Surgingly Rising Power (1)
"My Lord, I have heard the news. I understand you sent a recipe to Lady Yuri."
Hutton, the head chef of the Clementine family, asked Jeras, who was currently seated at the dining table finishing his meal.
Jeras wiped his mouth with a napkin, set it down on the table, and spoke.
"Ah, yes. I did."
"...If I may ask, has Lady Yuri finally found a partner? The servants are in quite an uproar. They're whispering about an impending marriage..."
"Haha, I wish that were the case... I don't even dare hope for that much yet," Jeras replied with a hearty chuckle.
Hutton's reaction was entirely understandable.
The Clementine family's stamina food, made using the 'Magma Bear,' carried a deep and solemn tradition.
To tell the story, when the current patriarch, Jeras Clementine, was young, he happened to learn of this dish's existence.
Being a rather rebellious and cynical youth at the time, he had questioned his father—Yuri's grandfather—who was the patriarch back then, about it.
He had asked what kind of absurd food this was.
The patriarch's reply had been incredibly brief.
"The day I ate that, you were conceived."
Jeras didn't understand the weight of those words back then, but on his wedding night, the meaning became crystal clear.
Sure enough, the day Jeras ate the stamina food, Yuri was conceived.
Wanting a child and actually conceiving one are two very different things; it is never an easy task. In that sense, this dish was nothing short of a miracle.
That was the history and tradition embedded in the Clementine family's stamina food.
Because of this, Hutton was deeply worried.
He had followed the order because it came from the patriarch, but he never expected Jeras to send such a recipe to Yuri—who didn't even have a fiancé, let alone a partner. He was highly curious about Jeras's intentions.
Jeras, well aware of the chef's confusion, spoke again to ease his doubts.
"Think of it as a lesson. Besides, if she doesn't cook it properly, it won't have much of an effect anyway. It's embarrassing to admit, but... you know my daughter's culinary skills well."
It was merely 'preview practice' for Yuri, who would eventually become some lucky man's bride. One day, she would have to cook this for her husband.
The reason Jeras had sent a whole Magma Bear instead of just a few ingredients was to give her ample practice.
Since Magma Bear meat was incredibly nutritious on its own, he figured it would do wonders to soothe Zeto's exhausted body.
Even if the taste was lacking, it was the sincerity of a home-cooked meal that truly mattered. From what Jeras had seen of Zeto, the boy was definitely the type to appreciate such effort.
"...I suppose so."
But despite Jeras's explanation, Hutton remained skeptical.
Jeras wasn't entirely wrong. The Clementine stamina food was highly complex; if even a single unwritten detail was missed, it would lose its special potency and simply become a very nutritious meal.
And Hutton knew all too well that Yuri was far from a natural in the kitchen.
But Jeras had overlooked one crucial fact.
Once, young Yuri had entered the kitchen to talk to Hutton.
Back then, before she earned the elegant moniker of the 'Flaming Flower,' she was just a tiny girl who carried a bear plushie that fit perfectly in her arms.
"Hutton! I want to make that too!"
At the time, Hutton was frying a simple egg.
He had smiled warmly and said, "Shall we serve the young lady's fried egg for dinner tonight, then?"
Thus began Yuri's first culinary endeavor.
Hutton taught her the steps. Though clumsy, she finished it quickly. But looking at the result, Yuri insisted on trying again, pointing out how different its shape and doneness were compared to Hutton's.
Hutton let her be. Having raised three children of his own, he knew that kids her age had a strong desire to solve problems independently without help.
The sound of eggs tapping against the bowl echoed again. Because she was young and lacked dexterity, replicating Hutton's perfect fried egg was no easy feat.
Ultimately, Hutton's fried egg went to the dining table.
Yet, even after the family finished their meal, Yuri remained in the kitchen, still frying eggs.
That was when Hutton witnessed the legendary Clementine 'tenacity.'
Her hands didn't stop from afternoon to night. Finally, she cried out:
"Perfect...!"
The young girl beamed with a bright, innocent smile.
She had finally produced a near-flawless fried egg, matching Hutton's in both shape and even cooking.
It was only a simple fried egg, but Hutton was a master chef. A young girl, driven by sheer obsession, had closed that gap.
That day, Yuri completely depleted the estate's egg supply.
Looking at the mountain of eggshells in the kitchen, she pressed a tiny finger to her lips and whispered to Hutton:
"Shh...! It's a secret from Father, okay?"
Hutton could only laugh helplessly at the girl's whisper.
He had to rush to the market at dawn the next day to restock. The secret was kept, and Jeras never found out. He simply praised Hutton, wondering how he had managed to make the energetic child sleep so soundly.
"Is this the power of an experienced parent...?" Jeras had muttered.
Hutton closed his eyes tightly, bowing to Jeras as he always did.
Surely, she won't have enough ingredients this time. And she probably doesn't even remember the exact taste of the stamina food she had years ago.
He desperately prayed that she would fail to recreate it perfectly.
He prayed that he wouldn't hear news of the Clementine lady moving far too fast with her relationship.
He was praying with all his heart.
***
Completely shattering Hutton's desperate hopes, those exact words slipped from Yuri's lips in her kitchen.
"...Perfect...!"
Yuri cried out after taking a bite of her finished dish.
It was remarkably close to the stamina food she remembered having in the past.
Yuri smiled proudly and looked around. The kitchen was an absolute disaster. The sun had long since risen, and Lucia, stuffed and exhausted, was already fast asleep, face-down on the table.
It was almost time to head to the academy.
Despite pulling an all-night session, Yuri felt no fatigue. The sheer joy of being able to present Zeto with a 'proper' meal washed over her.
As she cleaned up, she fell into deep thought.
The cooking part was solved. Lucia's final taste test was pending, but she would ask her as soon as she woke up.
The real challenge now was inviting Zeto to her room.
Bringing a man into the girls' dormitory was one issue, but what she would say to him was an even bigger hurdle.
"...Zeto, I made some food for you..."
She muttered shyly, then shook her head vigorously.
She thought Lucia was asleep, but Lucia was actually wide awake. She was only pretending to sleep to avoid being fed any more of Yuri's experimental dishes.
What... is going on here...?
The friend Yuri wanted to cook for was Zeto. But wasn't Zeto supposed to be dating Eisel? Lucia knew this fact well, and her mind spun in utter confusion. Still, she decided to keep pretending to sleep.
***
Despite her exhaustion, Yuri made it to class on time.
Today's lesson was an outdoor class held on the mountain behind the academy. It was a Joint Combat Training session, seemingly designed to prepare them for future subjugation campaigns.
The students had to coordinate with their teammates to land a meaningful blow on Edward.
Edward had randomly assigned the groups. My group was the first to challenge him. Thanks to Yuri's and my performance, the battle ended rather quickly. Of course, it helped that Edward didn't use his specialty, illusion magic.
Following my plan, Yuri unleashed a barrage of fire magic, using the resulting smoke to obscure Edward's vision. The other teammates blindly fired spells and arrows into the smoke to keep him disoriented.
Using my Ki Sense to pinpoint Edward's exact location, I executed the First Form.
His barrier shattered. Edward offered a sly smile. "Evading a sword qi that can neither be seen nor felt is harder than I thought. Hehehe..."
Sierra commented in my mind, [ What a gloomy fellow. He could have easily dodged that, yet he chose to take the hit on purpose. ]
Looking at the other groups' battles, it was clear that Edward would naturally allow himself to be hit as a passing grade if the students demonstrated good teamwork.
Our group sat back and watched the others.
"Don't blast it at me!!" Amon roared in anger as he was launched into the air by Lucia's sudden gale.
Edward seemed to be focusing heavily on Lucia—either to help her overcome her notorious cowardice or simply to torment her and make things difficult for her team.
Eisel, who was in the same group, was busy dodging Lucia's stray wind magic while trying to find an opening against Edward. But because their coordination was nonexistent, Edward wasn't giving them any easy openings.
"Using Lucia is no easy task. *Ahem*."
Crank muttered, munching on some bread as he watched them. He was in my group again. Since he had nothing to throw at Edward in the smoke, he had literally thrown his shield. For a brief moment, he looked like 'Captain Terrasia.'
This is the second time we've been in the same group, and I still haven't seen Crank use his shield properly...
Since he was in Class A, I was genuinely curious about his defensive capabilities as a tank.
In any case, the battle of Eisel's group, plagued by individual play, didn't look like it would end anytime soon. Edward was actively provoking them, especially Amon.
Meanwhile, Yuri, who had slipped away a moment ago, hadn't returned. I waited, expecting her to show up, but there was no sign of her.
I was thinking of grabbing a bite together after this...
Wondering where she had gone without a word, I extended my Ki Sense outward.
...Ah, there she is.
I detected her presence deep in the forest. I got up from the tree branch I was sitting on and walked toward her. As I drew closer, her voice reached my ears even without straining to listen.
"Zeto... I was thinking of cooking for you..."
For some reason, Yuri was looking for me in a place where I wasn't.
[ Cooking...? ]
Sierra sounded equally puzzled.
Yuri wasn't in my line of sight yet. Suddenly, she punched a nearby tree.
—Thud!
"No, not like that...! Whew... What should I say?"
She was so deeply concentrated that she failed to notice my approach. Her voice echoed through the quiet woods once more.
"Zeto, are you bleeding again? This won't do. I'll cook... No, that's not it either... Ugh..."
I had no idea what she was trying to pull.
—Thud!
Another punch echoed, and that was when she finally came into view. She was leaning against a tree, her left hand pressed against the trunk. She was facing the empty space between her and the tree, addressing an imaginary 'Zeto' that only she could see.
"Whew... Zeto, I'm going to cook for you. Come to my room this afternoon."
She delivered the line with surprisingly intense charisma.
—Snap.
At that exact moment, I stepped on a dry branch. I was so taken aback by her performance that I hadn't paid attention to my footing.
"Who's there?"
Yuri's voice turned ice-cold, and her head snapped toward me with a mechanical creak.
The moment her eyes landed on me, the murderous aura vanished instantly, and her face went completely blank.
"Ze-Zeto?!"
"Haha..."
I scratched my head awkwardly.
"Did... did you hear all of that?"
Yuri hung her head, her entire body trembling with embarrassment.
I stepped closer and spoke in as casual a tone as possible. "I'm looking forward to the cooking. Should I head over to your room later, then?"
At my response, Yuri slowly lifted her head, her voice barely a whisper.
"...Really?"
[ ...Disciple? ]
Sierra chimed in, her voice laced with suspicion.
"Of course. See you later."
I smiled and nodded. It was the only way to salvage this incredibly awkward situation.