The beast tamer exiled from the hero’s party and the cat eared girl from the strongest race meet
We set up five simple beds in the living room, and lay down in the order of me, Nina, Tina, Iris, and Nokia-san.
Apparently, to enter someone's heart, we need to sleep close together.
"Meow, I guess that’s everything ready now?"
"If Rain and the others start struggling weirdly, we just need to wake them up, right?"
"Indeed. If that happens, it means we’ve failed. They might be bedridden for a few days, but the worst-case scenario can be avoided."
"It’s okay. That won’t happen."
"Oh? You say that with great confidence. Are you that sure of your abilities?"
"It’s not me—it's Nina."
"Feh?"
A daughter willing to risk herself for her mother.
The world shouldn’t be so cruel as to ignore such feelings.
That’s why—it’ll surely go well.
"Alright. Then, you all, sleep now."
"Even if you suddenly tell us to sleep…"
"It’s still daytime, y’know? That’s kinda hard."
"Do we absolutely have to sleep?"
"Losing consciousness is fine too. By emptying your mind and heart, you link with the target’s heart, and then... uh, let’s skip the complicated stuff. Basically, whether you’re asleep or passed out—if you’re unconscious, it works."
"Hm."
Luna grinned wickedly.
Was it my imagination?
That smile looked terrifyingly fierce.
"Then, partake of my sister’s cooking!"
"Eh!?"
At Luna’s outrageous suggestion, Nina, Tina, and I turned pale.
Meanwhile, unaware of the situation, Iris and Nokia-san tilted their heads in confusion.
"Um… why do we need to eat the food?"
"Doing that will only make us more awake, don’t you think?"
"On the contrary! My sister’s cooking is of such quality that even an elephant would be knocked out after one bite—no, I mean, would sleep soundly. I guarantee it!"
"Oh my, that sounds delightful."
Please don’t be intrigued!?
"Now then, dear sister, let us begin the cooking…"
"I anticipated this might happen, so it’s already prepared."
"O-oh… To think my sister would plan for something like this—how terrifying."
Sora handed out the food.
As usual, it looked absolutely delicious.
And it smelled wonderful too.
But…
"My, what a delicious-looking dish this is."
"Iris!? Wait, don’t be hasty—"
"Thank you for the meal."
With a bite, Iris tasted Sora’s food—
"……"
Her face instantly went pale, and she collapsed onto the simple bed with a thud.
――――――――――
"Ugh… Where is this?"
Before I knew it, I was lying in an unfamiliar plain.
I sat up and looked around.
"I’ve never seen this place before… or rather, something feels off?"
Like a mirage, the distant scenery shimmered.
The sky wasn’t blue, either—it flickered between purple and red.
Why am I in a place like this?
My memory of what came before and after is fuzzy…
"Um… Oh, right. I ate Sora’s cooking, and then entered Nokia-san’s heart."
Which means—this must be the inside of Nokia-san’s heart?
But…
Since I ate Sora’s cooking, is it possible this is the afterlife?
"Ah… Rain!"
Just as I was thinking something terribly rude, I heard Nina’s voice.
I turned around to see her trotting over.
Next to her were a ghost-like version of Tina, and Iris, who looked somewhat worn out.
"Good… if everyone’s here, then this must be Nokia-san’s heart for sure."
"Yeah. When I first woke up and found myself alone, I thought I was dead and in the afterlife."
"I didn’t even consider any possibility besides the afterlife… What was that dish, Sora-san made? It was sweet, spicy, salty, and sour—all at once… then my tongue started to go numb, and that sensation spread through my entire body, completely scrambling my thoughts… Seriously, what was it? Even though I’m one of the strongest species and have considerable resistance to poison, it was absolutely useless against that."
"A-ha-ha…"
All I could do was let out a bitter laugh.
"Iris… Sora’s cooking is a weapon."
"It’s… not food, okay?"
For Nina to say that so seriously…
Just what kind of sin has Sora committed by creating such a thing?
"Good grief… Well, at least it looks like we succeeded."
"Yeah."
"So this is… Mama’s heart…"
Nina muttered, deeply moved.
She looked around restlessly, scanning the surroundings.
"Where… should we go?"
"Once inside the heart, Al-san said she’d support us…"
"Rain-sama, what is that in your hand?"
"Huh?"
Before I realized it, I was holding a stuffed toy.
A palm-sized plush that vaguely resembled Al-san.
"Ahem, ahem… Testing, testing. Can you hear my voice?"
Suddenly, the stuffed toy spoke.
"Eh? Why is Al-san’s voice coming from this…?"
"Because I enchanted it with magic. With just my power, I can still send my voice to you all."
"I see, so that’s how you’ll be supporting us."
"Indeed, that’s exactly right."
The plush puffed its chest with pride.
It seemed to be able to move around freely, just like the doll version of Tina.
"Hey, hey, so what should we be doing?"
"You must find the wedge."
"Wedge?"
"The Black Blessing drives a cursed wedge into the target’s heart. You must locate and destroy it. Once that’s done, the curse should be lifted."
"I see… It’s a simpler process than I expected. In that case…"
"It doesn’t seem like it’ll be that easy," Iris said with a tense voice, taking a stance.
She was looking intently at a figure in the distance.
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