Chapter 224 So Delicious!!
――Go back in time a little bit.
"I'm home!"
"I'm back!"
Fiona and Lucia returned from shopping for ingredients.
To avoid disturbing Aaron, who was working in the workshop, the two quietly moved to the kitchen. After taking out the items they bought today from the storage ring and laying them all out on the table, Fiona and Lucia put on their aprons.
"Alright, Lucia, let's get started!"
"Yeah!"
Finally, it was time to cook.
Lucia, who was helping out, raised one arm high with excitement. After all, in the Age of Gods, cooking and household chores were automated even in regular homes, so cooking had become a hobby for a few people. Because of this, it was Lucia's first time cooking by herself.
To be honest, she was a little excited.
On the other hand, she had no anxiety about cooking for the first time. That's because she wasn't alone.
(Fiona's cooking skills are extremely high, and Lucia knows this from Fiona's memories...)
By syncing with the memories of Lucia from the [God Realm], she also possessed Fiona's memories. Since these were someone else's memories, she couldn't check every detail unless she consciously "viewed" them, but she had thoroughly checked the cooking part.
According to that, it was already clear that Fiona had extremely high cooking skills!
In fact, in Fiona's memories, Aaron praised her cooking with a smile like he had never seen before every time he ate it.
'So delicious!! It's too good!! I want you to make this for me for the rest of my life!!!!'
She also had memories of him suddenly falling asleep on the table after taking a bite, but those memories didn't seem important to Fiona, so they weren't very clear. Lucia concluded that Aaron must have been tired.
On the other hand, the image of him happily eating and saying, "Delicious! So good!" was strongly remembered, so Lucia was sure that was how it usually was.
...By the way, have you heard the saying that the brain doesn't distinguish between reality and imagination?
For the brain, there's no difference between memories of reality and those created by imagination. That's why in martial arts and sports, mental training is considered effective, and sometimes, very strong imagination can even distort a person's perception.
――――In other words, it's memory alteration!!
And because it was someone else's memory, Lucia didn't notice the oddness in Fiona's memories!
"Hey, Fiona."
"Hm? What's up?"
However, even Lucia couldn't help but feel a sense of discomfort at the scene in front of her.
It was the array of ingredients lined up on the table, taking up all the space.
"Are you going to use all of this? Can you eat it all?"
"Hehe, of course not. I bought enough ingredients for several days."
"I see."
Lucia, who had been wondering if they would eat all of that today, accepted Fiona's explanation. However, the discomfort she felt wasn't about that.
"...Fiona, is everything on the table just ingredients?"
"? Yes, there are also seasonings and stuff, but yes?"
"Hmm..."
Lucia didn't show it in her words, attitude, or expression, but inside, she was totally shocked!!
The table was covered with things that clearly didn't look like food!
(Do modern people eat these things...?)
Lucia felt dizzy from the shocking gap in food culture that went far beyond just a generation gap.
"Hey, Fiona, what's this?"
She pointed at a small bottle filled with a dark red liquid.
"That's snake's fresh blood."
"Then what about this?"
"That's soft-shelled turtle's fresh blood."
"...And this one?"
"That's the heart of a snake after squeezing out its blood."
"...Um... then, what about this?"
"That's a tiger's testicle."
"......(gulp)"
"That's a scorpion."
"......"
"That's powdered cobra, dried and crushed."
"――――"
"Fresh blood from a snake and soft-shelled turtle."
"......Fiona, I don't want to eat that."
Lucia was horrified to realize that she hadn't just been buying potions and medicine at the pharmacy and alchemist's shop!
Everything she bought today was food! She had thought it was strange to be going around the pharmacy.
But she didn't want to eat things like snake blood, tiger testicles, or scorpions. When she honestly said so, Fiona just laughed and replied.
"It's okay. All of that is food for Aaron."
"Oh, really..."
Lucia sighed in relief.
Then she tilted her head and asked.
"But why just Aaron? Is it his favorite food?"
If that was the case, she wasn't sure she could keep treating Aaron the same way.
"Um... it's not exactly like that, but..."
Fiona blushed for some reason and mumbled her answer in a low voice.
"Well, recently, Aaron seems tired, so... I want to make him eat something good for his health..."
Fiona said this while blushing, and even Lucia, being a girl, thought she looked really cute.
...But that just makes the strange food she wants to give him stand out even more.
"Oh, I see..."
Lucia wasn't sure if it would really work, but it seemed like the ingredients were nutritious. Plus, hearing that Aaron was tired made her strangely agree with Fiona.
(Certainly, in Fiona's memory, there were many times when Aaron fell asleep at the dinner table like a puppet with its strings cut... He really was tired...)
In other words, these ingredients were Fiona's kind feelings to care for tired Aaron. Thinking about it that way made Lucia feel warm inside.
"Alright, then, let's start cooking."
"Okay!"
"Since the fresh blood and heart spoil quickly, we have to feed them to him today. I heard that mixing the blood with wine... and serving the heart raw is more effective, so maybe I'll just put olive oil, salt, and chopped garlic on it and serve it as is."
"...Ugh."
Regardless of the cooking content, Fiona skillfully prepared the dishes. Lucia tried her best not to look at Fiona's hands while peeling garlic and helping out.
"This part is good... Now, shall we make a salad next?"
"Ugh... I don't really like vegetables."
Lucia frowned, having developed a dislike for bitter things since becoming a child.
However, the skilled cook Fiona seemed to have anticipated Lucia's reaction.
"Hehe, then I'll make a salad full of fruits so that Lucia can eat it too."
"Huh? Fruits?"
"Yeah. Well... it's basically a salad with leafy greens, but should we add mini tomatoes and... oranges too? Lucia, can you peel the orange for me?"
"Okay. Got it."
While Lucia peeled the orange, Fiona skillfully chopped the leafy greens and cut the mini tomatoes in half, putting them into the bowl. Lucia was impressed by her confident movements.
(As expected, Fiona is good at cooking...)
She felt excited knowing that they would have a delicious dinner tonight.
"Okay! I peeled it!"
"Thanks. Now, I also want to peel the thin skin of the orange..."
"Hmm..."
Lucia looked at her tiny little hands. With these small hands, precise movements were still difficult.
"Is it okay if it gets messy?"
"Well... half of it will be used for dressing, so that's fine, but I want the other half to go into the salad, so I need you to peel it nicely."
"...That might be a bit hard."
Seeing Lucia look down sadly, Fiona smiled gently. Then, she casually took out a glass jar from the storage ring.
"How about we use this?"
"Huh? What's that?"
"This is a magic liquid that can cleanly remove the thin skin of the orange."
"Whoa...!! That sounds amazing...!!"
Lucia's eyes sparkled, amazed that such a convenient thing existed.
Fiona proudly revealed the true identity of the contents.
"This is... sulfuric acid!!"
"――――Huh?"
"Hehe! Recently, a mass production method developed by another merchant guild can dissolve the thin skin and white fibers of citrus fruits with acid. After that, they only keep the fruit flesh and soak it in syrup for shipping!"
"――――Huh? So, but, won't the fruit get all mushy...?"
"Don't worry about that. Once the skin dissolves, it'll be just fine like this――."
With that, Fiona took out another bottle from the ring.
"Sodium bicarbonate solution? We neutralize it with this! Then only the fruit flesh remains, and it's said to be safe to eat!"
The phrase "safe to eat" made Lucia feel uneasy.
"...Fiona, what's the concentration of that sulfuric acid...?"
"Huh? Concentration? ...I don't know?"
"......"
Lucia became very anxious!!
She understood that neutralizing an acidic substance with an alkaline one makes it harmless. However, she thought they would probably use a highly diluted solution to dissolve the thin skin. Furthermore, it was questionable if they were really using sulfuric acid. Wouldn't another acidic liquid be better? Maybe hydrochloric acid or something.
And from the way Fiona looks, it's unclear what the concentration of sulfuric acid in her hand is――or rather, it's probably not very diluted.
"Um...Fiona, I'll do my best to peel the orange's thin skin nicely, so...maybe you should put that away..."
"Really? But peeling is tough, right? It would save time, and wouldn't it be better to do it this way?"
Lucia shook her head vigorously.
"Sulfuric acid, dangerous. Scary. Hard."
"Are you okay? Believe it or not, I'm confident when it comes to handling food. ...But, it might be better to dilute the sulfuric acid first... Alright, let's dilute it with water!"
"Eek!!? No way!!!"
Lucia shouted at Fiona, who was heading to the sink with a glass bottle of sulfuric acid, trying her best to stop her.
Adding water to sulfuric acid causes it to boil violently and can splash acid everywhere, making it very dangerous. Good kids should definitely not try this.
"Fiona, put that away. That's a no, absolutely...!!"
"Oh? ...Then should we peel it by hand?"
"Yeah, let's do that...!! That's definitely better...!!"
Lucia succeeded in getting Fiona to put away the sulfuric acid.
But there was no relief.
(What...? I feel like I'm making some kind of serious misunderstanding...!!)
Thump, thump, her heart was beating uncomfortably.
Her instincts were warning her of some extreme danger...!!
However, without knowing the true identity of the threat, Lucia continued to help Fiona with her cooking. With trembling hands, she desperately peeled the thin skin off the orange.
Once they finished making the salad, they moved on to another dish.
"Okay, next let's make some soup."
"...Sure."
"Hmm, but since we don't have much time today, we can't make anything too complicated."
Fiona looked at the ingredients on the table, thinking about what to make. After a few seconds, she exclaimed, "Ah!"
"Time-saving! Yes, maybe we can save time by using that!"
"――――Huh?"
A bad feeling made Lucia's body tremble. Still, she gathered her courage and asked.
"...W-what are you going to do...?"
Fiona answered with a big smile, as if it were the greatest discovery ever.
"――――It's sulfuric acid!!"
"――――."
For a moment, Lucia felt her consciousness slipping away. Her brain was trying to reject reality. However, Fiona continued to explain.
"If we dissolve the ingredients in sulfuric acid, maybe the flavor will come out too? I think if we neutralize it later, it will turn into water and salt, and the saltiness might be just right!"
"N-no... stop...!!"
"If we do it this way, we might get a rich, flavorful soup that tastes like it was simmered for a long time... yeah, let's try it!"
"Ah, ah, aaah...!!"
Lucia could only feel fear.
She doubted Fiona's sanity over this absurd cooking being done without any malice. It had to be a joke. But that optimistic thought was blown away by Fiona's cheerful expression.
Lucia desperately tried to stop Fiona's cooking, but the fear made her weak, and all she could do was let out a faint gasp.
――――It was sure to be a disaster.
Just when she felt crushed by that sense of dread and despair, a figure burst into the kitchen.
"――――Let's stop this right now!!"
"A-Aaron...!!!"
Lucia's face lit up with joy at the appearance of her savior.
She had only met Aaron a few days ago, but had he ever looked this reliable? No, never!!
"What's wrong, Aaron? Dinner isn't ready yet, you know?"
"I can see that! But Fiona, stop using sulfuric acid in your cooking!!"
(Aaron, so cool...!! Keep saying it...!!)
Lucia strongly agreed with Aaron, who was stating the obvious.
On the other hand, Fiona shook her head like she was dealing with a stubborn child, saying, "Oh dear."
"You might think sulfuric acid is dangerous, but it's actually used in food processing factories, you know? If you neutralize it, it's not harmful to humans and is really convenient."
"That may be true, but it's dangerous for amateurs to mess with it with just a little knowledge!!"
(Exactly! That's totally right!!)
"Amateur? Seriously, who do you think I am? I'm the daughter of the biggest food distribution company in Necronia, the Ackerman merchant guild! I'm more knowledgeable about ingredients, cooking methods, and food processing than anyone else!"
"That's not the point! Stop trying dangerous substances or ingredients and experimenting with special cooking methods just because you heard about them a little!!"
That was a heartfelt cry filled with strong feelings.
With such a serious tone, even Fiona, looking dissatisfied, nodded and said, "Fine, I get it," as she put the sulfuric acid back in the ring.
"And Fiona."
"What?"
"I'll help with the cooking. That's the rule in this house!"
"Huh? What are you talking about? Aren't you busy? You told me to handle the housework!"
She shot a glare at him.
"..."
At that moment, Aaron had a feeling.
Earlier, he had just banned the use of sulfuric acid. If he push further based on my emotions, it would only upset Fiona and be dangerous. So, the answer must be a reason that Fiona can easily accept.
Aaron's brain cells were sparking intensely as he tried to come up with a response!!
"Um... I like it."
"Huh?"
"I like... watching Fiona cook!!"
It was painful. Such a weak excuse. He was more than half sure that this answer wouldn't satisfy her, so Aaron looked at Fiona――――and,
"R-Really...!! Then, I guess it can't be helped...!!"
Fiona blushed shyly and accepted Aaron's suggestion!
After that, she seemed to be in a strangely good mood and said,
"Hehe! Then, I'll have you help me too, okay?"
"Y-Yeah...!! Leave it to me!"
With this, the Mr. Gale family food poisoning incident was successfully avoided.
"Mmm! As expected of Aaron!"
"Oh!? What's up, what happened?"
Relieved, Lucia suddenly hugged Aaron. Lucia's trust in Aaron went up by 100 points!
* * *
By the way.
"Huh? What's this, a small, red... meat?"
"That's a healthy food."
That day, a special ingredient was served just for Aaron at the dining table.
Of course, Aaron didn't want to eat something unknown, so he resisted. However, unable to withstand Fiona's pressure, he eventually put a small piece of meat into his mouth, trembling with fear.
"Ugh... eww... it's so bad!!?"
As he hesitated at the disgusting texture and bit into it, a metallic taste of blood burst forth.
The taste was so bad that Aaron quickly grabbed the glass and gulped down the wine!
"――Gahh...!?"
But that wine tasted terrible too!
He looked at Fiona with a shocked expression, but Fiona just smiled and said,
"That wine is special too, so make sure to drink it all, okay?"
Well, the food was mostly delicious except for the wine and the meat(?), so he managed to finish everything, but... that night, something strange happened to Aaron's body...!!
"What the...!? My heart is racing so much, I can't sleep...!!"
Aaron's libido gauge increased by 40!
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