IVPCB 10

Chapter 10

At that moment, stubbornness welled up inside me.

*’I’ve come this far—I can’t end my life by falling off a phoenix’s back.’*

I stretched out my hand desperately, and fortunately, my outstretched fingers managed to grasp a handful of the phoenix’s wing feathers.

At that moment, a warm and soft sensation touched my body again. The phoenix raised its wing vertically, lightly catching me and tossing me back onto its back.

*Piiii—*

Having finished its little game, the phoenix let out a long, cheerful cry. As if the whole situation had been nothing but a joke.

*Huff, haah.*

I barely managed to calm my ragged breath, regained my balance, and settled back onto the phoenix.

“You seem to be enjoying yourself quite a bit.”

Aegir threw in a comment with a smirk amidst it all.

*’What a psycho. A heartless bastard. I almost died, and he doesn’t even help—!’*

“…Yeah, well. Thanks to you, I got to see the sky for the first time in my life and had a wonderful time. You could say my heart experienced free fall.”

My words came out sharp, my temper flaring.

“Oh dear. That’s why I told you to hold tightly to my waist.”

Finding my reaction amusing, Aegir even started chuckling out loud.

“Anyway, it seems Pippi has taken quite a liking to you. He’s usually not this playful with strangers.”

*Ah, so this phoenix’s name is Pippi.*

“That ‘playfulness’ of his would’ve killed a person if he did it twice.”

I answered grumpily in a sulky voice, but my mood did lighten slightly at the thought that the creature had taken a liking to me and was playing around.

Still, for the sake of safe flights in the future, I thought it necessary to have a word with Pippi.

“Pippi, you’re a smart phoenix, so you’re different from those other birdbrains, right?”

I composed my voice as best I could and gently tried to reason with Pippi. But for some reason, the moment he heard the word ‘birdbrain,’ Pippi started flipping his body over again.

“Aaaaaah! I wasn’t insulting you!”

*Pii—!*

Unfortunately, no matter how divine a creature the phoenix was, its brain was still that of a bird. From then on, as if seeking revenge, the birdbrain treated me to an endless series of acrobatic flights, and Aegir’s mockery continued alongside it.

By the time we arrived at Heliweka Castle, I was in a state nearly reduced to a pulp.

“Masterrrr…”

Clinging tightly to Aegir’s waist to survive the dozens of repeated acrobatic flights, I muttered feebly.

“What is that ambiguous pronunciation that’s neither quite an insult nor quite a respectful address?”

“I clearly said ‘Master.’ You must be so dizzy that even your ears are spinning, Master.”

“…I believe my ears are still perfectly fine, but anyway. So, what did you want to say?”

“After enduring so much of that birdbrain’s acrobatics, I can’t tell if what I’m seeing is a dream or reality. Is that really Heliweka Castle I see over there?”

Just a few hundred meters ahead, where I pointed, stood a magnificent grayish-white castle.

Viewed from above from the bird’s-eye perspective, Heliweka Castle had the appearance of the majestic old fortresses commonly seen in fantasy media.

First, a dense forest of coniferous trees spread out in three directions around the castle, except for the south.

To the north, even in spring, there was a massive, rugged mountain range with snow-capped peaks. To the east, a vast clearing that was presumably the knights’ training ground. To the west, a verdant garden that would soon become my workplace.

And to the south lay a large lake and a moat, with a drawbridge connected to the castle gate.

“Yes. This is the historic Heliweka Castle. Protected by the Aldebaran family for centuries.”

As Aegir answered while looking at the castle, his face held a faint, melancholic light.

Having played Aegir’s route in the original game, I could vaguely guess the reason.

Aegir was a reclusive master well-versed in everything from ancient sorcery to modern magic, a great mage who had lived for hundreds of years.

When playing the game, I’d always felt a distant poignancy in the traces of loneliness that Aegir would occasionally reveal—layers upon layers of solitude accumulated over centuries of enduring alone.

*’Experiencing it firsthand, he’s more like a bitter old man with a twisted, self-pitying nature.’*

[Your Infamy has increased by 1 point! You, who boldly insult your heaven-like master! You have ample qualities as a villainess.

— Your Infamy: 55]

*’Oh, it was quiet for a while, and here it goes again.’*

In the past, I would have trembled at a single point increase, but now that I had a solid job as a gardener, I decided to let it be.

*’As long as I make sure it doesn’t get too high, I should be fine.’*

As I admired the scenery of Heliweka Castle and chatted about this and that, Pippi soon set us down at the western entrance to the garden.

The garden of Heliweka Castle, in full bloom with all sorts of spring flowers, drew exclamations of admiration even upon a second viewing. It was enough to make me forget even the throbbing pain in my backside as I dismounted from Pippi.

“The garden is truly beautiful.”

“I’m glad it pleases you.”

At my words, Aegir smiled with his eyes crinkling. It was a smile as bright as the roses blooming in the garden, yet somehow a wave of unease washed over me.

“You’ll be the one tending this garden from now on, after all.”

*’It’s clearly a simple statement, so why does it feel like I can see a dark aura around Aegir?’*

Hoping desperately that my foreboding was merely a misconception, I silently quickened my pace to follow Aegir, who was walking ahead.

About ten minutes along the reddish dirt path that led toward the inner part of the garden, Aegir stopped near a corner adjacent to the black forest. Before him stood a small cottage.

“This will be the house where you and I will live.”

The two-story cottage, made of reddish-brown timber, evoked the image of an old mountain villa. Two long iron chimneys and a roof densely covered in an unknown dark green moss caught the eye.

With four windows on each floor on the left and right walls, a total of sixteen windows, the lighting seemed decent enough. Moreover, it appeared to be about forty pyeong in size, quite comfortable for two people to live in.

“Why are you staring at it so intently? Are you disappointed because it’s smaller than your room?”

*’This old… I mean, this master, whose seasoned experience truly shines…’*

[You were definitely about to insult—]

I forced a smile, ignoring the system’s interference that I could hear.

“No, not at all. I was just thinking it’s cozy and perfect for two people.”

“Is that so? I’m glad you like it.”

The master smiled brightly at me, then strode over to the front door. He rummaged through his robe pocket, pulled out a bundle of keys, and unlocked the door.

“I’m getting rather hungry. Let’s go in and have a meal first.”

I’d forgotten until now, but hearing Aegir’s words made me feel hungry too.

The interior of the cottage I entered following Aegir was simple yet cozy. As soon as he entered, Aegir naturally sat down at the kitchen table located to the right of the door.

*’Is he going to use magic to set the table?’*

Thinking that, I was about to pull out a chair to sit down next to Aegir.

“Wait.”

“Why, Master?”

“Why are you trying to sit here?”

*’Huh? Weren’t we going to eat together?’*

I stared at Aegir with wide eyes, and he sighed deeply, pinching his brow, and muttered quietly.

“To think that the first formal disciple I’ve taken in my entire life is this oblivious—this master is truly saddened.”

Aegir pointed to a corner of the kitchen with his finger.

“Cook.”

“Excuse me?”

[Sudden Quest! A Dish Made with the Disciple’s Sincere Devotion for the Master — Difficulty C.

Your hungry master has requested a meal from their disciple. Using the ingredients available in the cottage, prepare a dish that will suit your master’s palate.

— Reward upon success: A slight improvement in Aegir’s perception of you.

— Penalty upon failure: Aegir’s anger and disappointment.]

*’The first quest I receive in my third life, and it’s something like this.’*

I was utterly dumbfounded.

In my previous lives, the quests had mostly been about bullying Luna to raise my “Villainess Lady Performance Score.”

*’Still… at least it’s not a quest that involves bullying others.’*

For some reason, it felt like I was taking the first step in the life I had changed with my own hands, and one corner of my heart fluttered with excitement.

*’My life. My will.’*

I felt it keenly—that I had reclaimed the things I’d lost in my second life, when I’d been a puppet of the system.

*’As a commemoration of reclaiming what I’d lost, it wouldn’t hurt to serve the old master once.’*

Well, since I’d be seeing Aegir every day anyway, improving his perception of me couldn’t hurt.

“Yes, as one gets older, even cooking can become tiring. A young and fresh disciple should handle it.”

Accepting the quest, I threw in a small, timid jab at Aegir as a bonus.

Ignoring Aegir, who muttered, “I’m not quite that old yet…” with a shocked expression, I opened the cupboard Aegir had pointed to.

“Um, Master?”

After looking into the cupboard, I called out to Aegir with a bewildered expression.

“What is it?”

“Surely these aren’t all the ingredients there are?”

“Is there a problem?”

Of course there was a problem.

Dried herbs, fresh bean sprouts and cabbage, lettuce, asparagus, tomatoes, rice…

Everything in the cupboard was plants.

“Master, are you a vegetarian by any chance?”

“Not particularly, but is there a problem?”

“Usually, even in noble households, I understand that servants with positions are provided with buttered bread, meat soup, and fruit. Even our Count’s household served that much.”

“Indeed, I believe the knights, butlers, and head maids in the main castle do eat that way.”

“Then why is there not even common bacon, eggs, or butter here?”

“Well… there are circumstances. For one, the main castle is quite far from the garden.”

At my questioning, Aegir showed an uncharacteristically flustered expression.

*’Could it be…’*

A single assumption crossed my mind. Based on what I’d experienced, Aegir had a handsome face, but his personality was rigid and obstinate, and his specialty was sarcasm.

“Could it be that you’ve earned the dislike of the kitchen servants in the main castle?”

In an instant, Aegir’s expression twisted as if he’d bitten a bug.

“…I told them not to come.”

*’Hit the nail on the head.’*