I Trust It Completely
Sssszzz...
"Waaah..."
Fwoosh! Bubble, bubble...
Gulp.
"Um, when will it be ready?"
"Just a little longer."
"Can I help with anyth—"
Chop!
The kitchen knife came down, shearing away part of Betari's right claw.
The blade rose and fell again without pause.
"Please hold still."
"Yes, ma'am."
Betari sat back down meekly.
Her hands flew, and the dishes came together one after another.
I'd told everyone to sit still and wait, but apparently that was beyond them—they started dividing up the appetizers and side dishes I'd set aside into easy, grab-and-eat portions.
"Ahem."
"This is torture..."
Not that there was much left for them to do—the resort staff had prepped nearly everything in advance—but still.
For my final dish, I tasted the crab soup brimming with all manner of seafood.
"Mmm."
Delicious.
After ladling out portions for everyone, I took my own seat.
"Go ahead and eat."
"Thank you for the food!"
"Thanks, sis— I mean, Boss!"
"Time to dig in!"
Everyone took a bite—some spooning up soup, some carving into the crab meat.
And then every single one of them froze.
"......Wow."
The first to speak was Jjoa, mouth still full of soup.
"Waaah—aaah—waaahhh..."
"How is it?"
"It's SO gooddddd... crab is supposed to taste like this?"
"Wow, is this even real?"
"How can it be this..."
"Incredible."
With Jjoa leading the charge, the words came pouring out of everyone at once—and then they all rushed to shovel more food into their mouths.
I watched them fondly while checking the chat window.
"Yes, I just cook a lot in my free time. It's not some drug, come on. I simply made it tasty, that's all."
If my skills really were drug-grade, well, that couldn't be helped.
I said it with a smile, and the chat promptly erupted.
I'd had no choice but to learn how to cook.
Traveling a world consumed by war, finding a properly made meal was a luxury.
And with not so much as a single spicy ingredient to be found anywhere, that went without saying.
So I spent a long stretch of years learning to cook, making meals whenever the chance allowed, and cooking for others too.
My body could survive without eating—but the joy of a good meal mattered all the same.
Clatter. Clatter.
By the time I finished trading words with the chat, most of the food I'd served out had already vanished.
"Um..."
"There's plenty, so help yourselves to more."
After spooning out fresh portions for everyone, I took a sip of the soup myself.
Mmm.
Delicious, as expected.
It was delicious.
"Thank you for the meal!"
The feast was over.
Every last shred of those proud, meaty claws had been picked clean, and the others, clearly unsatisfied, went so far as to scrape their bowls for even one more drop of broth.
Maybe I should have cracked them open a little more after all.
"I'm going to chat for a bit and then end the stream. I'll turn it back on tomorrow—I'll let you know what we're doing then."
After a quick round of goodbyes, I gave the editors and managers a moment to each say a few words of their own.
They all spoke stiffly, awkwardly.
I watched them, finding it utterly adorable, until the last in line—White Autumn—stepped forward.
White Autumn came up front and flashed a big grin.
"Hehe. I played in the water with the Boss earlier, you know~"
"You're curious, aren't you?"
"......She didn't wear one."
I stuffed White Autumn back into line before she could spiral any further.
...Not that I hadn't briefly tried one on in front of the mirror, mind you—but my body rejected it so violently that I'd simply left it behind.
I have absolutely never worn one in front of another soul.
"......And that's the end of today's stream."
The broadcast cut off.
"White Autumn?"
"Y-yes, Boss?"
"Let's have a little chat, you and I."
We were going to have a very deep conversation.
"Eep!"
The resort's interior was enormous.
It was lined wall to wall with every kind of facility—entertainment venues like karaoke rooms, billiard halls, and bowling alleys straight out of the real world, alongside attractions unique to Deoen.
Beep.
I unlocked the door with the card key I'd received in advance and stepped inside.
And truly, it lived up to the title of top-class.
The room was luxurious without being the least bit intimidating, decorated with just enough restraint to make the whole place radiate the feeling of a proper vacation.
I threw myself onto the bed.
Some special Deoen technology had to be woven into it—it felt even more comfortable than anything back on Earth.
I lay staring blankly at the ceiling for a while, then looked down at the card resting in my hand.
Come to think of it, they had said this card could be used to access the 'underground' facilities...
"Shall we go take a look?"
The first floor of Kiki Beach Resort was the lobby.
Aside from the first floor, basement levels two and three held restaurants and service facilities, while floors four through the very top were guest rooms.
And then there was the basement.
Stepping off onto basement level three, I found a second lobby—dim and hushed, bathed in soft ambient light.
An attendant stood quietly at the reception desk.
Unlike the staff upstairs, she was dressed in a jet-black suit.
She was so petite that she looked almost cute, though.
"Welcome. Welcome to Kiki Island's private facility."
"Private? It didn't exactly seem secret to me."
Hadn't they handed me the card outright and told me I could use basement level three?
The attendant answered my question without a flicker of expression.
"That is the name bestowed by the island's master. Therefore, this place is a private facility."
"I see."
So that was how it worked.
At that moment, something Apple Flavor had said came back to me, and I glanced at the attendant's chest.
Five strawberry badges.
Three more than the attendant on the first floor.
"Will you be entering?"
"Yes."
"Your card, please."
I handed it over.
The attendant slid the card through the reader beside the desk, drew it back out, and then held it in her hand for a moment.
The badge swayed.
It lasted only an instant, but I saw something formless pass between the two.
"Here you are."
"What is this for, exactly?"
"You are a guest of the resort. Your card has been credited with 50,000 KP as a base amount. KP is the currency used within the private facility. Once your currency is exhausted, you will no longer be able to use the facility."
I took the card back.
So it really was like a casino?
Sounded like it could be fun.
"Should your currency be depleted, or should it reach a certain threshold, please return to this desk."
"I assume there's a way to recharge it if it runs out—but what threshold exactly are we talking about?"
At my question, the attendant's stone-still expression shifted, just slightly.
Her face looked almost... expectant.
"You will come to know naturally."
I had a feeling she was right.
"?"
Opening the door into the darkened space, I was greeted by a vast hall with soaring ceilings.
Black and red, and gold filling every inch between them.
Crowds of people sat at tables running their games, or hunched before banks of slot machines.
So it truly was a casino.
"Where should I start..."
I liked games of probability, but I'd never actually gambled before.
Money—whether I had it or not—had never meant much to me, and I was hardly someone who hungered for it.
Truthfully, I'd never even had the leisure to spare such amusements a passing thought.
But if I had to pick a place to start, a slot machine would—
Ding-ding-ding-ding-diiing~!
"Huh? Huh! Whaaaaat—three strawberries!!!"
With a bright jingle, a woman shot to her feet.
Despite her considerable volume, nobody paid her much mind.
The people at the neighboring machines only clicked their tongues; the atmosphere gave off no particular censure.
"God, I honestly thought I'd lost it all. And Jjoa's already ranked up and—"
"What are you doing here?"
"?!! Boss?!"
White Autumn, who had vanished after being given her free time, shouted far louder than she had all day.
She'd distinctly said she was headed to the second-floor facilities. Why on earth was she here?
"Didn't you say you were going to the karaoke rooms?"
"Ah, well... the regular facilities turned out to be kind of boring. So I was poking around with Jjoa for something else to do, and they said there was a casino down in the basement."
Hehe.
White Autumn grinned and pulled her card out of the slot machine.
"How much did you win?"
"I only just barely got my 50,000 back. If I hadn't recovered it, I'd have been completely wiped out."
Thank goodness for that. Truly.
Whoosh~! White Autumn let out a long breath, squared her shoulders with newly recovered confidence, and pointed off to the side.
"I'm gonna go try something else now. Want to come with, Boss?"
"Let me try one round of this first."
"Okay!"
I sat down in front of the slot machine.
The moment I settled into the seat, a panel rose up with a low whir.
"You place your card on it."
"Card..."
No sooner had I set the card down than the machine sucked it straight inside.
Fruits began ticking slowly around inside three little tiles.
"Now, enter how much you want to bet on the keypad up front, pull that lever, and off it goes."
"Hmm... then, let's keep it light."
50,000 to my name, so maybe 30,000 or so...
I punched in the number without a second's hesitation and pulled the lever.
Ding-ding-ding-ding-diiing~!
"What?! No, you can't just open with—!"
"I trust it completely."
"Losing 30,000 is a LOT! When I was down to my last 20,000 I barely clawed my way back, and—"
"Jackpot?"
"Oh my god."
Pabababababam!!!
Money came pouring out.