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Chapter 89 Festival [2]

And that was...

"It lacks flavor, needs extra seasoning, and could use a few more minutes in the oven. I\'d classify it as mediocre, just barely meeting the mark. It\'s alright for filling your stomach, but there are much better choices available elsewhere."

She was the Empire-renowned \'Iron Tongue\' a famed and mysterious food critic that judged the most famous restaurants and food stalls within the Empire.

Every month, in the new issues of \'The Empire Daily\', one of the Empire\'s most renowned magazines, a segment would be dedicated just to her critiques.

Having done this for several years now, she had a cult following that religiously followed her every critique. Many restaurants and food stalls have been affected by her reviews, with several stores shutting down or others booming in business.

In any case, with the festival ongoing, Evelyn decided to suit up and get to work.

While it wasn\'t much, she did receive a small salary each month for her reviews.

"Next up..."

Licking her lips, Evelyn finished the food in her grasp and took out her notepad.

In there, she had a small list of restaurants and stalls that she had to check during the festival.

[Moss\'s Barbeque]

Evelyn circled it with her pen.

"I\'ll go here next."

With the decision made, she stood up from her bench and headed towards where the stall was located.

The distance wasn\'t far. It was about a five-minute walk.

"Hm."

When she arrived, she was surprised to see a familiar figure waiting at the back of the line.

\'Kiera?\'

Evelyn almost panicked and lowered her hat. It was important that she kept her identity a secret.

If her identity was found out, then a lot of her credibility would shatter. She couldn\'t allow that to happen.

Even so, as she lowered her hat, she couldn\'t help but take a second glance at Kiera.

The dazzling sunlight from the sun shone upon her platinum hair, making it shine like a well-polished gem.

With her focus on her wallet, Kiera counted her bills, her expression contorting slightly as she looked up at the price board while muttering, \'What kind of ridiculous pricing is this? You might as well just rob me.\'

Words aside, her face—her eyes and nose—held such beauty that onlookers couldn\'t help but wonder if they\'d ever see something similar again.

It was a scene that Evelyn was all too familiar with.

The same was true for her, but with her disguise, she didn\'t have to worry about such a situation.

Or so she thought.

"What are you doing?"

"....!"

Raising her head, she spotted Kiera looking at her with a weird look.

She silently swallowed.

That\'s right, she might just think my outfit is weird...

"Evelyn?"

"....!"

Flinching slightly, Evelyn pretended to cough. But that didn\'t work as Kiera\'s voice once again rang.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"Ha, this..."

Seeing that her identity had even been revealed, Evelyn sighed and took off her hat.

"Yes..."

She almost sounded resigned.

No, she was resigned.

"Uh, the fuck...? I knew it was you, but when I actually see it in person, I can\'t stop the shivers."

Kiera rubbed the side of her arms.

"What the hell are you doing dressed like that?"

"Uh? I, it\'s nothing. It\'s just…"

With a twitch of her mouth, Evelyn glanced around and explained.

"It\'s just that the stares bother me, so I wear this disguise."

"That?"

Kiera looked at her up and down. Then, as if giving up, she turned back to face the line.

".....I don\'t judge."

"Your actions don\'t match your words."

"Okay, I do. You look ridiculous."

"...."

Evelyn kept her mouth shut and just waited behind her. She had pretty much grown used to Kiera\'s venomous tongue over the past few months. Something like this wasn\'t going to phase her.

Furthermore, she had a job to do.

[Moss\'s Barbeque] - A unique chain of pop-up barbeque stalls. With growing fame, it was one of Evelyn\'s main targets of review.

There were several criteria that she used to judge a pop-up store. One of the criteria was the speed at which the food was served and how efficient the service was.

So far the line was quite fast.

Within a couple of minutes, she was already almost at the front.

\'Speed, I\'ll give it eight out of ten.\'

By her standards, that was a great score.

"Uh? Why the..."

Just then, she heard Kiera\'s stunned voice. Raising her head, her eyes widened.

"....Ah?"

Like Kiera, she couldn\'t believe that sight before her.

"Next up."

Hearing the all too familiar dry and even voice, Evelyn blinked several times to make sure she wasn\'t seeing things. Once she was sure that she wasn\'t, her mouth dropped.

"....What in the world?"

Of all the people that she would\'ve expected to serve her, Julien was the last person she thought of.

Wearing an apron, and gloves, he served food with the same stoic expression he always wore.

\'How can someone as prideful as him be doing something like this?\'

This wasn\'t the Julien that she knew.

Just what sort of...

"Next."

"Uh, ah? Kiera?"

Feeling his gaze, Evelyn turned around and was shocked to see that she was the next up in line. No, clearly Kiera was supposed to be ahead of her, but where did she...

"Are you not going to order something?"

"Oh, no. I will."

Seeing that she couldn\'t find Kiera anywhere, Evelyn glanced at the menu. There were many questions that she wanted to ask, like \'What are you doing here? Why are working here?\' and so on. However, she held herself back and just ordered.

"I\'ll take a classic, please. With extra sauce."

"Is that all?"

"....Yes."

"Okay."

Taking a small breath, Evelyn waited as her order started to get prepared. She watched as Julien carefully scooped up the meat and placed it over a bun. His actions were fluid and looked rather elegant.

It was odd, but for some reason, the food started to look even more appetizing.

\'No, don\'t let this fool you.\'

Evelyn was quick to snap out of such a state.

She was a professional critic. She wasn\'t going to let that affect her judgment. With a soft, \'Hoo\', Evelyn slapped her cheeks and put on a serious face.

Julien came shortly after with her order.

"That will be fifteen Rend."

"Here."

Handing over the money, she received her order and left. Looking around, while holding onto the steaming hot food, she headed over towards a more secluded bench where she sat down.

Looking around, she took out her notepad and started writing.

"The aroma is enticing, and the overall display is rather pleasing. While I\'d recommend incorporating a bit more sauce, Moss\'s Barbeque has certainly upheld its esteemed reputation thus far..."

For some reason, she loved to narrate over herself while writing, but it had become a habit of hers and it was too troublesome to change it.

"Alright, it\'s time to try it."

Sniffing the food, and feeling its powerful aroma, her mouth started to salivate.

What a great smell.

Licking her lips, she brought the bun near her mouth, and...

Took a bite.

"....Hmm."

Her eyes immediately squinted with joy as the juices exploded in her mouth and an intense flavor spread into her tongue.

The more she chewed, the more the flavor intensified.

Stronger, and stronger, and...

"....!"

Hold on.

Evelyn\'s chewing slowed.

Something wasn\'t...

"Umm."

All of a sudden her lips twisted.

"....Nn?!"

And...

"Pfttt!"

The food flew out of her mouth shortly after.

"Akh...!"

Holding onto her throat, her eyes turned bloodshot as she held her throat with both hands.

"S-salty! H...Help!"

On the very same day, the \'Iron Tongue\' left a scathing review on the \'Empire Times\'.

[Moss\'s Barbecue ] - I\'ve never been to the sea, but I know now what it tastes like. Never again! The shop closed shortly after.

***

The next two days of the Festival went by in a flash.

Before I knew it, it was the day of the play. Staring at the script before me, I closed my eyes and tried to immerse myself in the role.

I felt my face twitch and a series of emotions flooded my mind. From fear to anger, to sadness... I circulated through all the emotions, but even as I tried my best to find the right combination, I never felt satisfied.

"....It\'s not working."

Opening my eyes, I stared at my reflection from the mirror positioned in front of me.

I was currently dressed in common clothing. A pair of brow pants, and a white shirt tucked underneath.

I looked like a regular person.

At least in this world.

To Tok—

I heard a knock coming from the entrance of the room and turned in the direction of the door.

"Come in."

"Ah, hello."

The one who had entered was none other than the writer. She had a nervous expression on her face.

"....How are you doing?"

I could tell why she was worried.

"I\'m fine."

"Then..."

"It should be fine."

Only then did her face lit up.

"Really?"

"....Yes."

"Ah, that\'s great."

Placing her hand on her chest, she let out a visible sigh of relief.

"It\'s not like I doubt you. Everyone has seen your skills, but... The way you abruptly left at the reading and how you haven\'t shown up for the practices left the others a bit worried. But I know it\'s because you\'re trying to practice \'method acting\'. For this reason, we allowed you to do what you wanted, but I was still pretty worried."

"...."

I just quietly listened to the side without saying anything.

What Method Acting. I simply just couldn\'t do it.

I still let the misunderstanding go on. It wasn\'t as if I could just tell her I couldn\'t do it. At least, not this late into the play.

"Okay then, the play will start in a bit. I\'ll leave you to it."

With those words, she left the room and closed the door behind her.

Clank—!

"...."

A strange silence gripped my surroundings as I stood still and turned to face the mirror.

Placing the tips of my fingers over the edges of my mouth, I lightly pushed them up into a smile.

".....Crazy."

***

30 minutes before the play.

Aoife stood in her room and looked at herself in the mirror.

"Hi~"

In one moment, her expression was calm and cheerful. It was a stark contrast to her usual self. Her smile was also extremely piercing.

But in the next moment...

"H-ha... W-why are you doing this to me?"

Her face was pale, and her pupils shook. It was a complete change that took less than a couple of seconds.

Staring at the mirror, all Aoife could see was a scared woman.

Fear had completely overtaken her as her entire body trembled. From the little details of her expression to the coloring of her face.

It was perfect.

She was perfect.

"....."

Gradually, her face returned to normal.

Her efforts had finally paid off. Although her role was small, she was confident that she wouldn\'t be swallowed by his acting like before.

That at the very least she\'d be able to keep up against him.

"Huu."

Though she thought like that, she couldn\'t help but be nervous. Aoife didn\'t try to push the nervousness away.

Rather, she tried to embrace it.

The nervousness came from the fear of not being able to perform well.

Her performance was a representation of fear. For that reason, she used the emotions she was currently feeling to further fuel her immersion.

"I can do it."

She had to do it.

"...."

Aoife retrieved some makeup and lightly dabbed it underneath her eyes, concealing the noticeable dark circles beneath.

It had been a while since she had slept properly, but to her, it was worth it.

Even if her role was small...

".....I\'ll take over the stage."

If that was the last thing she did.

Because.

She was Aoife K. Megrail.

The Princess of the Empire, and her own harshest critic.