ZhenZhen entered the house with careful steps. Thanks for Runner's reminder, she was not surprised by the magical house. He said it was magical because they could not see what was inside despite no door. While it looked pitch-black from outside, inside the house had enough lighting.
Just like Shen, ZhenZhen was attracted to the source of light inside. She found a lamb on the bed table. She did not think too much about the lamp and as to how it existed.
ZhenZhen's eyes moved to the bed. A wooden bed with a white sheet. Runner told her about the bed as well, including the effect of the bed. She would recover Stamina faster if she was to rest on the bed.
She then scanned the wooden wall. While Runner told her the house only had a bed, bed table, and stone statue, that was not the case for this house. She found various kitchen tools hung on the wooden wall.
There was a wok with three different sizes, kettle, knives, ladle, and more. ZhenZhen then searched for a stone statue. Runner told her as well the stone statue was not a statue, but a real NPC that could turn into a statue.
She found the stone statue. It was an old lady statue. Her face was full of wrinkles and she wore a robe. ZhenZhen came over and bowed her head slightly. Runner did not tell her to bow to the statue, but she took the initiative.
"This ZhenZhen greets Elder," She remained respectful. She had to be since she wanted to be taught by the old lady.
"A decent lass. You know how to respect your elder," ZhenZhen suddenly heard an old female voice
ZhenZhen looked up. She had been told and she had prepared, but she was still surprised that the status came alive. She subconsciously swallowed mouthful saliva, "Finally I can have a successor to inherit my legacy." The old lady stretched out and walked toward the bed, "Come here, Lass. Let's talk."
ZhenZhen followed the old lady and sat next to her. She had a gentle smile that calmed her as she spoke, "Since you entered my house, you want to learn how to cook with me, right?"
ZhenZhen nodded her head enthusiastically in response, "Yes, Elder! I want to learn to cook!" She showed her enthusiasm and passion for cooking. Her eyes gleamed brightly like shining stars.
The old lady smiled, "Heh, now not only that Old Man Yosu who gets a successor, but now it seems I also have a successor. But Lass, I am not just going to give my legacy to anyone."
ZhenZhen tensed up when they reached this part. The reason she played the game was to cook, it would be frustrating if she could not cook after all of this.
"Before that, I didn't know your name, yet. This old lady is Fiona," the old lady started by introducing herself.
"Hello, Elder Fiona. My name is ZhenZhen," ZhenZhen said. This reminded her about her first interview. She was sweating bullets and very nervous back then. Of course, she was less nervous than that day but still nervous about what would come for her.
"Relax, we will just have a chat, like what passion pushes you to cook. What do you want to become after learning under me? Something like that," Old Lady Fiona smiled, "Ah, don't call me Elder Fiona. That's too formal. For now, just call me Cook Fiona, that reminds me of the good old days."
"Yes, Cook Fiona," ZhenZhen nodded his head, "My passion? I don't know about passion, but I think I have regarded cooking as part of my life. It's like my life is incomplete without cooking."
That was true. Starting to learn from her mother when she was a kid. She started to take cooking seriously when she entered the cooking competition in Junior High.
"As for what I want to be after learning from Cook Fiona. I want to be the best cook in the world with or without you," That sounded arrogant but it came from her heart, "But I also want to enjoy myself with cooking, experimenting with new ingredients and also spices, herbs. Maybe learning more cooking techniques from the remote tribe and other countries and cities. I want to enjoy all new things about cooking and make them mine."
When she expressed her thoughts, she had a longing expression on her face, causing Cook Fiona to smile even wider. The reason she did not want to be Royal Cook was because of the same reason. She did not want to be bound to the Royal Cook and caged in the place called Eternal Wind City.
No matter how good and luxurious the jail was, the jail was jail. It was meant to imprison a person in a limited space. She decided to walk into the giant crevice instead of being imprisoned and she made the right choice. While she could not fulfill her dream, she had freedom in this place. Much better place than a prison called Lord Castle.
"I kind of started to like you, but we are not over yet, Zhen Lass. Are you willing to listen to my past?" Cook Fiona asked with a smile.
ZhenZhen nodded her head. Not just because she wanted the class but because she wanted to know how Cook Fiona ended up in this place. She also wanted to know what kind of cook her potential teacher was.
"My journey started from a city called Eternal Wind City…" ZhenZhen listened attentively to Cook Fiona's past. A humble born from the outer city, becoming a thief to steal the ingredients to cook for her two little brothers and one little sister.
Yes, her family was the one who inspired her to become a cook until one day, she became the best cook in the city. Even the Royal Family acknowledged her cooking skill and offered to be Royal Cook.
That was when things started to go wrong for Cook Fiona. She refused the offer because she wanted to explore the world and wanted to know about the cooking from other cities with different cultures.
However, the Royal Family was furious about her refusal. The Royal Family threatened her with her family and presented her with two choices. First, becoming a Royal Cook for the lord and her family would be safe. Second, enter the giant crevice if she did not want her family to be killed. Because of her fame, the Lord could not just execute her.
ZhenZhen frowned when she heard about how unreasonable the Lord was.
"So here is my question for you, Zhen Lass. What would you do if you were in my position?"