Shinji Matou at Your Service

What exactly is in that bottle that makes Ciel so agitated? Could it be some rare alchemical potion?

No, it's not that.

No matter what kind of alchemical potion it is—a life-saving elixir or a deadly poison—it wouldn't affect a girl whose body is frozen in time by the world. Therefore, it wouldn't be of any particular interest to her.

The contents of the glass bottle aren't anything precious and don't involve any mysterious ingredients. The ingredients for the liquid can be easily bought in the market, and it's not hard to make.

Grinding spices like cloves, fennel seeds, coriander seeds, mustard seeds, turmeric powder, and chili powder, then frying them with simple ingredients like coconut milk, is all it takes.

Yes, what's in the bottle is a curry sauce—a spice and condiment quite popular in East and Southeast Asia.

Could a mere bottle of curry sauce make Ciel this excited? The answer is yes.

Although Ciel is French, she is a hardcore curry addict. So hardcore that she can eat curry for all three meals every day, and going without curry for even one day makes her feel miserable, like an addict going through withdrawal. It's said that during a mission to India, she suddenly became infatuated with curry and couldn't get enough of it, earning her the nickname Curry Nun.

Japan is already a country that loves curry, and Shinji had traveled through curry-loving countries like India, Thailand, and Sri Lanka, combining these experiences with the culinary skills he learned from his food vlog to create this golden curry sauce—the very one inside the glass bottle.

To an ordinary person, it's just a delicious sauce, but to a curry addict like Ciel, it's high-purity dope—no, it's a summons from the devil himself.

The intense gaze, the sound of her swallowing, the way she kept sniffing, and the predatory look on her face like a feral dog ready to pounce made Shinji's skin crawl. He even regretted trying to tempt her.

But since he'd already started, he had to see it through.

Shinji, whose instinct for teasing girls was deeply ingrained, suppressed his discomfort, pretending to be intoxicated as he brought the bottle to his nose and muttered: "Good thing I brought this. Time's short, so let's just make some curry rice. And luckily, there's still some rice left."

"Curry rice—"

Ciel's mouth watered as she thought about curry rice, one of her favorite curry dishes. The idea of mixing that perfectly fragrant golden curry with rice was irresistible.

"Yeah, but there's quite a bit of leftover rice. It'd be a shame to throw it away."

Ciel's eyes sparkled even brighter as she coughed lightly and said, "If there's too much rice, I don't mind helping you finish it. Curry rice is fine for me too."

"Aren't you not eating?"

Shinji asked with a strange look, trying hard to suppress his laughter.

The sixteen-year-old in appearance but twenty-five-year-old in mind nun blushed and hurriedly explained, "The Lord teaches us not to waste food, and as clergy, we should set an example."

Shinji thought about it and realized there was indeed such a saying. If she could even find an excuse like that, what else could he say? He had planned to use this meal to ease the tension between them anyway.

"If you want to eat, just eat. It's only curry rice, not some grand feast—"

Before he could finish his sentence, Ciel suddenly whipped out a Black Key.

"—Uh, what are you doing?"

"Ah!"

Ciel realized what she had done and quickly apologized, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me…"

Damn, Shinji thought. He had forgotten that not only was she a curry addict, but she was also a staunch defender of curry, ready to attack anyone who dared to insult it.

Shinji patted his chest, still a bit shaken, and said with a dry laugh: "Put that away. You don't need that to make curry rice. If you need to keep busy, there's a kitchen knife here; you can help me cut the vegetables."

"Sure, sure," Ciel nodded eagerly. Cutting vegetables was no big deal for her. After all, she grew up in a bakery and knew her way around household chores.

Curry rice's ingredients were simple: potatoes, carrots, with a bit of broccoli, egg, and small pieces of beef tenderloin. Stir-frying and stewing together took only ten minutes, and a pot of fragrant curry rice was ready.

The white rice was soaked in the rich curry sauce, the top layer golden from the egg, while the bottom had turned a translucent amber due to the heat. Garnished with green broccoli and red carrots, the dish was visually stunning, blending warm and cool colors beautifully.

This was just from Shinji's perspective. From Ciel's, this was no mere food; it was an almost perfect work of art, emitting a dreamlike glow.

Yes, a dreamlike glow, just like in that classic food anime, where the dish glows and you can see dragons soaring and fairies dancing, drawing you in completely.

Unable to wait, Ciel grabbed a spoon, mixed the curry with the rice, and took a bite. Her demeanor changed instantly.

She unbuttoned the top two buttons of her habit, revealing her smooth, fair neck. Her lips glistened with curry sauce, and her face was flushed with an odd redness, steam practically rising from her. She looked like she was in pure bliss—no, in hell—since no one in heaven would devour food so ravenously.

If she could still be considered a proper nun before, she had now completely fallen from grace, all because of a bowl of curry rice.

The stark contrast made Shinji almost doubt whether he had accidentally added too much spice or if his magic had gone haywire. He quickly took a bite himself—spicy, fragrant, a bit hot, and slightly sweet. Nothing unusual, just a bit intense in flavor, which his father and uncle liked. His mother and sister found it too strong and usually diluted it with other seasonings.

All Shinji could say was that Ciel truly deserved her title as the Curry Nun. She was beyond help. If he didn't know she was French-Japanese, he might have thought she was from a country where magic bread could be turned into flying pancakes. Maybe that would suit her better—after all, they were all overpowered.

After plating the rest of the curry rice, Shinji brought the nun back to reality from her blissful curry-induced hell.

"Hey, take a break. Don't just keep eating; go check on Merem and see if he's done. If he is, ask Ms. Caren to join us for the meal. Merem probably doesn't need any food right now, having just fed."

"Ah, sure. The curry's still a bit hot, so it'll cool down by the time I get back."

Ciel reluctantly put down her plate and dashed off.

Wait, does that mean if it weren't hot, you wouldn't have gone to get them?

Does curry rice have such an allure? This isn't Food Wars!"