I seemed to have arrived late. Lina was sitting there, puffing her cheeks in frustration, glaring at me.
"Karen, didn't you say you'd be back before lunch?"
Her tone was icy—yep, she was definitely angry. If I didn't apologize and explain right away, I'd be in trouble. She'd probably ignore me all day.
"I'm sorry! I didn't expect it to take that long."
"So, what exactly were you doing?"
She was still mad. I had planned to surprise her later, but it looked like I'd have to explain everything now. I couldn't think of a good excuse… so I decided to tell the truth.
"I diverted the river water next to the farmland, so you won't have to go there to water it anymore."
"What!? I want to see it!"
"..."
Lina's angry face instantly shifted to one of pure curiosity. The speed of that mood swing… I could barely keep up.
"Karen, hurry! Take me to see it!"
I snapped out of my surprise. The excited Lina in front of me didn't seem mad anymore. I glanced at the steaming dishes on the table, my voice trembling a little as I spoke.
"Let's eat first, or the food will get cold."
"Fine. But you'd better finish every bite of the lunch I made with all my strength. That's what you get for being late."
Ah… so she was still angry after all. I silently swore to myself that I'd never be late again. Yes! A promise is a promise!
"I'll definitely finish it!"
I straightened my back and responded to Lina with all my might, arms stiff at my sides like a soldier standing at attention before a commander.
Sitting down on the chair, I looked at the meal before me — and at Lina, smiling sweetly as she watched me. I swallowed hard, picked up the spoon, scooped up a bit of the potato and radish shreds she'd cooked, and gathered my courage to put it into my mouth.
But just as I was about to close my mouth, I froze — lips half open — as Lina's earlier words echoed in my head.
"Finish the lunch I made with all my effort. That's what you get for being late."
I was late, so this was punishment. If it tasted good, it wouldn't be called punishment in the first place.
That meant Lina had already tasted it herself… and it must be the same flavor as this morning.
"What's wrong? Aren't you going to eat?"
Lina propped her chin on her hands, her tone carrying the playful pressure of someone forcing me to accept my fate. I had no choice but to take the bite.
It wasn't the same as this morning — it was a completely new taste.
What kind of chemical reaction was this? It looked perfectly fine, but somehow, something inside had gone terribly wrong.
What in the world did she put in it to create such a terrifying flavor?
I decided to give it a name — The Unknown Flavor. Or simply… Unflavor.
"Is it good, Karen?"
Lina asked with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.
Should I betray my honest feelings… or tell her the truth?
I could feel sweat forming on my forehead, my gaze darting around as I avoided looking directly at her.
"Y-Yeah… it's good," I managed to say.
I just couldn't bring myself to tell her it was bad — not when she had worked so hard to make it.
If I told her it tasted awful, she might lose confidence altogether.
"It's not good at all," Lina muttered, lowering her head in disappointment.
So she had tasted it already.
Now wasn't the time to let her stay down — I had to cheer her up.
And the best way to do that… was to eat everything she'd made as if it were delicious.
"That's not true. Look, I'm almost done eating," I said, forcing a grin as I shoveled another bite into my mouth.
I looked at Lina while still chewing the last bite. Once I swallowed, I spoke to her gently.
"Anything you cook, I'll always finish it."
Lina's face instantly turned red. She lowered her head and fidgeted with her fingers.
"R-Really?" she murmured shyly.
But I couldn't really focus on her reaction — the Unflavor had completely taken over my senses. My tongue felt like it was dying, so I quickly scooped a mouthful of rice to save myself.
(So good.)
At least the rice was perfectly cooked.
It was like finding an oasis in the middle of a desert — a small miracle that rescued my taste buds.
"I'm done," I said at last, setting down my spoon.
I finished every single dish.
Now my stomach feels awful — like I'll be making countless trips to the toilet later.
Lina had managed to eat a little too.
She leaned back in her chair, face pale and twisted in discomfort.
Since we didn't have anywhere else to go for now, it was the perfect time to tell her about the next task.
"Lina, I'm going to assign you some work now."
"...What do I have to do?"
Her voice was weak and lifeless, still not fully recovered from the Unflavor experience. Slowly, she pushed herself upright and looked at me.
"You're in charge of doing the laundry, keeping the ice in the storage room from melting, and making lunch. If you have free time, you can read the books in the study."
"Making lunch? I can cook!?"
The moment she heard she could cook, Lina's eyes lit up, and all the tiredness vanished from her face.
"Yes," I said. "I'll be outside taking care of the farmland and the livestock, so I won't have time to prepare lunch. But I'll cook breakfast and dinner together with you."
"But... my cooking isn't good," Lina said, her voice suddenly small and uncertain. She must have been remembering the Unflavor from earlier.
To reassure her, I smiled and said gently, "You'll definitely get better. No matter how it tastes right now, I'll finish every bite you make."
"Really?"
She looked at me with hopeful eyes. Meanwhile, I couldn't help but wonder if my stomach would actually survive that promise.
Well... I'd just have to get used to it someday.
"Of course it's true."
But Lina still wore that downcast look.
Not wanting to give her a chance to sink deeper into it, I quickly changed the topic.
"Right, didn't you say you wanted to see the farmland? You should come later and see the updates I made to it."
"Mm… I'll go take a look," she replied softly.
Her tone wasn't nearly as lively as when she first heard about it.
So it wasn't that easy to shift her mood, huh?
I decided to keep distracting her.
"Let's wash the dishes together," I suggested.
"Okay."
Lina took charge of covering the dishes with soap bubbles, while I was responsible for rinsing all the foam away.