The next morning, the two woke up at around the same time. They were lying together with Athie in the middle–except the boy had woken up before them and was now staring at the ceiling, wondering how he got there.
The two chuckled, and Finn sat up to ruffle his blue hair (to the boy’s chagrin) before Finn scooted to the side and scooped Syl up.
"Finn?" she asked, unconsciously wrapping her arm around him as he carried her up.
"You’re recovering," he said, refusing to let her go.
She blinked, spread her aura around her own body, and looked at him with a blank expression on her face.
"I am more or less recovered now. I should be able to walk."
Finn gave her a look. "Do you not like being carried by me?"
"...I do."
"Then just enjoy the ride."
Athie-who-had-to-witness-everything: "..."
Who am I? What am I?
Leiah and Nona, who had arrived sometime after midnight, had been hanging out in the lounge area of the second floor. The men were still asleep, and there was no rush for them to start hunting.
The upper floor lounge area was no less comfortable than the one below. Rather, it was actually nicer because there were fewer people here.
By this time, the Inn’s reputation had risen quite a bit, so there were customers on each floor now, nearly at all times.
When the door opened and revealed a very cute kid, they blinked and couldn’t help but admire, dreaming of pinching his cheeks, but otherwise didn’t think much of it.
But then Finn came out right after him, lovingly carrying a grown woman in his arms; they couldn’t help but gape.
"FINN!?"
...
The group found themselves in the dining hall. Because of the points system, most diners were in the canteen rather than the Inn’s dining hall, so it was easy for them to clear the table for their group.
"Come on, although I made a point system for my personally-cooked food, I can make an exemption today," he said, a cheesy grin on his face. "I’m quite in a good mood today, you see."
He said, standing up in the kitchen. It was right next to the largest dining table, so they could chat while he cooked.
The staff was also walking around and doing their respective jobs, and the female goblin offered to help out, though he just told her to prepare more tents—because they’d need them soon.
The others...were giving furtive looks at the beautiful woman who had been carefully put down on her chair by Finn.
Leiah couldn’t help but stare at the woman, a complicated feeling in her heart. She had always known Finn had someone in his heart, but...she was even more charming than she thought.
Well, at least she didn’t lose without reason.
...
Finn decided to make noodles again today. The warmth and springiness were perfect for a morning like this!
He decided to choose a different recipe than his go-to noodle recipe [Sunrise Nettle-Noodle Bowl (C)]. Because of his skill as a chef, he can do experiments and cook by taste, and if it were a new recipe, the system would record it automatically.
He didn’t even have to remember the specifics anymore, and so he could focus on perfecting the dishes instead.
Today, he was using the toughened rank hoovensore beef meat. It needed a bit more sap because the meat was tougher.
Speaking of sap, he had experimented a bit while fermenting wine and his sauces, and he found out the sap also increased their efficiency through the same process!
Thanks to the [Quickcell Hex] he could do more experiments and also determined he could dilute it a bit and still get a decent effect.
Better? It wouldn’t paralyze the tongue anymore, so if he used the improved sap, he could just mix it with the sauces without having to separate it like he did before.
Anyway, he added the water first. He wanted the water hot and calm when the flavors were put in. A rolling boil would cloud the broth and drag the bitterness out of the veilroot. A gentle simmer would keep the broth clear and the flavors clean.
The stonebulb would go in early. He didn’t brown them. He usually would because he quite liked the sweetness and roasted notes that it added, but it would tilt the stew towards fatty and heavy. He wanted soothing for the morning, specifically for the newly recovered Syl and Athie.
While the pot boiled, he handled the hoovensore beef. He sliced them thinly, across the grain for more tender, easy-to-chew meat. He added salt early and dabbed the surface with the soy sauce he made— just a dab, just enough because he wanted to keep the wheat-savor taste in his noodles without turning it too briny.
He skilleted the meat on a separate, smaller flame to avoid making the surface of the broth greasy. This broth should carry comfort. Finn continued his skillet, letting the edges curl to copper. He flipped once and stopped before it went past ’tender’.
He took it out to rest, allowing the juice to settle.
Back to the pot, he skimmed it gently. The scum was fine, but removing it would keep the flavors focused, which was what he wanted. Next, the noodles. He could’ve cooked it separately to preserve the clarity of the broth, but decided not to in the end.
He wanted a bit of the starch to bind the broth and heighten its flavor to each strand, so they went into the stonebulb-veilroot bath. The broth turned silkier, and he started stirring in a slow circle to prevent clumping.
From the side of his eyes, he could see everyone staring, almost drooling. Even the usually Stoic elves had their eyes stuck on him and his movements.
This was the best part of cooking with an audience, though it was limited to when the audience were his friends.
Didn’t know showy cooking was fun until he got to this world. Go figure.