Facing Eyes
Two pairs of eyes locked onto each other. Silence stretched between them.
"……."
"……."
My hand hovered just one centimeter from her necklace, and Lilac glanced back and forth between my hand and my face.
I forced myself to act casual as I opened my mouth.
"Th-the necklace is really pretty, huh?"
"……."
"……."
"……."
Lilac's expression began to twist slowly.
Damn it.
But the words that came from her mouth were completely unexpected.
"…Idiot."
"What?"
"You're such a moron. Can't you even steal that one thing properly?"
"…Huh?"
"I gave you all the hints and even tilted my head back to make it easy! Can't you handle something that simple, you dumb chef?!"
"……?"
"Didn't you see the gardener's shears and the straw hat over there? I left them right out in the open for you!"
"I-I saw them."
"How much more do I have to spoon-feed you? Huh? You're right there—why are you hesitating like an idiot?!"
Lilac yelled with her face all scrunched up in frustration. I just stared at her blankly.
I was dumbfounded.
What the hell is she talking about?
"No helping it now… No helping it anymore!"
Lilac muttered as she pulled out her necklace. It began to glow with an ominous green light.
"W-wait a sec!"
"What."
"If you give me one more chance, I swear I can do it right this time."
"Too late. The chance is gone, you moron."
"B-but you loved my cooking, right?"
"Yeah. Guess I'll just turn you into a statue and make you cook for eternity."
Like hell she won't turn me into a statue.
Suddenly, memories of being chased by the Tteokbokki Cult flooded back. Their "kindness" always went a little off the rails.
"H-ha, but if you turn me into a statue, I can't cook anymore?"
"…Shame. Can't be helped, then."
Green light poured out intensely, and my body started hardening from the fingertips down.
"Gahhh! Help!"
I tried to bolt, but my legs had already stiffened.
"This is insane!"
Lilac approached slowly. With each step, the green glow intensified.
"Pathetic fool. Heart too soft."
But the face of the one trying to turn me to stone looked somehow sorrowful.
"You naive, airheaded chef."
She looked almost like she was about to cry.
"Lilac…"
"The cake was genuinely delicious. Hura oppa."
That's when strange sounds started echoing from afar.
Splat— splat— splat—
"What's that noise?"
The moment Lilac turned toward the sound—
Splat!
A massive fried egg shot out from the side wall.
"Master!"
It was Geum Taeyang's shield. The pair hoisted me up and blasted through the wall like arrows, fleeing at full speed.
Lilac just blinked in stunned silence at the sudden chaos.
Tteoksoon-i, carrying me over her shoulder, shouted,
"Master's turning to stone!"
"Not yet, you idiot."
Geum Taeyang and Tteoksoon-i zigzagged through paths for a good while before finally stopping.
"Looks like we shook her off, sir."
By then, my entire body except my head had hardened.
"Master!"
"Master! Are you alright?!"
The two stared at me in a panic and asked frantically. From the outside, I must've looked half-statue.
"No. Of course I'm not."
"What do we do? What do we do?!"
"C-calm down, Tteoksoon-i. There has to be a way."
The two stamped their feet in distress, at a loss. My eyes fell on what Tteoksoon-i was holding.
"Tteoksoon-i."
"Yes, Master."
"What's that in your hand?"
"Oh, I just grabbed it 'cause it looked tasty…"
It was a leftover piece of cake. Specifically, the one I'd made: Clear Blue Watermelon Whipped Cream Cake.
When the hell did she snag that in the chaos?
Anyway, perfect. Made with clear blue watermelon, it should have status recovery effects, I remembered.
"Tteoksoon-i!"
"Yes!"
"Shove that in my mouth!"
"Huh? This?"
"Yeah! Hurry!"
The paralysis was creeping up to my mouth.
"B-but…"
Tteoksoon-i eyed the cake reluctantly, like it was a shame to waste it.
"Throw it!"
"Yes, sir!"
Splat— The cake smacked my face and fell off. I quickly swallowed the bit that made it into my mouth.
"……."
"……."
As the two watched tensely, my stiffened limbs began to loosen.
"…Wasn't that a bit too hard?"
"S-sorry!"
"Kidding. Good job."
But Tteoksoon-i still fidgeted, staring at me intently.
"I'm fine, really."
"M-Master."
"Yeah?"
"Truth is… I've always admired you. Just one little kiss and…"
She inched her face closer—specifically, her lips.
"Don't eat the cake off my face."
"Ah, yes, sir."
* * *
"How many times is this now…"
From the peak of the 13th sudden ridge, Baek Bal Baek Jung scanned the surroundings and finally spotted a spot sparser than the surrounding forest.
"There it is!"
Once he knew the location, getting there was a breeze. Baek Bal Baek Jung kicked off the mountaintop and soared like a bird straight to his target.
-Thud.
Landing on the grassy field, Baek Bal Baek Jung looked around. It was a garden. Deserted.
Trickle-trickle—
Only the sound of flowing stream water echoed quietly.
"Where are you? I know you're here."
Baek Bal Baek Jung glanced around and locked eyes with a statue.
"……?"
He passed it without a second thought.
"Should I track her?"
Brushing back his hair and muttering, he scanned the ground for traces. Soon, he found a patch of flattened grass.
"Someone was lying here. Not long ago."
Following the trail, Baek Bal Baek Jung noticed something else.
"Hurried footsteps. Ran off somewhere in a panic. Why?"
He checked the surroundings. Footprints scattered chaotically.
"Being chased, probably. By something?"
But the prints were odd.
"Definitely human feet, but not human. Too heavy for a person."
Baek Bal Baek Jung looked up and met eyes with another statue.
The statue stared straight back at him.
"……?"
A hypothesis flashed in his mind. He chuckled and shook his head.
"Nah, no way."
He followed the suspicious footprints with his eyes. They led straight to the statue staring at him.
"……."
Baek Bal Baek Jung quickly scanned the area. Every statue was facing him.
His heart dropped.
Creak— creeeak—
The statues began to rise one by one. In a scene straight out of a horror flick, Rank 10 Baek Bal Baek Jung screamed like a little girl and bolted.
"Kyaaah!"
* * *
"Master. What now?"
"Give me a sec to think."
Geum Taeyang fretted over when the gardener might return, but first, he needed to sort his thoughts.
Lilac. She clearly wanted me to kill her.
She'd even quested me to do it, after all.
But then she gave up with a sad face and tried to turn me to stone.
Why? Why?
She wants to die but can't do it herself.
She hoped I'd do it, but it was too late…
Her desires clash with her duties. She wants death, but duty demands she must not die…
If "let me out of here" doesn't mean literally freeing her, but something else…?
A hypothesis hit me.
No way…?
Crack!
Suddenly, a grass wall petrified with a crunch, and giant shears burst through. The wall crumbled, revealing a passage.
"Master! Behind me!"
Geum Taeyang thrust out his shield and stepped forward.
From behind the wall emerged Lilac herself.
Green overalls. Giant gardener's shears. Wide-brimmed straw hat.
And the necklace emitting ominous green light.
"Master!"
"No, we don't run. We fight here."
"Yes, sir!"
"Dark Chef."
I hurriedly drew in darkness to buff Geum Taeyang and Tteoksoon-i. Geum Taeyang shielded me, while Tteoksoon-i—now faintly red in spots—whipped red threads like the wind.
But the invisible-fast threads froze midair in her ominous green glow.
"……!"
Tteoksoon-i's eyes widened.
"Cooking Throw!"
I hurled food with all my might, but even that froze in the green light and dropped limply.
Lilac, eyes gleaming green, glared at me with verdant irises.
Geum Taeyang blocked the gaze with his shield, which began to crackle and harden.
"Summon! Take this!"
I chucked the Moonlight Frying Pan.
Vrrr—
Lilac glared hard at it, but no use. The pan was indestructible.
Caught off-guard as petrification failed, she swatted it away with her shears.
Clang—
Close, but not pointless. It drew her eyes.
Tteoksoon-i darted inside in a flash, fist wrapped in red threads, thrusting like lightning.
"Hah!"
Thud—
"Eh…?"
But that was it. Tteoksoon-i's perfect strike was blocked effortlessly—with one finger.
Damn.
I'd expected it. A monster surviving from ancient times to now— the necklace wasn't her only power.
But this is ridiculous? Necklace is OP enough, and she's this strong on top?
Lilac glared fiercely at Tteoksoon-i with green-glowing eyes. Tteoksoon-i froze like a mouse before a cat.
"M-Master! I can't move—"
"Tteoksoon-i!"
Her last words. She turned to stone.
"Master… sorry…"
"Geum Taeyang!"
Even he, shielding me, succumbed as petrification spread.
Step— step—
Lilac walked past the statues toward me.
"N-no."
Step— step—
I summoned the ladle to snag the necklace, but pointless. Meeting her emerald-green eyes froze my limbs like rock.
"Should've grabbed the chance, dumb chef."
Her glowing green gaze fixed on me. Hands hardened, legs next.
No escape now.
Lilac approached, gripped my chin, and peered into my eyes.
"Hura. Any last words? Speak, and I'll listen."
"……."
I stared silently into those sparkling emerald eyes.
"Nothing? Then—"
"Sorry."
Her green eyes widened.
"…What?"
"Sorry, Lilac."
"Sorry for what? I'm your enemy. I've stoned your friends, and now you."
"I'm not smart or strong. I figured out your intent too late. By the time I did, it was too late, and I'm too weak to grant your wish."
"Shut up. What do you know? What's my wish?"
"Death."
"……!"
Looking into those bulging emerald eyes, I spoke slowly.
"That long time must've been hell. Lonely. By the end, all those feelings crumbled like sand, leaving just a desire to end it."
"…Shut up."
"You wanted eternal rest."
"Shut that mouth! You know nothing!"
"Hundreds—no, thousands of years. Tending and guarding the garden on Minare's orders, growing wearier by the day."
"I said shut up!"
Lilac glared murderously, screaming shrilly. But she couldn't.
I'm the only one who can understand her in this world now.
"So you lured the rare visitor into the maze, revealed your weakness indirectly. Not blatantly, but enough. Pretended not to notice, even gave a chance to steal the necklace."
"……."
Lilac just glared now.
"Up to there, it was fine. Not violating duty outright. If you'd stolen it and stoned me instead, you could claim the clever intruder outsmarted the dungeon boss—unavoidable."
"……."
"But witnessing me hesitate to take it changed everything. Duty is duty."
"……."
"You delayed on purpose, gave me seconds, but this idiot just complimented the necklace instead. Too late—way too late."
"…Why."
"Sorry."
"Why! Why! You babble so well now!"
Lilac grabbed my collar and bellowed.
"You stupid chef! Great at cooking, zero awareness!"
"…Thanks."
"Not a compliment!"
"Sorry."
Lilac bit her lip, eyes welling up as she glared. Like emeralds drowned in water.
"…Intruders pay with eternal death for invading the emperor's garden. Serve as statues, tending it forever."
"I'll put in a good word for you."
"…Hura. Become my statue."
Whoosh—
Then it came—a sound slicing the air. The maze cleaved in half.
Rumble—
Branches and leaves from the towering walls rained down noisily. Every green wall sliced to just above human height.
A low voice followed.
"Ah. There you are."
Before Lilac could turn, thunk— an arrow embedded in her temple.
Lilac smiled faintly.
"This time… truly unavoidable……."
Thud.
She collapsed.