Chapitre 7: Chapter 7: Sauté and Flambé
I wake up early in the morning and head downstairs. Since we've had a rough night, I think it would be nice if I make some breakfast for Master Attendant and probably his Food Souls. I know they don't need to eat, but still, that doesn't stop me from wanting to cook. Not only that, they've given me a place to stay when I could have been left for dead in the Forest. Although I've already thanked Samson for his generosity, I feel like it's not enough. I know I'm not supposed to get any ideas (like the stunt from Chapter 2), but I'm sure trying to cook as a dragon isn't crazy as it sounds. Though, now that I've brought it up, maybe I should have let my Dad teach me how to make an omelet when I was still in Texas. Oh, well. I reckon there's something in the cookbooks that I can make.
I climb on the bookshelf and read the spines of the books. There's one on how to bake some delicious pastries, but that's not what I'm looking for. I notice that a lot of books have titles that imply they're fantasy and/or mystery books. About three or four of them appear to be realistic fiction. After some browsing, I find a hardcover book that says Food for the Food Souls. I pull it out and drop it to the floor while clinging onto the shelf; I wouldn't want to fall, would I? Of course, by dropping the book, I meant that I was careful not make a thud loud enough to wake the others. Regardless, it was pretty loud. I decide to look at some of the pages. They're recipes on how to cook food for Food Souls and how is it used to strengthen the bond between the Attendant and the Food Souls. Some of the pages include tips on using certain materials to boost the strength of Food Souls. I think this'll come in handy.
I find a recipe on scrambled eggs with tomatoes, a few vegetables, seasoning, and cheese. And it looks like I can add small amounts of Beginner's Seasoning (used to level the Food Souls' skills up) to this recipe if I want to. I wonder if I can do it successfully on the first try; the instructions seem pretty detailed and clear. I write the page number on my notepad, so I wouldn't forget. I hear footsteps coming down the stairs, which reveal to be Brownie's. In another page, I write Good morning, Brownie. What's gotten you out of bed early? Brownie crouches down, so I could hand the notepad to him. After reading it, he gives it back to me and replies, "A noise woke me up, so I came down here to investigate. What are you doing, miss Danny?" He looks at the book and he picks it up as he stands up. After skimming a few pages, he inquires, "Do you want to cook something?" I show him the page number on my notepad as I nod to Brownie's question.
We then walk into the kitchen. Brownie explains as he sets the book on the counter not far from the stove, "Before getting started, we have to set up and prepare the ingredients. According to a dear friend of mine, this would be an example of mise en place, which translates to 'putting in place' or 'everything in its place'." He takes out the ingredients from the cabinets and took a few eggs and a piece of cheddar cheese out of a large fridge that I somehow failed to mention in Chapter 2 and placed them on the island. He also takes out two clear containers full of black pepper and salt from a cupboard full of spices and seasoning (the kind used for cooking) and places it along with the rest of the ingredients. I climb on the island and take out a cutting board from a drawer below me as Brownie takes out a frying pan, also from a cupboard.
He gives me a knife and I start chopping the vegetables and tomatoes. The modest butler said, "It says here that we can add Beginner's Seasoning to this recipe. Would you like to include it along with the other ingredients?"
Sure, I write in my notepad.
"In that case, I will be right back." He leaves the kitchen. The recipe has green onions, tomatoes, and bell peppers, about a tablespoon of each, all of them chopped. As a result, it didn't take long to finish chopping the ingredients. The recipe also includes a tablespoon of cheddar cheese, but Brownie forgot to give me a cheese grater. When in doubt, improvise. Also, we're going to need more than a tablespoon if we're gonna make enough scrambled eggs to feed all of the Food Souls in this establishment. I take the piece of the cheese that he brought out of the fridge and shred it to pieces with my talons. For the cheese, my claws are sharper than they look. After some waiting, Brownie comes back with a handful of leaves, which are the Beginner's Seasoning I've mentioned before. He takes out a bowl and a mortar with a pestle from the same cupboard as the one where he took out the frying pan. As I'm doing that, I write down the reason for why I wanted to cook on my notepad, which he notices quickly. He asks, "Hm? Is there something on your mind, Danny RPG?" After I finish, which took me about three minutes, I hand it to the Food Soul. He reads and gives a small smile. "I appreciate your enthusiasm for wanting to repay Master Attendant, but you don't have to do that. Whatever it is that you need, leave it to me." I write, Still, it doesn't hurt to try out my cooking skills. It's been a while since I've done something that's actually productive.
"Alright, if you insist. Let me beat the eggs, though, since the bowl is too large for you. I will let you take care of the rest."
Sounds good to me.
The butler puts me near the stove. He then cracks the eggs open onto the bowl and beats them with a whisk until they're blended. I put half a tablespoon of butter on the frying pan that Brownie placed on one of the stove grates, and I turn the knob for the corresponding grate. Orange and blue flames appear under the pan. The butter melts quickly. Brownie places the ingredients I chopped into the pan. I grab a nearby spatula so I can sauté them. The Food Soul hands me salt and black pepper. I open the cap for the pepper, and I sniff it out of curiosity. It's not a bad smell but –
"Ac-choo!" I sneeze boisterously and flames come out of my mouth and nostrils. Even though I covered my sneeze, the fire still manages to set the butter ablaze. Fire quickly shoots up from the frying pan. I let out a startled shriek, and Brownie picks up a metal lid and slams it on the pan before the fire burns down the kitchen. I turn the heat off. He lifts up the lid, and a huge cloud of smoke rises out. I didn't knew butter can be flammable. But then again, it's made of grease, so I guess that makes sense?
Even though the ingredients are unintentionally fire-roasted, they're not completely burned, which is a good thing. With the mortar and pestle, Brownie grinds the Beginner's Seasoning into a fine powder and mixes it along with the eggs. Then, he pours the mixture in the pan, and I turn the heat back on. I then gently pull the eggs across it as they start to set with the spatula. I continue lifting, pulling, and folding the eggs gently as it cooks until no visible liquid remains. I turn the heat off again and I season it with salt and pepper. Brownie puts the scrambled eggs on a plate and takes it to the dining area. I hear him put the chairs down from the tables. Roughly five minutes later, he comes back. We then repeat the entire cooking process for nine more times, minus the flambé incident (though, we decide to fire roast the ingredients but in a more prudent way). We also make a tenth plate for Samson, but without the Beginner's Seasoning. I decide to make a plate of eggs for myself too, but smaller and with just the cheese. Brownie asks, "Are not going to added tomatoes and vegetables on your plate?" I shake my head. I've never been a fan of tomatoes except for ketchup. I've never been fond of onions and bell peppers either.
By the time we're done, the other characters come downstairs to discover the savory fragrance of the scrambled eggs. Hawthorne Ball smiles. "It smells delicious. What have you been cooking, Brownie?" He replies, "Well, it was Danny RPG's idea. We made scrambled eggs for all of you. She wanted to thank you and the others for letting her live here." Hawthorne smiles. "You're very welcome, Danny!" Aw, shucks. It's an honor to be here. Bamboo Rice utters with a smile, "Impressive, I didn't know that she can cook." Brownie replies, "I didn't knew that either until we started cooking. Though, she did accidentally start a grease fire, but it was taken care of quickly." Samson responds, "Oh, dear, you oughtta be more careful, Danny. I'm relieved you didn't burn down the kitchen." I nod in agreement. Same, dude, I think.
After that delightful breakfast and washing all our dishes that have been used, Olivia visits the Glorywest Grill with her Food Soul Tiramisu. I hide from under one of the tables so I wouldn't be sighted by Olivia. She is one of the main characters of the game's main story and is the captain of Squad 601 in the Skeleton Guild of Chefs. Those who know her well says that she is like an older sister to them. But, she can be quite cold to people that she doesn't like. She greets, "Good morning, Samson. I've heard you managed to bring Rice back." Samson replies, "Yes, and would you like anything to eat?"
"No thanks, I already ate. But, that's not why I'm here. I'm here because I need to deliver some news to you."
"What news?"
"Due to Fallen Angels, Hilenna has become the hub for dispatching Fallen Angels to surrounding areas! However, we're unable to send support in a timely manner. So, the Guild President has decided to deploy additional manpower and let qualified restaurants become guild branches. This way, everyone from the Guild can start from here before carrying out missions further away."
"So, you're saying that my restaurant is also…?"
"You could sound at least a bit grateful."
"I thought you wanted me to become a Cooking Attendant, but instead you want to commandeer my restaurant?"
"Don't give me that expression. You'll be able to lead other Attendants. This is an opportunity other people would beg for."
"So far, this sounds like more work for me…."
Tiramisu replies, "Perhaps I should mention that, if you agree to this, you'll be able to petition for activity funds and share thirty percent of the reward for each completed mission."
"I can make that much?!" Samson exclaims. "Ahem, I mean if I do this, can Ichi become a Cooking Attendant?"
"Ichi?"
"Oh, I forgot to mention him. He helped us stay out of a sticky situation recently and managed to find Rice, so I've invited him to this restaurant. Though, he hasn't shown up yet because he had to run a few errands in Parisel." The restaurant door opens, and a white-haired man in a black outfit enters the place. I recognize him as Ichi from the Food Fantasy's main story.
"Hey, Samson. What's up?" Samson greets, "Hi, Ichi. This is Olivia from the Chef's Guild. I was just talking about you." "Really?" he replies. "Well, it's great to meet you, Olivia. Now that I took care of those errands in the market in Parisel, I decided to come here to join the Chef's Guild and exterminate Fallen Angels while protecting civilians." Olivia questions, "I can see that you have spirit, but how are your abilities?" Samson answered, "As far as his cooking skills go, he's pretty good! If I was to run a Guild branch, he would be my first choice for a recruit." Olivia informs, "Your optimism towards him is … intriguing. However, if he wants to enter the Guild, he'll need to go through a trial." Ichi is excited by this comment; he exclaims, "Ooh, what do I need to do?!" "Battle," she answers. "Powerful Fallen Angels have been lurking around the Secret Forest and threatening residents. Exterminate them and prove your strength."
"Got it! Leave it to me!"
After a while, Olivia, Ichi, and Tiramisu leave the Glorywest Grill, and Samson opens up the restaurant. If you're wondering why I hide from characters like Olivia and Ichi, it's because I don't want to screw things up when the game's main story is involved. So, whenever a main character is present (with the exception of Samson and Rice), I stay out of it and watch from a safe distance. But, if Master Attendant or Rice end up mentioning me to Olivia, Mithra, and/or possibly a few other characters in the main story … welp, I guess I wouldn't have any other choice but to show and introduce myself.
I check on the Dine-and-Dash hall. It looks like the team of construction workers are almost done with it. It's funny how a busy team of workers manage to build a room without disturbing the peace of the customers during the restaurant's open hours. Quite frankly, I'm impressed by that and by how well done they've made the new room. They're almost done, by the way; a few workers here and there are inside the restaurant, adding final touches to the place. The place is surprising spacious and it has the door leading to the dining hall, which was part of the wall where the Tempura punched a hole in. The new room is behind the women's bathroom and part of the living room. With this much space, the Food Souls don't need to hold back their strength as much as they needed to in the dining room. Of course, they've kept the window that is near the door, so it looks like the customers would end up having their meals and a show.
Nothing exciting happens today, and the constructions workers have finished building the new room, so we're gonna fast forward to the next morning. Yay!~ Ahem, okay, so far, Bambri and Tom Yum are the first ones to try it out. In a nutshell, Tom is honing his boxing and hand-to-hand combat skills while Bambri and his rats train with his machete. I'm guessing the two decided to turn the Dine-and-Dash hall into a training arena, which isn't a bad idea. But, we're gonna need stuff like punching bags, targets, and training dummies if we're gonna make it work. Despite that, the two don't seem to mind.
Meanwhile, Samson heads to the summoning room. I decide to follow him. I wonder who'll we get this time. He checks the amount of Soul Embers there are in the canister, and pulls the switch. I smile with excitement, just eager to see what new Food Soul we'll get. Through the blinding white light, a figure appears on the platform. My smile disappears and my wings lower. Oh, dear….
Samson greets nervously, "Uuum…. Hi, I-I'm the Master Attendant of this place…." I could hear him quietly gulp his saliva nervously.
"Attendant? That sounded really terrific." – the Food Soul steps down from the platform – "So, then let Big Sister accompany you."
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" I impersonate the boy from Home Alone and make a break for it. Looking back, I could glimpse that the Food Soul is surprised and confused by this. I look forward and hit the brakes, but I still bump my head at the door because of my momentum. I rub my head from the event. The Food Soul is none other than Spicy Gluten.
L’AVIS DES CRÉATEURS 
Danny_RPG
Danny_RPG I was really inspired when I first thought of Chapter 7. At first, it was going to be part of Chapter 6, but it just wouldn't sound or work well, so I made it into a separate chapter. I had a lot of fun making this, and I'm surprised that I could even write Chapter 7 in one day when it normally takes me days or even weeks to come up with a new chapter.
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone