HERO / Vaundy

POV Valentine

"Valentine: Shouldn't you be at home for the holidays? Christmas is a time for family activities, if I'm not mistaken."

"Juliana: I'm just in for a half-day, then the maid takes over. My quota is 1200 MP and that's only around two hours of work!"

'Four medium mana batteries filled up with 70-80 monsters, hopefully the next upgrade allows me to create large mana batteries. It's a hassle to carry multiple of them around.'

"Valentine: Oh? Not going to the fifth floor? I was going to ask you to gather some more berries for me again."

I get a large frown and a bitter sounding, small laugh.

"Juliana: That place is straight out of a dark fairy tail. I bet that there's a fucking bog witch living in an old shabby house, brewing some horrid poison in a cauldron. No, I get bad vibes when we go deeper and I swore to trust my instincts when they scream at me not to go. We aren't ready for whatever is waiting for us, and I don't want to leave my children orphaned again. Not when I got a taste at living for the second time."

"Valentine: I see. Then the focus is on gathering 100k MP for opening a new gate address?"

"Juliana: That's what I've been suggesting, and the old man is on my side. Giving them another half a year to explore the new dungeon from floors one through four will keep everyone occupied and safe. By that time we'll also have gained more fighting experience and the fourth level up by slowly hunting those frog monsters on the outskirts."

'Good, finally a steady supply of mana for me to work with. However, the unavoidable lack of new ingredients sucks! I wanted for them to find beef or pork! There must be wild boars down there somewhere!'

I weight my options and decide not to risk it, but still tag along to do some fishing. For that, I as usual enlisted the help of several attack and support squads. The glutinous chickens can strip bare a whole section of the shallows. On the bright side, I don't even have to pay them anything. It's the same as taking cattle out for grazing. I'll also take the chance to fight stronger opponents.

.. .

"Juliana: The second battery is full. Another sweep across the island and I'll be done."

With bullets flying everywhere, I didn't dare to move forward and engage any monsters in an honourable one on one duel. The trigger-happy woman looked too engrossed in shooting everything that moved and I decided that it was safer for me to stay put.

"Valentine: Ok. Take the assault squads with you. We'll be just fishing out here."

While a feeding frenzy is going on a short distance away, I hear the bait team return, announcing their success. Squinting, I recognize something in the water.

'Did they steal a sea salt crystal from the eels? Shit. There are three of them approaching.'

"Separate them! Chain team hook me up!"

To increase my maneuverability in the water, I will have a couple of chains pulling me when I give the signal. Killing the monsters instantly is impossible for me, so I'm using my standard tactic of hit and run.

'Fuuu, fuu, fu... Eels. Let's see how to best process you.'

The answer is very obvious actually. They have huge eyes that are soft and directly connect to the brain. I need to scoop it all out and then remove the gills, followed my cutting open the belly. For killing purposes however, I only need to stick my knife through an eye and damage the brain.

"That fish is going to be thrashing around violently, so pull me hard when I give the signal!"

"Caw. Caw."

'Hoooh, I'm not getting bitch slapped by a fish today if I can help it! Stab-turn-run away. As easy as counting to three.'

Walking knee deep in water is a bit of an inconvenience, but I don't want to risk aggroing the whole dungeon. The fish needs to be able to physically reach me.

"Get ready! 3, 2, 1, ..PULL!!"

I time three actions to happen almost simultaneously. First, I position myself to be able to dodge its headbutting and tail swipes. Second, I rely on my cooking skills to make an incision and reach deep enough to cut the brain. Third, I signal for the chains to be pulled and make my hasty escape sideways.

The brain-damaged monster behaves like a snake, coiling and thrashing around. I don't really pay much attention to its death throes. I have two more fishes to process right now.

.. .

"CAW CAW CAW!"

"Fuck! I didn't ask for the armoured fish!"

I turn in the direction of the warning and see the fucking car-sized missile heading my way.

"Chains! Pull up! Drop me on top of it's head!"

'It shouldn't be able to somersault while out here in the shallows. Instead of a predator, it is just a worm. A worm that can bite me in half if I get anywhere near its mouth, crush me with its weight and probably run me through with those fucking dorsal fins.'

It's a stupid idea. The fish is definitely slippery, and I'll fall off to be crushed and eaten alive. Despite that, I feel absolutely exited and full of adrenaline. I want to butcher that piece of food and grill it!

Fortunately, I'm not completely out of my mind. I have worked with fish before and developed a skill for always keeping a firm grasp on them. So, I pray that the same skill will work on my legs and that I'll be able to saddle this beast for long enough to kill it.

"If I start falling, pull me up with everything that you have!"

'Better to run away and deal with an angry dungeon for a day than being eaten by a fish.'

I start circulating mana from my hands down to my legs. Replicating the suction cup effect as best as I can. Positioning myself belly parallel to the water, I'm ready to hug the beast with my whole body.

"Drop!"

I flop onto its back and cling for my dear life like a snail to a leaf. In my mind, I imagine that I must look like a bull rider or a pathetic attempt at imitating one. The big shit is trying to bend its neck to bite me, but it's physically incapable of doing so. However, I do get a good look at its head and feel that there's a good spot for me to stab at.

Using its own buckling to adjust my position, I aim at a place a bit above a d behind its gills. The armoured scales are in the way, so I need to stab from below before twisting my knife and pushing the tip downwards. I get the feeling that I'm cutting bone, which forces me to pull out and change the angle to find the sweet spot in between the connecting spinal segments.

Like a puppet with its strings cut, the raging bull goes limp under me. It's not dead, so I safely delivered a few stabs through the small eyes to end it for good.

"Haaaaaa... That tired me out, but it's nice to see superior quality loot. I'll marinade this to perfection and try making that lesser agility buff. I must get even more agile to fight properly with my crappy skillset."

If I were stronger, I could have penetrated the scales and severed its spine in one flowing motion, dealing with it as easily as with the eels. In my current state, that would have failed and got me killed. I must practice more and make dishes with multiple effects working in tandem. Focusing on one effect is not good enough for delving deeper into the dungeon.

"Sigh. Keep the lookout on alert. With so much activity, there may be more monsters heading our way."

"Caw.caw CAW."

"No, I'll deal with one or two fishes. Just sound the alarm as quickly as possible."

I want to rest on the beach, so I'll need plenty of time to run back into position. My shaking legs need to calm down before I must face the next challenge.

'It's good skill practice and a learning experience. I should have anticipated and tested that fish holding skill ahead of time. Heh~ just like in the saying: a good idea comes after the fact.'

Luckily I didn't have to go on another rodeo today and just leisurely stabbed another two eels before going back home with enough fish to last me for two days of practice. The sea salt crystal will be grinned down and used too. In addition, if I manage to tame its mana flow, it will further improve my proficiency in making buffs bestowing food.

FAKE TYPE. - Yummy Yummy Yummy

POV Kei

"Kei: Thanks for the invite Moeha, but I'm attending practical lessons tomorrow and the day after. I could come over in the evening?"

"Moeha: Eeh, but it's almost New Year's Day! You have to join us for the main party too! We miss hanging out with you!"

"Kei: Ok, I'll ask chef Valentine if we can practice in the morning. I think that he works the whole day, so it shouldn't be a problem."

"Moeha: Another hard worker like your brother?"

"Kei: Hmmm...you could say that. They have very similar personalities. It makes me worry all the more that brother will be treated just as badly when he graduates and gets involved with people of higher social standings. I can't see him standing up for himself and he is definitely not a fighter to take any kind of a punch. I've actually started looking for self-defence classes he could take after the holidays."

"Moeha: I want to say that you don't have to worry, but there are plenty of rumours that are more like horror stories. You have picked quite the difficult place to work at, in more ways than one. I've asked my family, and I doubt that anyone would pick a fight with that place without having half of the country supporting them, at least not without a global scale scandal happening there. Anything less would just be swept under the rug."

"Kei: Yeah, I've got the same feeling. That's why I'll be sending brother to take some lessons just in case."

Learning just how much political, financial and military power a select few can wield was horrifying. My common sense of everyday life got a thorough beating with facts outside of my comfort zone. It made me believe that nothing has changed since the middle ages. There are still the common folks living their lives and behind great walls dwell the nobles that command how we live.

The words that we use to describe things have changed, but the underlying principles haven't.

Ending the call, I carry on with my daily tasks around the flat and complete a portion of my homework. A reminder soon signals that I should get ready for work, though I don't need to do anything more than walk out to the street.

"Kei: I'm off to work! Dinner will be served once I'm back!"

"Father: I'll walk you out. Did you take a hat with you? I know that you'll be driven there and back, but just keep it in your pocket for emergency. It'll get cold in the evening."

"Kei: Yup, I've got mine in the pocket here. There are some leftovers in the fridge, try to finish them off today. If I'm not mistaken, I'll be bringing back fish dishes today."

"Father: Oh? Then I better eat up the leftovers so that your brother gets his fill of seafood."

'I don't think that I'll be making oysters that he likes, but an assortment of fish dishes is just as good.'

"Kei: There's my ride, see you soon!"

This private transportation method was one of the things that I didn't get to choose from. However, it is very comfortable being chauffeured back and forth, I can even do some light reading in a relaxed fashion on the backseat. The little jump over the fence has likewise become an easy task, and I can keep my eyes open the whole time without getting frightened. I thank the little spirit birds and perform a quick prayer before heading inside to start today's learning. 

Chef Valentine is already setting up the ingredients on our workstation, and I can smell an assortment of fragrances emanating from the kitchen. I give a greeting on my way downstairs to change into my uniform and make haste.

'It smells like pastry. I hope that we'll be making some together.'

.. .

"Valentine: There! That's the perfect consistently. A bit more and the cream turns buttery, a bit less and it doesn't hold the desired form. A drop of stabilizing agent can either prevent or fix those issues, but that's cheating and not really healthy, as is with most chemicals haphazardly added to our food. Now, the fun part, cut open the sponge and soak it with berry juice."

I warmed up to learning how to work in a proper kitchen very quickly. Chef Valentine's personal guidance is easy to follow, and it's actually fun. Mostly because we practice without the assumption that there are clients waiting for the finished dishes.

"Go easy on the middle and top parts. The cut berries and jelly will release moisture over time into them."

I moisten the sliced sponge with a brush twice, then check the result by pressing down with my finger. It looks to be a little dry, but some more liquid will spread out from the other areas making it just right.

"Kei: I'll start assembling the layers."

Cream and fresh berries are a lovely combination that has both, a bit of sweetness and sourness. Done with the assembly, I move to covering the outer surface with cream and smoothing it out.

"Valentine: Don't worry about the edges, well cover any defects with more cream out of a pastry bag with a nozzle. It will also serve as a barrier to hold back the jelly. Hmmm~ add a bit more cream on that side."

My first attempt looks a bit lacking even in my own eyes. I've seen pretty cakes on displays and mine is far from being good looking. Nevertheless, I decorate the top part with more berries, arranging them to look as nice as possible before covering them in layers of jelly. A few streams escape my poorly made enclosure and run down the sides.

"Valentine: Looking good. Now trim down those loose ends and get to decorating the sides. The almond flakes are nice and cold now. Just grab them by the handful and give the sides a light pat, we'll do the fine touches later."

I take the golden flakes and press them into the cream, repeating the process twice, going in a circle. With the uneven cream covered, the cake is looking quite well now. It's even better once the little gaps are covered by crushed almond flakes and some bits of chocolate are used to patch up the topside holes.

"Kei: It looks like a very good homemade cake."

"Valentine: I've seen the videos and pictures of Japanese cakes covered in layers of fondant. Yes, it looks like art, or pieces of clothing, furniture, buildings, animals or whatnot. BLAH! It's too sweet to be eaten, too time consuming and unreasonably expensive. I wouldn't call it food at all, it's glorified candy for the rich. Now, our cake in comparison will go bad after two or three days, but it's made out of natural ingredients and actually tastes good!"

'Indeed, it's better to eat something healthy but ugly than a pretty poison. Besides, our cake turned out quite nice in the end.'

"Kei: The berries are very delicious by themselves and the cream accompanying them is just right. This looks simple but tasteful at the same time."

"Valentine: Umu. You're going to a friend's house tomorrow, so I'll decorate the next one in a more luxurious way. This one is practically handmade by you alone, so we'll send it to your family to enjoy. I'll explain the little things that you should improve upon as I go. ...Yes, you can record a video as long as you keep me out of it."

His movements are usually too fast for me to follow closely, so I've taken to recording videos to go over the parts that I miss at a later time. There are simply no unnecessary actions when he works and the cream that I had struggled with, just flows right into place.

To add a variety of colours, instead of food dyes, extracts from berries are added to the cream. The jelly looks solid and transparent, unlike mine. Thin chocolate decorations are quickly made and used to give an elegant design. All in all, the ingredients used were the same, but the presentation is worlds apart.

'It would take me an hour to replicate all these decorations and carefully set them so that they look good.'

Everything looks deceptively easy when I watch the process, but once I try to do the same thing I find that the difficulty is actually too high for me and the results look like a poor quality parody.

"Valentine: I personally recommend leaving the cakes overnight in the fridge to let them set and for the flavour to spread out. You can still eat yours in the evening, that's not a problem. Now! Let's clean up and work on the main dishes. I want to try making grilled eel with a variety of sauces and a couple types of sushi. That should leave you half an hour for Eri's lessons."

"Kei: She is sulking. It radiates from her in waves."

"Valentine: Maybe magic cooking is just not her thing? Most people aren't proficient in everything, that's why we have specializations. I suggested that she tries something different, but she is a stubborn one."

I like working in the kitchen more than learning from Eri. Her lessons focus more on how to properly interact with people from her perspective. How to identify the type of person you are dealing with, what etiquette to apply to whom, what rules to follow in different situations, how to use my natural appearance to my advantage, etc. It's far from what I've imagined being taught and I don't like half of the things that she teaches.

To my greatest disappointment, it is something that will likely become helpful in my years as a working adult. The best I can do is to accept the teachings and keep them unused until later in my life.

'Same as with first aid skills. It is better to have the knowledge and not need to use it, than to be in a position to act and not know what to do.'