Paw-Printed Bread
"Kyauung."
Alright, watch. You press down nice and even, like this.
I demonstrated the art of paw-kneading dough for Lumia, who watched me with sparkling eyes.
"Kyauung."
See? Easy, right? Think you can do it?
"Yeah! I can do it, Oppa!"
Lumia immediately shifted back into her fox form and wagged her tail with all her might atop the counter. She spat out a luminous Fox Orb and clutched it tightly between her two front paws. The orb radiated a mysterious energy, and a white aura coiled around her feet.
"Keng! Keng!"
This keeps my paws clean the whole time! I don't even have to wipe them again!
Lumia flicked her tail proudly and held up her paws, so I immediately wrapped my own front paws in Divine Power.
I mastered this ages ago, you amateur.
Hygiene check complete. Time to get started.
"Kyaang!"
Here we go!
"Keng! Keng!"
Lumia and I dove straight at the enormous mound of dough sitting on the counter. Then we started pressing our front paws into the fluffy dough without mercy, left and right, over and over.
Squish. Chewy. Slap.
"Kyauuung."
Ahhh, that sticky-chewy texture. The way it clings to my paw pads is just perfect.
I closed my eyes and rode the rhythm. Right paw press. Left paw press. Watching me, Lumia slowly found the beat and started pressing the dough too. Wherever I pressed, the much lighter Lumia came along and pressed it down again.
As our energy seeped into the dough little by little, it began to swell like a cloud, developing a springy, chewy bounce. The Head Chef and his cooks lined up in a row, holding their breath as they watched two little fluffballs grunt and knead with all their might.
"Hahh... hah, hah... Look at those soft little jellies crushing the dough..."
"...Is there a more violent sight in this world right now?"
"...My only regret is that I can't show this to my daughter."
Each cook clutched his chest, one breath away from collapsing. Some wiped their tears with their aprons. Others stared with their eyes peeled, determined not to miss a single second.
"Kyau!"
Alright, we're done. That should be enough!
I shook out my front paws and let out a short cry, and the Head Chef, who had been staring in a daze, startled and stepped forward.
"You've worked hard, Divine Beast! The elasticity of the dough is flawless—there's not a single thing to criticize! We'll take it from here, so please rest."
"Kyau!"
Yeah, good luck with that!
The cooks moved in perfect unison, portioning out the dough Lumia and I had paw-kneaded and shaping it into rounds. Lumia and I sat off to one side of the counter, tails swaying, watching their work with deep satisfaction.
They're really putting their backs into it. After I worked that hard, they'd better.
Once the first proof was done, the doughs—puffed up plump and round, just before going into the oven—were arranged prettily on a tray.
"Um... Divine Beast, might I have a moment?"
The Head Chef approached me then, hands neatly folded, as if he'd made some momentous decision.
"Kyau?"
What? Is there a problem?
"...If it wouldn't be too much trouble, might you consider stamping a special pattern onto the bread this time? The imperial family would be overjoyed."
"Kyaung?"
What kind of special pattern?
I tilted my head, and the Head Chef bowed politely with a "Pardon me," then very carefully lifted my right front paw. He guided it to the very center of a still-unbaked, soft little loaf.
"Now, just relax a little... and press."
Squish.
My plump front paw sank lightly into the soft dough and lifted away. And there, right in the middle of the smooth white dough, was a crisp, pretty imprint of my paw pad jelly.
"...Good heavens."
"Kyau! Kyaang-ang!"
Hey, that's my paw print! Not bad. It's cute.
I sparkled at the dough stamped with my own footprint. In an instant, ordinary flour dough had transformed into dough bearing my official seal of authenticity.
"Oppa! Oppa! Me too, me too! I wanna stamp my paw print too!"
Lumia, who'd been watching from the side, went wild, her tail whirling.
"Of course, Lady Lumia. Please do."
The Head Chef smiled gently, carefully took Lumia's small, pointed fox paw, and pressed it down with a little plop right next to mine. Beside my relatively large paw print, Lumia's tiny, adorable one sat nestled just so.
"Kh— Immediately! Into the oven! Bake them perfectly, without the slightest error!"
At the Head Chef's soul-charged command, every loaf stamped with our paw prints was sucked into the oven at once.
That evening, the imperial family sat facing one another at the dinner table. Karsion occupied the seat of honor, and to his right Kailian sat with elegant ease, stroking me. And to his left sat what appeared to be a corpse.
"Hahh... Father. This is truly too much... How can you still be in such fine health and still dump even more work on me..."
Demian, whose dark circles had dropped all the way to his jaw, muttered with a half-dead face.
"A future emperor ought to handle this much work with ease. Spare me the weak talk."
Karsion answered shamelessly and cleared his throat.
"Kyaung."
Grandpa is seriously shameless.
I sat in my dedicated seat beside Kailian and let their conversation go in one ear and out the other.
What's the point of listening? It's not like they're talking about giving me anything.
Then the Head Chef approached carefully, carrying a tray covered by a massive silver dome. He set it down before the imperial family with a meaningful smile.
"I shall present the bread course first."
A maid following behind the Head Chef set a well-roasted chunk of meat in front of me.
Haetae didn't cook today, huh. This'll still taste good, though.
"Today's bread is a one-of-a-kind limited edition, filled to the brim with the labor of some very special individuals."
"What, Blanc kneaded it? That's what we always eat."
Kailian stroked my head as she picked up her fork. Karsion and Demian just smiled at me.
The Head Chef gently lifted the silver lid.
Swoosh.
A gentle, warm steam rose in lazy curls, and round, golden-brown loaves revealed themselves in all their alluring glory. And stamped dead-center on each loaf, perfectly clear: Blanc's paw print and Lumia's paw print.
"...This is—!"
"...!!"
A suffocating silence fell over the table. My butlers' jaws dropped as they stared, dazed, at the bread stamped with my paw print.
"Th-this is..."
"Blanc's paw print...?!"
It felt as if all three of their hearts dropped at once. As the bread had baked and risen, the paw-print pattern had puffed even plumper, more three-dimensional. It was as if the bread itself had transformed into my adorable paw pads—a destructive level of cute.
"Hahh... They say in the East that bread pleasing to the eye is pleasing to the tongue as well... Just how delicious must this be?"
Uncharacteristically, Karsion gazed at the bread with sparkling eyes.
"I doubt there is anyone who would dare attempt to measure it, Father."
"You are right, Demian."
Karsion and Demian lifted my bread and stared at it as if they might bore holes through it.
"Hahh... hahh... Blanc. You—when did you even make this?"
Kailian shoved her chair back and shot to her feet, breathing hard. Then she lunged straight at me, who had been happily tearing into my meat.
Grab!
"Kya—kyaak?!"
Hey, what are you doing?! I'm eating meat here!
Kailian shoved her hands under my armpits, hoisted me up, and crushed me against her chest. Then she started raining frantic kisses on both my chubby cheeks, the top of my head, and the tip of my nose.
Smack! Smack! Smoooch!
"You—you're insanely cute! What am I supposed to do with you being this adorable?! A paw-pad stamp—who told you to do something this precious?"
"Kyaaaaaak! Kyau! Kyaaang!"
Let go, you maniac! I'm eating! They say even a dog doesn't get bothered at mealtime! Am I less than a dog to you?!
I squeezed my eyes shut and thrashed all four paws in a frenzy under Kailian's violent affection offensive. But I couldn't break free of her strength, and my face was instantly slathered in her saliva.
"Whoa... Oppa's face smells like Unnie's spit."
"Kyau."
I know. Shut up.
I groomed my face in irritation.
If I play along with Kailian today, I'm a dog. A straight-up dog.
"Hehe! My paw print's on there too! The itty-bitty one next to Oppa's! That's mine!"
Lumia hopped up onto a dining chair and pointed at the bread, beaming. She wagged her tail as if begging for praise of her own, and Karsion smiled and ruffled her head.
"Yes, you worked hard. You and Blanc both. I shall eat it with gratitude."
"Hehehe, you eat lots too, Grandpa!"
I was still sulking as I wiped my face with a front paw.
Ugh, she completely killed my appetite. Still. Gotta eat the meat.