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Chapter 33
Richard opened his mouth and took a bite of Alina’s cotton candy.
The moment it entered his mouth, it melted away before he could even chew.
The cotton candy sold at the local market was unbearably sweet.
The sweetness spreading through his body made Richard shiver slightly without realizing it.
“Sweet.”
At Richard’s words, Alina beamed brightly.
“Yeah, isn’t it?”
She nodded at him and then took a bite herself.
Since the market hadn’t officially opened yet, they had the luxury to relax like this.
“Riese.”
Richard, who had been eating the cotton candy, hesitated for a moment before speaking.
“Actually… I lied just now.”
“Huh?”
When Alina looked at him, Richard put a piece of cotton candy into her mouth.
His fingers brushed against her red lips, and the sweet cotton candy melted inside her mouth.
The thrilling sweetness spread through his body in an instant.
Richard spoke softly to Alina, who had eaten the cotton candy he offered.
“I like you, Riese, far more than something like this.”
Alina’s eyes widened as she looked at Richard. When their gazes met, he smiled brightly.
It was a smile sweeter than cotton candy.
After finishing the cotton candy, the two of them began preparing the market in earnest.
Richard noticed a small oven behind the booth and asked,
“What’s this?”
“It’s a mini pizza oven. Pizzas taste better when baked in here.”
The round, hut-like oven had a small space at the top for putting in and taking out the pizza.
“That’s professional. You can make something like this?”
“I learned from Marlon when I first came to this town.”
Alina rolled out the dough into a circle with a rolling pin as she spoke.
“Maléhark-style pizza didn’t suit my taste, so I tweaked it a bit. The response was good, so I decided to run the market myself every year.”
“Pizza…”
Richard muttered quietly, crossing his arms.
“How did you change it?”
“Try it yourself.”
“I like whatever you make, Riese. Even if it’s pizza.”
Richard answered solemnly. Alina swallowed a laugh at his serious expression.
“Thank you.”
As expected of a Maléhark, that reaction was natural.
Maléhark pizza was not something anyone could call delicious, even as a polite lie.
Alina herself had been shocked the first time she tried Maléhark pizza.
Here, pizzas were made with wafer-thin dough, a pungent mustard sauce, and just a bit of cheese.
Toppings were mostly pickled cucumbers or bell peppers.
The cooked toppings would release soggy juices, soaking the dough into an unappetizing lump.
That was the image of pizza in Maléhark.
Perhaps that’s why pizza wasn’t very popular in Albive when Alina first arrived.
However, after learning to make pizza from Marlon, the situation changed.
Alina used soft, fluffy bread like focaccia instead of paper-thin dough.
She replaced the mustard sauce with rich, homemade tomato sauce.
Toppings varied depending on her mood.
Even though Maléharks cared about vegetable intake, she avoided cooking overly divisive toppings like bell peppers or pickles.
For her pizzas, Alina used ingredients rich in protein, selecting only those that tasted better when baked.
Today, she used thinly sliced, grilled beef steak and fresh, plump shrimp for guests who might not like meat.
The first time she served this pizza, the response was explosive.
Even Marlon, who had taught her how to use the pizza oven, was amazed at the taste.
Not only was he amazed, but he also asked her to sell the pizza at his booth during the market, as his attempts at making it never matched her quality.
“Richard, come over here.”
Alina, who had baked a test pizza, called Richard, who was tidying the table in front of the booth.
Like a loyal dog responding to its master, he came running immediately.
“Yeah, Riese?”
“You must be hungry after all that work, right?”
“No. You told me to do it, so it’s nothing. You said we just need to add the firewood next, right?”
“Yeah. But try this first.”
Richard stared blankly at the food Alina presented.
Since it was made by her, he knew it would taste good, but its appearance was unfamiliar.
A thick, fluffy bread was topped with bright red tomato sauce and generously grilled beef.
The gaps between the beef, mushrooms, and onions were filled with melted white cheese.
“Is this pizza? Doesn’t look like it.”
Richard furrowed his brows, scrutinizing the dish.
She said it was pizza, but this wasn’t the pizza he knew.
The only common feature with regular pizza was cheese on top of bread.
Unlike typical pizzas that sprinkle cheese sparingly until it dries out, this pizza was lavishly topped.
At first glance, it almost looked like cream spread on the bread.
Richard’s mouth watered as he looked at the pizza.
The oils from the cheese and beef glistened on top, making it look irresistibly appetizing.
Steam rose from the pizza, a proof it had just come out of the oven.
Smelling the savory aroma, Richard asked Alina,
“What’s this called?”
“It’s a pizza, but a bit different from the usual Maléhark pizza. Maybe we can call it ‘pizza bread’?”
“Sounds good.”
Richard took a bite without hesitation.
The fluffy bread and stringy white cheese stretched as he bit down.
He neatly sucked up the cheese and chewed the bread.
The soft bread, tender enough for an elder to eat, the rich tomato sauce, and the generous beef steak created an incredible flavor.
The sautéed mushroom toppings were chewy, adding more umami.
“…Riese.”
After eating carefully for a while, Richard quietly called Alina.
Blinking, she waited for his reaction.
“What’s wrong? Don’t you like it?”
“Of course I do. Who made it?”
Richard finished his last bite and continued,
“We should go to the palace immediately. Food like this should be made there and spread across the empire. It should be shown to foreign ambassadors too.”
“I told you, I’m not going back to the palace.”
Alina looked troubled. Richard shouted in frustration at her refusal.
“But it’s a shame for a legendary chef to rot here!”
As soon as he said “legendary chef,” Alina quickly covered his mouth.
“Don’t say that.”
Richard gently removed her hand and said seriously,
“Okay. But remember this: I will protect you from whatever you fear or try to escape from. No matter what it is. So trust me.”
Alina shook her head at his earnest words.
“It’s not that I don’t trust you, Richard.”
“No. You still see me as a poor kid who only eats grass, don’t you?”
“That’s not true.”
“It’s okay for you to see me as a kid. I’ve been your kid for a long time. But that doesn’t mean you can’t trust me.”
Richard let go of her hand and pointed at the oven.
“You said earlier we’re short on firewood, right?”
As soon as he finished, a deep blue light shot from his fingertips, igniting the fire in the oven.
Flames roared!
Without any incantation, Richard’s light became a blazing fire.
Pointing at the roaring fire, he said in a low voice,
“Watch. I’m no longer the kid who struggled to even light a fire.”
His tone was slightly vexed. Alina, flustered, replied,
“I never said that. When did that ever happen?”
Richard frowned at her question.
“If you don’t remember, that’s fine. It’s not something I particularly want to remember either.”
He held her hand again, speaking softly,
“What you need to remember is my ability. How much I’ve grown, how powerful I’ve become.”
“Yeah. You’ve grown a lot. I know.”
“That’s not what I want to hear.”
Richard sounded frustrated at Alina’s consolation.
“What I want to hear is…”
“Excuse me, can I place an order here?”
“Oh! Yes, of course!”
Alina turned to see a customer outside the booth.
Richard, caught off guard, silently bit his lip.
“Thanks for all your hard work today.”
Back at the store, Alina thanked Richard, who was putting down the supplies.
Although she didn’t need his help, the pizza’s popularity was so high that it was difficult to handle all the customers alone.
Customers seemed to have been waiting just for today, all placing orders eagerly.
Alina’s booth was bustling with people marveling at the pizza after tasting it.
“It’s delicious! I can’t believe this is pizza!”
“No, this is the real pizza!”
“Riese, why don’t you open a pizza shop?”
“It’s the greatest tragedy of my life that I can only eat this pizza when the market opens.”
“Exactly! Food you can only eat once a year is too sad.”
“Sorry. Marlon knows the recipe too, so please ask him.”
Alina barely managed to sell the pizza while keeping the customers calm.
True to Maléhark tastes, beef outsold shrimp by a wide margin.
‘I need to tell Marlon. It’ll help his business.’
Alina smiled as she calculated the day’s earnings at the table.
Watching people enjoy her food made her truly happy.
Although she spent the entire day standing and working tirelessly, it was completely worth it.
