Because of Little Master's casual line…
He had completely treated her as Adrian's woman.
And honestly—
Adrian was ridiculously handsome.
Even someone like Nojiko, who wasn't a face-lover,
felt her defenses wobble every time she looked at him.
She wanted to clarify things, to deny instinctively—
But—
"Alright, enough chatter. Go prepare."
Adrian cut her off before she could say anything.
Nojiko's words got stuck in her throat.
She felt suffocated from the interruption.
More importantly—
Adrian didn't deny Little Master calling her "Sister-in-law."
"…Does that mean…"
Her mind drifted into dangerous territory.
One of life's three great illusions:
He likes me.
Adrian had zero idea that one offhand "Sister-in-law" had instantly sent Nojiko spiraling into wild romantic delusion.
"Nojiko! What are you spacing out for?"
Nami hurried over, grabbing her sister aside.
"You're the one who challenged Little Master. What are you standing frozen for? Go prepare!"
Nami's push snapped Nojiko out of her fantasy.
"O-Okay…"
She still responded a beat slow, cheeks slightly pink.
But she did start moving.
And so—
Half an hour later
"H-How can it be this good…?"
Nojiko held her chopsticks in a daze, a piece of Little Master's stir-fried squid in her mouth, eyes trembling at the explosion of flavor.
She had smelled his cooking before,
but this was her first time actually tasting Little Master's creation.
And after that one bite…
She instantly understood the gap between them.
A gap not measured in years—
but in light-years.
Even if she trained for fifty or a hundred years,
she couldn't hope to replicate even the shadow of this flavor.
"I think the result speaks for itself," Adrian said calmly.
Her stunned expression was all the conclusion needed.
Adrian knew the outcome from the very beginning.
This was Little Master—
a protagonist-tier chef from a cooking-fantasy world.
If Nojiko somehow won,
that would be the real plot twist.
"…I admit defeat."
Nojiko finally lowered her hands.
Against cooking of this caliber,
even real-world master chefs wouldn't stand a chance—
let alone her.
Little Master's skill was simply overwhelming.
So overwhelming that she had nothing to be ashamed of.
"Little Master, you fully deserve the position of head chef," Nojiko declared.
"Sister-in-law praises me too much," Little Master beamed.
"Your cream potato soup was very tasty as well."
Nojiko's face instantly flushed again.
She snuck several glances at Adrian—
but every time Adrian turned his eyes toward her,
she fled like a startled rabbit.
Of course Adrian noticed.
He wasn't blind—
and her behavior was way too obvious.
"Being too handsome really is troublesome…"
Adrian sighed internally.
Call it narcissism if one wished—
but facts were facts.
Anyone saying he wasn't handsome would be a liar.
Yet he wasn't the only one who noticed Nojiko's behavior.
There was someone else—
Someone very perceptive:
Nami.
She had been watching Nojiko from the start.
Her initial suspicion was mild.
But now—
with Nojiko blushing, sneaking glances, acting shy—
There was no way to ignore it.
"Nojiko… don't tell me you really—"
Nami froze, glancing at Adrian, her head throbbing painfully.
Just judging from Nojiko's behavior,
pretending that she wasn't falling for Adrian was simply impossible.
And that—
Was a huge problem.
A catastrophic problem.
Because ever since she and Nojiko were forced onto this ship,
Nami had one secret plan:
Find a chance to escape.
They were coerced, not voluntary members.
She never intended to stay.
But opportunities to run were scarce,
and she had been forced to bide her time.
As soon as she found a chance,
she would escape with Nojiko.
But now—
If Nojiko starts falling for Adrian…
How is she supposed to escape?
She couldn't abandon her sister.
That was never an option.
Yet Adrian had unknowingly deployed—
A devastating beauty trap.
And Nojiko looked on the verge of completely falling for it.
Nami clenched her teeth.
No.
Absolutely not.
She had to snap Nojiko out of it.
There was no way she could let Adrian's pretty-boy charm ruin all her escape plans.
Nojiko must NOT fall into Adrian's beauty trap!
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