The Boundary Between Completion and Incompletion
The boundary between completion and incompletion—Hwahwahwahwahwah…!!! A fierce blaze erupts from the oven. The crimson glare is so bright it nearly blinds me. The meager campfire-like heat from before has vanished, replaced by a roaring camp-style fire that burns with an intense glow. It looks as if a fire spirit has made its nest inside the oven. Even keeping a safe distance, sweat trickles down my back. It feels noticeably hotter than last time. Raylin’s breath is truly something else. Once again, she has turned the impossible into reality.
“Whew, the oven’s bigger this time, huh? I never thought I’d actually use Infernal Breath for something like this.”
Raylin wipes her lips with the back of her hand after igniting the oven and mutters to herself. She must have put more power into it than she realized. No wonder the heat is so extraordinary. And Infernal Breath? That must be the name of her unique technique, just like Derke’s Wraith Legion. Thanks to her, energy surges through my entire body. The Flame Dragon’s Heat has activated again. Maybe it’s also thanks to the doubled stats. A sense of invincibility floods my veins. ‘I want to wrap this up quickly. Besides, I don’t want to lose to that lizard.’
Confidence overflows even without the Flame Dragon’s Heat. With both Derke and Raylin here, victory is already in the bag.
“Hwahwaa… I used a little power and now I’m hungry again. Weekend training really crosses the line……”
“Nuna? I’ll make something delicious for you right away! So please help us again this time!”
“Hwahwat—?! H-Hey, Whitey?”
I return the buff to Raylin with a single word: “Nuna.” The moment that title leaves my lips, Raylin’s eyes sparkle. Fire ignites in her once-cooling red pupils. Her gaze says she would do anything for me.
“You’ll… do it for me, right?”
“…Y-Yeah! O-Of course! I’ll do anything for you—!!”
Raylin rolls up her sleeves with renewed fighting spirit. Clatter! She lifts the tray of disk-shaped dough with ease, ready to bake it in the superheated oven just like the pizza last time. Her motivation is fully recharged. The word “nuna” really is powerful—it can even rekindle a flame that was dying from exhaustion.
“O-Oppa—?! N-Nuna…? How can you say that……?”
But there are side effects. I couldn’t buff everyone. Derke, shocked by the word “nuna,” droops her shoulders.
“Derke, are you okay?”
“Not okay at all—desuyong……”
“Derke, listen—”
“Derke already knows why Oppa did it—desuyong! I know calling her nuna isn’t wrong, but… seeing Oppa act so kind to someone else besides Derke makes me feel weird—desuyong……”
Derke lowers her head with a sad expression, clutching her modest chest with both hands. “It feels like something’s poking right here……” she murmurs, her face twisted in pain. She’s jealous of Raylin. Even if she’s accepted her place in the hierarchy, the title “nuna” is an entirely different matter.
“……”
Derke glares at me with a thoroughly sulky look.
“Sorry. I’ll be more careful from now on.”
“It’s fine—desuyong…! Calling her nuna… isn’t wrong, so Oppa can do whatever he wants—desuyong!”
Derke puffs out her cheeks and looks away. Anyone can see she’s completely miffed. If I leave her like this, something irreversible might happen. If I don’t cheer her up right away, the Death Dragon might hold a grudge against me for life.
‘We can’t fall apart the moment we all gather together.’
Plus, time is running out. The young ladies who finished eating are starting to stand up one by one.
“Derke? I’m sorry, so… I’ll grant you one wish instead.”
“Huu? A-A wish…?”
Derke, who had turned away as if she wouldn’t speak to me, reacts instantly.
“Yeah. If it’s something you want to eat, or anything else I can do, I’ll grant it.”
“Haaah……?”
“How about it? Sounds good, right?”
“I-I like it—desuyong! R-Really, anything is possible—desuyong?!”
At the word “wish,” life returns to Derke’s eyes. She really is simple, just like a young hatchling. I wonder what kind of wish she’s thinking of. Probably something like asking me to make a super-sweet dessert covered in star candy. That’s something I can do anytime.
“Of course! If it’s something I can do, anything goes! So please understand about the ‘nuna’ thing, okay?”
“I understand—desuyong! It’s a promise—desuyong…!”
Thump! Derke grabs my hand and hooks her pinky finger around mine without hesitation. Clink, tap!
Puff, puff, puff…!
“Whitey? Is this the last batch? Nothing else left?”
After calming Derke down, I hear Raylin’s voice. When I turn around, she has already baked all the dough in an instant—and perfectly, evenly cooked. Steam rises from the deliciously baked chocolate bread.
“No. We need to bake a few more for backup.”
“Huh? There doesn’t seem to be any dough left.”
“Just a moment. I’ll make more right away. Derke?”
“Ung—?”
“Can you ask the wraiths to keep piping the dough? And you spread cream inside the baked pies. I’ll handle the finishing touches.”
“Whitey, what about me?”
“Just like I said earlier—bake the new dough on the tray as soon as it’s ready!”
“Aha! Got it! Controlling the fire is easy for me!”
With Raylin joining in, everything moves smoothly. The division of labor is perfectly organized. At this rate, we should finish right on time.
Whoosh, stretch…!
Whenever Derke and the wraiths pipe fresh dough onto the tray, Raylin immediately bakes it in the oven and passes it to me. All I have to do is finish them. The pies are so hot from Raylin’s heat that I can feel the scorching wind rising from them. Oven mitts are no longer optional—they’re mandatory.
“N-No way…! There’s no way you could bake them this fast……?!”
“Hm?”
While I’m putting on the oven mitts, Maruti’s voice suddenly rings out. The guy who had been spying on us stands there with his mouth wide open in shock. He can’t believe what he’s seeing.
“What’s wrong? Something bothering you?”
“T-This is cheating! Getting help from the young ladies?!”
Maruti lowers his voice to protest—only to me, the easiest target. His face is flushed with frustration, but he can’t raise his voice. He’s too busy watching Derke and Raylin to speak loudly.
“Cheating? You have three people. We have three people. Seems fair to me.”
“B-But…!”
“Besides, I’m the only one here who knows how to make desserts. Is that a problem? If anything, you guys have the advantage.”
“Krrgh…!”
Maruti grinds his teeth, unable to respond. He looks genuinely threatened.
“Stop bothering us and get going before I call the young ladies over.”
“Tch…! I don’t know what you’re making, but it won’t work on us!”
Maruti throws one last proud remark over his shoulder and spins around. Just then, a voice comes from the kitchen across the way: “Chef! The chocolate has hardened!” They’re using chocolate too. From the atmosphere, it looks like they’ve already finished. I need to hurry as well.
Now that we’ve started, the remaining steps are simpler than expected.
Clink…!
Squiiish…!
After taking the disk-shaped pie out of the oven, I pipe whipped cream inside and seal it. The original chocolate pie recipe called for marshmallows, but since we don’t have any, I’m using sweet whipped cream instead. There’s even a commercial version of chocolate pie that uses cream instead of marshmallows, and I remember it being more premium and expensive. Now I just need to coat the outside with melted chocolate and it’s almost done.
Drip…!
Dark chocolate spreads over the surface, giving it an appetizing sheen. The gloss reflecting under the kitchen lights looks almost ethereal. For a moment, it feels like I’ve just bought a brand-new black luxury sedan.
But it’s not finished yet.
Drip, drip…!
I fill a piping bag with chocolate mixed with a little milk to create a lighter brown liquid chocolate. What for? Since this is for all the young ladies across every grade, I’m going to do some decoration.
Swish, swish…!
I draw two pig-tail-shaped patterns across the still-sticky chocolate pie, top to bottom—exactly the familiar visual I remember.
“Whew, I don’t think I’ve ever put this much care into anything before.”
Anyway… it’s finally complete! The signature snack of religious events—chocolate pie! I’ve only finished one tray so far, but the feeling is refreshing. I’m also curious how many stars this dessert will earn. With both Derke’s and Raylin’s special buffs stacked, a high rating is practically guaranteed.
……
But something feels off. Why isn’t the system message appearing? I’m sure I completed it properly……?