"Alright, think of it like stirring it inside out with a cold wind….colder….colder…..hmm yes that's right, now continue it…. think as if your stirring it with a spatula of wind." I was doing something stupid….
Even from my first life I was very interested in cooking. That's why I had learned many things related to that stuff, but for my bad luck, I had to die before I could even make use of that knowledge, but right now, I was making use of that knowledge in some other way. Yes, by reinventing stuff from my first life. Right now I am making Ice cream with the help of magic. there wasn't a cooler in sight, so Magic was the only way.
The summer was going in high gear, apart from Ice cream, nothing was a finer desert to cool one down in this heat.
Since I didn't know how to use wind or Ice magic, I was using her help. I know I would have been able to make it by just letting the bowl sit in ice directly and then stirring it, but the whole batch was on another level. I mean I was making Ice cream for at least 100 people. of course there weren't that many people here but what if everyone eats more than I predict? then it would be awkward. After thinking enough, I remembered that I've got storage magic. I could store everything for years without any problems, so I started to make as much as I could, so the batch naturally became rather large.
I had already prepared pudding and cake too but since it was warm, I thought of making this Ice cream. After today, everyone would need to work out like hell to shed that fat off. Since the whole dinner was nothing but junk food. By the maids coming and going from the kitchen to the dining table, I could see everyone was eating their fill.
That's good, everyone should eat as much as they can on special occasions. Me who missed occasions like this while I was trapped in that atrocious place was enjoying it quite a bit.
"Ohh my? I think it's changing!" Leila was looking at the large pot of milk I had flavoured with vanilla essence, so this would be vanilla Ice cream. Most people like this flavour so I went for it.
Right now because of the cold wind, the milk in the pot was moving around erratically, Leila was producing cold wind and I was controlling it, although I couldn't use all types of magic, I could still control mana itself since it was only a part of spirit energy, well that's how I was making Ice cream, what a great Idea, who even needs high tech machines and a freezer?
"Since we are continuously moving the ingredients with the wind, the milk and the wind are mixing together and forming a creamy mixture, with the temperature also dropping, the mixture would slowly turn into ice, but since we are continuously stirring it, unlike hard ice, it would be a lot softer." I couldn't really explain Leila about the scientific way but this should suffice.
"Wow, were you really born in the wild! I think that you're smarter than me sometimes and I am the smartest in the country here!" Leila seemed to make a joke about me. Well an irregular person like me can't really argue with that.
Ba-dump.. Ba-Dump
"Really, I didn't know I was making the smartest in the country my Sous-Chef, Wonder if I will be in trouble!" I said jokingly to Leila, I had gotten quite close to her. my heart was beating from the first time I saw her, since she had appeared today in a elegant long sleeved one piece dress. I felt like I could really connect with her. There was this unknown thing that just drew me to her. Although over the span of a few weeks, I had learned that Leila had this charm from a long time ago, nothing about anyone actually being blindly infatuated with her had ever happened for it… it may be my delusion… but I guess only I was the one who was getting too much infatuated with her.
"Well, I do hope you've something special for me… since I am even helping you, you know!"
"Hehe… I already have something prepared." That's right, I had made all the preparations that could be done thanks to Ayna, our real head chef. She was really ingenious. I was sure behind that shy appearance was someone super intelligent. if only she could have more courage, she would have easily invented all these recipes herself. maybe even cook greater, more refined cuisine. Since I was self taught, I only did things on a hunch. so I wouldn't be able to really go with a real chef full time.
"Leila, it's nice that you can make time for me.." as I said that, I remembered her busy schedule. Last time I was at the guild, I saw her doing a lot of calculations. Since everyone was short on literate people, the guild was always behind on their paperwork. So to lower Leila's burden, I made a calculator. It was the ancient version at least. Anyone could use it. As that had happened, later I found that she had her work lowered for this reason.
"It's nothing…. Moreover, looking at you being humble is kind of weird… Mistress Melinda told me that you are her successor you know?"
"No matter how you think… let me tell you this that right now, I am only going for a single girl.." before she could say I was going to be a philanders apprentice, I notified her with the most serious gaze I could muster.
"OH? So you were going for someone." but I did made a blunder, as Leila said and looked at me quite mischievously.
"Huk! No… tha-t was… I mean.." I had left out quite a bit of info there… I know that I like Leila and I realized that, for now I want to ask her to go out with me… but it was embarrassing to admit it like this.
"Who is it?" Leila asked, looking at me with an interested gaze… Well this certainly meant that she didn't know I liked her… it was kind of disappointing to think about that though… I am young for her… it was obvious for others to figure out though that I liked Leila, my maids had found out the minute I went to meet with Leila along with my maids.
"I am sure you will find out." as I said that, I looked at the pot again. If I had looked at Leila, I would have worried less… sadly that was not gonna happen… Right now Leila looked a bit sulky… for now she would hide it from me though...
"So this is the innovative design you were talking about?"
"Yes, if you use mana then fire comes out, I call this a stove, same for the thing called freezer. The pudding is cooling down there. It makes things colder and keeps them fresh." of course it could not freeze to the point of minus degrees, but in any case, it was rather good for preserving food for short time and cooling deserts for better taste and texture.
"Wow… it's really amazing how you made these things." In reality I only enchanted magic circuits to make these things. I now knew how to make basic enchantments at least. The way I used them was something new. Leila being impressed was probably because this was a bit out of the box.
"Leila, you really like taking notes about magic huh.." as I see her writing down these details frantically, I see her looking at me with embarrassment. what's up with her face that looked so worry free? she really is a good for nothing researcher eh? and here my heart just won't stop pounding.
"It's something I was always fond of.."
"That's nice, you should do what you like, that way you would look even more beautiful."
"Come on, don't tease me." her smile became bit more thicker hearing me as she retorted lightly.
"Was I? Well… no matter, someone like you might have heard that line too much to even feel sick of it.."
"Ha ha… it really was bothersome…" I could see it.. Leila was probably pestered by men all over the kingdom… sorry… even I am trying to make you like me…
"Leila…"
"Hmm?"
"For tonight's dinner… would you share it with me as a date?" as I asked her, she looked surprised for a moment.
"A date…."
"Yes, I want to spend the dinner alone with you.'' As I said, not hiding the subject anymore… Leila smiled a bit… I don't know what she felt as I asked her this… but her face wasn't disgusted at least.
"So I have a choice to decline too huh?" she asked looking at the pot. why isn't she looking at me? is she disappointed?
"Of course, I wouldn't worry about hurting someone's feelings over a refusal of a date, I overcame worse humiliation. although I would be happy if you accepted it, and at the end of the date, I want you to hear my reason for inviting you." of course, if I don't even have the approval of a simple date, I can just go back to the edge of the world and slay the demons forming in my mind.
"I see… but if you are trying this hard… I should probably take the whole opportunity to experience it and then listen to your reason, should I not? I am probably the first one?"
"That you are. The first one I approached…" as she looked at me, I felt her gaze at my eyes. What was it? What was it about? That look that made me want to ask for her hand right now.
"You really are something else, it's like you knew me for years…" as Leila said, breaking the silence, I felt my heart starting again, was all this time my heart stopped? barely keeping my breathing from changing, I moved on to focusing on the pot again.
"I don't know about years but I did… find you someone unavoidable…" I said. it wasn't a line people would say but for some reason I can only say the things I thought about at the time. Leila got a little red in the face and started looking at the pot again.
I know I can't just become a guy who can flirt with girls but I tried my hardest to stay in control of the conversations. If I knew that in the future I would become so accustomed to flirting that it would lead to unnecessary problems, then I would have not prayed to god to let me learn how to flirt.. Sadly that future was not changeable.
As time passed, The Ice cream had already become ready to serve. It looked fluffy, soft and specially creamy with magic. We really could make something better than the modern world. I thought that for a moment when.
"Ahem." Mai said looking sideways, then Me and Leila realized that while making Ice cream we had gotten rather close and I mean really close.
It's fine, it's fine, no need to be flustered ….
{Analyzing : heart rate is faster than normal.}
Yeah yeah I know..
"Ohh!.. Umm.. So has everyone finished? then we will proceed to the desserts okay? Mai now ...."
Leila and I had promptly gotten separated. She was still red in the face so I had started to take the situation in the other direction.
The direction of desserts, with the Ice cream being finished my work was now clearly done.
"Leila, can you please make a block of Ice covering this pot from all sides?"
"Hmm… sure…" as Leila answered, still looking embarrassed, I couldn't help but say inwardly that thank god only Mai had seen this… any other maid wouldn't be able to stay calm looking at what she had seen just coming in...
"Is this alright?" as Leila said, the block she made had covered all sides and even the bottom.
"That's great, with this, we would be able to keep it from melting. Thank you very much Leila, without you it wouldn't have been this good."
"Oh! It was nothing.." it seems she was happy at my praise. even though she was older than me, she still took my words huh? and here her little sister Alice was just so different, I guess everyone has their own thoughts.
"Well, Mai. the way to serve…" Then I explained to Mai about how we should serve it with the toppings. I used some fruits and dried nuts. After I showed her the directions to serve it, she quickly made preparations for it with the other maid that had gathered just now.
"Wow, so after finishing, it would look like this? it's so beautiful, I don't even know how I should eat it." exclaimed Lia. her eyes were sparkling so I took a spoon and fed her one spoon of Ice cream.
"That's how you eat it, so how is it!" Lia was ecstatic as she savoured the flavours and soon she fell to the ground in a trance. I know that Ice cream is something far from this world's imagination, but her reaction was really over the top, still I had to accept it because her face was now in a goofy grin.
"Young master!" Mai was about to lecture me, and I did make one of her maids faint.
"Ooh looks like my work here is done, Ayna please take care of everything here okay." I said to Ayna who had been preparing pudding this whole time and also cake, she single handedly made both of those things, gotta say she is awesome!
"And sorry about that Lia, Mai I apologize for making your work harder." I said to them as I took Leila's hand and went to the door, she followed me without resistance, she was flustered a bit though but you gotta be daring sometimes.
"Okay everyone, I'll be taking care of Miss Leila…" I smiled at Mai and got out of the door to the garden.
"Where are we going…?" Asked Leila she got timid all of a sudden. She may at first meetings look like she was very knowledgeable and stoic, also a little daring but whenever I took the lead like in our 2nd meeting, she would turn timid like this. I had her permission for a date, it was time to show her how assertive I could be.
"We are going to go to a place I prepared for you. Hold on okay!" I said as I carried her like a princess. "Huh!" she yelped a little but grabbed me around the neck. In the fading moon light night her face looked as if it was glowing. After that, I jumped high up in the air very high but I was still not near the destination I had prepared. I used Flash step but this time I used overwhelming force and strength to grab the air itself and propelled myself upward toward the sky. I was going up around a pillar that was thick and made of stone-like material. After 5 more leaps with the flash step, I got to the top of the tower. On the top, a 30 square feet space of ground had been created and a single glass table was in the center of the platform that stood on the top of the tower. I let Leila down from my hold. She seemed to understand that we were unbelievably high in the air.
Yes.. this was the place I had made for our date. A candle light dinner under the moon, the height made us feel the lonesome air and a serene yet charming atmosphere as if we were among the clouds. This was all I could think of. If this doesn't work… I can always jump my way to shame…