Allies in the Kitchen
“Yes. If it’s all right with you, why don’t you eat something first and recover your strength? Then you can properly search your memories again. That’s how confident I am in my innocence.”
After that bold declaration, I dashed straight into the kitchen and began rummaging through the shelves—clatter, clatter!—clutching at straws. This was my last chance, after all.
‘Stay calm and prepare. If I do this right, even Sofia will fall for it……!’
The plan was already fully formed in my head: a way to dispel Sofia’s suspicions. On paper, it sounded perfectly plausible. If everything went according to plan, we could get through this without any trouble.
Click!
I was brimming with confidence—right up until I opened the empty built-in cabinet.
The plan hit its first obstacle the moment it began.
‘Ah… right. We barely had any usable ingredients left.’
My mind went completely blank. The plan collapsed in an instant. No wonder I’d scraped together that shaved ice outside earlier.
Thud, clack!Rustle…!
Still, I couldn’t give up at the very start. I had to do something. I pulled out whatever looked remotely usable and lined it up on the shelf.
“With just this, I really can’t make a proper meal, can I?”
All I managed to find were the basic seasonings I’d seen earlier, some flour, a small amount of frozen milk and eggs, and—after digging deeper—butter. Aside from that, there were the leftover fruits from earlier and the now-cold red bean paste.
Damn it. I’d talked such a big game…… What on earth was I supposed to make with this?
First, I’d have to reuse the shaved ice. It would be Sofia’s first time trying it, after all.
‘Still, I should show some sincerity. Maybe I can whip up something warm this time?’
The shaved ice was just a smokescreen to buy time. What I really needed was a proper main dish. And now that the demonic beasts were gone, I could use fire freely. If possible, I wanted to make something that suited the cold environment.
“Hmm……”
But the limited ingredients made it difficult. What could I possibly create with what I had? If only something would come to mind as quickly as the red beans had for the shaved ice……
While I was lost in thought, rubbing my chin, a voice called out.
“Breeder Oppa? Is something wrong-yap? You look really worried-desu-yong…!”
“Huh? Derke?”
Looking down, I saw Derke bundled up in an oversized winter coat. The sleeves hung loosely, making her look adorable. She’d even pulled a fur hat low over her head, probably because of the cold. Her silver hair, tied on both sides, made her resemble a snow hare from the tundra.
“You must be exhausted after today…… Why did you follow me all the way here instead of resting with the other girls?”
“I want to cook with Oppa again-yap! I also just want to stay close to you a little longer……”
“Huh? And?”
Derke’s voice trailed off as she suddenly shifted her gaze behind me. Her eyes narrowed in clear displeasure, silver pupils sharpening.
Behind her stood……
“Whitey~? Is there anything we can help with? It’s almost my turn, so let’s finish this quickly and head back, okay?”
“I’ll help too-desu! Thanks to Teacher’s dessert earlier, I’ve got my energy back, so now it’s my turn to repay you-desu-!”
“T-Teacher…? I’ll help if I can! You’ve got some good idea, right? Right?!”
Derke’s targets of vigilance were lined up in a neat row, as if they’d been summoned by rank from the administrative office—everyone except the final-year students.
“Oh? Everyone……?”
All of them were staring at me, eyes full of the desire to be useful. Raylin wanted to secure her turn. Sonya wanted to repay me for the fruit shaved ice. Eros, my accomplice, looked like she’d come along out of nervousness.
“Heh……”
A smile naturally formed on my lips. Their immediate goals differed, but every one of them was gathered around me.
‘I’ve managed to win over quite a few good dragons, haven’t I?’
Even though Sofia still suspected me, with these four by my side, I felt like we could overcome this crisis.
“Tch, helping Oppa is supposed to be my job……”
Derke grumbled while glaring behind her, pouting like a child whose candy had been stolen. She clearly didn’t like the growing number of competitors. Sorry, Derke, but right now I desperately needed all the help I could get. If I could make use of everyone’s abilities, I might be able to create something even under these harsh conditions.
“…All right! Then, would you all lend me a hand?!”
First, I asked Raylin for help.
Whoosh—!!!
A scorching breath of purgatory erupted from Raylin’s mouth.
Fwoosh…!
With a single fiery exhale, the frozen firewood burst into flames. It looked like nothing more than a breath, yet the intense heat sent flames roaring upward. The wood was already on the verge of turning to charcoal.
As expected, you needed fire to cook anything. If it weren’t for Raylin, I would’ve been in real trouble. Trying to light it myself would’ve taken forever.
Crackle, pop! Pop…!
Warmth began to fill the central brazier that had been cold and lifeless. It felt like stepping into a hot sauna. Sweat was already threatening to drip down my face.
‘Even in this freezing weather, Raylin’s flames are as powerful as ever. Feels nice and warm……’
Just as I was enjoying the newly toasty atmosphere and watching the burning logs—
Exposed to Fire Dragon’s Inferno!
Stat values doubled.
Raylin’s special trait activated immediately. A buff that doubled my stats. At the same time, vitality and confidence surged through my entire body.
“Thanks! As expected of a Fire Dragon’s breath……!”
“Haha, this much is nothing~! If you’re grateful, you’d better repay this big sis properly later, got it?!”
Raylin pointed at her own lips with a finger and grinned. She meant I should praise her directly later instead of just with words.
“Of course! Thanks to you, I think I can actually make something worthy of being called cooking now. First, I need to thaw the frozen stuff……”
I placed the rock-hard frozen milk and eggs near the stove to thaw. I planned to use them to make dough.
Sizzle……!
Under the intense heat from the Fire Dragon, the milk quickly melted and the thin layer of ice on the eggs began to drip away. If I left them any longer, they’d start cooking instead of just thawing.
“Great, now I just need to mix this with flour—”
“Derke will help with that-desu-yong-!”
“…Huh?”
Whoosh…!
As I tried to measure the flour into the eggs and milk, a whisk flew through the air. Derke had sent one of her wraiths to intervene, probably to keep Raylin in check. She wore a determined expression, as if she refused to lose.
“Um, Derke? This needs to be kneaded by hand until it’s nice and thick……”
“Then Derke will knead it directly with her own hands-yap-!”
Before I could even finish speaking, Derke rolled up her sleeves and charged forward. She seemed especially motivated today. Was it because of the Fire Dragon’s heat buff? Maybe it was an area-wide buff that affected the whole party, not just me.
Either way, having more hands made things easier.
“U-Um… Breeder Teacher?”
“Hmm? Did you call me, Sonya?”
“What can I help with?”
Sonya poked my back with her finger, actively looking for a task. As expected of a second-year elite.
“Well, there isn’t really anything I need right now……”
“R-Really!? Does that mean this Ice Dragon is useless when it comes to cooking……?”
She looked utterly dejected at the news that there was nothing for her to do. I felt like I had to give her something. If a first-year was working so hard for me, I couldn’t just leave a second-year standing around. That would definitely hurt her pride.
“Ah, then could you freeze the milk until it’s light and fluffy like snowflakes?”
“Pardon? The milk……?”
“Yes. While we’re making the proper snack, I’d like to serve Sofia a different version of the shaved ice we had earlier. Would that be possible?”
“That’s easy-desu! Leave it to me!”
It wasn’t part of the original plan, but I deliberately gave her a task. This worked out better anyway—it wouldn’t look like I was just reusing the same thing.
Glug, glug, glug…!
Sonya immediately poured the milk into a glass cup. She probably intended to freeze the milk while it was still in the cup—
Gulp, gulp, gulp…!
“…Huh? Hey, Sonya?”
“Yes? Is there a problem-desu?”
“W-Why are you suddenly chugging the milk?”
I was dumbfounded. She had drunk it instead of freezing it as expected. It was completely unexpected behavior. We didn’t have much milk to begin with, so I couldn’t help reacting sharply.
“Ah, don’t worry. The easiest way to freeze a liquid properly is to control it from inside the body…!”
“Pardon? Does that mean you’re going to expel the milk you just drank back out through your body?”
“Yes-! Exactly!”
Huh? Seriously? She was going to drink it and then excrete it again? Directly through her own body? Even so, surely she didn’t mean……