Chapter 14: A Master and Disciple Who Faced the Same Difficulty
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At first, Ash thought that becoming an apprentice might involve some strange tests, but it turned out to be unexpectedly simple.
It was surprisingly easy to complete the apprenticeship, and just as easy to gain access to the magic of the great demon tribe from the mythological era. Ash also stayed on to read more of Serie's books.
The reason... wasn't anything special.
Serie had the power to end the war, but she was unwilling to do so. In fact, she generally wouldn't act against the demons unless absolutely necessary.
According to Ash's research before coming here, the elves' sense of racial identity was quite weak. They seemed to prefer maintaining a state of war over achieving world peace. Unless a great disaster occurred, they might choose to stop it—or they might not, depending on the circumstances.
It was with this knowledge that Ash dared to venture here. And only because Serie found him interesting did she accept him as her disciple.
"Ash, since you're now my disciple and I've taken on a new apprentice, you should hurry and prepare a feast to celebrate" Serie, who had always sought to escape the kitchen, waved her hand and summoned her new apprentice without hesitation, but...
Ash, still engrossed in her book collection, looked up and stared at her without moving.
This immediately displeased her, and she asked, "Didn't you hear what I said?"
"No, I heard. I was just wondering—are you serious, Serie?"
"What do you mean? I teach you magic, but you won't even cook for me?"
"It's not that I don't want to. It's just that I don't know how. Of course, if you want to try demon cuisine, I wouldn't mind showing off my skills."
"Demon cuisine?"
"We eat it raw. But can your stomach handle it? If you can, I don't mind making some for you."
Ash said this earnestly, though he didn't really know much about it himself. Then, he stood up silently, intending to prepare some pork sashimi for her.
Serie's face wrinkled at the thought of raw meat. "Forget it... Forget it. I'll do it myself"
"By the way, I'm a little different. I prefer cooked meat."
"Who asked you? Get lost! Go eat your demon specialties on your own"
"No need, I can also have barbecue."
"...Are you too lazy to do it, or are you lying to me?"
"Trust me, I'm thinking about your health."
…
Although Serie really wanted to make Ash do some work, unfortunately... whenever she tried to get him to cook, the food was terrible.
She even tried to teach him, but three years passed in the blink of an eye...
"Serie, add some chili. Trust me, this meat tastes better with a bit of spice!"
"No, I don't eat spicy food." Serie flipped the spoon and scolded without turning her head. "Also, why are you giving orders when I'm the one teaching you?"
"Stop talking like that. Why should we worry about the master-disciple dynamic so much?" Ash casually ignored Serie's displeasure and muttered, "Use less salt. Your cooking's too salty."
"...A mere demon, yet you're quite picky."
"I'm worried you're getting old. Eating too much spicy food can cause high blood pressure."
"...I've lived for thousands of years, eating like this the whole time, and I've been just fine! But you've only been here for three years, and my blood pressure has already risen a lot"
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How did teaching him magic turn into improving my own cooking skills? And then... somehow, I ended up responsible for the catering?
Although she was often bored and many of Ash's ideas were admittedly good, the inexplicable sense of emptiness still made Serie quite unhappy. She turned around and glared fiercely at Ash.
Being well-versed in the habits of his petite elf teacher by now, Ash raised his hands instinctively, backed away with a smile, and silently left, doing his best to avoid getting smacked by his angry mentor.
---
The days of eating and drinking for free have their limits, after all. Even though elves have immense patience and their perception of time is different from that of humans, by the third year, Serie could no longer tolerate it and decided to force him to cook.
She even vowed to teach him to be a good cook so she wouldn't have to handle the cooking anymore.
"Yes! Flip it like this and add more seasoning. Hey! Don't think I didn't see that! No chili! If you sneak chili in when I'm not paying attention, I'll stuff it all into your mouth!"
"You're so strict! But isn't it unreasonable to roast a whole lamb without any spice?"
"I'm the master, so if I say no, it's no! Don't talk back."
Watching her disciple squat in front of the grill, flipping the meat, Serie raised her leg and lightly kicked him on the butt, slapping away the chili powder he had just picked up.
"Tsk, old people these days are so unreasonable..." Ash muttered under his breath, smacking his lips as he broke off a piece of lamb to taste without the chili.
However, when he tore off the meat, his hands were burned by the heat. Unable to hold it, he kept switching hands to avoid getting scorched. He instinctively turned around and threw it toward her. "Quick! Quick! Serie! It's hot, hot, hot! Take it!"
"Huh? Ugh—it's so hot~!! hot~~~!!"
Serie, caught off guard, reflexively caught the meat, but her expression quickly twisted in pain from the heat. She frantically switched it between her hands and, in a panic, tossed it back at him.
By reflex, Ash caught it again, but hastily threw it back. "No! Don't give it to me! It's burning!"
"It's so hot!! Hot?! You brat... do you think I'm not afraid of the heat?!"
After another round of back-and-forth, Serie finally came to her senses. She switched hands one last time and quickly threw the entire roasted leg of lamb to the ground.
Having successfully dealt with the hot meat, Ash wiped the sweat from his forehead. "Phew... that was close. My hands almost got blisters."
"Yes, you're fine, but..." Serie's face was full of exasperation as she held her two reddened hands in the air. With a look that could kill, she gritted her teeth and hissed, "My hands are already blistered!"
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Give me power stones so this moves up in the rankings.
I will Give you extra chapters For it