CHAPTER 86 - INSERT PUN HERE
🙞❤︎🙜
We returned to the [Sunset Radiance Resort] in good spirits, and I handed over some of our catch to the Demon Chef and his assistants. Fengying told me that tonight we would be enjoying a steak and seafood dinner.
My apprentices were highly amused when I built and rebuilt the [Majestic Oceanfront Sanctuary] five more times just so we could have more vending machine items.
“I can’t help it if I love soda!” I said. “I’m going to my room to rest, you guys are free to do whatever you want today. See you at dinner.”
They went off to the [Sunset Radiance Resort] while I stayed at the [Majestic Oceanfront Sanctuary]. The privacy was very welcome, and I had fun playing around in the heated indoor swimming pool. It was quite large and was tiled in light-veined blue marble. Since I was alone and away from disapproving eyes, I could wear my swimsuit in peace and relax while drinking a grape soda.
After my swim, I went to a bedroom and took a nap. When I woke up, I put on a set of cornflower-blue robes and joined the rest of my household at the elegant cocktail lounge of the [Sunset Radiance Resort] where one of Deming’s assistants was serving snacks and non-alcoholic drinks.
“Mmm, this is good,” I said as I bit into a canapé. It was pate on a cracker and it tasted heavenly.
“Teacher, try the hot chocolate,” said Kharli. She handed me a mug.
“Oh, so you know about chocolate?” I asked.
“We know about it now! The chef says the hotel has a lot of great ingredients,” said Kharli.
“This is the best thing ever!” said Mo. “You can keep the sodas, I’ll have this instead.”
Lari was too busy stuffing his face to speak, but he nodded vigorously in agreement.
“Tomorrow, you can take the day off. Do whatever you want,” I said.
“There’s a forest nearby. I’m going foraging,” said Mo.
“Okay, just don’t be disappointed if there’s not a lot of stuff since it’s winter,” I said.
“Lari and I will go with her,” said Kharli. “She shouldn’t go off alone.”
“Okay,” I said. “I’ll stay in the other hotel.”
“Too bad the prince couldn’t come,” said Mo.
“Hey, stop it, you’ll make her cry,” said Kharli.
“I’m not going to cry,” I said.
“Yeah, why would Teacher cry over some man? I bet she could have a whole harem full of men if she wanted,” said Lari.
“Ew, you’re the only one who wants a harem.” Mo wrinkled her nose in disgust.
Lari smirked at her. “When I become a full-fledged farmer, all the girls will be lining up to be my concubine.”
“What? Can ordinary people have harems and concubines?” That was news to me.
“They can’t,” said Kharli.
“I’ll surely obtain a noble title. How does Duke Lari sound?” He struck a “noble” pose with his hand behind his back and his nose in the air.
“Teacher is a Baroness, you think you’ll get a higher title than her?!” Kharli gave him a disapproving look.
Mo covered her mouth with a hand and giggled. “No, Duke is a lower rank because Teacher will be a princess when she marries Prince Baiyu!”
“Enough, you guys are still kids, stop talking about marriage and harems. It’s weird,” I said. “Try these truffle cheese canapés, they’re great.”
“What is a ‘truffle’?” asked Mo.
“It’s a type of mushroom. You might find one when you forage,” I said.
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
“They’re cooking everything because Madam Fengying told us they tried to put the food ingredients in a crate to bring them home last time, but they disappeared when they passed through the hotel door,” said Kharli.
“I tried to take one of the silver statues, but I couldn’t put it in my inventory,” said Lari. “When I took it outside, it disappeared from my hand and reappeared in its original place.”
“Scary!” said Mo.
“But we can put the vending machine items in our inventory,” said Kharli.
“I think it's because we bought those,” said Mo. “The spirit of this hotel let us take it.”
“Wait, so they can’t take the food outside?” I frowned. “Hand me a canapé.”
I was able to put it in my inventory.
“We can put it in our inventory and take it outside when the ingredients are cooked,” said Kharli. “It’s like the bar of metal you showed us, Teacher. We can touch the things you made from it, but not the bar itself.”
“I think you need to be authorized by the spirit to do that.” said Lari. “I tried breaking a chair to make arrow shafts out of it, but the chair disappeared when it broke. Then it reappeared, and it was whole again.”
“No! How could you?!” said Mo. She tried to kick him with her foot, but he dodged. “Don’t do stuff like that, do you want us all to get cursed?”
Kharli sighed and put her body between the two. “Stop fighting.”
Kharli was like the middle child who was always trying to make peace while the other two bickered.
Lari’s experiment was interesting. I’d never even thought of trying to take any of the hotel’s items since I had plenty of stuff, but it was good to know that the items had a self-repairing function. Come to think of it, the stuff in the courtyard house never broke or malfunctioned. Was that because they fixed themselves whenever something went wrong?
The talk then turned more general, though they still teased me about the prince now and then, until it was time for us to go to the dining room. Fengying beamed proudly when we gasped audibly in awe at the silver utensils, crystal glasses, and gold plates. Instead of flowers, a ruby and emerald flower sculpture had been placed at the center of the table that was covered in a snow-white tablecloth.
“Wonderful, you’ve outdone yourself,” I said to my housekeeper.
“Thank you. Please sit, dinner will be served shortly,” she said.
The first dish was oysters grilled with garlic butter and topped with grated cheese. Oysters were not my favorite food, but they were fairly good. Next up was bacon-wrapped shrimp, which all four of us couldn’t get enough of. This was followed by chicken spring rolls served with a peanut sauce that was absolutely delightful. Then we had an artichoke soup with black truffle that was just sublime.
Then came the pièce de résistance: filet mignon with red wine sauce. It was served with mashed potatoes and asparagus. My three apprentices’ chatter subsided as they all fell silent to focus on the food. The next fifteen minutes were full of noises of admiration punctured by occasional exclamations like “mmm, it’s so good” or “I’m in heaven.”
Dessert was a chocolate lava cake that Lari devoured in three bites. The girls and I ate more daintily but with no less intensity.
When we were done eating, we gazed at each other like people who had just experienced a divine vision together. I even felt the urge to kneel down and pray to whichever god had made this meal possible.
“That was the best meal I’ve ever had in my entire life,” I said to Fengying when she and the chef’s assistants came to clear the table.
“I’ll give your compliments to the chef,” she said.
Nothing could top that dinner, so we all went to our bedrooms and retired for the night
***
The next day, perhaps inspired by the fabulous meal I had last night, I felt the urge to try out my new cooking level. The Emberstone quest had rewarded me with exp, so I was now level 5 in Cooking.
Deming was at the [Sunset Radiance Resort], which meant that I could use the industrial kitchen at the [Majestic Oceanfront Sanctuary]. It was huge and had two double ovens, which meant I could bake four items at a time.
The easiest thing I could make at my Cooking level was [Bread]. I took out a [Jug of Water] and [Flour] from my inventory and mixed them together in a [Bowl]. A blue screen appeared with several choices of what I could make: [Bread Dough], [Pizza Dough], and [Pastry Dough].
Of course, I knew that bread was normally not made of just flour and water. At the very least, salt should be added and things like butter, milk, eggs, sugar, etc. were commonly used in recipes. However, the System’s [Bread] used just two ingredients.
I picked [Bread] on the blue screen and poured the [Flour] into the bowl as instructed by the System text. Then I slowly poured the water from the jug into the bowl. To my surprise, the moment the first drop of liquid touched the [Flour], it started seething and didn’t stop until I finished pouring all the water on it. By the time I was done, the [Bread Dough] had been formed. I quickly put it on a baking tray and popped it into the oven using the temperature setting given by the System.
That was easy!
Whistling as I worked, I quickly made three more [Bread Doughs] and put them in the ovens to bake. While I waited for the loaves of bread to finish cooking, I amused myself by rereading the "Secrets of the Ruler’s Court." According to the book’s anonymous author, the Vermilion Bird Ruler’s court-in-exile was populated by a colorful host of characters whose political and love affairs were full of epic drama. There were marriages, divorces, cheating, bribery scandals, duels, brawls, and tons of litigation among the exiles.
After thirty minutes, I heard the chiming sound of the System’s notification.
[The bread has finished cooking.]
I opened the oven door, but my excitement was short-lived, since all I got for my efforts was a lump of coal-like burnt bread. The other three ovens yielded the same thing.
Nonetheless, I didn’t let this discourage me. I baked and baked and baked for five hours until it was noon, and I had to take a break for lunch. Unfortunately, all I got was a bunch of burnt food.
“Ugh, why does this happen?” I complained to my apprentices at lunch.
Kharli looked at the other two, who nodded at her. “Well, we didn’t want to say anything before, but we think you might have been cursed.”