Chapter 160

“Alright. How many dishes should we start with for cooking?”

“Since it’s a dinner, shouldn’t we make at least five? Wait, no, it’s morning, so maybe just three light dishes?”

“Hmm. Yeah, three sounds about right.”

With that, the two confidently entered the kitchen, but there was one small problem.

“Alright, Serena! Let’s start cooking! I’ll assist you as much as possible!”

“What are you talking about? I don’t know how to cook. Wasn’t it supposed to be you?”

“….”

“….”

It turned out neither of them knew how to cook.

Of course, it was obvious.

In Kurt’s group, cooking was always Kurt’s responsibility, while the other three were in charge of washing dishes or other chores.

“Wait, aren’t dwarves supposed to be good with their hands? Shouldn’t you know how to cook?”

“Being good with your hands and being good at cooking are two different things! If that’s the case, then Kurt shouldn’t be able to cook, right? And you’re the one who said you learned cooking from Kurt!”

“Ugh…! My cooking skills are still just the basics of the basics!”

“That’s not something to brag about!”

“….”

“….”

And so, the two blamed each other and shifted responsibility, but that didn’t change the situation they were in.

Unlike when she confidently entered the kitchen, Serena now looked worried and asked Karina, “…So, what do we do now?”

“Stay calm. There’s a way.”

“If there’s a way, then what is it?”

“We combine your dwarven handiwork with the knowledge I picked up from watching Kurt cook.”

“Combining our strengths…?”

“Your handiwork and my knowledge. With these two, we’ll overcome this challenge.”

“…Hearing you say that, it doesn’t seem impossible. With the two of us, we can definitely make a full course meal that even Kurt would be impressed by!”

Confidently, they entered the kitchen, only to come out shortly after, saying, “Hehe. Thinking about it, neither of us actually knows how to cook.”

In that situation, the Mistress would surely look at them with a certain gaze…

The two couldn’t bear to face that look.

And so, like many cooking beginners, they made the common mistake of thinking, “Ha, I can handle this menu,” only for their confidence to vanish within five minutes. They proudly brought out the ingredients and cooking tools.

Thus began the chaotic, slapstick cooking adventure of the two.

.

.

.

“Let’s start with the easiest-looking dish, the omelet.”

But their attempt was flawed from the very premise.

Karina claimed she would use the knowledge she gained from watching Kurt cook, but in reality, she hadn’t learned enough to utilize that knowledge.

If she had truly learned properly, she wouldn’t have said she didn’t know how to cook.

Cooking is about following the correct steps and methods with the right ingredients.

In other words, if you know the method, even if you’re not skilled, you can still cook.

Conversely, not knowing how to cook means not knowing the method.

What she learned from watching Kurt was just superficial, and in truth, she had no talent for household chores, despite dreaming of being a noble lady.

When making multiple dishes, it’s standard to save the dish that loses flavor the quickest for last.

But Karina, unaware of this, suggested starting with the omelet.

An omelet, depending on the region, is generally a dish where the warmth and fluffy texture of the eggs are crucial.

Thus, even if it’s freshly made and fluffy, over time, the residual heat will cook the eggs further, and the dish will lose its fluffiness.

Like most dishes, an omelet is best eaten immediately, as its flavor declines rapidly over time.

Of course, leaving it at room temperature for 10 or 20 minutes won’t drastically change its taste, but the dishes they planned to make ranged from three to five types.

That meant it would take at least an hour to prepare, which is more than enough time for the omelet’s flavor to change.

Choosing the omelet as the first dish just because it looked easy revealed Karina’s shallow cooking knowledge.

“That’s a good idea. Starting with an easy dish to get the hang of cooking will make it easier to tackle harder dishes later, using the experience gained from making the omelet.”

But what was even more despairing was that there was no one in the kitchen to point out the obvious.

Instead of pointing out Karina’s mistake, Serena smiled as if she had finally said something right and agreed with her.

“Wow, you’re giving logical reasons for the cooking order. It seems like you really did learn something from watching Kurt cook.”

In reality, she hadn’t learned anything.

“Haha, don’t praise me too much. This is nothing.”

It really was nothing.

But unaware of this, the two were filled with baseless, optimistic confidence.

And the time it took for that confidence to shatter was…

“First, to make the omelet, we need to crack the eggs, season them with salt, and mix the whites and yolks well. I’ll handle cracking the eggs.”

“Hey! Wait! Eggshells got into the egg mixture!”

“T-this much is fine, we can just pick them out.”

“Wait! This is sugar, not salt!”

“Oops! My mistake! But we can’t waste the eggs… No choice. To balance the sweetness, we’ll add more salt than the usual recipe!”

“Is… is that right…?”

Five minutes? Thirty seconds was enough.

But even so, the cooking had already started, and once the eggshells were broken, there was no turning back.

“Mix the eggs slowly! Half of it is splashing out of the bowl!”

“You try it!”

And so, half of the egg mixture was sacrificed to the kitchen.

“Next, we dice the ham and cheese to put inside the omelet. They should be cut into very small cubes.”

“If it’s about using a knife, it’s my turn! Trust me!”

But of course, she couldn’t be trusted.

While it’s true that dwarves are generally skilled with their hands, it’s still just a high level of skill.

Someone who has never touched a cooking tool in their life won’t immediately reach the level of a seasoned chef on their first try.

Especially since Serena’s profession wasn’t even physical labor.

Karina entrusted Serena with the cooking simply because she was a dwarf.

“Ouch! I cut my finger with the knife!”

“F-first, get your hand away from the ingredients! And stop the bleeding!”

“Hey! A dwarf got hurt, and you’re worried about the ingredients first!”

After much struggle, they finally finished preparing the ham and cheese.

“Next, we melt butter in the pan and pour in the egg mixture with the ham and cheese.”

“Got it. But how high should the heat be?”

“Wait, it should be medium-low… or was it high?”

“High heat…? Alright. Using high heat will make the cooking faster, which is reasonable since we have multiple dishes to make.”

Of course, it wasn’t reasonable.

If a recipe calls for cooking on low heat for 10 minutes, it doesn’t mean you can cook it on high heat for 5 minutes.

Dishes that require low heat need the chemical reactions that occur at that temperature, and the same goes for high heat.

Cooking at 100 degrees for 10 minutes is not the same as cooking at 200 degrees for 5 minutes.

By that logic, 1000 degrees would be enough for 1 minute.

If Kurt were there, he would have shouted and foamed at the mouth, but fortunately or unfortunately, he wasn’t by their side now…

“Turn down the heat! It’s going to burn!”

“You said to use high heat earlier!”

Whoosh!

“F-fire!”

“Ahhh!”

That day, Serena learned that Karina had barely learned anything from Kurt about cooking.

And Karina learned that Serena’s handiwork was a mess, even for a dwarf.

“….”

“….”

“Uh, it’s good to keep breakfast light, right?”

“Y-yeah. Eating too much in the morning will just make you feel heavy all day.”

And so, the two realized that sometimes, even combining their strengths isn’t enough, and they barely managed to complete just one dish out of the three they planned.