Chapter 20: A Culinary Redemption

“So, what are we doing now?” Felicia asked, still somewhat bewildered by the swift turn of events. Just moments ago, Yunwu and Yunyu had been right behind her, and now Yunyu was already injured and gone from the ‘battlefield’—the kitchen.

“I don’t know,” Yunwu replied. “Or rather, I never knew what Miss Felicia was here to do in the first place. But if it’s possible, I hope you’ll waste fewer ingredients this time.”

“If my previous actions could only be described as ‘wasting ingredients,’ then I truly apologize!” Felicia declared. “However, please trust me one more time. I promise I won’t waste any ingredients this time.”

Felicia’s expression was remarkably solemn, which eased some of Yunwu’s skepticism.

“Then I’ll assist you,” Yunwu said, “and also intervene promptly if I see you creating something… unspeakable.”

“Perfect! By the way, do you have any cooking oil here?”

“Of course.” Yunwu retrieved a barrel of oil and handed it to Felicia.

“And a potato, please.”

“Alright.” Yunwu swiftly took a potato from the refrigerator and passed it to Felicia.

Other ingredients were quickly laid out before Felicia by Yunwu. Felicia, holding a kitchen knife, looked visibly nervous.

Anyone who knew her would understand she was about to cook. But to an outsider, it might seem as though she were about to charge into battle with that knife, ready to wreak havoc.

“First step… Oh, no, the first step should be peeling.”

Felicia searched for a peeler but found none, so she decided to ask Yunwu. Yunwu’s solution, however, was to simply use magic.

The potato peeled itself.

Felicia blinked, unable to believe her eyes. She had just watched the potato stand up, pick up a knife, expertly peel itself, then place the knife back and lie down on the cutting board.

“Is… is this really alright?” Felicia wasn’t sure if the potato was alive or dead. What if it suddenly jumped up and punched her? How would she handle that?

“Of course, it’s fine. This is how we usually do things,” Yunwu said calmly.

‘Are there even any pure chefs left in this world?’ Felicia mused, before also using a spell to cut the potato into strips.

“Are you making french fries?” Yunwu suddenly asked.

“Yes, how did you know?” Felicia was surprised. She hadn’t even started cooking, just peeled a potato, and Yunwu already knew her intentions?

“Just a guess,” Yunwu replied.

“Well, you guessed remarkably accurately.”

The second step involved boiling the potato strips for one to two minutes in hot water. This step was neither difficult nor technically demanding, and Felicia completed it with ease.

Next came drying the strips and freezing them for two hours.

“Two hours is a bit too long…” Felicia considered using an acceleration spell to speed up the process.

However, she remembered using an acceleration spell when she made the potent poison last time. Felicia suspected her previous mistake might have been linked to that very spell.

To be safe, Felicia and Yunwu truly prepared to sit in front of the refrigerator for two hours this time. Felicia had already eaten breakfast, so she wouldn’t be hungry, merely bored. Fortunately, Yunwu was there for conversation.

“Yunwu, why did you come to work here?” Felicia inquired.

“Because Lady Seraphina pays generously—fifteen thousand crystals a month. You know, a teacher at an aristocratic school only earns about ten thousand crystals a month.”

“And to be a teacher at an aristocratic school, you’re either well-connected, a genius, or an old monster. An ordinary cook like me simply couldn’t manage it.”

‘Crystals’ were the currency of this world, a fact Felicia had learned from her reading. She had been diligently trying to catch up on common knowledge about this world, though her efforts were often interrupted.

Generally, one crystal could buy a loaf of bread by the roadside, while thirty to fifty crystals could purchase an exquisite cake for a birthday celebration.

“It’s thanks to this salary that we not only repaid our debts but also bought many things. For example, this.”

Yunwu produced something that looked, and indeed was, a mobile phone. Its appearance and functions were identical to the phones Felicia was familiar with.

‘Is this… magic too?’ Felicia murmured. After seeing a refrigerator, a mobile phone wasn’t entirely beyond her comprehension. Still, she couldn’t help but lament, ‘Has this other world developed to such an extent? They even have phones. Do they have high-speed trains and airplanes too?’

Yunwu and Felicia waited for two hours, then retrieved the fries. Next was the frying process: heating oil to six-tenths hot, then dropping in the frozen fries until they turned golden and floated.

Compared to the two-hour wait, this part was not lengthy at all. After the initial fry, they were refried, and finally, salt was sprinkled. A serving of french fries was complete.

“They look edible. As for whether they actually are…” Yunwu held a pessimistic view of the french fries. Though they appeared perfectly normal, Yunwu had been thoroughly traumatized by Felicia’s last culinary creation, the multicolored curry rice.

“Whether they’re edible or not, we’ll know once we try, won’t we? I followed the recipe this time; surely I couldn’t have made a mistake,” Felicia said. “Would you like some?” Felicia held up a fry, ready to pop it into Yunwu’s mouth.

“No, no, I just ate!” Yunwu quickly leaped back three meters, adopting a defensive stance as if a world-destroying monster stood before her.

“Is it really that serious?” Felicia thought Yunwu was being excessively cautious.

Since Yunwu wouldn’t eat, Felicia had no choice but to try them herself. Yunwu watched Felicia about to taste her fries, swiftly pulling out her phone and already dialing Seraphina’s number. If even the slightest unexpected situation arose, Yunwu would press call, confident that Seraphina would arrive on the scene within three seconds.

Felicia took a bite, then froze, unmoving.

“What’s wrong?” Yunwu worried for Felicia’s safety, but dared not approach. She feared Felicia might carry some potent venom, and contact would infect her too.

“Hmm… they’re actually quite delicious,” Felicia finally said.

“Oh, you’re fine! You scared me; I thought my career was almost over!” Yunwu patted her chest in relief.

“I think you’re overreacting. After all, I believe my cooking skills are quite acceptable.”

To avoid a repeat of the last incident, Felicia had only added a tiny bit of cumin as seasoning this time, and the result was indeed excellent. She even found herself wondering if she should open a shop specializing in french fries in some unknown city after she escaped.

“Yunwu, do you know where Seraphina is?” Felicia asked, holding the plate piled high with fries, intending to offer some to Seraphina.

“That, I don’t know. Perhaps you could ask Anna; she knows the most,” Yunwu replied.

“Then do you know where Anna is?”

“Uh, I don’t know that either.”

Felicia felt a touch of helplessness. She stepped out of the kitchen, leaving Yunwu standing there, looking like ‘OvO’.

📚 Also on NHV Novels

Feelings of love

darkHealinglove

Read Now →
Not interested