"Uhm... Big Brother, Big Sister..."
At this moment, Abigail, who had been hiding behind Suke the entire time, timidly tugged at the corner of his clothes.
A bit of chocolate crumb was still stained on the corner of her mouth, but her uneasy expression betrayed the worry weighing on her mind:
"Thank you... but, you should leave quickly. Uncle and Lord Judge Hopkins... they are really terrifying."
"Yes, sir."
Lavinia also stepped forward. Although she looked much calmer than Abigail, there was a trace of anxiety in her tone as well.
"Those targeted by the judge named Hopkins never meet a good end. You are outsiders; perhaps it is still not too late to leave now."
Suke looked at these two sensible little girls who made one's heart ache for them. He couldn't help but reach out and ruffle Abigail's golden hair, not stopping until he had rubbed her small bonnet askew.
"Little Abi, are you really willing to let us go?"
"Eh? I..."
Abigail opened her mouth. Of course, she wanted to say she wasn't willing.
But thinking of those terrifying adults, she eventually pursed her lips.
"Say, is it possible that we are Santa Claus who walked out of your dreams, appearing specifically to grant your wishes?"
Santa Claus?
Abigail's eyes widened slightly. As a devout Christian, she naturally knew the legend of Santa Claus who specialized in granting wishes for children.
If Big Brother and Big Sister were Santa Claus, then it would seem to make sense that she could meet them in her dream beforehand.
Moreover, accepting a gift from Santa Claus would naturally not count as violating the commandments of a Puritan.
"Think about it. This place in the forest was just a wasteland yesterday, right?"
"Yes..."
Abigail and Lavinia glanced sideways at the exquisite, beautiful house with the signboard "Stardew Sweet House". This certainly didn't look like a building that could be constructed overnight.
"That settles it then. Big Brother and Big Sister are not ordinary people."
"Since we've opened a shop here, there's no reason to be chased away by a few flies."
Seeing Abigail and Lavinia looking as if the dark clouds had cleared from their small faces—seemingly truly believing his words—Suke was happy to leave it at that.
Hope is just such a simple thing; as long as you are willing to believe, it will appear.
As he spoke, Suke's gaze suddenly moved past the two girls, casting toward the base of a withered tree not far away.
There, a figure had not departed with the crowd but stood quietly.
It was a young man wearing a pitch-black trench coat, his face gloomy and pale.
Unlike those townspeople covered in the scent of soil, he possessed an elegant yet decadent temperament. He was out of place in Salem, yet he seemed unable to wash away some kind of aged, bloody smell.
At this moment, that young man was staring dead at Suke—or to be precise, staring at the plate of leftover Chocolate Cake on the counter of Suke's shop.
His eyes were filled with struggle, confusion, and a craving akin to an addict seeing contraband.
"Darling, there seems to be a distinctive gaze nearby~"
"I saw it. He shouldn't be an enemy, though... but if any accident happens, Elysia, you run toward the dimensional gate first and go back to Stardew Valley."
Facing Elysia's subtle poke at his arm to remind him, Suke understood immediately.
"It's Brother Sanson. He actually didn't leave with everyone else? ..."
"Little Abi, you know that person over there?"
"Mhm. Brother Sanson is a member of the Town Guard, but he only came to town and joined the guard two weeks ago."
Abigail's words corroborated Suke's thoughts and allowed Suke to confirm the newcomer's identity.
Charles-Henri Sanson.
The executioner of the French Revolution, the one who sent Louis XVI on his final journey, and also one of the Servants accompanying Chaldea as Fujimaru Ritsuka's guard in the original plot of this oppressive Salem Singularity.
Since Sanson is here, could it be?
"The guest over there."
Suke leaned over the counter and lifted his chin toward Sanson under the withered tree, a business smile hanging on his face.
"Since you didn't leave with the others, does that mean you want to be a customer of our Sweet House?"
"This shop trades honestly with young and old alike. The first piece of cake is free to taste. Want to try the flavor?"
Sanson, who was staring dead at the Chocolate Cake on the counter, shook all over.
He hesitated for a moment, but finally, as if he had made up his mind, he walked over with heavy steps.
"According to the town's commandments, I should not eat this."
Sanson's voice was low and hoarse, sounding as if it were squeezed out from the depths of his throat.
"There is a voice in my head telling me that this does not conform to the 'rules'."
"In this town, pleasure is a taboo, and accepting gifts from outsiders is a taboo amongst taboos."
"But..."
He walked to the counter, his gaze falling on the black cake.
That sweet fragrance, to him, was not merely a temptation of taste.
For him, as a Servant, he actually sensed a trace of incomparably pure... magical energy within this aroma?
No, not just magical energy.
It was something far purer than that, an energy like the source of life itself. Its mere existence could even serve as a "Craft Essence".
In this Singularity, where power was thoroughly suppressed by the rules set by the Demon God Pillar—where even Servants could not dematerialize or obtain magical energy through ordinary food, and would even gradually degenerate into mortals—Suke's dessert shop was like a torch in the dark night.
"Since you want to eat, then eat. It's just a piece of cake."
Suke pushed the plate of Chocolate Cake forward.
"If you are satisfied after eating, you are welcome to visit again. Of course, it would be even better if you could bring me a few more customers."
"Don't you agree, Executioner from France?"
Hearing the words "Executioner from France," Sanson's gray pupils constricted violently.
He snapped his head up to look at Suke. Something seemed about to surge forth in his mind, but it immediately went silent again.
It seemed that verbal stimulation alone was not enough for his rationality to pry open the "lock" existing in his brain.
Sanson simply picked up a piece of cake and put it into his mouth without hesitation.
The next second.
"!"
It was as if a concentrated bomb refined from pure magical energy had detonated in his oral cavity.
Sanson's eyes instantly went round.
That was not ordinary sugar. The raw material used to make this cake was pure magical energy with high purity and absolutely no impurities!
[Chocolate Cake]
[Energy +150, Health +67]
Sanson's Spirit Origin, which had originally dried up and withered due to the suppression of Salem's rules, was now greedily absorbing and converting the magical energy within the moment this cake was swallowed, like parched earth meeting sweet rain.
Although the magical energy converted from a small piece of cake could not restore much to Sanson as a Servant, this was a signal sufficient to shatter his worldview—
In this Singularity where the supernatural was forbidden, there actually existed food that could directly restore magical energy?!
Sanson looked at the cakes filling the counter in the small house behind Suke in disbelief, feeling that long-lost trace of magical energy flowing within his body.
He felt the "lock" in his brain suddenly snap open. Under the impact of the magical energy, all his memories as a Servant were awakened.
He was not a member of the townspeople of this town, but a Servant from the organization named Chaldea.
"May I ask how this cake is made? How much can you provide? Please forgive my rudeness, I am truly..."
Sanson forced himself to calm down. Having lost contact with his Master, he did not know how long he had been muddled in this Singularity.
"Calm down a bit. Let's chat while we eat."
Suke leaned against the counter and cut another piece of cake, handing it to Sanson:
"It seems your condition has improved quite a bit. Then we can talk about business—as a Servant, you came from Chaldea, right? Where is your Master?"
___
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