The Sun's Jelly
After the visit to the graves, the air in the Imperial Palace had changed. The suffocating weight of guilt that had been crushing them seemed to have lightened, if only a little.
Old wounds did not vanish without a trace overnight. A faint bitterness still lingered like thorns on the faces of Karsion, Demian, and Kailian.
The scene in the office was much the same. The Emperor silently reviewed his documents, while Demian gazed out the window, lost in thought.
"Kyau..."
Something's missing.
I lay on the sofa watching them, flicking my tail. Thanks to everything that had happened at the cemetery yesterday, they had come a long way from their trauma—but they still weren't quite at the point of laughing with real energy.
This is when you need sugar. When people are depressed, they need something sweet. And I'm hungry too.
"Blanc. Bored?"
As if she had read my mind, Kailian came over, scooped me up, and buried her face in my belly, drawing in a deep breath.
"Our Blanc did such a wonderful thing yesterday. We should give you a reward. Let's go to the kitchen and beg for something delicious."
"Kyau!"
Yes! Let's bring some back for Demian and the Emperor too!
I nodded at once and planted my front paws on her shoulder.
"Your Highness! Divine Beast!"
The kitchen, busy with lunch preparations, froze for a moment. The head chef in his white hat came running, flour still dusting his hands.
"What brings you here? If you needed something, you could have simply called..."
"It's nothing. We came for a walk. Our Blanc seems a little peckish, so I thought I'd see if there was anything tasty."
Kailian gently set me down on the table. The kitchen was heaven. The savory smell of butter, the sweet scent of vanilla, and the salty aroma of roasting meat all teased at my nose.
I sniffed my way around, exploring. The chefs busily offered up the finest snacks—salmon cubes, chicken breast jerky—all of it excellent. But it was a large wooden tub in the corner, sitting beside the warm oven, that captured my gaze. Inside it, white flour dough had puffed up, plump and cloudlike.
"......!"
I approached the wooden tub as if bewitched. The sour, savory smell of yeast at work. And above all, that overwhelming look of it. That squishy softness, like a cloud torn from the sky and set down right there, seized my instincts by the throat.
I want to touch it. I want to bury my paws in it.
My feline DNA stirred. I could not hold back. This is just... the dough calling for paw kneading. It's the dough's fault.
I carefully checked my surroundings. Kailian and the chef were absorbed in choosing from the menu. This is my chance.
I was about to poke a front paw into the flour dough when I stopped. There was a problem. I was an educated tiger. No matter how clean I kept myself, stepping barefoot on food people were going to eat was rude. There might be invisible dust on my paw pad jelly.
"Kyua."
What do I do? Should I go wash up?
Then a scene of Lina praying flashed through my mind. Whenever she prayed or bestowed a blessing, a white light would always gather at her fingertips.
May this sacred power purify all impurity...
I remembered what Lina had said. Divine power was the purest energy, wasn't it? Then neither germs nor dust should be able to come near it.
That's it!
Yes. I'll coat my paws in divine power and then knead. Hygiene gloves made of sacred energy.
I closed my eyes and drew up the divine power writhing inside my body.
A low hum. White light began to swirl around my front paws. Like slipping on a pair of white gloves, the divine power wrapped my feet without a single gap.
"Kyau."
Perfect. I could perform surgery like this.
I smiled in satisfaction and carefully climbed onto the wooden tub. Then I set my right front paw, coated in divine power, down onto the white dough.
Squelch.
"Kyaa..."
This texture is insane!
That feeling of my paw sinking right in. Neither cold nor hot—just the right lukewarm, chewy sensation, transmitted vividly through the membrane of divine power to my paw pad jelly. It was as if all the softness in the world had been condensed into this one place.
I put the other paw in too. Left, right. Left, right.
Press. Press. Press. Press.
As I worked the dough, a rhythm emerged. It sank with my kneading, then bounced back, springy and plump. The elasticity was so much fun I could not stop. The divine power wrapping my paws seeped naturally into the dough with every contact. Pure white sacred energy burrowed between the grains of flour.
Sparkle. Sparkle.
Wherever the dough was touched, it glowed with a faint light, but I paid it no mind. Only this softness ruled me.
"Purrrr... grrr..."
"Oh my...?"
Kailian's voice came from beside me.
"Blanc? What are you doing over there?"
"Huk! Divine Beast! That's bread dough!"
The chef came running in horror. I startled and stopped my paws. Oops. I got too absorbed.
"Kyaung."
No, that's not it. I cleaned them first before I touched it. It's not dirty.
I held up my still-glowing front paws as if to protest my innocence. But the chef peered into the dough tub with a woeful expression.
"Aigoo, what am I to do—this is the dough for His Majesty's pre-meal bread... it's all ruined... huh?"
The chef's eyes went wide as he looked at the dough.
"Chef? What's wrong?"
"Your Highness... look at this dough."
Kailian and the chef peered into the tub at the same time. The dough I had stepped on, far from being ruined, was displaying a strangely beautiful form.
"Kyau..."
Wow. It looks delicious.
The entire mass glowed with a faint golden light, as if it were breathing on its own. The fermentation was so perfect that the surface gleamed as smooth and glossy as a baby's bottom.
Did the divine power help the fermentation along?
"Good heavens... the dough is glowing?"
"The Divine Beast... kneaded it with divine power on his paws."
The chef pressed the dough with trembling hands. The moment his fingers touched it—boing!—it bounced back with a lively elasticity.
"This is... the finest dough of my life. No—this must be the finest dough in history!"
"Our Blanc... really can't do anything except climb into boxes, can he?"
Kailian burst out laughing and stroked my head. I puffed up with pride and let the divine power on my front paws fade.
"Chef. Let's bake it right now. I'm dying to know how it tastes."
"Yes! I'll bake it with my very soul on the line!"
The chef carried the dough to the oven as carefully as if he were handling a holy relic.
A short while later, freshly baked bread was pulled from the oven. Its golden-brown form was dazzling. The chef, declaring he would check the loaf's condition, solemnly raised his fist.
Surely not?
Our ominous premonition hit the mark. Without a shred of hesitation, the chef slammed his fist straight into the center of the bread.
Thud!
"Kyaak!"
"Eek!"
Kailian's eyes went round with shock, and I startled so hard my little chin jerked up. He punched a finished loaf of bread?
The bread seemed to dent deeply in the shape of his fist—and then a strange phenomenon occurred.
Sliiiip—pop!
The flattened loaf slowly puffed back up, restoring itself completely. Overwhelming elasticity, born of dough kneaded with divine power.
"Th-this can't be!"
The chef cried out, tears standing in his eyes.
"It's perfect! Baked through without a single gap, wonderfully chewy all the way to the inside!"
"Kyau..."
Somehow, I feel like there isn't a single normal person in this palace.
Evening mealtime. The Emperor, Demian, and Kailian sat at the long dining table. The meal began in an atmosphere that was still a little subdued.
"What is on the menu today?"
The Emperor asked, his tone dry.
"Yes, Your Majesty. Today... we have prepared a very special pre-meal bread."
Attendants entered carrying silver trays. The moment the lids opened, the air in the dining hall changed.
Fragrance burst forth.
Not simply the savory smell of bread, but the warm scent of sunlight, the perfume of freshly bloomed flowers, and that gentle healing energy we had felt yesterday—all of it exploding outward in a single mixed aroma.
"What... is this scent?"
Demian stared at the bread with startled eyes. The golden-brown loaf was shining gold. It looked like ordinary bread, but its presence was more intense than any food on the table.
"It's a special bread that Lord Blanc personally kneaded with divine power."
Kailian propped her chin on her hand, grinning, and pointed at me. I was sitting in my dedicated chair at one end of the table, wearing a bib.
"Kyau."
It's bread I kneaded with the sun's front paws. It'll be delicious.
"Blanc...?"
The Emperor picked up the bread with curious eyes. The warmth of a freshly baked loaf traveled through his fingertips—and strangely, that warmth seemed to spread through his veins into his entire body.
The Emperor slowly took a bite.
"......!"
His eyes widened. With a crisp sound the crust shattered, and the chewy, moist interior touched his tongue. The flavor... melted. There was no need to chew. The moment it entered his mouth, the bread became a soft light spreading through his whole body. The flour imbued with divine power, the instant it reached his stomach, warmed his insides like a cozy stove.
In that moment, what rose in the Emperor's mind was not an impression of deliciousness.
"Ah..."
A memory of a warm spring day. That peaceful afternoon sunlight when the children were young, playing in the garden. The warmth of the children's last farewell he had felt at the cemetery yesterday. The memories of his happiest moments flickered past like a panorama.
The bitter residue remaining in a corner of his chest vanished as if melting snow. Sweet comfort filled his mouth.
"This is..."
The Emperor murmured in a trembling voice.
Demian's reaction beside him was similar. He stared blankly into space, then let out a short laugh. His fatigue had vanished completely, replaced by a comfort as if his whole body had received a refreshing massage.
"It reminds me of... playing with my younger siblings. Like a cool glass of water after working up a sweat... so refreshing and warm."
Demian demolished an entire loaf in an instant and smacked his lips as if wanting more.
"It's really delicious! It's on a completely different level from what the chef makes!"
Kailian marveled as she chewed.
"Blanc, what even are you? Are you a baker now too?"
"Kyaung."
I am pretty versatile.
I snorted and tore into the bread that had been served as my portion. Mm. Definitely delicious. The divine power coating had been a stroke of genius. It hadn't been simple paw kneading—I had infused it directly with sacred energy, so of course it would taste good.
"Hahaha! Our Blanc really can't do anything wrong. Performing miracles, and now mastering cooking as well."
The Emperor laughed heartily. The gloomy expression from earlier was nowhere to be seen. He picked up another piece of bread and said,
"Summon the chef! This bread shall be designated an official imperial menu item."
The chef who was summoned had to stand there sweating, a thoroughly troubled look on his face.
"Your Majesty... that is... there is no recipe. That bread's flavor is only possible with the Divine Beast's sacred paw pad jelly..."
"What? Then if We wish to taste this again, We must ask it of Blanc?"
"That is so..."
The gazes of the Emperor, Demian, and Kailian all locked onto me at once. Their eyes were pleading. They looked like puppies begging for treats.
Hey, I'm the beast here? You're trying to make me cook?
I pretended not to notice and brushed off the bread crumbs.
"Blanc~ just one more time. Hm? I want to eat it tomorrow too."
Kailian poked my cheek, putting on her sweetest act.
"I ask this of you, Blanc. I shall open my jerky storehouse to you."
"Kyau...."
Opening the jerky storehouse...
I pretended to think it over, then nodded as if I couldn't possibly refuse. Well. Not a bad offer. Stepping on that squishy dough had been pretty fun for me too. And if I coated my paws in divine power, they didn't even get dirty.
"Kyau!"
Deal!
I raised a front paw and high-fived the Emperor.
From the next day on, whenever I appeared in the kitchen, the chefs lined up holding dough tubs.
"Divine Beast! This is the sandwich loaf dough! Please, just step on it once!"
"We have croissant dough here too! Bestow upon us the grace of your jelly!"
"I have my back... no! Baguette dough!"
"Kyaaaak!"
Out of the way! I came here to eat! I didn't come here to work!