Whether it was the three doctors or the branch director — all of them had lived lives of comfort before tonight.
So, facing this writhing mass of cockroaches——
"Everyone, relax. Composure, please."
Ling Ke reminded them with a smile. "There are still two more dishes. It's not too late to hesitate after you've seen them all."
His words had absolutely zero comforting effect.
Because Edelweiss and the others all understood perfectly well:
If the first dish was already this insane — then what came next...
"Second dish!"
Ling Ke spoke at his measured pace. The maids lifted the second set of covers simultaneously.
"..."
As expected. Even worse.
Because that white-and-pink mass was something everyone at the table recognized immediately.
Honkai Beast body tissue.
Perhaps because they'd already steeled themselves.
When the second dish was revealed for what it truly was, Edelweiss and the others weren't particularly shocked.
They were starting to wonder: what exactly would the third dish be?
Could it actually be worse than Honkai Beast flesh?
Ling Ke still wore his smile.
He didn't drag it out. The answer came quickly.
"Third dish!"
The maids lifted the final set of covers on cue.
At that moment——
???
Everyone seated at the long table — Edelweiss included — wore puzzled expressions.
The reason was simple:
The third dish was absurdly normal.
A few slices of meat arranged on a bed of greens. A platter.
The kind of thing you'd order at any upscale Western restaurant.
Plated with the kind of precision you'd expect at a five-star establishment.
Edelweiss and the others were baffled.
Every one of them looked toward Ling Ke.
He just kept smiling, then gestured with his hand.
"Please — choose for yourselves."
"I will not interfere."
He clearly had other plans.
He even made a point of adding: "Tonight's 「banquet」 — I am treating everyone with courtesy."
"So, as long as the 「guests」 maintain their manners, you can all leave safely."
"I hope everyone can appreciate my good intentions."
At that point——
"..."
Dr. Antonio, seated to Ling Ke's right, swallowed hard.
He genuinely did not know how to choose.
Ling Ke's intentions were obviously malicious.
First dish — legless cockroaches.
Second dish — Honkai Beast body tissue.
The horror was clearly escalating step by step.
Which meant the seemingly normal third dish had to be hiding something.
But...
The cockroaches — practically the same as eating filth — he couldn't bring himself to touch them.
Force them down and he'd vomit for certain.
And that would be "losing manners."
Based on the meaning behind Ling Ke's words, losing manners meant losing your life... death.
As for the Honkai Beast tissue...
Eating that would also kill you.
Then...
"Time is money."
Ling Ke spoke suddenly, and every 「guest」 at the table flinched.
He looked toward one of them. "I think Dr. Moniz should have a particularly deep appreciation for that saying."
The moment the words left his mouth, his expression went ice-cold.
The speed of the shift was terrifying.
But what was even more terrifying——
"Fwoosh fwoosh fwoosh!"
Ling Ke's right fingertips flicked — five threads, so fine they were almost invisible, shot out and wrapped precisely around every 「guest's」 neck.
Like putting collars on dogs.
After he'd finished, he even — very "thoughtfully" — gave those 「threads」 a few light tugs. Just so every 「guest」 present could immediately grasp one simple fact.
From now on, their heads could be separated from their bodies at any moment.
"Last thirty seconds."
Ling Ke's voice dropped low. "Choose one of the three. Or everything."
"Timing starts!"
As he spoke, he produced a pocket watch and held it before him.
"Tick tock tick tock~"
The grand hall went silent enough to hear a pin drop.
The mechanical clicking of the pocket watch's gears cut through the quiet with terrible clarity.
And that ice-cold sensation at their throats — the threads — constantly agitated the nerves of Edelweiss and the others, making their scalps tingle.
A dozen or so seconds passed like this...
"Ding!"
Dr. Egas moved first.
He picked up the knife and fork already set in front of him, swiftly speared a slice of meat from the third dish, and brought it toward his mouth.
But at the very last instant before it reached him, he paused.
He looked at Ling Ke's half-smiling, knowing expression.
He opened his mouth and ate the meat.
Only after swallowing it... and feeling no discomfort whatsoever.
Did he finally let himself breathe.
With him taking the lead, the others stopped hesitating.
All of them chose the third dish.
Seeing this——
"Heh!"
The smile on Ling Ke's face grew wider.
And with that smile, every heart at the table skipped a beat.
They heard——
"I wonder — how does everyone find the taste of this 'third dish'?"
"This is something I meticulously prepared."
The corners of Ling Ke's mouth curved upward. "Of course, I must especially thank Miss Edelweiss here."
He gave the golden-haired girl a meaningful look. "After all, it was her selfless dedication that provided the most special... ingredients."
!!!
Edelweiss froze.
She stared blankly at the meat slices on the plate in front of her...
"Ugh!"
She clamped a hand over her mouth.
Expression — pure terror.
Tears streamed continuously from the corners of her eyes.
She didn't want to die.
She really didn't want to die.
But just the thought that those meat slices were actually——
"Blech!"
Her body's reflex — she couldn't fight it.
In the end, she vomited.
"Sigh, what a pity."
Ling Ke released the threads around the other four 「guests'」 necks. Leaving only Edelweiss's.
He walked slowly to her side, right index finger raised, its tip connected to the final thread.
He bent down and whispered beside her ear.
"Miss Edelweiss — why so worked up?"
He smiled. In a volume only the two of them could hear, word by word: "Those really were just ordinary meat slices, you know."
"Freshly taken from the cafeteria."
"You——"
She'd been toyed with.
Toyed with by this person in front of her — with a single, simple sentence.
She — she'd even thought she had eaten——
"Please rest assured. I place great importance on etiquette."
"I would never serve 「dog food」 at the table."
!!!
Edelweiss's breath caught.
She — besides her special hobbies — especially loved raising dogs.
She had two in her dorm.
She'd even sleep holding them.
She heard exactly what he was implying.
"You — you're not human! You're a demon!"
"You——"
"Shua!"
The hysterical cursing stopped dead.
Edelweiss's head flew off her body.
Blood erupted from her neck like a fountain.
And somehow — whether intentional or not on Ling Ke's part.
The severed head happened to land right in the plate in front of her.
Eyes wide open in death.