Opening Day Preparations

—Slosh, drip…! —Clink, clink! I poured two spoonfuls of thick coffee concentrate and creamer into the freshly brewed coffee, then stirred it with a teaspoon. The pitch-black liquid, dark as my own eyes, gradually transformed into a rich brown. Making coffee had become second nature by now.

“Here, just like yesterday—I’ve prepared a nice, chilled cup for you. I’d appreciate any advice you can give.”

—Thud…! I set the specially blended coffee, mixed in perfect proportions, onto a coaster and presented it to Johnson.

“Wh-what? You’re already done?!”

The dwarf, barely a meter tall, had been so curious about my special syrup that he’d climbed onto a chair and was peering into the kitchen on tiptoe. Unfortunately for him, the counter separating the kitchen from the bar was higher than he’d expected—practically a wall. Thanks to that, my secret recipe remained safely hidden.

“Yes. So please, take a proper seat.”

“Tch…! Trade secret, huh? Fine, whatever. The entrance ceremony’s still a long way off, so I might as well enjoy a cup first and then talk.”

Johnson’s expression turned indifferent, clearly disappointed that his snooping had failed. Instead, he made a show of leisurely inhaling the aroma, as if getting a petty revenge. These days, even serving coffee with care earned me a fuss. Just drink it already and tell me what I need to know. This is a matter of life and death for me.

“The aroma’s not bad today either. I’ll enjoy it, Breeder.”

With that, Johnson finally lifted the cup. Letting out a hearty “Kuh…!” he downed the coffee in one go. It had just been brewed and must have been scalding, but he showed no sign of discomfort—typical dwarf, through and through. Watching him drink coffee like it was soup made me feel oddly reassured myself.

Even with creamer in it, is he really fine? It must be incredibly bitter…

“Since I’ve had another cup of deeply flavorful coffee today, I’ll keep my word and give you some advice.”

—Clack! Johnson set the cup down and smacked his lips a few times, savoring the aftertaste. Then, looking pleased, he stroked his bushy beard and broke into a satisfied grin.

“Yes, please tell me as quickly as possible.”

“Good grief, you humans are always in such a rush. Even if you survive today’s crisis, you’re still doomed to rot away in this academy for the rest of your life.”

“That’s enough pleasantries. More importantly, what should I serve alongside the coffee to satisfy the young ladies?”

I cut straight to the point, refusing to be drawn into pointless small talk. Getting caught up in his chatter would only waste precious time.

“Hmm, think about it logically. What would you pair with coffee if it were you?”

“Usually cookies or biscuits, right? Cake might work too.”

Drawing from my memories of working part-time at a café for a year, I listed ordinary desserts. Since the place had also sold baked goods, I had a rough idea of the basics of baking. Recently, I’d even experimented with those memories and managed to produce a small batch of cookies.

“Hah, you know your stuff! Can you actually make desserts?”

“Baking, you mean? I’m not great at it, but I can manage.”

So ordinary desserts would suffice after all. I’d been worried they might demand something bizarre, but this was manageable. I’d already succeeded at making cookies once, so it shouldn’t be a problem. Baking had become a small hobby I’d picked up to escape the monotony of daily life. Fortunately, the café kitchen was stocked with everything needed for pastries beyond just coffee—sugar, salt, flour, eggs, and milk were all plentiful. Of course, with the livestock shed gone, eggs and milk would be in short supply for a while… but perhaps these ingredients had been prepared specifically with the dragons’ tastes in mind.

“It’s a relief you know the basics. But that alone won’t be enough.”

“What else do I need?”

“The young ladies have very particular palates. Ordinary desserts won’t satisfy them.”

“Then do they have any specific preferences?”

“Their tastes are all so varied that it’s hard to say for certain… but there’s one thing I can tell you for sure.”

Johnson, who had been humming thoughtfully, slowly parted his thick lips.

“Rather than anything overly stimulating like salty or overly sweet, they prefer flavors that stay true to the basics. If I had to put it another way, they enjoy subtle, refined notes—like what I prefer.”

“Not stimulating, but subtle flavor…”

It sounded simple, yet it was surprisingly demanding. Still, in a way, this was good news. It meant I didn’t need any extravagant ingredients. With the limited supplies I had on hand, I should be able to create something. Even without a fixed recipe, the ingredients could be adapted in countless ways. The only real issue was my lack of practical experience.

“Thank you for the information. Roughly when does the entrance ceremony end?”

“It’ll take another three or four hours at least. They’ll probably come flooding in after lunch.”

Good—there was still time. If I moved now, I wouldn’t be late. I had to do the best I could.

“Oh? You’re getting started right away?”

“Yes. From now on I’ll be busy, so please don’t talk to me.”

“Tch, what a rude way to speak… Well, give it your best shot.”

—Rustle, rustle…! I began by sifting flour, determined to do everything within my power. First, I’ll bake some cookies! That single thought filled my mind. They were perfectly ordinary cookies, but Derke—who was practically a local—had already given them her approval, hadn’t she?

—Shake, shake, shake, shake…! The sifted flour piled up high. I added sugar and salt on top—plenty of sugar, and just a tiny pinch of salt. Since I still wasn’t good at precise measurements, I could only hope it wouldn’t turn out a disaster.

—Tap, crack…! Next, I cracked eggs into a fresh bowl, choosing only the freshest ones, then added a small amount of milk.

—Whisk, whisk, whisk…! The next step was obvious. I stirred everything together with a whisk until evenly mixed. With such a large quantity, my shoulders were already starting to ache.

It would’ve been nice if we had baking soda or powder… Unfortunately, there was none here. I’d ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠have to ask Erdin later. For now, I’d make do with what I had. I’d already baked cookies once before, so the taste shouldn’t differ much. The lack of rising wasn’t a big deal either—after all, I was making cookies, not bread.

—Pour…! I combined the well-mixed batter. Kneading and baking it would finish the job. Everything had gone smoothly so far.

But… is this really okay? If I continued like this, I’d just end up with the same plain cookies as yesterday.

—Squish, squish, squish…!

“Hmm? Why’d you stop?”

Just as the dough was coming together nicely, intrusive thoughts made my hands freeze. Johnson, still lingering in the lounge, voiced his curiosity.

“……”

Choosing something I was confident in had been fine. But what came next? What more could I do? Would plain cookies without any distinctive character really satisfy them?

Even if dragons prefer flavors true to the basics, is my cookie truly “basic” in the best sense? Objectively speaking, it wasn’t. Derke had said it tasted good, but she was relatively young and already had high favorability toward me—her positive reaction might have been influenced by that. So what else did I need here? Subtle flavor, nothing stimulating. Maybe I should’ve just boiled some rice water instead of bothering with cookies.

“This isn’t easy…”

My resolve was softening, just like the gooey cookie dough dripping from my hands. That was when Johnson’s muttering reached me—he was still sitting there, refusing to leave.

“Ahem, by the way, the coffee I roasted today smells more subtle and fragrant than usual.”

It was the kind of deliberate, obvious muttering meant for me to overhear.

Ah, that’s it…! Johnson, thank you so much—!!

I’d found my hint. I grabbed a handful of the cooled coffee beans and—

—Grind, grind, grind…! —finely ground them in the grinder. I mixed in a small amount of sugar, then transferred the mixture to a frying pan.

—Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle…! I roasted it once more over low heat. The process was meant to draw out the coffee’s aroma while blending in just the right touch of sweetness. After a few stirs, a caramel-like ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠fragrance rose into the air. I turned off the heat, and once the mixture had thickened slightly, I folded it into the flour dough. The once-pale batter turned a dark brown.

“Oho… now this is interesting…”

Johnson kept interjecting with comments as I finished mixing the dough and shaped it into rectangles.

Does this guy have no work today? Or is he just free because of the entrance ceremony?

—Whoosh, whoosh…! Ignoring Johnson’s gaze, I revived the dying embers in the small oven-stove with the bellows.

“Cough, cough…!”

Charcoal and firewood smoldered, sending up acrid smoke ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠until flames finally caught.

—Rattle! I immediately slid the tray of neatly arranged rectangular dough into the stove. Since it wasn’t a proper oven, I had to be careful not to let anything burn. One wrong move and I might end up charred myself—this was the step that demanded the most focus. Normally, cookies took about five to seven minutes to bake.

Please, don’t burn… just come out looking delicious…

I closed the stove door and took a moment to close my eyes, my head throbbing from the sudden rush of activity. How much time had passed?

—Ding! An alarm sounded, signaling that the time was up.

Huh? An alarm? Wait, there wasn’t any timer here…?

Startled by the unexpected sound, I snapped my eyes open.

…What the hell?