Chapter 14: Let’s Enjoy Some Suspicious Tea and Sweets!
“Here is your room, Renford-sama,” the castle servant announced.
After my audience with Alden, I was led to a guest room in the castle. I’d been told to use this room during my stay in the capital (yesterday, since we arrived earlier than planned, we’d stayed at an inn for nobles).
“Speaking of which, where’s Marie?” I wondered aloud.
Before entering the Audience Chamber, she’d been led to a separate room, but it didn’t seem like she was waiting here.
“Oh well. Right about now, Alden and the others are probably bad-mouthing me to their hearts’ content,” I muttered, stretching.
A knock at the door interrupted my thoughts. Assuming it was Marie, I called out, “Come in.”
“Excuse me,” a voice replied.
To my surprise, it wasn’t Marie but an unfamiliar woman, likely a castle servant. She carried a teapot and some sweets.
“These are the capital’s most popular tea and sweets. We hope Renford-sama will enjoy them,” she said.
“? Oh, got it,” I replied.
“Please, take your time,” she said before leaving.
I forgot to ask who sent them, but it was probably Alden or someone of his ilk. Given my role in defeating the Demon King’s army executive, I was being treated as an honored guest. Naturally, they’d be courteous.
“Being treated so politely irks me, but I’ve got no complaints about eating good stuff. Might as well indulge in this perk,” I muttered, reaching for the teacup.
I took a slow sip. “Hmm, so this is the capital’s famous tea? It does have a rich flavor… wait, what?”
As I savored it, something felt off. The flavor was rich, but a strange bitterness lingered beneath, overpowering the taste. Frankly, it wasn’t very good.
“Marie’s tea is way better than this,” I grumbled, disappointed.
Still, there were the sweets—a pound cake, perhaps? I took a big, luxurious bite. “Mmm! This has a nice sweetness, pretty good—”
Then it hit me. A faint heat bloomed in my stomach, like the burn of eating spicy food. I was utterly baffled.
“Is spicy candy the trend in the capital now? Or maybe it’s one of those prank sweets with a single bad one mixed in! Yeah, that’s gotta be it!”
Proud of my deduction, I marveled at my own genius. Just then, another knock came.
“Come in,” I called.
“Excuse me, Master,” Marie said, stepping inside.
“Marie, you’re late,” I remarked.
“Y-Yes, I was told to wait in another room, but when I heard your audience was over, I hurried here,” she explained.
“I see. By the way, a servant brought some tea and sweets. Want some?” I offered.
Marie’s gaze shifted to the tea and cake on the table. Instantly, her eyes narrowed sharply.
“I see. Someone other than me served Master… I understand, heh heh,” she said with a strange chuckle.
“Marie?” I called, noticing her odd demeanor.
“N-Nothing at all! I gratefully accept Master’s kind offer…” she said, approaching the table.
But as she reached for the tea, she froze. “Could it be…?”
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
She turned to me with a grave expression. “Master, have you already consumed these?”
“Yeah, I have,” I confirmed.
Her eyes widened in shock. What was the matter? Did she want to eat them all herself? Maybe she’s secretly a glutton.
As I marveled at this unexpected side of Marie, a buzzing sound pierced the air.
“Hm?” I instinctively crushed the source with my right hand. Opening my fist, I found a dead insect.
“Hmm, bugs, huh?” I mused. The castle’s security was tight enough to keep out even rats, but something as small as an insect could slip through.
“Bugs…? Wait, no!” Marie exclaimed, overreacting for some reason.
She must hate insects, I thought. But then she suddenly pointed at the table.
“Master, may I take the rest of these?” she asked.
“Sure, go ahead,” I replied.
“Thank you. I’ll step out briefly, so please excuse me,” she said, grabbing the teapot and sweets before swiftly leaving.
Maybe she didn’t want me to see her pigging out on snacks. “Well, whatever. It was amusing to see a new side of Marie,” I muttered, settling into a moment of elegant tranquility with no incidents to disrupt it.
◇◆◇
A few dozen minutes earlier…
“I won’t forgive him… Never!”
Earl Blazek, a noble of the capital, was trembling with rage. The cause was a certain boy.
It began yesterday when Blazek was graciously speaking to a commoner girl in town. The boy interfered, and, unbelievably, used some underhanded trick with a rusty sword to humiliate him. That alone was unforgivable, but then, just now, Blazek spotted the boy in the castle.
“Wait! Why is he here!? Step aside—let me deal with him!” Blazek demanded.
“Please, hold on! That gentleman is about to meet His Majesty—” a servant protested.
According to them, the boy was Viscount Renford, the talk of the capital, set to receive a reward for defeating a Demon King’s army executive. This only fueled Blazek’s anger.
(A reward from His Majesty!? That upstart!? Impossible, it’s a mistake!)
Convinced Klaus had used deceit to achieve his feats, just as he had to defeat him, Blazek decided to take matters into his own hands.
“Heh heh, if that’s the case—”
Blazek devised a plan and acted swiftly.
“These are the capital’s most popular tea and sweets. We hope Renford-sama will enjoy them,” the disguised servant said.
“? Oh, got it,” Klaus replied.
“Please, take your time,” she said before leaving.
Watching from afar, Blazek grinned wickedly. His plan was simple: disguise a subordinate as a castle servant, send them to Klaus’s room after his audience, and leave three “gifts”—tea, pound cake, and a tiny insect-shaped magical surveillance device.
Blazek watched the feed from the device with satisfaction. “Now, regret crossing me,” he sneered.
Klaus reached for the tea and drank without hesitation.
“Hmm, so this is the capital’s famous tea? It does have a rich flavor… wait, what?” Klaus said, noticing something.
Too late. Like a useless party member expelled too late, it was over.
“Ha! You drank it! That tea contains poison potent enough to knock out an A-rank, ten-meter-long Crash Elephant! You’re finished!” Blazek laughed triumphantly.
But then—
“Marie’s tea is way better than this,” Klaus remarked.
“What!?!?!?” Blazek gasped.
Somehow, Klaus was unaffected. Had his subordinate forgotten the poison? No, Klaus had noticed something off. There had to be another reason—
Blazek shook his head vigorously. “No, calm down. I have another trick. A great noble doesn’t falter over one failed plan,” he said, ignoring how rattled he was, and focused on the feed.
Klaus reached for the pound cake. Blazek’s grin returned.
“Fool! That cake contains magical explosive powder strong enough to blast through an A-rank Diamond Turtle’s scales! It’ll tear you apart from the inside!” he declared confidently.
But then—
“Is spicy candy the trend in the capital now? Or maybe it’s one of those prank sweets with a single bad one mixed in! Yeah, that’s gotta be it!” Klaus said, looking briefly surprised but otherwise fine, spouting nonsense.
“What!?” Blazek stammered, utterly shaken.
“What’s happening!? Why aren’t the poison or explosives working!? Does he have resistance to them!?”
Unbeknownst to Blazek, he was right. Whenever Marie served him, Klaus maintained status ailment and heat resistance spells. While not fully immune, he could neutralize moderate poisons and heat. Blazek’s poison and explosives were too weak to harm him. In fact, Klaus’s natural healing had already fully restored him.
But Blazek, unaware, could only panic, racking his brain for what went wrong. Then—
“Hmm, bugs, huh—” Klaus said, followed by a snap! as the feed cut out.
It seemed the surveillance device had been crushed. After some time, Blazek regained his composure.
“Fine, this attempt failed, but I gathered information. Next time, I’ll ensure success,” he vowed.
Feeling parched from shouting, he noticed a teapot and pound cake on his table. Assuming a subordinate left them, he nodded approvingly.
“The batch for that wretch was poisoned, but these are genuinely popular in the capital. I’ll calm down with these,” he decided, determined to remain elegant as a noble. He took a big bite of the cake and gulped down the tea.
“Mmm, both are truly delicious—BUHAAAA!?!?!?!?!?”
A searing heat erupted within him, and a numbing sensation spread through his limbs. In unbearable pain, Blazek realized the truth.
(This is what Renford ate!? But why is it here!?)
Had his subordinate betrayed him? Writhing in agony, Blazek scanned the room and spotted something.
“…W-Who’s there?”
In a corner stood a figure in an oversized coat, hood drawn low, obscuring their face. Clearly, they approached with malice. The shadowy assassin spoke.
“This is your judgment,” she said, her voice revealing her as a woman.
(Who… are you?) Blazek thought, his consciousness fading.
“Face your sins and sleep,” she continued.
As Blazek lost consciousness, she added, “…This is all according to Master’s will.”
Confirming Blazek’s collapse, the mysterious assassin—Marie—quietly removed her hood. “It seems he didn’t die, perhaps because Master consumed part of it, reducing its potency,” she noted, thinking of her master.
“Have I met Master’s expectations…?”
◇◆◇
Back to the moment Marie entered Klaus’s room. Upon seeing the tea and cake, she instantly recognized the poison and explosive powder. Learning Klaus had consumed them, she nearly fainted from shock.
(Master ingested poison and explosives!? No, he’s conversing normally, so he must be fine, but how…?)
A sage like Klaus wouldn’t miss what she’d noticed. There had to be a deeper meaning. After frantic thought, Marie reached a conclusion.
(Is this a reprimand for me?)
During past monster hunts with Klaus, Marie realized he expected more than a mere servant’s role. He wanted an ultimate maid with the strength to protect him from any threat. Yet, during this crisis, she hadn’t been present, separated during the audience. That was no excuse.
Had Klaus deliberately consumed the poisoned tea and cake, knowing their danger, to chastise her?
“You let someone poison me due to your carelessness. You’ve failed as a maid,” she imagined him saying.
(Am I… unworthy of being Master’s maid?)
Devastated, Marie was jolted when Klaus crushed something in the air. In his hand was the wreckage of a magical device.
“Hmm, bugs, huh?” he said.
“Bugs…? Wait, no!” Marie exclaimed, belatedly grasping his meaning.
By calling the device a “bug,” Klaus was indirectly telling her it was planted by someone intending harm. His intent was clear: “Can you find the mastermind?”
(I won’t let this chance to redeem myself slip away!)
With resolve, Marie acted swiftly. Her task was completed in moments, thanks to skills Klaus had urged her to learn during monster hunts—presence concealment, magical thread manipulation, shadow magic. Klaus had forcibly shaped her into an assassin’s skill tree.
Most crucially, Marie had awakened a unique magic, unknown even to Klaus (she only vaguely reported it as a convenient spell). Called «Tracking Teleportation», it allowed instant teleportation to a designated mana source, born from her desire to always be at Klaus’s side. This made her a top-tier assassin.
For this mission, Marie reluctantly switched her tracking target from Klaus to the “bug” and activated her spell.
“«Tracking Teleportation»”
What followed needs little explanation. Marie teleported to Blazek’s private chambers, used presence concealment to place the tea and cake on his table, and watched him consume them and collapse.
(I saw him yesterday when I teleported to Master after he missed our meeting. So, he foolishly sought revenge for that incident? As punishment, you must suffer the same pain.)
Confirming Blazek’s unconsciousness, Marie switched her tracking back to Klaus, teleporting to his room. With a serious expression, she declared, “To meet Master’s expectations, I’ve disposed of the items (the tea, bug, and so on).”
“Expectations…? Well, good job,” Klaus replied, thinking she was exaggerating about monopolizing the tea and cake but nodding approvingly.
◇◆◇
That night, after an uneventful day following the audience, I wasn’t in the mood to sleep. I left my room to wander the castle.
“The castle appeared in the game, but you couldn’t see every detail. This is refreshing,” I mused.
Getting caught might earn me a scolding, but that thrill only excited me. A final boss wouldn’t waver over something so trivial.
As I strolled down a corridor, a familiar sight caught my eye. “I’ve seen this before. Right, it was in a game event still.”
I recalled the event’s details. This was where one of «Altena Fantasia»’s heroines appeared—
“Hey, you there! What are you doing here!?”
A clear yet resolute voice, one I’d heard countless times in my past life, shook my eardrums. Hardly believing it, I turned toward the sound.
"You are…”
There stood a girl, dressed in luxurious noble attire, her moonlight-silver hair cascading down. I knew her instantly. She was the central figure on «Altena Fantasia»’s cover, a heroine treated with special prominence.
Sophia von Solstia, the first princess of the Solstia Kingdom and the main heroine.
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