Clyde's mouth dropped as he saw the two go at it in the large kitchen—mixing ingredients, chopping, pan-flames bursting and amazing smells flowing into the air. He even sensed Alice's mouth watering through the bond. He observed the cook off through a venue that resembled his combat log.
[Harumi has activated a talent. Swift precise seasoning!]
The pink-haired girl tossed a handful of spices into the air, which seemed to hang there. Then they rained down perfectly onto the meat in her pan.
[Flavor bonus!]
[Harumi- Cooking Passive Skill activated. Determined concentration! + 2% flavor bonus.]
He turned to Yuki. Unlike Harumi with visible determination to win, Yuki was calm and collected. A golden aura outlined her. The young man noticed her vegetable chopping speed—it was faster than anything he'd seen in his life. All of her ingredients hit the pan—and with grace, the demoness enhanced her dish.
[Yuki- Cooking Passive Skill is in play. Absolute dominance. +unknown flavor bonus x3% + 2% Advanced chef bonus.]
[Harumi has spent a cooking point.]
[Harumi has activated a talent. Wonderous Presentation!]
[For this cook off to be settled, you—the judge—must pick a winner. There are no wagers at this time. Unknown relationship benefits to choosing a winner during a wagered cook off.]
[Your life mate has silently declared herself a judge.]
Alice grabbed a pair of chopsticks and tasted Harumi's dish. She blushed.
"Wow that's so good!"
Clyde tried too, his tongue meeting only what he could describe as love and comfort. The juicy meat and the mushroom, complimented by her perfect handmade sauce—bliss. Pure amazingness. The duo nearly went to war over the bowl as they frantically ate from it.
"I want to try," Chika said, but it was too late. Clyde and Alice eyed the empty bowl, sadness in their eyes. Harumi had a worried look.
"Well?" the pink-haired girl said.
"Can we have some more?" Alice said, voice sad.
"That was damned good," Clyde said. Airi sat at the table, glass of water in hand. She was dressed in black yoga pants, white shirt.
"Harumi's got a gift when it comes to cooking," Airi said. "My adventuring days would've been so much better if she cooked for the party." She chuckled. "I'm still proud of her for getting into the top college in the world and to take on that rigorous cooking program. Girl's got guts."
Yuki smiled at Harumi.
"You've improved a lot. Excellent." She presented a dish in front of the young man…that looked as if Heaven's light shined on it. He quickly beat Alice to the first taste…and his tongue found said heaven. Chika managed to get chop sticks in, even Airi after Alice got her sample. The silver-haired girl blocked Natalia.
"Hey, no fair!" the loli whined. "I wanna try."
Alice stuffed a chunk of the meat into her mouth, shutting up the whining. The loli chewed.
The room was silent as everyone admired the flavor. Clyde frowned at the empty bowl.
"I need more. Just damn. My god, that…" he looked at the bowl again.
"She's…on a different level," Alice said softly. "Not even…"
"How can someone be this good?" Airi said.
"This puts all of my father's top tier private chefs to shame," Chika said.
"I've never had anything that tasted so amazing," Natalia said. The mood seemed to break when the genie walked in and sat next to Airi. Everyone stared at her.
"Hello," she said. The group returned the greeting, restoring the mood.
"You kind of missed out," Alice said to Kanako.
"Are you really a genie?" Natalia said, poking the girl's shoulder.
"Don't start pestering her," Matsume said as she walked in from the living room, dressed in very short gym shorts. She smirked upon catching Clyde's quick gaze of appreciation.
"So, what's your choice, judges," Yuki said. Harumi sighed.
"I know, I know," the pink-haired girl said.
"You did really well," Alice told Harumi.
"You really did," Clyde said. She nodded, smiling.
"Yuki's my mentor for a reason," she said. "One day I'll beat her."
Yuki pulled the girl into a hug.
"I really do love cooking with you. So you'd better be ready for our next lesson because I'm going to whip you into shape."
Natalia looked out the window.
"It's getting late. I should be getting back to the palace. Tear's waiting for me."
"Where's Melody?" Alice said.
"Watching TV with Ruri," Natalia said. "Chao."
Clyde ruffled the loli's hair, getting an adorable smile, before she vanished.
"What kind of Jump is that? Or teleport?" Clyde asked Alice.
"Not sure to be honest," the half-demoness replied. "Natalia knows a ton of magic, perhaps more than even Tear."
"I can help with the dishes," Kanako volunteered.
"Me too," Chika said.
"Can I talk to you alone for a second, maybe outside," Airi said to Clyde. "Stone business."
Alice was helping the others clean off the table. He returned Hinako's text message before nodding.
Clyde hurried to his room, threw on some socks and shoes, and met up with the young woman outside.
"My treasure-sensing skill went off," Airi said. "Something rare is about a mile and a half from here. In a forest."
Clyde frowned.
"Girl, you must be crazy if you think I'm going into a forest at night…and in this world. Yeah, no."
She grabbed his arm.
"You have the crave for adventure inside of you, I can feel it. The chest is rare, perhaps even gold, but it will be gone in the morning. If you're scared, I'll protect you." She folded her arms. "I want to talk to you about some things anyway."
Clyde sighed.
"I'm not scared, but you can't blame me for not wanting to walk a mile and a half, while dealing with the soreness from the strain."
"Oh, I'm sorry," Airi said. "I've completely forgotten about that. Just forget I asked—I never seen such amazing power like that." She knuckled the side of her head then stuck her tongue out at him. "Sorry for being so inconsiderate."
Clyde placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Let's go get the chest," he said. "Fifty-fifty on the rewards."
Airi hugged him.
"Just you and me. There's no way the others will agree to this."
"Maybe if we're lucky, we'll have a stash of legendaries. I need to replace my sword," Clyde said.
Maybe he'd find the materials to craft one complicated item and finally get that off his quest log. A late-night level with the top adventurer in the world. Cool.
After this, he hoped to find some way to get into Melody's good graces. He'd give her points for being a challenge. Thank goodness the system hadn't forced him to build a romantic link with Noona. High difficulty no doubt—the beautiful girl could be as dense as steel.
**
Somewhere….
"So, it's time to scoop up and spank daughter dearest," Matsuko said to her guards. Abruptly, she smashed a fist into the closest one. "STOP STARING AT MY TITS AND FOCUS, YA MEATHEAD." Some of the Blood Hand snickered as the downed man picked himself up. He returned to attention, face stony and now focused in the way the fallen angel approved. "So yeah, we've got to do the legwork and actually find her, so packing your fucking things. I want to make this quick, but this may take a week. We're not going there to fail. It'd be an embarrassment on the Blood Hand if the Great Lord had to step in himself. We'll be fucking pointless."
Matsuko didn't give a shit about the orders, Platus and his shitty family problems, the realm core nor any problem with the dark gods or any of the higher powers. Fuck 'em. Still, she couldn't pass up the opportunity to chug some drinks and cause some mayhem.
She sighed. This was better than being under the Fallen God's reign. Stupid bitch. "Move out, Blood Hand. We should be arriving by Lot City's morning. And you know she'll sense us." Matsuko chuckled. "We're going after that little bitc—I mean teach the 'princess' some humility. But don't bruise her up too bad. Her dumbass—I mean the Great Lord would want to do most of the punishing."
Matsuko walked out of the meeting room and down a palace hall. She stopped in front of a green door and knocked thrice. It cracked. A dignified woman's voice greeted her.
"Can't a girl have time with herself for even one hour? What do you want, fallen angel?"
Matsuko barged in.
"Ah quit your bitching, ya useless sack of blood. I need a new Hallow sword. The last one broke. If rumors are to be believed, the Stone's in that city." She grinned. "I'm going to fight him."
The surprisingly beautiful woman sitting on the couch stretched and stood. Well, she didn't have Matsuko's beauty. And poise mixed with the desire to just fuck things up in combat.
"You do all blacksmiths a dishonor, breaking their swords," the woman said.
"Speaking of sword, how big do you think the Stone is?" Matsuko said in a joking manner.
The blacksmith sighed.
"Hearing that from a virgin fallen angel, pretending like she knows anything about sex is just embarrassing. Come, you barbaric purist. I'll make you something that I'd like to see returned."
Matsuko flushed.
"I'm not a purist!"
The blacksmith woman laughed.
"Matsuko, speak when you've had a man inside of you. Now come, little girl. I'll make you a nice toy to swing around at things."
Matsuko rolled her eyes.
Clyde's mouth dropped as he saw the two go at it in the large kitchen—mixing ingredients, chopping, pan-flames bursting and amazing smells flowing into the air. He even sensed Alice's mouth watering through the bond. He observed the cook off through a venue that resembled his combat log.
[Harumi has activated a talent. Swift precise seasoning!]
The pink-haired girl tossed a handful of spices into the air, which seemed to hang there. Then they rained down perfectly onto the meat in her pan.
[Flavor bonus!]
[Harumi- Cooking Passive Skill activated. Determined concentration! + 2% flavor bonus.]
He turned to Yuki. Unlike Harumi with visible determination to win, Yuki was calm and collected. A golden aura outlined her. The young man noticed her vegetable chopping speed—it was faster than anything he'd seen in his life. All of her ingredients hit the pan—and with grace, the demoness enhanced her dish.
[Yuki- Cooking Passive Skill is in play. Absolute dominance. +unknown flavor bonus x3% + 2% Advanced chef bonus.]
[Harumi has spent a cooking point.]
[Harumi has activated a talent. Wonderous Presentation!]
[For this cook off to be settled, you—the judge—must pick a winner. There are no wagers at this time. Unknown relationship benefits to choosing a winner during a wagered cook off.]
[Your life mate has silently declared herself a judge.]
Alice grabbed a pair of chopsticks and tasted Harumi's dish. She blushed.
"Wow that's so good!"
Clyde tried too, his tongue meeting only what he could describe as love and comfort. The juicy meat and the mushroom, complimented by her perfect handmade sauce—bliss. Pure amazingness. The duo nearly went to war over the bowl as they frantically ate from it.
"I want to try," Chika said, but it was too late. Clyde and Alice eyed the empty bowl, sadness in their eyes. Harumi had a worried look.
"Well?" the pink-haired girl said.
"Can we have some more?" Alice said, voice sad.
"That was damned good," Clyde said. Airi sat at the table, glass of water in hand. She was dressed in black yoga pants, white shirt.
"Harumi's got a gift when it comes to cooking," Airi said. "My adventuring days would've been so much better if she cooked for the party." She chuckled. "I'm still proud of her for getting into the top college in the world and to take on that rigorous cooking program. Girl's got guts."
Yuki smiled at Harumi.
"You've improved a lot. Excellent." She presented a dish in front of the young man…that looked as if Heaven's light shined on it. He quickly beat Alice to the first taste…and his tongue found said heaven. Chika managed to get chop sticks in, even Airi after Alice got her sample. The silver-haired girl blocked Natalia.
"Hey, no fair!" the loli whined. "I wanna try."
Alice stuffed a chunk of the meat into her mouth, shutting up the whining. The loli chewed.
The room was silent as everyone admired the flavor. Clyde frowned at the empty bowl.
"I need more. Just damn. My god, that…" he looked at the bowl again.
"She's…on a different level," Alice said softly. "Not even…"
"How can someone be this good?" Airi said.
"This puts all of my father's top tier private chefs to shame," Chika said.
"I've never had anything that tasted so amazing," Natalia said. The mood seemed to break when the genie walked in and sat next to Airi. Everyone stared at her.
"Hello," she said. The group returned the greeting, restoring the mood.
"You kind of missed out," Alice said to Kanako.
"Are you really a genie?" Natalia said, poking the girl's shoulder.
"Don't start pestering her," Matsume said as she walked in from the living room, dressed in very short gym shorts. She smirked upon catching Clyde's quick gaze of appreciation.
"So, what's your choice, judges," Yuki said. Harumi sighed.
"I know, I know," the pink-haired girl said.
"You did really well," Alice told Harumi.
"You really did," Clyde said. She nodded, smiling.
"Yuki's my mentor for a reason," she said. "One day I'll beat her."
Yuki pulled the girl into a hug.
"I really do love cooking with you. So you'd better be ready for our next lesson because I'm going to whip you into shape."
Natalia looked out the window.
"It's getting late. I should be getting back to the palace. Tear's waiting for me."
"Where's Melody?" Alice said.
"Watching TV with Ruri," Natalia said. "Chao."
Clyde ruffled the loli's hair, getting an adorable smile, before she vanished.
"What kind of Jump is that? Or teleport?" Clyde asked Alice.
"Not sure to be honest," the half-demoness replied. "Natalia knows a ton of magic, perhaps more than even Tear."
"I can help with the dishes," Kanako volunteered.
"Me too," Chika said.
"Can I talk to you alone for a second, maybe outside," Airi said to Clyde. "Stone business."
Alice was helping the others clean off the table. He returned Hinako's text message before nodding.
Clyde hurried to his room, threw on some socks and shoes, and met up with the young woman outside.
"My treasure-sensing skill went off," Airi said. "Something rare is about a mile and a half from here. In a forest."
Clyde frowned.
"Girl, you must be crazy if you think I'm going into a forest at night…and in this world. Yeah, no."
She grabbed his arm.
"You have the crave for adventure inside of you, I can feel it. The chest is rare, perhaps even gold, but it will be gone in the morning. If you're scared, I'll protect you." She folded her arms. "I want to talk to you about some things anyway."
Clyde sighed.
"I'm not scared, but you can't blame me for not wanting to walk a mile and a half, while dealing with the soreness from the strain."
"Oh, I'm sorry," Airi said. "I've completely forgotten about that. Just forget I asked—I never seen such amazing power like that." She knuckled the side of her head then stuck her tongue out at him. "Sorry for being so inconsiderate."
Clyde placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Let's go get the chest," he said. "Fifty-fifty on the rewards."
Airi hugged him.
"Just you and me. There's no way the others will agree to this."
"Maybe if we're lucky, we'll have a stash of legendaries. I need to replace my sword," Clyde said.
Maybe he'd find the materials to craft one complicated item and finally get that off his quest log. A late-night level with the top adventurer in the world. Cool.
After this, he hoped to find some way to get into Melody's good graces. He'd give her points for being a challenge. Thank goodness the system hadn't forced him to build a romantic link with Noona. High difficulty no doubt—the beautiful girl could be as dense as steel.
**
Somewhere….
"So, it's time to scoop up and spank daughter dearest," Matsuko said to her guards. Abruptly, she smashed a fist into the closest one. "STOP STARING AT MY TITS AND FOCUS, YA MEATHEAD." Some of the Blood Hand snickered as the downed man picked himself up. He returned to attention, face stony and now focused in the way the fallen angel approved. "So yeah, we've got to do the legwork and actually find her, so packing your fucking things. I want to make this quick, but this may take a week. We're not going there to fail. It'd be an embarrassment on the Blood Hand if the Great Lord had to step in himself. We'll be fucking pointless."
Matsuko didn't give a shit about the orders, Platus and his shitty family problems, the realm core nor any problem with the dark gods or any of the higher powers. Fuck 'em. Still, she couldn't pass up the opportunity to chug some drinks and cause some mayhem.
She sighed. This was better than being under the Fallen God's reign. Stupid bitch. "Move out, Blood Hand. We should be arriving by Lot City's morning. And you know she'll sense us." Matsuko chuckled. "We're going after that little bitc—I mean teach the 'princess' some humility. But don't bruise her up too bad. Her dumbass—I mean the Great Lord would want to do most of the punishing."
Matsuko walked out of the meeting room and down a palace hall. She stopped in front of a green door and knocked thrice. It cracked. A dignified woman's voice greeted her.
"Can't a girl have time with herself for even one hour? What do you want, fallen angel?"
Matsuko barged in.
"Ah quit your bitching, ya useless sack of blood. I need a new Hallow sword. The last one broke. If rumors are to be believed, the Stone's in that city." She grinned. "I'm going to fight him."
The surprisingly beautiful woman sitting on the couch stretched and stood. Well, she didn't have Matsuko's beauty. And poise mixed with the desire to just fuck things up in combat.
"You do all blacksmiths a dishonor, breaking their swords," the woman said.
"Speaking of sword, how big do you think the Stone is?" Matsuko said in a joking manner.
The blacksmith sighed.
"Hearing that from a virgin fallen angel, pretending like she knows anything about sex is just embarrassing. Come, you barbaric purist. I'll make you something that I'd like to see returned."
Matsuko flushed.
"I'm not a purist!"
The blacksmith woman laughed.
"Matsuko, speak when you've had a man inside of you. Now come, little girl. I'll make you a nice toy to swing around at things."
Matsuko rolled her eyes.
