Anyway, we have five players in place, and tomorrow is the day of the showdown.

It's been a month since Phytis and Kasarina's game, and finally tomorrow, five players, including me, have gathered here in a corner of the Valkyria Kingdom's royal court to take on the cooking battle at the Demon King's Castle.

The members are of course me, Himuro-Kyouji. Fitis, the gourmet hero. Mina, the proprietor and signboard girl of Mina's restaurant. The empress of the Valkyria Kingdom and war hero Amanes. And my father, Himuro-Keiji.
Lily, Jack, and Dora-chan are also here.

Over the past month, the participants in the culinary battle, including me, have been working to hone their cooking skills, procuring ingredients, or cultivating and improving new monsters.
Of course, Phytis and Kasarina have been guiding Amanes, the empress of this country, through the cooking process with Phytis and Kasarina, and it seems that she has grown into a fully developed skill that can be counted as a fighting force.

I can't wait for tomorrow's game. My crystal knives are always roaring.

Amanes buzzing the knife in his hand as if it were a knife. Please don't do that, it's dangerous.

"Well, there's no hurry, an invitation from them to visit the castle will be arriving soon. But there's something we should do first.

"Should I do that?

I question my father's words while going through the dangerous knife work of Amarnes .

It's a combination. If it's a five against five battle, who will be the spearhead and who will be the general? This combination could make a big difference in the outcome of the battle. It's best to decide this now.

Certainly. I nodded at my father's words.
I mean, why is my dad usually in charge?　Well, okay.

So. About that combination, I'll make that decision on my own.

But I take it back!　Why not?

"Calm down, Kyoji. I'm the most objective judge of your strength in this group. And that's your mother.　Then I, as her husband, will know their game better than anyone else.

Mmm, I see.

"Your opponent will probably come up with some strange combinations for our lineup. Then we should read that and decide on the combination. Fortunately, I have heard some information about the Four Heavenly Kings from your war heroes.

Yeah, I've met them a few times on the battlefield, but I can still tell you about each of the Four Heavenly Kings' races and simple abilities.

How long have you been acquiring such information, you're not just talking about it.

There's just one problem, though.

And that's where Amanes gets unusually serious.

. is that we have no information about the last of the Four Heavenly Kings.

I see. I nodded quietly at her words.

There is no information about the last of the Four Heavenly Kings over there.
It's said that she's currently absent, but who originally filled the seat. And who will take his place. None of that is known.
Nevertheless, there was something about my mother at that time that filled me with confidence.
Perhaps that last member was their trump card.

But whoever you're dealing with, we've got the best men.
We can't lose for everyone here.

Just as I am making up my mind, I hear a tap on the window.
There is a black three-eyed crow waiting with what looks like a letter in his mouth.

"Looks like you got an invitation from the other side.

I open the window and receive a letter from the crow.
On it was permission to enter the castle tomorrow and the time of the cooking battle.

I inform everyone here of the contents of the letter, but none of them have an anxious or worried look on their faces, or are determined or elated, or as usual, ready for tomorrow's cooking battle.





◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆





It's a snow-covered, frigid mountain.
Originally it was an ordinary mountain range with no snow at all, but when a witch settled there, it became known as the Snow Witch's Mountain Range.

All the witches in this world are the bloodline of the Great Witch Miraca.
The Great Witch Miraca is as powerful as the Demon King and is said to have possessed the ability to create demons that the Demon King possessed.
Because of this, the relationship between the two was close, and some say they were even close friends.

One of the reasons why the race of witches is avoided in this world is because of the relationship between the great witch Miraca and the demon king.
Hence, many witches are perceived by more people as belonging to the demon king.
Of course, there were many witches who did not, but those prejudices led to unspoken persecution of many witches and forced them to the frontier.

The lineage of witches in the Snow Witch Mountains also fits into those roots.
But the one thing that sets her apart from other witches is that as far as she was concerned, it was the truth, not an unspoken fact.

As I said, this battle is about cooking and not about the kind of fighting you hate.

There was Alucard, one of the four demon kings, the vampire tribe.

"In accordance with the pact between your ancestor Milaqa and the Demon King, may I ask your direct bloodline to join us?

The person to whom Alucard hangs his head reverently.
It is a pure white witch with white hair dyed all over with white robes.
In her hand was a letter from a friend of hers, inviting her to come and support the upcoming cooking battle at the castle.



Please join us as one of the new Four Heavenly Kings in place of Miraca, one of the first Four Heavenly Kings. Master Snow Witch Ys.

In response to the direct order of the demon king, the Snow Witch Ys nodded quietly and it was decided that here was the participation of the last of the Four Heavenly Kings.