Chapter 905: First Cooking Challenge

[The Fifth Volume: World War]

Royal Castle, Nightingale.

Under the crimson moonlight sat the silver-haired beauty Lilith, sipping on tea elegantly.

Her eyes were closed, but after a few moments, opened up with a serene glint to them.

Lilith stared at the tea in her hand and had the corner of her lips curved up.

Slightly swirling the tea, Lilith said softly, "Greatest on the planet? Fufufu... That's not happening..."

Lilith paused and took a sip of tea.

She put the teacup down and staring in the direction of Lith, placed her chin on her hand and continued with a warm smile,

"...For he'll be the greatest in the universe."

.....

Elven Continent.

In a farm lay vast fields of various crops, ready to harvest.

Potatoes, sweet potatoes, spicy potatoes, bitter potatoes, sour potatoes, umami potatoes, sweet chillies, orange chillies... All sorts of odd and diverse vegetables, spices, and fruits were present in this place.

In the middle of these fields stood six people.

Two of these six were in a butler outfit, uniformed neatly, them being none other than Juan and Miguel.

Two more from the group wore elegant suits, them being none other than Ralph and Dennis, with Ralph wearing a white suit with hints of pink accents to it, matching with his hair color while Dennis wore black with red accents.

The girl of the group, Miwa, had a complete change of attire. Long brown boots clad her short legs, staying just a few inches below her knees. A white skirt was coupled with a brown top and a white hat, matching the girl's skin tone and hair.

For the first time, the hardcore training maniac was dressed in a prim-proper fashion, getting as far as to have her short hair smoothened and styled properly.

The reason for her change in appearance was the tall silver-haired guy standing beside her, clad in brown boots, black slacks, brown shirt, and a black vest.

It took less than ten seconds to change Miwa's appearance because the maids in the castle were highly skilled.

Lith made use of it and got himself dressed as well. There was nothing wrong and he was just using his Princely perks.

While Lith and Miwa looked like proper adventurers, Ralph and Dennis seemed like slave traders with their outfits.

Lith wanted to tease them about it, but dropped the idea once he saw Juan and Miguel start explaining the basics.

Juan walked towards a purple plant emitting a bad stench. He held the white flower of it in his hand and,

"HORRR KURRR RUUURRR!"

The flower made some loud demonic sounds, as if it was alive.

"This is the Sepiola of the Sixty-Sixth Star Syndrome species. Long name, I know. But these plants have some really great seeds that once crushed can provide..."

Juan began with his explanation on seeds and their uses in cooking.

He went into great depths on the flavor profile of the seeds.

Surprisingly or unsurprisingly, none of the four had any problems absorbing this knowledge. However, that didn't mean they weren't bored.

The lessons had already started and they were finding it a bit uninteresting to learn about something they could simply cramp in one night from a big book.

Despite being bored, they paid attention out of respect for their new masters.

While Juan was explaining, Miguel was at a distance, on a phone call, sounding a bit nervous.

"Yes... Yes, that can be done... Huh?" Miguel sounded shocked by the end.

"A-A-Are you sure, chief? I advise against—ok, ok..."

"...Orders from above!?"

"...I—Chief... Prince may do well but... What? If they die, they die!? But they're children... Ok, Ok... I'll inform Juan and start with it right away..."

Beep!

Miguel hung up and had a nervous sweat trickle down his back. He turned to look at the four kids listening attentively to Juan and sighed.

"Sorry, Your Highness. Sorry, you three... Orders from above, can't do anything about it..."

Saying so, Miguel walked towards them and excused Juan and himself for a second to have a brief meeting.

Lith and the rest gathered around and began discussing things regarding this training while they were gone.

Miwa made an annoyed face and shadowboxing, said, "This is so boring... I thought we'll go light up some flames and then woosh, foosh, badamdududoosh some food!"

Dennis yawned and replied, "Tru... I thought this would be fun, but it's as boring as it could get."

Ralph, looking at the big field, said, "Theory boosts our practical skills."

Not a word was wasted and he said things straight to the point.

Lith nodded. "That's right. You gotta endure this. I'm sure you and Miwa don't even know a single plant here. You two better learn."

"Hey! I'm not like this meat-headed fool." Miwa felt offended. "I actually knew about that purple plant, just didn't know the name."

Dennis smiled and shook his head. "Look at this shorty being so proud of her teenie-weenie tiny knowledge."

A vein popped on Miwa's forehead, but she began breathing in and out, trying to control herself from beating Dennis to a pulp.

"I just got a new dress, I don't wanna dirt it. I shouldn't dirty it. This bastard ain't worth the dress's value. Don't dirty it. Don't dirty it. Don't dirty it..."

Miwa began chanting to calm herself down.

Ralph nodded his head and turning to Lith, said, "For the first time, she made a correct estimate."

"Huuuuuh?"

Dennis felt offended now while Miwa was pondering whether Ralph insulted her too or was it just Dennis?

The four chatted until Juan and Miguel's return, which happened around five minutes later.

Coming back, the two's faces seemed a bit serious.

Miguel cleared his throat and said, "Well... There has been a change in training schedule and we will be leaving."

"Leaving?" Lith asked. "Didn't we just start?"

Miguel nodded. "Yes, but we are told that everything needs to be done quickly. So..."

"So...?" Dennis asked.

Juan let out a nervous chuckle. "So please prepare yourselves."

No further words were said by the two chefs. They extended their wings out and at a really fast speed, caught the collars of the four kids and flew away.

"Whaaaaa—"

"YOOOOO—"

Miwa and Dennis let out a surprised yelp, but before they could question anything, Juan and Miguel flew into a wrapped space tunnel, vanishing from their spots.

.

.

.

.

.

"HOT DAMN!"

"Scary..."

"What is this place?"

"Oh, it's cool..."

Arriving at a new location, the four had different reactions to the landscape around them.

Standing atop a single tall pillar of rock, the four themselves in the middle of a vast mountainous region.

The mountains around were full of colours. Some bloomed bright red, some a bright blue, and some pitch black, as if it were enshrouded by a permanent shadow.

Though, what shocked the four wasn't the landscape, but the ten giant bird-like beasts flying around them, gazing at the four as if they would devour them at any given moment.

The beasts possessed shape beaks, fangs, and teeth. One touch from them and the four's bodies would be torn to pieces.

The beasts were hovering at one spot without making any sound, but their gazes were intense.

Pointing at them, Miguel said, "These are masters of masters of these valleys. They do not like outsiders and kill them on the spot, protecting this place's flora and fauna. Currently, they are hungry and..."

These were not the average beasts, but the ones that could use use magic.

Fireballs, acid rain, speed faster than sound... These beasts knew them.

Fight with the ten beasts would be a challenge, given the terrain and how unaccustomed everyone was to this place.

But, Lith and the rest still ran a few scenarios in their minds, trying to think of the ways they could defeat these beasts.

They had only just thought that they would need to fight them, but Miguel said,

"...Your task is to cook."

"Huh?" The four were confused.

Juan nodded his head and added, "That's right. It's not about fighting these beasts, but feeding and taming them."

Miguel took out one big cauldron and ten big bowls from his space ring, placing the bowls at the edge of the rock they were standing on.

"Cook the food and serve it to the beasts in a bowl. The tastier the food, the better are your chances at taming them. However, keep in mind that their preferences may vary."

"Some may prefer good quality, some may prefer great quantity, and some may just want water. You have to be smart enough to notice it and serve them accordingly."

Juan went on with the explanation once again, making everybody frown.

What even was this? They were here to learn, not risk their lives!

Miwa was skilled in combat, but cooking? She didn't even know the c of cooking. How could she even feed these damn monsters!?

While Miwa was thinking that, Dennis raised his hand to ask a question.

"Yes?" Juan said.

"Instead of cooking for them, can we just cook them?"

Miwa, Ralph, and Lith looked at Juan, waiting for his response. This question was although really stupid, but made a lot of sense if one thought about it.

Juan and Miguel both smiled in response, making the four frown.

Miguel laughed softly and looking at the ten ferocious beasts, said, "You can try..."