Bonus Short Stories
Cooking Lessons in Another World
"So..." Mel glanced between the three of us. "There is food in the temple, but who can cook well?"
"I can at least heat things up," said Momo.
"If I've got instructions, I can cope..." Anna answered with an apologetic expression.
I shrugged. "Usually, I just eat what I can get."
Mel let out a big sigh. "Fine. I will make something. The food we bought in Cornet was delicious, though..."
Ah, well, she lived underground for so long, so I guess it makes sense that she's still thinking about all the different dishes she got to sample in Laphroaig. Mel is always looking after us, so I want to pay her back somehow... I glanced around the fields and saw all sorts of crops growing. There's so much variety in the food back on Earth. Perhaps, as an otherworlder, I can offer her something you don't usually find in this world.
"Huh? Those are..."
There—I'd found several ingredients that were familiar to me.
◇
"Elementalist, are you sure this will taste good?" "Makoto, should we really be eating that much oil?" "Is this the right temperature, Sir Makoto?!"
Mel and Anna were watching me skeptically, and Momo was my assistant. I wasn't great at cooking, but I was able to rely on my memories from Earth to prepare something.
The ingredients were:
Potato (well, something similar)
Fish (caught from the mountaintop pool of water)
Oil (from some fruits that looked like olives—I'd squashed and pressed them)
Salt (from the temple's stores)
Flour (from powdering the wheat in the fields)
Those five ingredients were what I needed to cook the traditional meal of England: fish and chips.
This is about the best thing I can prepare.
Some sliced potatoes and floured fish fillets were crackling away in the hot, bubbling oil. The bubbles had been massive at first, but they were gradually getting smaller. Meanwhile, the potatoes and fish were turning a lovely golden brown.
Nearly done...
Using some makeshift chopsticks—twigs taken from a tree—I lifted the chips and fillets from the oil. I set them on some large leaves that we were using as plates. The final touch? A sprinkling of salt.
"Sir Makoto? Why are you salting the food with your hand so high up?" "It tastes better that way."
"Oh, I see!"
Actually, I was just repeating what I'd seen on some cooking program. Now that I thought about it, that show had used olive oil pretty frequently. I'd made this meal the same way by accident.
"It's done," I announced. "Fish and chips." I couldn't tell them the dish was from another world, so I just said it was from my hometown.
"Hm..." Mel scrutinized the food. "You just fried it and added salt." "W-Well," Anna stammered. "He made it for us, so..."
The two of them hesitantly tucked in. After a bite, their eyes widened. "So good!"
"It's delicious?!"
They both quickly took another bite. Yup, fried food is the best!
Contrary to their enthusiasm, Momo was just staring at me. "You're not going to eat?" I asked.
"I..." Her gaze dropped to my neck.
Ah. Apparently, she preferred her food raw.
"Here," I said, undoing some buttons on my shirt and tapping my neck.
"Th-Thanks for the food," she said before starting to drink.
While she was doing that, I picked up a chip and bit into it. Better than expected. Maybe even the best meal I've eaten in this era.
Junk food was officially added to our party's repertoire.
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The Melancholy of Saint Anna
◇ Anna's Perspective ◇
With the Goddess of Fate's guidance, we arrived at the Sun Temple. The first thing we did was inspect the buildings and check for provisions. Of course, this hideout had been recommended by a goddess, so everything we needed was here. After settling in, Makoto cooked for us. We all ate, and finally, we had time to catch our breaths.
To think there's a place like this... I almost wanted to stay here in safety forever.
After a while, I heard Makoto and Momo talking.
"Momo, let's start magic training. You do what Mel says, and if you've got questions about water magic, come to me."
"What?! Let's relax some more, Sir Makoto!" Wait, he's already starting training?!
Countless butterflies and fish made with water magic were floating through the air around him. There were many little birds as well. I wasn't exactly a skilled mage, but I knew how difficult that feat was. Even the white dragon, an expert by any measure, was looking aghast at him—this was further proof of his skill.
"I suppose you can rest for today," Makoto conceded. "Training'll start tomorrow." He turned and walked over to the edge of the spring.
"Where are you going?" Momo asked.
"There are water elementals over by the spring, so I'll train there." Momo had an odd look on her face. She probably wanted to spend her
time relaxing with him. I hesitated for a while before deciding to join him by the spring. He was meditating by the water, and I sat by his side.
"What's wrong, Anna?" he asked. It sounded like a completely normal question except for one small thing—his eyes were closed, so he shouldn't
have been able to see my expression.
"You shouldn't push yourself too hard," I murmured. "After all, you were attacked by the demon lord in Laphroaig."
Demon Lord Cain had ambushed us all just before we'd escaped the country. Remembering that close call made my body shake with mixed emotions: anger at my mentor's death and fear of facing the demon lord. Honestly, I was physically and mentally exhausted, so I felt a lot like Momo. I couldn't understand what had possessed Makoto to start training practically the moment we'd arrived here.
"Pushing myself?" he asked curiously. He opened his eyes and stared at me with an odd expression.
"I mean..." I trailed off, looking for the words. "Look, we might have a whole year, but we need to use it to get stronger so we can defeat the demon lords! You shouldn't just throw yourself into training without a single break! If you do, you'll—"
"This is normal for me." The wind left my sails. "What?"
I couldn't understand what he'd just said.
"There isn't a moment I don't spend training my water magic," he explained. "Even when I'm sleeping."
"Wh..."
Oh, right. He has spells going even while he's asleep.
"You seem tired too, Anna. You should rest with Momo." He offered me a kind smile.
He's treating me just like her?! Like a child?! At this rate, I could hardly call myself a hero or a saint.
So instead, I stood next to him and started practicing sword swings. He watched me steadily. It was kind of unsettling.
◇
The two of us kept training for a while.
"Um...Makoto?" I asked. "How long do you keep going for? It's getting dark."
"I suppose...another six hours or so."
"A-Are...are you serious?!"
He tilted his head, confused by my question. I sighed. "I think I'm just going to turn in." "Rest well," he replied, waving.
He wasn't alone for long—Dia, the arch elemental, soon appeared at his side. They started to chat, and I was sure they kept on going for the whole six hours.
Will I...be able to keep up with him? I thought uneasily.
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Chat with the Goddess of Fate and Her Nonbeliever
"You're finally here, Makoto Takatsuki!" "Huh? Ira?"
I was pretty sure I'd just been asleep in the Sun Temple. But now...I was in the Goddess of Fate's domain. She must have summoned me.
"Makoto Takatsuki! Are you getting along well with Annie?!" She wore a determined expression as she swung up her finger and jabbed it close to my face.
Getting along? Why's she wondering that? All of us had only just arrived at the temple, and we wouldn't start actively training until tomorrow. Though...I suppose I had finally gotten time to sit down and have a proper chat with Anna.
"Slowly but surely, we're getting friendlier," I answered. "Not enoooouuugh!" Ira yelled.
"Uh?"
"Are you listening? Saint Anna and Abel the Savior are one and the same —you know that. Which means you will need to cooperate at length with Annie to defeat the Great Demon Lord!"
"I mean, I know that, but—"
"You're certainly not acting like it! You've got such cuties in the future too, and yet you haven't made a move at all! You beta!"
"What does that have to do with it?!" It wasn't like I was going to date Anna or anything!
"Luckily, I have good news for you, Beta Makoto! I, Ira, also known as the Goddess of Love, will personally tell you how to raise her affection points!" She puffed up her—nonexistent—chest at that.
Hey, who do you mean "Beta Makoto"?!
"Can you stop calling me that?!" I exclaimed, trying to get her to end this conversation. Also... Really? Affection points? She sounded less like the Goddess of Love and more like the Goddess of Waifu Games.
"Makoto Takatsuki! You're insulting me in your thoughts, aren't you?!" "Pardon me," I apologized. Something she'd said had made me curious,
though. "If you're the Goddess of Love, then you must have plenty of experience in romance, right?"
There was a long pause.
"O-Of course I have experience." Really?
"What?! Are you doubting me?! I'm the Goddess of Fate! I couldn't count the number of men I've dated on both my hands and feet!"
"Well, that's impressive." That meant she must've had more than twenty —at minimum. With those numbers, I could understand her looking down on me for my slow pace.
"So, what was your most recent boyfriend like?" Another long silence passed.
"Huh? Erm, well..."
"Ira?" Why wasn't she saying anything? "You weren't lying about having more than twenty exes...right?"
"How could you say that?! Of course they're real! Right, the latest! Yes, I remember! He had blond hair and sharp eyes!"
"Huh. So, where'd you meet?"
"Wh-Where? U-Um... We met...a-at work! It was a workplace romance!" "At work. So, here?"
I looked around her domain. A pink carpet decorated the floor, and on top of it were some fancy-looking plush creatures, all animated and working tirelessly.
There was, however, not a single god to be seen.
"N-No! I don't just work here. I attend regular meetings with the other goddesses, and I need to head to the heavens and report on the state of the western continent at least once a year, and..."
"And none of those places sound like somewhere you'd meet a guy." Had she really had a workplace romance? "So, how'd he confess?"
"Wha?! His confession? Uh, well..."
I could barely understand what she was saying. Yup...that settles it. "It was a lie, right?"
There was a third long pause.
"It was," she confessed. "I've never had a boyfriend."
"Never?!" She didn't have any room to talk about me then! "Well, I don't think you'll have much to tell me about romance."
"What was that?!" She followed up this exclamation with a wholly unfair series of smacks.
After that night, Ira appeared in my dreams every so often and gave me lots of advice (despite her complete lack of romantic experience).
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Makoto Takatsuki Talks with an Elf Hero
"Let's drink, Sir Makoto." "Sounds good, Johnnie."
After arriving at the temple, Mel and I flew back to the dungeon town to check in. Johnnie had promptly invited me in for a drink. He was one of the members of the legendary party that would take down the Great Demon Lord one day, so I figured there was no harm in getting acquainted with him.
The town had a big tavern in the center, which was well supplied with both food and drink. I felt a little out of my depth—beautiful girls sat on either side of me, pouring my drinks and passing over food. Mel was a little ways away, having fun with her family.
The evening was around halfway over when the conversation turned— Johnnie's voice grew more serious.
"Incidentally...I spoke with the Lady White Dragon." Oh...this must be something important.
"About what?" I asked, straightening. I had no idea what it could be. "I heard from her that you are a virgin. Is it true?"
I choked on my drink. Mel?! Did she have any concept of privacy?! I glared at her, but she looked away and pretended not to notice. She
definitely heard that—I know how sharp her ears are. "I see. So it is. That will not do."
"Uh...Johnnie?" What do you even mean by that?
I noticed him making a beckoning gesture. At once, beautiful woman after beautiful woman appeared beside us.
"Um...who exactly are these people?" I asked.
"I should introduce you. These are women working in the town's brothel. When they heard that Sir Makoto—despite all his exploits—was inexperienced with women, they were rather eager to provide their services. Payment is, of course, unnecessary. Enjoy your night."
I couldn't respond immediately. It took me several long seconds to summon a single word.
"Pardon?"
"We'll serve you tonight, Sir Makoto," said one of the women.
"This way," another added, casually placing a hand on my cheek. A soft, floral scent wafted from her skin.
I was feeling dizzy.
"Hey! What are you doing, Chief?!"
Julietta—the Hero of Wood—had apparently overheard our conversation. She came barreling over.
"What's wrong, Julietta?" he asked.
"Don't 'what's wrong' me! Makoto has a lover waiting for him in his hometown!"
Oh yeah—I'd told her a bit about Lucy and Sasa. Somewhat bolstered by Julietta's presence, I quickly spoke up. "Johnnie! I really appreciate the offer, but I promise I'm fine!"
"I see..." He seemed to slump slightly. U-Uh? Had I offended him?
"Er, I really am grateful, but Momo and An—Abel are waiting at the temple. I'd also rather talk about you. I want to hear about your exploits!"
"Hm...about me?"
That seemed to cheer him up a little. The alcohol loosened his tongue, and I soon had him enthusiastically talking about his past hardships. He'd been living in the dark ages while the Great Demon Lord ruled, so merely existing had been a continuous struggle.
I listened excitedly, but Julietta soon stopped him. "Enough already! This is all ancient history."
Huh. Even though they're both elves, they don't seem to get along. But then, Johnnie's next words completely changed the mood.
"I think it must have been twenty years ago now. I came across Julietta, orphaned in an attack by demons."
"Ahh! Chief! No!"
"Though she was born with a hero skill, Julietta used to be such a scaredy cat. She couldn't even sleep on her own—she'd often sneak into my bed."
"When was that?!"
"But in the mornings, I'd often discover that she'd had...an accident during the night."
"Stop it! Shut your trap right now!" Julietta demanded, covering his mouth with a hand. He must have been tipsy since he just laughed along happily.
Ah, it's not that they don't get along. She's like a girl rebelling against her dad.
I watched them fondly, warmth spreading in my chest.
The celebration carried on late into the night, and before I knew it, I was waking up on the floor to an exasperated look from Mel.