

...30...20....

I feel twice the pain from earlier and has almost fainted from it, but I get ahold of myself somehow.

--Invoke [Life Force Tranfer Rev]

Alright! Head Miko"s stamina has stopped decreasing.
It went back to a fixed value no matter how many times I repeated it. If this keeps up, it"ll be just like earlier.

Compared to the Blood Beads, I have a lot more Blood Spheres, but it"s not unlimited.

Is there anything I can do....

I recall my memory.
Anything, if I just have some kind of hint....

I felt a weak touch on my face.
The Head Miko has extended her slender hand, wiping down the tears streaming down my cheeks.

"Nanas.h.i.+-san, thank you.... It"s fine already."

The Head Miko who has regained her consciousness string soundless words.
Light does not return in her eyes.

"This...Aged body...Let it rest...."

Is there nothing I can do against aging....
Even though I have the power to overwhelm demon lords, am I powerless against providence of nature....

Can"t I do anything but crying, praying for a miracle....

--Is that really true?

『You can"t wait for a miracle. You have to make it yourself!』

Arisa"s laughing face that was like the sun floated in my mind.

You"re right, Arisa.

--I"ll create a miracle.

Remember Satou.

I should have a way remaining.

If it"s possible to create trees and fish, people should not be an exception.
Like I care about taboo.

--I open the source code of [Another World]. I look for the code I need.

I keep using the [Life Force Transfer Revised] in order to keep Head Miko"s life, so the parsing goes too slow to advance.
Don"t complain, Satou.

If a cheap CPU can do concurrent processing, there"s no way that I can"t do it.
If Multi-Core is not possible, then I"ll do at least Multi-Threading.

With a reckless thought that"s unbelievable for the usual me, I split the processing time.

>[Parallel Thought (Thread Think)] Skill Acquired.
>[Parallel Magic Usage (Background Cast)] Skill Acquired.

Cheers for Easy Mode.
When I activated the skills, the processing became remarkably easier.

--I can make it!

I"ve ran out of magic power from the holy sword, and the Blood Sphere that has lost its power turned into dust on my hand.

--So what.

I take out a spare from the Storage and continue the healing and the remodeling.

Well prepared means no worries.
I smash the malicious flag and I finally complete the new magic.

"■■■■■　■　……　■　『Generate Life』"

The Head Miko"s body is wrapped in rainbow colored light.
I couldn"t see her from the light, but the AR reading showed that her condition changed from [Infirmity, Verge of Death] to [None].

"Are you crying Nanas.h.i.+-san?"

I can hear a clear voice from inside the light.
Hands wrapped in light wipe my tears.

"Head Miko-sama!"

The fastest priest finally jumped into the room.
Slightly later after him, priests and miko rush one after another.

Everyone has uniformly stopped at the room entrance, it seems they"re surprised at the rainbow light that"s wrapping the Head Miko.
I put on the white mask and turn around toward them.

The rainbow colored light disappears behind me.

"....Head Miko, sama?"

The Temple Head who looked dumbfounded asked like he was bewildered.

When I turn back toward the Head Miko, I see a six year old little girl who"s wearing oversized bedclothing putting her hands on her cheek while looking perplexed.

>t.i.tle [One who Creates Miracles] Acquired.

◇

"Are you really Head Miko-sama?"
"Sera, this is the third time you know."

Loli Head Miko looks at the surprised Sera gleefully.
She"s slightly fatigued similar to Sera when she was revived with the [Revival Artifact] back then, but  besides that she"s exceedingly healthy.

"But, how?"
"I was bestowed with a miracle."

Loli Head Miko looks at me and smiles profoundly.

We have decided that her rejuvenation is to be a [Miracle of G.o.d].
G.o.d Tenion will likely not complain since it means that there will be many more people who will pray to G.o.d Tenion from now on. Probably.

I didn"t intend for her to become this young, but let"s consider it a good thing since her life is not in danger anymore.
Even Loli Head Miko herself is delighted, saying, "I can pa.s.s as Sera"s little sister now."

Outwardly, she"s going to be introduced to the public as an apprentice miko.
As the postscript, Loli Head Miko is also partic.i.p.ating the barbecue meeting happily.