Then she took『that』out from the inside with kitchen mittens put on her hands.
At that moment, the smell of gently sweet baked fruits floated in the room.
― Yup, it was baked nicely.
What was burned to a yellowish-brown color that gave off a rich ripened scent was an apple pie.
She changed the baked pie to a plate and put it on a small table in the living room where she kept Ikki waiting.
― I'm sorry to have kept you waiting. Now, please eat. Cake, cookies and a freshly baked apple pie. There are seconds, of course, so eat without reservation.
― T-thank you very much.
Ikki, who thanked her, had a bit of perplexity on his face.
He accompanied her as he was told there was something to talk about, but to think that the result was him receiving such a welcome.
The strongest swordsman in the world was wearing an apron.
What was this?
This was too far from reality, he couldn't even think "I'm not dreaming, am I?"
― Oh? Could it be that sweet food isn't to your liking?
Edelweiss, who sensed such perplexity of Ikki, turned peeking eyes to him.
Ikki shook his head at this and returned a negation.
― T-that's not it. Everything looks so delicious that I can't choose.
― Fufu. I'm glad. If you can't decide, then please take this apple pie. There's no food in this world that can surpass a fresh apple pie.
Edelweiss, pleased by Ikki's flattery, cut the apple pie while humming a tune, distributed it in small dishes and handed one over without pausing.
― Thanks for the food…!
A section filled with honey-colored cooked apples.
The smell of the thick fruits that smelled sweet and the fragrance of the brown crust from that.
He felt that even more saliva was secreted just by smelling that aroma.
Then, he tasted the pie while his body asked for it,
― …!
And opened his eyes in surprise.
It was delicious.
But not "just" delicious.
The crunchy pie crust with a faint smell of butter welcomed his teeth with a light texture and the rich sweetness of the cooked apples spread all over under it gushed out in his mouth, accompanied even by their juiciness.
However, it wasn't just sweet.
If that was put into words――then it would be『thick』.
A really thick sweetness.
As if dozens of apples were condensed.
And deep in that sweetness, on the bottom of the bottom, the fragrance of the earth was caught solidly.
Wheat… no, it wasn't that. Then, soil?
The information content weighed on by his tongue was totally different from the apple pie he knew.
To the point he didn't feel it was the same food.
What on earth was this――…?
― How is it? Does it suit your taste?
Ikki suddenly came to his senses, due to the slightly anxious voice of Edelweiss.
He ended up becoming speechless before the impact of the taste that shook his sense of values.
Ikki nodded greatly to her question.
It wasn't that it didn't suit his taste.
― Yes, it does. It's sweet but it's not sickly-sweet, it's of high-quality and very delicious. This is the most delicious apple pie I've ever eaten!
Edelweiss smiled cheerfully at his answer.
― I'm glad. This is an apple pie taught by my grandmother, I add Calvados as a secret ingredient.
― Calvados?
― It's a brandy made from apple. The bitterness and spiciness of the Calvados, combined with sweet baked apples, make a rich sweetness that it's not just sweet, you see.
Ikki got convinced by the true nuance of the rich and complex sweetness that ignored the mass.
What he felt as the aroma of the earth was the aroma of aging barrels transferred to the Calvados.
― Now, here are some cookies. The black ones are chocolate. The white ones are vanilla and orange peel. Both go well with the strong sourness of the Hawaiian Kona.
― T-thank you very much.
"Feel free to try these and these", Edelweiss recommended handmade sweets to Ikki one after another.
He was surprised with how very delicious all of them were, but more than that, Ikki felt surprised by the facial expression and appearance of Edelweiss who recommended sweets to him.
