The Frenzied Party

"Chief! I'm here!"

"You again?"

Susia.

A founding member of the Evaluation Department's Third Division, an eighth-grade civil servant, and the young lady of a ducal house. She was the office snack thief. By this point, the tower of snacks she'd stolen could have reached the ceiling.

"Today's cookies have cinnamon sprinkled on them? I'll just have one."

"Wow, honey-drizzled fruit! It's in season so it's extra delicious right now. Can I have just one?"

"Tarts! How did you know these are my absolute favorite? They look amazing. Can I eat one? Just one?"

She was a one-bite monster. A one-bite monster referred to those criminals who, upon seeing you eating something, would claim they'd only take one bite before devouring everything and vanishing.

In truth, the one-bite monster behavior could be considered cute. The office snacks were quite abundant, and adding one extra mouth to feed wouldn't make much difference.

That was true until Susia underwent her dark evolution.

"Hmm... The dough ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠seems a bit underbaked today. Not very good."

"The fruit is a little tart, isn't it?"

"Ugh. I shouldn't have bothered."

Susia had ultimately become a 'one-bite critic monster.'

One-bite critic monster.

The dark evolution form of the one-bite monster.

Not only would she come over to take a bite of something that wasn't hers, but she'd then freely critique it before casually disappearing.

"Lia. Ban Susia from entering the office from now on."

"Understood."

The next day.

"Chief! Chief! I was wrong! Please let me in! I swear I'll never do it again!"

Susia pounded desperately on the locked door, but Askal ignored her with cold indifference.

She never should have crossed that line.

A few days later, Askal happened to encounter Susia in the corridor.

"C-Chief... I baked some cookies myself. Would you like to try one?"

Her eyes were slightly withdrawn as she held out the cookies. She looked like a poodle carefully watching its owner's mood.

"They don't taste good."

Askal took a bite and delivered the verdict coldly.

Strictly speaking, they were perfectly average. However, given how exceptionally high the average quality of office snacks was, they felt relatively poor by comparison.

Her pride stung, Susia raised an eyebrow.

"Then why don't you bake some, Chief?"

"You want me to make cookies?"

"Yes. I'm sure the ones you bake will taste worse than mine."

Askal let out a hearty laugh.

"If the cookies I bake taste better than yours, I'll wager your permanent ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ban from my office on it."

It was a statement overflowing with confidence. Susia flinched, ready to back down, but a scheme suddenly flashed through her mind.

Our house has the empire's finest patissier and the best ingredients anyway. I can just have them make it instead.

Having finished her calculations, Susia declared triumphantly.

"Fine. Then if I win, I get to devour every single snack in your office without complaint, right?"

"Do as you please."

"Then let's hold the contest in one week at my house. I'll invite the judges myself. To ensure fairness."

Askal accepted. No matter what tricks Susia pulled, he had zero confidence of losing. After all, his previous life had included working at a bakery.

Crushing such amateur cookies would be child's play.

However, Askal had no idea what kind of snowball this cookie contest was about to become...

"I hear the Senestia Ducal House is hosting a banquet."

"The Senestia Duke himself? That will certainly be a major opportunity. I must attend."

Susia was a woman who thought big. Since they were having a cookie contest anyway, she figured the more spectators the better. Why not turn it into a lively, noisy party that everyone could enjoy together?

That had been her initial thought.

At least until high-ranking officials from every stratum of the empire began expressing their intent to attend, one after another.

The list made Susia's hands tremble violently.

Count Tehern was a formidable knight in his own right and the head of a powerful house that commanded the empire's renowned Lavender Knights. Viscount Yorick possessed the empire's most fertile lands and wielded enormous economic influence. Marquis Haval was a close friend of Duke Senestia and a high-ranking noble with decades of accumulated prestige.

"This... this has to be the end of it, right? With just these people, it's still manageable."

But rumors spread quickly, and naturally, they reached even the Crown Prince's ears.

Cain smiled as he looked over the guest list.

"My, my. What scheme are our dear uncles cooking up this time? I'll have to send someone to eavesdrop."

The Crown Prince of the empire was a busy man. No matter how prestigious the gathering, he couldn't easily clear his entire schedule for a mere party.

"They say Askal Debre is attending the party as well."

But if the value was high enough, the story changed. Before his aide could even finish speaking, Cain declared.

"Tell Duke Senestia! I will attend!"

Crown Prince Cain had joined the party.

Second Princess Serena sat in a plush chair, reading the report sent by her spy.

"Hmm. I wonder what wind blew into my brother this time? A man that busy attending a simple party? Something smells fishy."

The names on the attendance list were certainly intriguing. Each one was a heavyweight capable of moving the empire.

Many people said the next emperor would naturally be Cain.

But Serena had not given up yet. Even the most outstanding individuals revealed cracks if they were human. And Serena was always ready to find those gaps and bite down hard. For that purpose, she kept her ears constantly open.

There was no way Serena would miss an event like this. Results always followed action.

"I will attend the party. And tell the dressing room to prepare the most expensive dress."

Besides, if it was going to be such a massive party, perhaps that person might appear.

She couldn't deny that this tiny spark of hope had influenced her decision.

And so, Second Princess Serena joined the party as well.

Askal had been busy since early that holiday morning.

What was most important when making cookies?

The ingredients, obviously. Anyone who thought it was sincerity should go back and take a beginner confectionery class.

"Good. This much flour should be enough."

After visiting several shops to select the perfect flour, Askal moved on to buy butter and eggs.

For some reason, the square was unusually crowded. It was normally lively with chatting aunties at this hour, but today the noise felt twice as intense.

Hmm. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Askal nodded as he listened to the chatter. So the Crown Prince and Second Princess were attending. It had nothing to do with him. He needed to focus on the cookie contest.

Just as he was about to walk past naturally, a comment he couldn't ignore reached his ears.

"They say the Third Princess, Lady Julia, is attending this time too?"

And so, the legendary Third Princess Julia—who rarely showed herself in public—joined the party.

The empire's gossips grew frenzied. What secret could possibly be hidden in this party? What kind of mystery would draw every single one of these heavyweights?

Lia is a princess too. She must be busy.

They were all formidable names. If an ordinary person like himself attended such an event, he'd be crushed like a shrimp caught between whales.

Well, it's not my problem.

Askal hummed cheerfully as he selected the butter. Looking at his shopping basket full of ingredients brought a sense of satisfaction. Time to head home and practice.

First, he preheated the magic stone oven.

While it warmed, he delicately mixed the purchased sugar with the butter, then added the eggs once they were somewhat combined and mixed everything together. Next, he gradually incorporated the flour, mixing thoroughly until it formed a proper cookie dough.

Once it reached the right consistency, he used tools to cut the dough into small, round shapes. He placed the cut dough onto a greased sheet and slid it into the preheated oven.

"Whew."

Even after all this time, his skills hadn't rusted. After some time passed, the cookies began to take on a golden-brown hue. Askal removed the perfectly firm cookies and set the sheet outside to cool.

Crunch.

"As expected, using good ingredients makes all the difference. This should be an easy win."

Askal smiled, savoring the perfectly completed cookies with satisfaction.

"I'm already looking forward to seeing the look on Susia's face when she realizes she's lost."

But Askal had no idea that Susia had already gone far beyond a mere long face—she was now wearing the expression of someone facing death while preparing the largest party in history. Nor did he know that she was so busy she didn't even have time to inform him of the situation...