"Erina."
"Do you have time tonight?"
Looking up at the teary-eyed Erina
Zane just nodded lightly, responding to her greeting, and then asked.
"Yeah!"
"I... I'm... free."
Erina blushed and replied softly.
"Ha ha!"
"Miss, what do you mean by free?"
"You were the one who dragged my hand and said you had to come to the tavern to see what new dish Zane has..."
Seeing Erina acting all awkward in front of Zane, Rindo couldn't hold it in and spoke the truth!
"Rindo."
"I... I didn't!"
"I was just... feeling bored today, wanted to have a meal at the tavern, and have some leisure time!"
Erina, being called out by Rindo, blushed even more and could only turn her head shamefully and gave her a glare.
Seeing this, Rindo had to quickly cover her mouth to hold back her laughter.
"Erina."
"Why are you here at the tavern too?"
Just then, Alice, who had just awakened, asked curiously.
Her voice broke the awkward atmosphere at the tavern, but Erina was stunned.
From her shocked expression, it was clear that she didn't expect her cousin to arrive at the tavern before her.
"Alice, shouldn't I be the one asking you that?"
"What's so surprising, I already knew that the dumpling dish that could go to heaven wasn't your creation, so I came to the tavern early tonight!"
Alice coldly hummed in response.
"At least you're smart."
"Knowing to come to the tavern to find Zane and have him make the real Ascending Dragon Dumplings!"
Erina understood that Alice wouldn't listen to her, that's why she used the Ascending Dragon Dumplings dish to lead her to Zane.
After all, at the moment, only he could provide her with useful opinions and insights.
...
"I see."
"Is this another Nakiri family miss?"
Next to her, Rindo, who initially didn't care about Alice, finally understood her identity after Erina appeared.
"Yes, Rindo-senpai, she's my cousin Alice Nakiri!" Erina quickly answered Rindo.
"Senpai? Is she also a student at our Totsuki?"
Alice paused, then began to curiously observe Rindo
"Huh?"
"Don't you know her?"
"Senpai is the current second seat of the Elite Ten at Totsuki, Rindo!"
After hearing this, Alice couldn't help but widen her eyes, looking unbelieving.
Who would have thought that the person quietly eating almond tofu beside her would be the current second seat of the Elite Ten, the second most important figure at Totsuki Academy!
No way!
What's up with this tavern?
On her first visit, she met the second seat of the 89th Elite Ten, and then on her second visit, she encountered the current second seat of the Elite Ten!
This situation sent shivers down Alice's spine, making her continually observe the customers around her.
...
"Erina."
"Didn't you say you wanted to see what new dish I had?"
"Indeed, as you expected, I've recently developed a new dish..."
Seeing Erina just sitting down, Zane came up to her and whispered in her ear.
"Really?"
"Another new dish?"
Erina, her eyes shining, asked back.
As a girl with a God's Tongue, she had increasingly become reliant on Zane's cooking.
"So, as before, I'll treat you with the new dish, and you can taste it with your God's Tongue and give feedback?"
"Okay, looking forward to your new dish."
Erina nodded repeatedly.
She couldn't miss the chance to be the first customer to taste Zane's new dish.
"OK!"
"Just wait a moment!"
After saying that, Zane turned back to the cooking station, preparing to make the new dish!
...
Eggs!
They're laid by hens.
And from eggs and hens, you can make many dishes, with the most iconic being Oyakodon, which is: a Chicken and Egg Rice Bowl!
First, prepare a hen, mushrooms, scallions, kelp, onions, eggs, mirin, soy sauce, and sugar.
Then, remove any extra fat and skin from the hen, and cut the onions into thick strips.
Break the eggs into a bowl, break the egg white bands with a whisk, beat it a little but not completely to keep the different texture of egg white and yolk.
Then prepare half a bowl of water, a tablespoon of soy sauce, half a tablespoon of sake, half a tablespoon of sugar, half a tablespoon of cooking sake, mix well and set aside.
Medium heat, heat up the pan, fry the chicken skin side down until the skin becomes crispy with oil.
This step is just to get rid of the extra oil, not to fry the chicken completely.
Finally, cut the fried chicken into bite-sized pieces.
Pour in the pre-prepared sauce into the pan, bring to a boil, add onion strips, chicken cut into bite-sized pieces, cook in the pan until done, skimming off any foam occasionally.
Add half of the beaten eggs, cover and cook for about half a minute.
Then add the remaining half of the beaten eggs, cook for a few seconds until slightly set.
Finally, pour it over hot rice, sprinkle it with chopped scallions, and there you have a bowl of delicious Chicken and Egg Rice Bowl!
...
"Oyakodon?"
Seeing the new dish in front of her, a simple Chicken and Egg Rice Bowl, Erina felt a bit speechless.
Thinking back on the previous Ascending Dragon Dumplings and Reincarnation Spring Rolls, which brought such strong excitement, she always wondered how there could be such stunning dishes in the world?
Yet, this Chicken and Egg Rice Bowl in front of her...
Erina couldn't help but look at Zane with a slightly resentful gaze, seemingly waiting for an explanation from him.
"Don't worry."
"You'll like this bowl of Chicken and Egg Rice."
"Because it will awaken the character hidden in your heart, someone you'll face in the future, or maybe not long from now!"
Zane said mysteriously.
Hearing this, Erina could only hold the heavy ceramic bowl in her hands.
After looking at the shiny Chicken and Egg Rice in it, she could only roll her eyes at Zane in exasperation.
If she hadn't already seen his culinary skills, a dish like this, in the past, would have been thrown straight in the trash without a single bite.
But in the end, she chose to trust Zane, and started to eat a spoonful of the rice.
...
Love!
It's always two-sided.
Even though eggs come from hens, sometimes there can be conflicts.
Hens can give everything for the egg, but even when they are together with the egg with care, they can still have bumps and bruises.
Finally, one day, the hen couldn't take it anymore, splitting apart from the egg with wounds.
Later, the egg hatched into a chick, gradually understanding the pain the hen went through, yet feeling so powerless in the face of cruel reality!
"This... this rice..."
After swallowing, Erina's face showed a trace of sadness, and finally uttered softly in her mouth: "Mom, I miss Mom!"
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