As silly as it sounds, an oven toaster brought them together.

Deuce : Then i shall be the first one who tries them...

Ace : Hey, you're not the only one...

Law : Yesh... Don't go ahead...

Leyla : Relax guys... How about i pour to all of you and drink at the same time...

They all nodded to her and after she brought a few glasses for all of them she went to the jars and picked one as she shook it...

There was no sound coming from it, indicating it was empty, it was the same for the next four of them and as she shook the sixth one it was heavier and was making giggle sounds...

She open the lid and then started pouring first on the boys waiting for them to taste it...

Leon had placed the two huge plates in front of them and went to the kitchen to finish the rest...

As they took a sip, a wave of heaviness hit them while slowly gulping down the aftertaste of the red wine...

Deuce : Good wine...

Ace : So heavy....

Law : Perhaps with 3-4 glasses we will be out before we know it...

Law : It has a sweet yet heavy texture...

Leyla : Good, then here, you can all enjoy...

Leon : Not just them everyone can drink...

Leon : The previous two plates i set on the table were...

Leon : Beef brisket, bottom or top round, or chuck set in a deep roasting pan with potatoes, carrots, onions, and whatever else your chef threw in to be infused with the meat's simmering juices...

Leon : The pot roast could be anointed with red wine or even beer, then covered and cooked on the stovetop or in the oven.

Leon : So the wine you have on hand is perfect to go with this...

Leon : As for the other one it is dehydrated meat shrivelled almost beyond recognition an unlikely source of so much gustatory pleasure, but jerky is a high-protein favourite of backpackers, road trippers, and snackers everywhere.

Leon : It's a slice of mixed fire-cured meat with animal fat. Beef, turkey, chicken, venison, buffalo, even ostrich, alligator, yak, and emu. 

Leon : Peppered, barbecued, hickory-smoked, honey glazed. Flavoured with teriyaki, jalapeno, lemon pepper, chilli.

Leon : Prepare to chew long and hard. You've still got your own teeth, right?

Olivia : Oh, you used the small pieces of meat i was saving through the months...

Leon : Yes, as i thought they would go to waste if they stay unused for long...

Leon : As for the two i brought now...

Leon : Grill skirt steak over the fire, wrap with anything bread related. You can spread on it various of condiments such as grilled onions and green pepper, pico de gallo, shredded cheese, and sour cream...

Kuina : But i can only see the meat here with a white sauce...

Leon : Yeah, i only dipped it in milk and grilled onions as the others have finished...

Leon : You should finished these first before the next ones come out...

Olivia : Don't you need help to prepare all these??

Leon : Not quite... When i start with one dish i think what else could i create with the leftovers and create a different dish at the same time...

Olivia : You mean that when you cook with one set of ingredients you add 3-4 more in the leftovers and create another??

Leon : Pretty much...

Leon : The last two dishes are taking too long because they need to be cooked until high-level texture...

Olivia started tasting the dishes that were in front of them while Leon went to check the other two dishes...

After 15 minutes of cheating as he used his flames to cook and roast them faster in the stone oven, he served them the last two...

He started explaining that one of them was made with meat, vegetables a trinity of celery, peppers, and onions along with rice, shrimp and andouille sausage.

Although he did say that because he lacked sausage he added bacon...

As for the last one, it was the major plate of the day...

Pork or beef, slathered or smoked roasted with different kinds of seasonings with the help of his flames along with a sauce he managed to come up adding all the previous juices from salads and different dishes he created...

2 Siblings...... Leyla and Leon, As they went a road trip with their private plane..... on the road of return never would they have imagine themselfs in a new adventure......

Ever since Mag had opened his restaurant, he had truly been made to comprehend what it meant for people working in the same occupation to be enemies. 
As such, he wasn't fazed by the antagonistic eyes cast toward him at all. It didn't take a genius to know how much rage and resentment would be boiling in the hearts of these chefs.
None of that mattered to him anyway. He was a man who could see the bigger picture, and he certainly wasn't going to pay any heed to these ignorant chefs.
The butler who had led Mag to the kitchen smiled, and said, "Mr. Mag, here are all of the things that you asked for, as well as all of the ingredients that you requested. If you need anything else, feel free to tell me." 
Mag carefully examined the items on the cooking bench to verify that everything he had requested was ready, and he nodded as he said, "That should be all for now. Thanks for your hard work."
There was no such thing as a gas stove in this world, but Beate had displayed his intelligence to the world by devising a magic stove that derived its heat from a magic formation. The stove was able to provide consistent flame temperature, and the heat was easily adjustable.
All of the chefs in the second prince's manor were naturally using this type of magic stove, while Mag had bought one off the streets, and had taken a long while to grow accustomed to using it.
Prior to coming here, Mag had asked the system to convert the oven into a magic oven as opposed to having to rely on electricity. There was clearly no reliable source of electricity here in Rodu, so that would've been a major problem.
Mag asked Amy to take a seat on a little stool nearby while she ate her biscuits. He then pulled out an apron and chef's hat from one of the bags on the cooking bench before putting them on. 
"Is that the chef that His Highness sourced from Chaos City? He's so young; is he even able to cook anything good?"
"The chefs of Chaos City can't compare to the chefs in Rodu. If you ask me, any of the chefs in this kitchen is a far better chef than him."
"He's not that old, but he sure is a cocky little brat. Look at all the stuff he asked the servants to prepare; is he looking down on the kitchenware in our manor?"
The chefs weren't saying anything, yet the sous-chefs and student chefs were all discussing spiritedly among themselves.
Mag merely smiled upon hearing these barbed words. These were the most elementary playground insults, and they certainly weren't going to hurt him. Instead, he was struck by the urge to laugh.
Most of the chefs in the kitchen were already middle-aged men, so they weren't as eager to air their views as the young sous-chefs and student chefs were, but many of them were looking at Mag with disdain in their eyes. The most renowned chef in Chaos City, Head Chef Beate of Ducas Restaurant, had studied cooking in Rodu.
Of course, they would be able to tell whether Mag was the real deal once he began cooking. They were all esteemed chefs, and had to maintain their poise and dignity. Otherwise, if they were to also deliver verbal insults toward Mag, they would be stooping to the level of the student chefs.
However, they were going to air their opinions once Mag's dishes were ready, and they were going to thoroughly enjoy stomping him into the ground during that process.
Mag pulled out his condiments one by one and placed them in the positions that he was accustomed to. He then reached into the water tank beside him, and pulled out a kirin carp that was still swimming about energetically.
He knocked the fish unconscious with the hilt of his blade, and proceeded to remove its scales with a long and thin knife. He then sliced several gashes into the fish's body, pulling out some small fishbones in the process. In what seemed like the blink of an eye, a small pile of tiny fishbones had accumulated on the cooking bench.
A portly chef turned to his student with a derisive sneer, and said, "Heh, do you all see that? That's the worst way to prepare a kirin carp. The scales of the kirin carp are the most delicious parts of its body, and it's what makes the kirin carp so beautiful. Not only has he removed all of the fish's scales, he's also sliced so many unsightly gashes into the fish's body. The entire fish is going to fall apart during the cooking process, and the end result will not only be hideous, but also very unpleasant to eat."
As he was the chef that was the most proficient at cooking fish in this entire kitchen, Matthew's evaluation was naturally regarded to be correct, and all of the student chefs immediately began to suck up to him.
"So you're saying the rank fish scales are the most delicious part of a fish; no wonder you can't cook a good fish." Mag placed the cleaned fish into the marinating condiments before pursing his lips as he scoffed, "The most rank part of a kirin carp's body is its scales. Furthermore, they seal off the flesh of the fish, preventing other flavors from seeping in while trapping the rank odor, making the fish completely bland and tasteless aside from an overwhelming rank flavor. As for the cuts I'm making in the fish, this is to let in more flavor as well as to remove the fishbones. There's no point in telling you this, though; it's a technical skill that not everyone can master."
Mag's voice wasn't very loud, but the entire kitchen immediately fell silent. Contemplative expressions appeared on the faces of the chefs, while the student chefs were trying to gauge the chefs' reactions before saying anything, in fear of saying something wrong if they were to speak too soon.
Matthew's face immediately became flushed with rage and humiliation. He didn't think that Mag would dare to rebut him in front of so many people. He pointed a trembling finger at Mag, and retorted, "T-that's nonsense! I've cooked fish for over three decades! When I first started cooking fish, you were still in your diapers! Do you think I have less experience than a brat like you?"
"Perseverance and dedication are indeed qualities worthy of respect. Stubbornly following the wrong path for over 30 years is also very much commendable." Mag nodded with a smile.
"You… You…" Matthew was trembling with rage, but he couldn't find a counter to Mag's insult. In the end, he swept his hand through the air with clenched teeth, and spat, "You've got a very sharp tongue; let's see if you can back up that big mouth of yours!"
Mag wasn't someone who would allow others to push him around. The fat chef looked as if he wanted to kill Mag, but he couldn't do anything, and Mag was feeling very content upon seeing this.
He felt as if his sharp tongue from his past life was awakening from its dormancy again.
During the fish marination process, Mag prepared the ingredients for both the steak and the braised chicken. When he opened that bottle of wine, Mag could clearly sense that the eyes of everyone in the kitchen had lit up.
The fish was being grilled in the oven, the chicken was being braised in a pot, and the steak was being seared in a pan. Mag was cooking three dishes at the same time.
The aromas of beef and red wine wafted throughout the kitchen along with the scent of the braised chicken that was escaping from the pot. Only the aroma of the fish had been completely sealed off by the oven.
However, everyone had already fallen silent.
Nothing could make people eat their words more effectively than actions. All of the people in this kitchen were either chefs or aspiring to become chefs. They had all been cooking for a long time, yet they had never encountered a dish that was making it difficult for them to repress their drool, making them want to inhale its aroma with all their might.
However, Mag had managed to achieve this.
"It smells so good! I've never smelled such a fragrant dish. Both the chicken and the beef smell simply extraordinary," a student chef couldn't help but praise, and everyone nodded in agreement with this sentiment. Many of them were unconsciously getting up on the tips of their toes, trying to catch a glimpse of what Mag was putting into his pot and pan to create such an alluring aroma.
"Hmph, even if he can cook a good beef dish and chicken dish, his fish may not be on par," Matthew harrumphed coldly, but his fists were already clenched with anxiety.
"Ding!"
A crisp notification sound rang out from the oven, and Mag plated the steak before opening the door of the oven.


In Chaos City on the Norland Continent, there is a strange restaurant.

Here, elves and dwarves share tables. Beastmen are prohibited from making a din, and giant dragons can only seat around the tiny square in front of the restaurant. Even demons have to bring their own stools…

But it is such a strange restaurant that has long lines outside every day.

Elves are stuffing kebabs, paying no mind to their manners; giant dragons are sitting around a hot pot, strainers in their hands; demons are eating nice-looking dango…

"There's no other place on this continent where you can find food like that! The boss here is a genius!" a customer provides such a review. Then, he gives a furtive look at the door. "Also, don't you think of kidnapping the boss away or dine-and-dashing, or you will suffer a tragic death."

"Eat, pay, or you will be beaten to death." says a cute little girl in her childish voice as she trots forward. A five-meter tall dragon shivers when it meets her eyes.

Little Sage placed her new iron toys back in the box and carefully placed it inside the kitchen.
As she scurried back outside, she told Gus, "We can play later! Let's cook first!" 

Little Sage waved her spoon and placed it inside her nearest pocket. She thought if she put it there, then she can take it out anytime to taste everyone's work.

Gus remembered his old chef garbs back on earth. There are small pockets in the shoulders of his uniform. Cooks use that pocket to place their tasting spoon inside, so they can taste their dishes anytime they need to. Maybe it's about time the kids need cooking garbs. thought Gus

"I also want to help, Gus."  said Sarah as she showed up from behind, she tied her hair back and rolled up her sleeves. Gus nodded at her and also gave her a chef's knife of her own. 

Gus divided the work into several stations to make them work more efficiently. Holding his own personal knife, Gus has demonstrated to everyone how he dismantled One Minotaur carcass and One Orc carcass. Everyone was amazed at Gus' knife skills as he cut the carcass flawlessly. All of them thought that blade arts can only express its beauty on the battlefield. But Gus has proven them wrong! All of his movements were swift, decisive and clean as if Gus was dancing. All the organs and intestines were taken out quickly and neatly.

The kids have started copying his hand movements as they observed and memorized where to cut the carcasses. 

Piece after piece, Gus placed the different cuts of meat on the kitchen table for everyone to remember what the different parts are called. Sarah and kids suddenly got all nervous, because they are afraid to ruin Gus' cooking.

Gus collapsed his body and morphed each part of him into multiple Gusford juniors!

"A Gusford jr. will guide you on what to do, if you ever get confused with your work! The Gusfords also has the ability to assist you. Everyone! Don't you want to learn how to cook? Don't you want to feed delicious food to your hungry neighbors? This is the time to show them what you guys can do! Remember! I'm always by your side!" 

After Gus encouraged his Kitchen Brigade, their fear melted away and was replaced with their eyes burning with excitement!

The most laborious part of cooking has begun! The First Station is called The Vegetable Cutting Station. They are responsible for doing the prep work for vegetables such as Onions, Potatoes, Garlic, and tomatoes.

These responsibilities went to the Ladies. Sarah, Gretel, and Cindy has a Gusford Jr. of their own.  Each Gus has taught them how to use their knives properly and told them the different cuts and sizes of the onions and potatoes needed. 

Each Gusford Junior jumped into the ladies' dominant hand and transformed into a thin armored glove. They were surprised as their hand moved and cut the onions sticks for Minotaur teriyaki, the thin onion slices for the onion soup, and finally the ring slices for the onion rings. 

The gloves also demonstrated the different sizes and cuts that will be done for mashed potatoes, french fries and potato chips. After Gus demonstrated, The glove gave back full control to the wearer to let them cut for themselves. Gus figured, they should give the least attention to garlic and tomatoes for now, as crushing them was not as laborious as the other prep work. Gus' creative teaching method amazed Sarah and the girls. They realized they can actually learn a lot and finish on time if they keep this up! 

With Gus' "Valued Patron" Passive in effect, the girls didn't get tired and they prepped the vegetables with ease! Anybody who wears the armor will enjoy Gus' stat bonuses! Cindy instantly fell in love with her paring knife as she can meticulously cut the vegetables precisely to the sizes as she wanted. Gretel loved her knives as well. She told Gus, that she wants to learn Cleaver techniques the next time they cook.

The Boys were in charge of the Butchery Station. They handled The Minotaur and Orc meats which Gus has primarily cut for them. Griffin was being taught how to dismantle the 2nd Minotaur Carcass while Ray was dismantling the Orc Carcass. They Cut the Carcasses with ease, as Gus' "Valued Patron" passive is in effect. They Dismantled the Luscious Fresh Meats as if they were cutting butter with a hot knife. They were able to dismantle the meats quickly and even moved on with marinating the meats with soy sauce and garlic for the minotaur teriyaki and soy garlic porc. 

Next, Gus has instructed Ray and Griffin to Roast the bones in the oven. The bones will be turned into soup stock for the onion soup and sauce base for Porc balls in tomato sauce. Griffin loved mincing the Meat for the porc balls and Minotaur Salisbury steak as he was able to go all out on his cleaver. Ray also loved slicing the different slices of meat for porc chops, teriyaki minotaur, and orc bacon. Ray was able to cut the slices for teriyaki minotaur effectively, as his fillet knife can bend!

The brothers even let Little Sage help, by giving her the 6 tenderloins and the mounds of Orc belly cuts from the carcasses to marinate for herself! Gus taught little Sage, to cure their favorite meat dish, the ever-popular bacon! It was adorable seeing Little Sage shouting "Ya! Ya!" As she massages the marinade in the tenderloins, the ribs, as well as The Salt in the Orc Bellies, to become Bacon!

While everyone was busy hustling and bustling, a childlike size Gus' paused and took a good look at Sarah and the kids as they work in the kitchen. It's as if time slowed down. The difference when he first met them compared to the present is like Day and Night. Gus can see the sparkle in their eyes, as they prepare the food. Gus saw Griffin asking Cindy the garlic slices he needed for his marinade, He even saw the quiet Ray asking Gretel if the minced onions are ready for him to mix in the Salisbury steak and Porc balls! Gus was really satisfied to experience a busy kitchen once again. Gus snapped out of it and realized he has to get back to work as well. He was in charge of making the sauces, off all dishes, and baking unleavened bread. 

Now that the prep work is finished, Cooking can now finally start!

A passionate cook transports to a medieval world where Magic and Mystical creatures exists. He regret not being able to reach the apex of cooking back on earth before he got transported. But now that he is on a totally new world with unknown ingredients, will he be able to continue his dream of making unbelievable new dishes? 

But there is always a catch, how can he serve dishes as a monster? With his modern knowledge and dishes from Earth, what will be the impact on this brutal and underdeveloped world? 

You will never look at ingredients the same way ever again!

‐----‐--------------------------------------------
Hi guys! Author here! I am new to writing, So pls. be gentle :p i just want to share my passion of cooking in writing format. As a fan of webnovels, its my dream to make one of my own.

It was six days after the food truck mission and the three-star meal ended. No missions were given after that. Since they worked hard in the truck for a week, they might have given them a break, or maybe the judges were just busy.

There were no missions, but an episode aired on TV. The 7th episode. The team mission at the time was shown. It was the one where Kaya and Jacob formed their own teams and Jacob messed up. Also…

Cho Min Joon looked behind him. Peter was looking at his phone with his butt against the cooking station. He had no other choice. It was Kaya and Peter who were mentioned the most after the broadcast. Martin was a pro. He wasn't the type to edit Peter's parts out just because he felt bad.

All the things Peter said were broadcasted. Despite the fact that he was now more mentally mature, it was too much to just ignore. He made personal attacks after all. Cho Min Joon understood Peter. He knew that he was less mature and didn't have many good human experiences, so he had a hard time controlling himself.

But the public didn't know that, and even if they did, they wouldn't have cared. All they heard was what he said on TV. Peter became a villain, and many people expressed their rage and demanded he pay the price.

Some people were suspicious. Although his words were harsh, they wondered if Kaya might have started it, but Kaya couldn't completely cover up Peter's wrongdoing. After all, he even burned the Tandoori chicken after that… So people had no choice but to feel angry. Cho Min Joon sighed as he said,

"… Don't read the comments."

But Peter couldn't hear him. There was no way he could. Kaya couldn't either, and even if he tried not to, he would eventually get back on the internet without realizing it.

Compared to him, Cho Min Joon was better off. To be more exact, his love line was more conveyed than his abilities, but after his perfect palate was revealed, things turned around. Everyone started to think that there must have been a reason for everything he did. The foreign aspect of being Asian became wings for Cho Min Joon. People thought that Cho Min Joon was a genius that was out of their realm.

And to be honest, he didn't hate that. It was a little burdensome, but it also made him excited and smile. People liked him. People who he didn't even know anticipated his next big thing. That was a fascinating thing for him.

"We're going to start filming! Please put your phones away!"

The staff's voice rang through the house. Peter immediately put his phone in his pocket. Not long afterward, the judges entered. As usual, they said a few words to hype them up before Joseph spoke in a calm voice, "You'll see a box on your cooking station. When I count to three, please open the lid. One, two, three!"

The lids all opened at the same time. Some sighed of relief while others frowned. Cho Min Joon was the latter. Inside was a large piece of meat. To be more exact, a piece of meat and bone.

A t-bone. It was a part that also had sirloin and tenderloin attached. Joseph spoke in a serious voice, "The t-bone isn't the most delicious part of a steak. That all depends on the person, but I can say this for sure. The t-bone steak is the hardest to make. If you cook it all at the same temperature, the sirloin will cook faster than the tenderloin, but we want all of the parts to be cooked equally.

Everybody sighed. This mission was all about technique. If they made one mistake, it was over. But what Joseph said next gave them some relief, "But don't be too nervous. This mission is just a warm-up, but 1st place will get a prize. You'll be exempted from disqualification in the next mission."

In response, the contestants' eyes sparkled. Cho Min Joon sighed out of relief. It wasn't enough to go after 1st place. In Korea, it wasn't easy finding t-bone. Most meat shops just sold sirloin and tenderloin separately. They rarely sold t-bone. It was hard to find at large supermarkets as well.

So he didn't have much experience with it. When he looked at the meat, it was less than 2 centimeters thick. It wasn't thin, but it wasn't thick either. When it came to steaks, the thicker ones were easier to cook.

It was inevitable. The thinner it was, the less time they had to keep it over the fire. It was common to just sear the outer region and then end up overcooking the inside.

"You won't use a separate sauce for it. Just use salt and pepper. Remember, the most important part is to cook all of the regions equally, and flavor is important, too. You may begin! You have 10 minutes."

Cho Min Joon immediately turned around. There was no particular method of cooking t-bone, it was all about experience. When steak houses hired chefs, they usually evaluated them based on how they cooked t-bone, so that made him realize how difficult this was.

It wasn't hard to get the right flavor. All he had to do was overlook the part of making it cook equally. The sirloin would be medium while the tenderloin would be medium-rare. Some customers liked to enjoy the differences in those two parts.

But there were those who wanted both parts to be cooked the same. The perfect chef was able to provide customers with both types of t-bone.

What he had to focus on now was the cooking method. When he looked around, Kaya was getting a grate. He saw something that he couldn't understand. Peter was heating up the oven. Allan must have wondered the same thing because he approached Peter himself.

"… How do you plan on cooking it?"

"After cooking it in the oven, I'm going to sear the outer side on a pan and then rest it."

"Do you think you can control how the oven cooks it on both sides?"

"As long as I just place the tenderloin part on the pan first and cook it a little more, it should be fine.

"I'm not sure. Let's keep an eye on it."

Peter's face grew dark. He thought there was potential, but Allan's remark made his confidence go down, but he couldn't change his plans just because of one remark.

Most of the contestants were seasoning the meat. 5 minutes passed. As soon as 5 minutes passed, the contestants began to move faster.

Cho Min Joon put some pepper and salt on his. He then put it on top of a greased pan. As it made a refreshing cooking sound, Allan asked, "Do you have experience cooking t-bone?"

"No, not really."

"Focus on the range of the fire that touches the pan. That'll help you a great deal."

He was intending to do that anyway, but Cho Min Joon just smiled. There was no need to respond sharply to an intention to help.

Like Allan said, controlling the heat was key. Cho Min Joon tilted the pan and put the tenderloin where the fire was the hottest, but it couldn't be too different in temperature either. Then the tenderloin could end up more overcooked than the sirloin.

All chefs gave different tips regarding how to cook steak. Some said one could flip it more than twice while others said to fillip it every 30 seconds to a minute. Cho Min Joon flipped it every minute. When he did it that way, the juices gathered in the middle making the meat nice and juicy.

Rather than who was right and who was wrong, it all depended on the person. Cho Min Joon checked the time as he flipped the steak. He didn't use any arosser methods. It would only distract him, and the added oil could make the meat cook differently, and Cho Min Joon wasn't so skilled that he could calculate what the additional oil would do to the meat.

The predicted score was 6. It couldn't have been better. He cooked it without any sauce, so the score couldn't have been higher.

What Cho Min Joon wanted was medium. After flipping it three times, he put the meat on top of a paper towel. As long as he waited a minute for the juices to come back… He was certain that both sides would be cooked well.

The buzzer rang. The 12 contestants took their hands off of their plates, but Cho Min Joon stared at his. The cooking score of the t-bone steak after resting was 6. It was as the recipe predicted.

The judges called the contestants up one by one. They cut into the sirloin and then the tenderloin. If they were cooked differently, they didn't even taste it. That was the case for Peter.

"I asked you if you could do it well. Look at this."

Allan showed the cut meat to Peter. One side was medium and the other side was rare, and the rare part still had blood in it. Emily sighed.

"I know this isn't a disqualification round, but this is too much. You can't experiment with food like this."

"… I apologize."

Peter responded with a pale face. He was already pressured because of the negative comments online. They didn't know what else to say to that face. They sent Peter back and called up the next contestant. It was Anderson's turn. Joseph cut into both sides and smiled.

"Both sides are medium well-done. They're not burnt either. You cooked it perfectly. I'm impressed, Anderson. You haven't been able to show off your full potential until now. I feel like you've returned."

"Thank you."

Anderson answered without a smile. It was too early to be happy. He wasn't the 1st place yet. They praised him after tasting it. All the contestants commented that the medium-rare steak was nice and moist.

Cho Min Joon understood that evaluation. After all, Anderson's steak showed up as 7 points. The fact that he achieved that score with just salt and pepper meant that he would have reached 8 points with proper sauce.

Next up was Cho Min Joon. He carried his plate with confidence. As soon as Emily cut into the meat, she nodded.

"Medium. It's equal throughout. There's a slight difference… but I don't think any customer would complain about this. You haven't cooked t-bone before, have you?"

"No, ma'am."

"Then this is impressive. And the texture… Hm. It's not bad, and it's juicy, too. Good work."

Compared to Anderson's praise, Cho Min Joon's was a step down. He felt a little disappointed, but he had no choice. Experience meant a great deal when it came to cooking.

The last contestant to be evaluated was Kaya. She carried her plate to the front. Joseph looked at the plate with great interest.

"You're the only one who cooked it on a grate, Kaya. Are you confident in your job?"

"My top skill is using fire. If I didn't cook, I might have become an arsonist."

"I'll take your word on that."

Joseph cut the meat with soft hands. Kaya was right. Medium. The meat was perfectly cooked to look pink inside, both the sirloin and tenderloin. Joseph slowly put it into his mouth.

When Joseph took his first bite, his face was bright, but as he took his second and third bites, his face turned strange. Same with the other judges. Kaya looked at the judges with anxiousness.

"You cooked it well. But Kaya, I think you forgot something. When you cooked the meat, did you cook the outside first before you cooked the inside?"

In response, Kaya looked surprised. She was so busy cooking the sirloin and tenderloin at the same time that she forgot to cook the outside in order to contain the juices. Cho Min Joon just stared at Kaya. Unfortunately, her steak was a 5. It was understandable. There was plenty of fire flavor, but there wasn't much juice.

'I didn't know Kaya can screw up like that.'

Besides fighting with team members because of her personality, this was the first time he saw her mess up. Joseph spoke in a caring voice, "You seem to know where you messed up. That's okay, Kaya. All chefs make mistakes. Please go back."

"… Yes, Sir."

Kaya walked back with a sad look on her face. It was clear who took the 1st place. There were a few contestants who cooked it equally, but there was only one person who did it perfectly—Anderson. Cho Min Joon glanced at him. He tended to be consistent in his output, but the more he watched, the more impressive he got. He lost to Kaya and took 2nd place, but that meant he would've won if she wasn't there.

"We've chosen who came in 1st place. It was unanimous. Anderson, congratulations! You're excluded from the next disqualification round. Please go up to the 2nd floor!"

"Thank you."

Anderson answered calmly and began walking. While the other contestants stared with jealousy, Allan said, "Then let us announce our next mission. Some of you might not like this one."

Allan then glanced over at Cho Min Joon. Cho Min Joon twitched his eyes. He felt anxious. Allan continued in a calm manner, "This mission… is a dessert."

Because of his love for cooking, he had thrown away his career as a teacher and had become a chef.
But despite his desires, his lack of cooking skills was the harsh truth he had to face.
But when he reached the age of 30, he had been sent back 7 years back into the past.
Another chance.

There were many wild animals in the United States; when it was hunting season, people could get a variety of game meat for food.
The Playboy was not the only one who brought meat. Blacktooth Robbie also brought a similar gift: a large piece of tenderloin, which would make an excellent steak. Steak, however, also required more effort to prepare. Big Quinn directly rubbed the meat with a layer of butter.
There were also some people who brought wild pork meat. Li Du had eaten this chewy type of meat before.
Whether it’s wild pork or wild beef, they had eaten or seen it before. There was even one who brought wild goose meat, which was really rare and strange.
Big Quinn cured the peacock meat by marinating it using a mixture of red wine, gin, Japanese miso, and olive oil.
When it was noon, it was time to eat.
American parties did not have many rules in regards to meals; most of the time parties just had buffet-style meals. Hans’s party was like a do-it-yourself buffet. Everyone took the prepared or marinated meat and the like, and barbecued it themselves.
Li Du had originally wanted to show off his culinary skills by preparing some dishes. However, there were too many people to entertain. Now that he was very popular, everyone wanted to talk with him. Therefore, he had no free time.
With the large assortment of food at this treasure hunter party, there were mostly burgers. This was the easiest meal to prepare and could enable the guests to fill up their stomachs in the fastest possible time. Big Quinn had prepared a lot of burger ingredients and placed them on the table for the treasure hunters to mix and match.
Li Du put two of them into the oven designed by Big Quinn, which had different layers for cooking. In this way, when the fire was lit, the flames would not rise directly to the top.
"Three-zone oven?" Lu Guan seemed intrigued by the oven; he squatted near it to take a closer look.
Li Du asked, "What about it?"
"Well, this is a high-grade oven—one that is very troublesome to make. Look, the top layer is a low-temperature zone, the highest temperature zone is around the center and the bottom layer is the middle-temperature zone. They all have different roles."
This type of oven was very suitable for grilling burgers. The meat could be placed in the high-temperature for quick grilling, then moved to the mid-temperature zone where the meat inside would be thoroughly cooked. When it was fully-cooked, the meat was placed in the low-temperature zone to stay warm.
But as this was a complicated process, Hans got impatient after grilling his burger in the first zone and ate it after it was ready, skipping the step to place it in the mid-temperate zone.
After chewing on the burger two times, he asked, "Is this the wild beef? It’s too lean, the meat doesn’t smell good at all."
Big Quinn walked over and took a look. "Nope, it’s pork. Just that it’s too lean. Come, put some butter on it. Remember not to use the tongs to press the burger during barbecuing or the oil inside will be squeezed out."
Li Du also made himself a burger. He took two slices of bread and a piece of wild beef as he had never eaten that before.
"Don’t use too much seasoning with the wild beef," recommended the Playboy. "Friend, just try sprinkling some coarse salt and black pepper powder. This way, you can taste its original flavor."
Li Du added some vegetables since he didn’t add much seasoning.
He added lettuce, tomatoes and onions to make a big, fat burger and worked hard to barbecue the beef. When it was ready to be eaten, Hans grabbed the burger from him.
"Come back here, you thief!" cried Li Du angrily.
Hans cackled and had a naughty smirk on his face. "Thank you for your present, Li!"
Looking at the group of people cracking crude jokes and playing around without a care, York suddenly envied them and murmured, "Seems like living life like this isn’t too bad after all."
"Live like these barbaric and foolish bumpkins?" Frank laughed condescendingly. "No, just kill me. Our aim is to stay at Beverly Hills where our next door neighbors are Hollywood stars and politicians. As for these fools? They can go to hell!"
Not too far away in the distance, Lu Guan, who was playing with his big golden retriever, shrugged. He went to look for Li Du and commented, "Wanna know some information? Those Two have new criticisms of you..."
Li Du’s story of how Shang Yang had gained prestige and trust seemed to work. From the beginning until the end of the party, more than 10 people came to him and told him some so-called "insider news."
Not only treasure hunters there disclosed information to him, but Li even received a call from another city. When the party wrapped up, Li Du got a call from Kevin Zhang, whose Chinese name was Zhang Kai. He was working in Page Town.
If one did a search on the Internet for Page Town in Chinese, one would get results for the city of Pécs. Pécs was a famous city situated between the Danube and Drava rivers. It was one of Hungary’s most attractive cities.
The Hungarian city Pécs had a pleasant climate and a long history. The city was host to magnificent museums and had the richest Turkish architecture in Hungary.
There was also a place called "Page" in the United States, which was where Zhang Kai was working. Both Page in America and Pécs in Europe shared the same Chinese name, but there was a huge gap between them in size and population.
In the United States there were many such places. This was due to the first immigrants to Americans were from Europe. In order to cherish the memories of their homeland or simply for easy remembrance, there were many places named after European cities.
Li Du had only heard of the European city of Pécs. He was somewhat nonplussed and asked, "Hello? You’re calling from Hungary?"
The voice over the phone sounded startled and replied, "No, I’m in America, in the state of Arizona."
Li Du looked at Hans and consulted him in a low voice. "Is there a place called ‘Page’ in Arizona?"
Hans nodded his head. "Of course, it’s located in the northeastern part of Arizona. It used to belong to the Hopis."
Li Du nodded to himself and continued to answer the phone, "Hello, Mr. Zhang, may I know the purpose of this call?"
Zhang Kai proceeded to use Mandarin to converse with Li, "Hi brother, I’m currently working at Glen Canyon Storage. The company’s planning to hold an auction soon, a storage unit auction."
Li Du listened quietly. So someone’s giving me auction information? he thought.
Zhang Kai said, "Not sure if you know this: Page is a very popular tourist spot with three to four million tourists coming here annually. Over here, there is a lot of storage units filled with items.
"There will be a total of 45 storage units put on auction with various sizes—the large, medium, and small units. Some of them contain good things inside. Will you be coming for the auction?"
Li Du did not reply immediately. Instead, he asked, "How do you know me? Were you introduced to me by Mr. Ma Zhi-an? Are you also a member of the Chinese Mutual Aid Association?"
"Yes, Brother Ma has informed all the members in this line of business," replied Zhang Kai in a straightforward manner, "saying that we have another member working as a treasure hunter. And if there’s a good storage unit, we will inform you about it."
Li Du was quite moved by Ma Zhi-an’s goodwill, for this act would greatly help his line of work.
After exchanging contacts with Zhang Kai, Li Du ended the call and talked to Hans. "There’s an upcoming auction in Page, we need to set off right away."
Hans nodded and said, "Yes, there’s one with 45 storage units put up for auction."
"You need to be mindful of such news," preached Li Du. "There are 45 storage units, there could be something worthwhile in them."
Hans felt wronged. "I noticed it, but I didn’t know you were interested. Page is situated in the northeastern part of Arizona. It’s rather far away."
Li Du replied firmly, "As long as there’s money to be earned, we’ll go. Even if it’s really far."
Hans immediately disclosed another auction. "There’s also an auction in a storage company in Las Vegas with 20 storage units—might have better things in there."
Li Du replied, "Not going."
Hans was speechless.


They love gold, and they love silver. Even more so, they love gems that dazzle, like stars across the skies. 
Firearms, jewelleries, and precious metals; A collector’s world will not be complete without antiques.  
Storage auctions, old goods trade, re-estate sales and gold-digging. But the truth is, if one wants to make money, then the supreme way is through searching for the legendary treasures. 
Holding the fort, there’s an ocelot, a wolf, and an Andes condor. At the side, there’s a loyal hound, an irascible ape, and an African honey badger. Who said that you can only rely on humans when treasure hunting?! 

"Are you ready to go?" came a husk voice right at the back of my ear causing me to evolutionary shivers.

"Yeah!" i replied back before looking at him.

My first thought is he is so tall, well in my case of 4'11 feet height, then 6'1 feet is a giant, he is wearing a casual look, black skinny distress denim, a doc martens boots and a white shirt, a classic combination. He is handsome alright, a masculine face with jawline that could rival those models, a straight nose and a kissable lips but what really struck me the most is his eyes, a gorgeous deep set eyes having different color from one to another.

"Like what you see?" adam ask teasingly before he start to walk to go to his car with me in tow sporting face red as a tomato.

Starting the car, i can hear my step-sisters panicky voice yelling at us not to go then my father loud voice telling her to shut up, and on how her first wife asking him why have to be a bride to be?

"What a funny family you had." he commented before smiling like he know an inside joke before driving away.

I just stay silent because honestly i don't care, I'm finally free from this house and promise myself not to come back in here again.

——————

We are on the road for almost an hour before a manor came to view, it's huge, much bigger than my fathers house.

"home sweet home" opening the door he mutters before gesturing me to enter.

"Why are you so silent?" he ask again.

I'm a little bit confused, he wants me to talk? but my mother said my voice is annoying, what if i talk and he is annoyed at me too?

Adam look at me like he is waiting for my reply but i don't know what to say to him so i just bow my head and look at floor and continue walking.

I can hear an exasperated sigh coming from him before he stay silent and inclined his head to the stairs going up. We stop at one door before he opens saying

"This is your room, you're stuffs are in their already, do get some rest and when you need something just call the staffs or look for me at the third floor, my bedroom is in the one to the left." and he closes the door.

I just lifted my leg when the door opened again.

" I nearly forget, the library is on the third floor also, if you want to read books feel free to go." then the door close again.

I nod knowing well that he can't see it before eyeing my room, a door is on my right side prompting me to open it, inside is my clothes hanged and folded in their designated area, it looks so little compare to the size of the walk-in closet. A huge mirror occupying the one third of a wall with lights bulb attached to it, i check my reflection unto it before stepping out.

I see another door but I'm to lazy to check it out, it's just probably an bathroom anyway. I just stand to the floor to ceiling window when i realised my room has a balcony, excitedly i open the door and i see a single sofa, a table and chaise all laid out to form a perfect nook.

This is so great, i lay on the chaise feeling happy and excited, the calm breeze and the warmth of the afternoon sun lull me to sleep.

"Hey, Sydney get up, the dinner is almost ready" came a voice above her.

She stirred in her sleep before groggily seating up, eyes still close. She then grab one of the throw pillow rubbing it into her face before laying again to sleep.

Adam chuckle when he sees that but he persist on waking her up 

"kitten get up, the food is ready."

"Food? Then can i have a chocolate mousse?" a soft voice timidly asked.

"You do talk huh!"

"...."

"come on, get up now, we can ask the chef if he can make some for you but we do have chocolate éclairs for dessert if you want that" 

adam proclaim before looking down just to see a black eye staring at him like he have done a miracle or something like that.

"éclairs? Is it delicious?"

"it's made up of chocolate so yeah" adam slowly answered before looking at her in a disbelieving eye.

"then, can we go it now?"

Then it dawn to him, damn she is a foodie.

"can we go now?" she again ask but softer this time.

"yeah, just comb your hair and wash your face then we could go down." Just to see her pouting her lips but doing exactly as what he said before looking at him again with those eyes.

"okay, but just so you know, you have to eat your dinner before dessert okay" he reminded her like he is reminding a 4 years old child instead of 18 years old one.

She just nodded her head like a little chick peeking her food, making her look so cute but a little silly at the same time.

A foodie is really something. When it came to food, even a person who have face paralysis would show a different expression on her face.

The dining room is full of food, braised pork belly with bok choy, barbecue ribs, sweet and sour chicken and a fish clear soup all are specialty of the A city, there's even a western food like steak, an oven roasted potatoes and even a bowl of salad. I guess they are all excited to meet her that the chefs cooked their own specialty without talking to each other making all the food became a bit mismatch and so many.

Sydney eyed all the food before looking at him, when he nodded he started to sit down, get her own food and start eating like their is no tomorrow. She is not a messy eater per se but the way she put food in her mouth is making him dizzy, should i remind her that she should chew on her food to avoid stomach pain?

Adam started to open his mouth when sydney look at him a smile can be seen into her face. Forget it, at least she is happy and showing some reaction not her usual poker face, if worse come to worse then i just bring her to the hospital, adam thought to himself before sitting down and start eating.

"uh, I'm so full!" she exclaim before patting her stomach, they just finish eating or should i say she just finish making her self look like a pig, she finish a food that is supposedly can feed three man herself.

She looks left and right before inclining her head towards Adam.

"where's the dessert? Aren't we supposed to eat some?"

"....."

Foodie is so scary lah! 

how can she still have room in her stomach after eating almost everything on the table?

How can you lose something you never have?

But when you do have something to lose, how far whould one go to keep it?

I can't afford to lose you.

So if my heart going black as ink keeps you by my side, then so be it!


Didi's foul humor lasts all the way home. Pip's quiet doesn't hold out, though, and that's part of the problem. Before they're even in sight of the collection of bits and scraps that Didi's Dad declared their house, the crow opens his beak.
"You really need to tell Tarvis about the way Jackus spoke to you." Didi snorts, knowing doing so will reap no benefit. "Look, the main house light is on. You're in trouble, young lady." She grinds her teeth together, not bothering to remind him he's the reason she's out so late. Besides, Dad knows better than to give her grief. She's the only one who takes care of him. A bit of scowling and crossed arms and he'll be backing off any kind of harangue he might try to deliver.
The crow, on the other hand... simply doesn't know when to shut his trap. Didi's forehead aches from frowning as she stomps the last quarter mile for home, strongly considering letting Pip stay broken the next time he decides to fly off with those reprobate cousins of his.
"You just be careful the next time you're near Jackus's territory," Pip says, just as sure as if that's something she hadn't considered with her own brain, the silly creature. "And that means giving up on any idea you might have to go back to those gunslingers."
She's smart enough to admit she's irritated more by his understanding of her motives than the words he's actually saying. No matter. Maybe she could deactivate his voice box, just for a little while.
His chest feathers puff up, for the life of her as though he's some pontificating wise man, cyborg eye brightening as he glares at her. "Don't think I can't hear your mind whirling, Didi."
She pushes through the front door, enough oil on the old entry to someone's long-lost spacer swinging easily inward at her touch. Its original design called for a slider, but she likes the action of that push the best, the satisfying way its perfectly balanced weight moves with ease under her fingertips. Took her weeks to get the pulley system holding it in place just right, fiddling and finagling until the barest brush of her touch would move it. The latch catches as she swings it shut, locking with a faint click behind her while Pip sighs on her shoulder. The security grid she's wired up hums to life, sealing them off from the outside world.
"What am I going to do with you?"
She's already moving through the front entry to their home, lined with salvaged parts she has, as yet, to find a use for. Dad doesn't complain about the junk inside-he's as bad as she is when it comes to sorting through what's there for his own use. She keeps it tidy, at least, the metal parts piled high to the ceiling of the back half of a cargo bay welded with plasfoam to the front twenty feet of a scrapped housing module. She likes the impressive way the ceiling of the bay curves upward over the front of the main house, like some kind of grand foyer she's seen in vids. A thin veil of plas hums as she passes through it, popping out her mouth guard and nose filters on the other side. The house itself has its own protections from the stink and chemicals of the planet, enough her exposure to outside every morning gives her a start at the stench.
The kitchen is empty, stove dark and cold. She lucked out on the heating node from a plasma generator, more than enough power to run the rusting old cook unit. She pulls open the front doors, both handles sliding in her grip, and frowns at the interior. Won't take long to reheat a slab of the slush mole she caught and skinned two days ago. As long as Dad hadn't finished it off for lunch.
She can hear him puttering in his lab on the other side of the wall, the thin metal not much of a sound insulator. At least he hasn't noticed she was gone, after all. While Didi is certain she can win out on any argument with Dad, she'd rather not have to. He's so much more pliable when he's happy.
The cooler lid creaks when she opens it, stacks of mole steak piled on one side wrapped in protective plas, steam rising to the surface as hot air meets cold. Two steaks should do it and, though the memory of slaughtering the creature is still close to the surface-she hates killing anything, food needs or not-her mouth is already watering at the thought of grilled mole steak.
Pip hops down on the counter, a slab of petrified wood someone dumped near the edge of the sludge creek, the perfect size and shape for the new center island she built to give her a place to prep food. Dad used to handle all this, but Didi finds it easier to take care of dinner. Especially if she actually wants to eat and not starve while his focus on work keeps him distracted.
"Didi!" Dad's voice drifts through the wall, tinny from the vibration of the metal between them. "That you?"
"Home, Dad," she calls back, the generator kicking in with a grunt of disagreement. She kicks it in irritation even as it jerks itself to life, the interior of the oven instantly hot. Flesh sizzles when her fingers slip, the tips touching the rack as she slides the pan with steaks inside. Didi hisses softly, sucking at the singed spots, slamming the oven door.
"Dinner?" He sounds plaintive, boyish.
"Coming." Didi sighs, eyes Pip who clacks his beak at her. "We have time," she says, scooping up the feathered cyborg and carrying him toward the other door in the kitchen. The narrow hall on the far side feels oppressive to her at times, mostly because she hasn't made replacing the glowtubes in the ceiling a priority. Every time one goes out, she adds scavenging more to her list, but somehow it always ends up on the bottom. Her boots hum against the fake wood floor, made to replicate natural veining but always looking flat and dull to her. The wall panels are the same color, adding to the closing in feeling she gets. She pushes through the swinging door first on the right and into her own workshop.
She found this particular bubble of awesome herself, about a year ago, and convinced Tortley from three territories over to trade her a transport of the unit for a fix of his favorite skimmer. Dad hated it when she showed off her skills to the other squatters, but the trade was worth it, in her estimation. It had to have been some kind of expensive sunroom or greenhouse in the past, a piece of a rich family's place. She adored the pale green plasglass, unbreakable but breathable, containing its own filter system. Tubes of fleximinum formed the curved shell's frame, carrying the power and water supply like its own ecosystem. The air inside is so fresh she takes a huge breath, loving how it makes her feel alive, even after the day she's had. She's acutely aware of how badly she smells as she does, grimacing while she crosses to the large, metal table in the center of the room and clamps the protesting Pip into the large vice protruding from her work surface.
A quick glance at the pot of green on the far side of the room and she makes a decision to add some peas and lettuce to dinner. She has some spices she traded with Putter a few weeks ago for a handful of her peppers. More mouthwatering as she harvests her precious greens.
"If you don't mind," Pip's chill tone makes her laugh as she turns, the succulent morsels of freshness tucked into a small pouch she carries back to him. He's on his side, awkwardly posed, unable to move as the magnetized clamp holds his metal body in place. "Honestly, Didi."
"A bit of patience, bird." She strokes his feathers a moment. He mutters before closing his eyes, a soft purr emerging. "Your right leg is still a disaster."
He holds still as she retrieves some tools, finally able to straighten him out. It will take his organics time to cover the wound, but at least she's managed to shut down his nerve centers so he doesn't feel pain.
Her task done, she releases him from the vice. Pip stands, shakes, examines his leg.
"You're welcome." She tosses her black hair at him before scooping up her greens and heading for the kitchen. Pip wings after her, muttering to himself.
Dad is bent over in half, staring into the open oven when she enters. He glances up, smiles at her past his round-rimmed glasses. "Smells great."
She rolls her eyes, slamming the door on him. "House is hot enough."
Dad grins, shrugs his narrow shoulders, pushing one long fingered hand through his brown hair. He's so nondescript, so ordinary. But he's hers. Didi tosses the bag of greens on the counter, has to slap his fingers from stealing a pea pod. Pip snags one, flies off with it, hooting laughter while Didi shakes her head at the both of them.
"Good day?" Dad helps her retrieve plates, cutlery. She's proud of the set he scrounged for her, all matching even though most are chipped and the metal is faintly rusting. Proper table settings, even old and tired ones, make her happy for some reason.
"Good enough." Her luck he doesn't know the time, isn't aware after all she's been out so long. She licks juice from the greens from her fingers as she shreds them and piles them on the sides of the plates, sticking her tongue out at the crow who hops in agitation from leg to leg. Dad's already fetching the steaks, a steaming, dripping slab appearing at the end of his fork. She taps the release on the stool tucked under the table and settles in, not even bothering to criticize when Dad begins shoveling food into his mouth.
She's doing the same thing.
Pip flutters over and, though she swore she'd not share after the day he put her through, she divides up her portion and offers him bites between her own.
Dad straightens from hunching over his plate, gaze settling on Pip's damaged leg. "What happened?"
Didi's no tattle, though Dad is aware the silly corbie tends to take off from time to time. Pip, on the other hand, can't keep his fool beak shut.
"Your daughter," the ratting bird says before she can stop him, "has been out beyond territory again, Tarvis."
Dad winces, turns to Didi who glares at Pip. Yes, removing his voice box for a little while is an excellent idea.
"You know how I feel about that, Deeds." Dad's quiet, not angry. He's rarely angry. More scared and she knows why. It's dangerous out there.
"And you know if I didn't we wouldn't have half the things we do." She meets Dad's eyes with her own level gaze. "That spool of silverwire you needed for your invention. Think that came out of thin air?" Well, it did, she remembers. When it fell off the back of the dumpall.
Dad hesitates. "Is that where you were all day?"
She's not about to turn in the damned bird, though she should. "How's your steak?"
Pip tuts around a crunchy bit of peapod he's stolen from her plate. "Tell him about the trash rats, Didi. And your run-in with Jackus." Dad chokes on his sip of water, eyes huge behind his glasses while Didi's chest tightens, fists clenched around her cutlery. Maybe she'll just disassemble the farging bird. Make an entirely new-faithful-creature from the old. Or, maybe she'll dump his feathered behind in the sludge creek. "Oh, and the gunslingers."
Her turn to choke. "Pip!" She can't help it. How dare he share that with Dad? It's their secret.
Dad's anxiety rises visibly on his face. "You found gunslingers?"
Didi is forced to nod, though she keeps her voice steady and calm, a miracle in her estimation. "A whole cargo hold of them, Dad. Someone dumped them here."
Dad nods, head down, food forgotten, it seems, as he goes still. "How horrible."
Didi agrees, though he seems to be taking it personally. "Why horrible? They aren't active or anything." Not that she could tell, anyway.
Dad sits back, pushing his glasses up on his nose, arms crossing over his chest. His long-sleeved shirt rides up his narrow forearms, the rolls of the cuff hanging softly aside, exposing faint scars on his pale skin. She's often wondered what happened to him, where the scars came from. But Dad won't talk about it and it's easier not to ask. "Horrible," he says, "because they were people once, Didi." He looks off in the distance. "Like you and me. Hurt, beyond repair under normal circumstances, placed in metal bodies and turned into soldiers." Dad shudders, running his hands over his arms. Didi's heart constricts but she doesn't know why. "Just seems a tragedy for them to end up in a place like this." Their home. Dad often speaks of Trash Heaven like it's more hell than heaven. But despite its faults, it's all Didi knows. Protectiveness rises inside her, the need to defend her planet. Except he's right.
It's just a pile of trash.
"I never thought gunslingers would end up here." Dad pushes his plate away. Pip hops closer, helps himself, the greedy guts. Didi doesn't try to stop him. Waste not, want not. "But, I guess even their usefulness comes to an end eventually."
"They were decommed over fifty years ago." Pip pauses in his gulping. "What's the big deal?"
"They were meant to be disposed of like real people," Dad says, almost whispers. "Not tossed like garbage." He stands before Didi can ask him how he knows. Dad knows a lot of things he won't talk about. "I need to get back to work." He leaves her there, head down, hands in his pockets. Only stops and pauses when he reaches his lab's door. When he turns back, his smile is kind and, like always when he takes the time to truly see her, Didi's heart warms up so much she hugs herself from the joy of it. "Thanks for dinner."

***



I’m an international, multiple award-winning author with a passion for the voices in my head. As a singer, songwriter, independent filmmaker and improv teacher and performer, my life has always been about creating and sharing what I create with others. Now that my dream to write for a living is a reality, with over a hundred titles in happy publication and no end in sight, I live in beautiful Prince Edward Island, Canada, with my giant cats, pug overlord and overlady and my Gypsy Vanner gelding, Fynn.

Trash Heaven has been Didi Duke’s home for as long as she can remember. The dumping ground of the galaxy provides her with everything she’s ever needed or wanted. Except, maybe, the attention of her inventor father, always busy with his next creation. Good thing he’s passed on his talents to his sixteen-year-old daughter. With the company of her best friend—the cyborg crow, Pip—Didi is happy to scour her territory for treasures discarded as trash. But, when an evil Underlord kidnaps her father, Didi can no longer hide herself away in the garbage. Her plan to resurrect a retired cyborg gunslinger and rescue her dad leads her into danger and the heart of the rotting planet—Trash City. She’ll figure out the rest of her plan—eventually.

After dressing in our panties, bra and nightgown, I send Chinatsu to wake everyone so they can bathe while I make breakfast. Parting my hair on the side, I feather it back and pin it in place to keep my bangs out of my face. Looking myself over in the mirror, I nod, satisfied with the results.

Leaving the dressing room, I head into the kitchen and open the refrigerator to come up with something for breakfast. I notice we're going to have to go shopping again soon because we're getting low on quite a few things.

Removing the biscuit dough, I set it on the counter, and turn on the oven to preheat. Moving over to the other counter I make some mocha coffee.

Reaching under the edge of the center island cabinet, I pull out and tear off a large sheet of wax paper. Dumping the dough on top of it, I reach into a drawer, pull out a rolling pin, roll it out to three centimeters thickness, and leave it to let it rest.

While it rests, I get a cup down, pour some coffee, add some cream and milk, and stir it. Picking up the cup, I inhale the aroma and sigh contentedly, before taking a sip.

If you can't tell, I'm in a very good mood this morning. How could I not be? I woke up in the arms of the person I love most in this world, we made love, and took a nice hot bath together. To me, that's simply heaven. I know, I'm easily satisfied, but as I've said before, it's the simple things in life which people so often overlook that make life worth living. In my case, Chinatsu is my raison d'être. She's my everything and there is literally nothing I wouldn't do for her.

That's not to say I don't love Ryu because we all know that I do. Otherwise, there's no way on Earth that I'd have done what I did Sunday. I'd happily do just about anything he asks of me. He would do the same for me and he proves it constantly. Having two people love me like they do, I don't see how I could possibly be any happier. Well, I do look forward to having children with both of them. I definitely want a large family. I can only hope I'm as good of a Mother to my children as Mama is to us. I damn sure have the best role model a girl could ask for.

Taking another sip of my coffee, I set it to the side. Opening the cabinet beside the oven, I pull out a couple of baking sheets and lightly oil them. Moving over to the center island, I open the tool drawer, take out the biscuit cutter, and cut out 24 biscuits. After that I place them on the baking sheets and set them in the oven. I set the timer, roll up the unused dough, cover it, and place it back in the refrigerator. While I'm there, I take out the link sausage along with a carton of eggs and set them on the counter. Grabbing the step stool - what can I say, I'm small - I get into an upper cabinet and take down a mixing bowl.

Chiaki comes into the kitchen to make herself some coffee. As she does so, she says, "Good morning Sora."

I smile at her and reply, "Good morning Chiaki."

After taking a sip of her coffee, she asks, "Would you like some help?"

"That would be nice. Thank you. If you could crack a dozen eggs, scramble them for me, and dice up half of a block of the pepper jack cheese, it'd be a huge help."

As Chinaki does that, Chinatsu comes into the dining room. "Is there something I can do to help?"

"Sure, you can set the table if you don't mind. Butter and jam too, please."

"Of course, I don't mind at all."

She comes up behind me, and slips her arms around my waist to pull me back against her. Smiling, I pat her hands and she whispers, "This morning was amazing."

I look over my shoulder at her to whisper, "For me as well. I thought I was going to pass out." I kiss her cheek. "Let me go, I'm a little busy here."

Letting me go, she goes over to begin setting the table. That does bring up a thought. When I begin research on our nanites, I need to see if they are somehow programmed to heighten our sensitivity. I'd always heard it's hard for girls to achieve orgasms, but for Chinatsu and me it takes very little effort. Neither of us are complaining mind you, I'm simply curious. Mother and Father, if you programmed them to do that, thank you very much.

Everyone starts filtering into the dining room as I put the eggs on. Looking over my shoulder, I don't see Mayumi, Mama or Dad. "Would someone please go make sure Mama and Dad are up? Breakfast will be ready in a few minutes. Where's Mayumi?"

Honoka says, "I'll wake them," and heads off to their room.

Sofi tells me, "Mayumi went home last night. She said she had to go to work early this morning."

"Oh, okay." I wish she had at least told me goodbye, but I know that wasn't possible since I was out.

As I'm putting everything on platters, she comes back in with them. Everyone greets them, "Good morning," and they reply, "Good morning."

After Chiaki and I set everything on the table, I take my seat between Sofi and Chinatsu. We serve ourselves and begin eating. After taking several bites, Mama clears her throat and I look over at her. "Sora, I meant to tell you yesterday, but it slipped my mind. The principal called and he said that since you never finished the term at your last school, to be admitted here you have to take the finals and pass them. Honoka and Sofi have to take them as well."

I shrug. "Okay, it's not as if I could possibly fail them."

Honoka says, "I already expected to have to when you said Sora would. It shouldn't be a problem. After all, I've been sitting in on their study sessions."

Sofi follows up with, "It wasn't long ago that I graduated, so I don't think there will be an issue."

Dad chuckles. "Good. I didn't think there would be, you're both smart girls." He looks back at me. "Sweetheart, we know that, but he doesn't know how smart you are. I'm curious, when was the last time your IQ was tested?"

"Sixth year in primary. They said I scored a 231."

"Alright, I'd like for you to take the test again when you go back to school."

"Okay, if that's what you want, I'll do it."

"We all know you're smart, but I'd like to have some idea of where you currently are."

Chinatsu sits bolt upright in her seat with a worried expression when I say, "I think we all know I could test out of High School today if I really wanted to, and move on to college." I reach over, take Chinatsu's hand, and smile reassuringly.

Dad nods. "I'm sure you could, but there's more to it than that, isn't there?"

It's my turn to nod. "I need the socialization. I'm much better than I was, but I still have some issues dealing with people I don't know, especially boys."

"Don't worry sweetheart, neither of us will try to force you to skip grades if you don't want to."

"Thank you. I can't even begin to know how stressful it would be for a thirteen year old in college. Especially the one I want to go to."

Mama asks, "Which one is that?"

I don't even get a chance to answer as Dad says, "Tokyo University, right?"

"How did you know?"

"It's simple really, they have the best Biotechnology program in the country."

"That they do. The only places that have a better program are outside of Japan. MIT in the United States and Cambridge in the United Kingdom. There's no way I'll even consider leaving the country to go to school."

"Sweetheart, even if you wanted to I wouldn't let you anyway. We couldn't protect you there."

"I know. That's why I said I wouldn't even consider it."

He smiles and shakes his head. I know Dad, you don't have to say it. I'm too smart for my own good. You and Mama have told me many times. I can't change how I am, so what do you want me to do about it?

Something in my expression must have given away my thoughts because a moment later Dad says, "Sweetheart, I don't think your being smart is a bad thing. Actually, far from it, your mother and I are extremely proud that you're our daughter. Believe it or not, we really look forward to seeing all you will accomplish in your life. Personally, I think you're going to end up turning the world upside down. It could use a good shake up."

I'm extremely happy, but that doesn't stop the tears from rolling down my cheeks even as I smile at him. I really hate this overly emotional part of myself, but there's little I can do about it. I blow out my breath as I reach up and wipe away my tears.

"Sorry, please, don't think I'm upset because I'm not. It's simply my overly emotional side showing itself again."

Mama says, "We know sweetheart."

Dad says, "To finish off the original subject, I'll talk to your principal about getting you tested."

"Alright. By the way, Dad, I'd like to talk to you before you go to work. It won't take long."

"Sure."

After we eat and clean up. I take Sofi and go to Mama and Dad's room. I knock on the door, he says, "Come in." Leading Sofi over to the bed we sit down and look at Dad as he's tying his tie.

"What did you need to talk about?"

"You told me to ask before I did anything else like I did with Honoka and Mayumi, so I'm asking if I can provide the treatment for Sofi."

He sighs and turns around to look at me. "Sora… Sweetheart, I'll tell you what, you can do it since Sofi's family, but listen to me, no more. No one else. Period. Not until we get government approval for public release."

"Alright. I promise, Dad."

"Good. I know you always keep your word."

"Umm, Dad, did you look at the information Hestia sent you?"

"No, I haven't had time. Why?"

"We ran across some information in the drive that may indicate that the treatment can be used more than once on the same person."

His eyes widen in surprise as I continue, "I ordered Kotomi to find out if that was true or not and whether there would be any side effects from multiple uses. I know the research notes never said anything about it and Akiyama could very well have been scamming people. If it's true, it makes these nanites much more valuable."

"You're right, it does. Let me know what she finds out. Once we know either way, we need to apply to the Pharmaceutical and Food Safety Bureau (PFSB) for permission to start human testing. I don't know how many test subjects they will require before they approve it. We'll just have to wait and see."

"That's why I haven't asked Mirai to submit the paperwork. I didn't want to start testing to have to start back over if we found out it could be used several times. It would be a waste of time, money, and resources."

"Do you wonder why your Mother and I are so proud that you're our daughter?"

"Sometimes."

"It's because you don't just think a step ahead, among other reasons. If you had simply rushed to get them into testing you could have very well cost your corporation millions of yen."

"I want to help women to be able to have children, but trying to rush things won't help anyone."

"You're right. Sorry sweetheart, but if that's all I need to get ready for work."

"Okay." We stand up, I walk over to Dad, and hold my arms up for him to pick me up. Bending down he picks me up, I hug his neck for a few moments, and then kiss his cheek. "Thank you Daddy. I love you."

"I love you too."

He sets me down, I hold my hand out to Sofi, and we head back into the living room where I sit down with her on the couch.

"Alright, you heard him. I'll have to call Kotomi and have her people start on another batch. It'll take a couple of weeks before they are ready."

"Thank you Sora. I never even thought I might ever be able to have children of my own."

"Sofi, this isn't guaranteed to work. It only has a 30% success ratio, but if I get the news I want and it fails we can try again. We'll just have to see how it goes."

"I remember you telling me."

"Okay. On that note, I'm going to go lay down and relax for a while before I have to start cleaning the house and do the laundry."

"Sora, why don't you let Nee-chan, Chiaki, and I worry about that. You had us all really worried yesterday, so just take it easy today. Take a nap, snuggle with Chinatsu, or do whatever, but let us help."

I pull her into a hug and quietly tell her, "Thank you Sofi. You're a very good sister."

"Thank you. Go on now. I'm sure Chinatsu is waiting for you."

I let her go and tell her, "See you at lunch," and head upstairs to our room.

It's been quite a while since I had nothing else to do. Of course, that also means that Chinatsu and I haven't had a huge amount of alone time as well. Today I can make up for a little of that at least. When I open the door to our room, Chinatsu is sitting on the bed waiting. She looks up at me and smiles.

"What did Dad say?"

"He said okay, but not to ask again until we get approval for public release."

She stands up, pulls her nightgown over her head and drops it. Walking over to me, she reaches behind me and locks the door.

"Good. I hope it works for Sofi too. Get undressed my love. I want to make love to you. Afterwards we can snuggle and take a nap."

"Sounds good to me."

After we both undress, she leads me to the bed and we spend the next couple of hours oblivious to anything except the two of us. Satiated for the moment, she crawls up next to me, snuggles up close, and we take a well deserved nap.

A knock on the door wakes us and Sofi says, "Lunch will be ready in a few minutes."

"Okay. We'll be down soon."

Throwing on our bra and nightgown, we go to the bathroom, clean up, slip on our panties and head to the dining room.

Everyone's waiting on us when we arrive and we take our seats. Lunch is hamburger steak, fried potatoes and salad.

As everyone is serving themselves, I ask, "Who made lunch?"

Mama says, "Chiaki and Honoka did. I was going to, but I was overruled."

"I would have made it had someone woke me."

Mama shakes her head. "Not today Sora. You already do far too much. Today you're going to act like a normal thirteen year old. Dinner will be taken care of as well. You need to just relax for once."

"Alright. If you say so Mama."

"I do say so. Sora, from now on you will be allowing everyone to help you more. You have this huge sense of responsibility and that isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it is when you think you have to do everything yourself. We're not going to have a repeat of yesterday, is that understood?"

"Yes Mama, I understand."

"Unless there is an emergency at work, you will not be going in on Tuesdays and Thursdays. You will take those days and relax. I don't care if you girls go have fun, watch a movie or go shopping, but don't do anything stressful on those days, alright?"

"Of course. Chinatsu and I already had a talk about it this morning. I apologize for worrying everyone."

"It's alright, but try not to do it again. Let's eat while it's still hot."

Have you ever had something happen to you that made you think to yourself 'it's the end of the world?'
What if something really did happen that ends your world as you know it?
How would you deal with it?
Would you give up?
Do the best you could to live with the new circmstances?
What if it wasn't the world, but you that changed?
What do you do when your world is turned upside down?

After inadvertently drinking out of a flask which contained nanites his parents developed before their death, Sora Ito wakes up almost a month later as a girl. Not just a girl, but a fertile girl in a world where less than 20% of women are fertile. 
What's a girl, who is Androphobic, Enochlophobic, shy, and withdrawn, supposed to do when governments and corporations will do anything to solve the world's population problem?

 

Well, after thinking about a couple of the character's personalities as developed, I've decided this will have some Yuri elements. In the end though it will end up as planned.

Ryouta: its Terrible*munch slurp*

Tamako: oh I guess another failure

man: well I guess I'll clean up your mess honey

He heads in the kitchen and starts making something

a red-haired boy around Ryouta age looks at him curiously and asks why he is still eating it

Ryouta: while its terrible...there is a certain flavor I enjoy...

the boy looks confused 

old man: so boy what's your story...why haven't you eaten much...what are your parent doing

Ryouta: well I don't have any parents...in fact I woke up in a forest a year ago...(actually the Kazuma family all have family that cares about them... it's just complicated situations for them...but they are all rich...Grayfia has a younger brother but they seem to be at odds for some reason and Est, Sakura and Restia are like apart of me...they don't really require food...Grayfia also is a noble rich family...wait a second...why is everyone spunging off me)

Ryouta starts having tears in his eyes

Old Man: oh...I'm sorry...I guess even someone as young as you has it hard

Ryouta was confused at what this old man was talking abou

suddenly the man presents his dish to Ryouta

Ryouta is mesmerized by the smell: this is udon

Man:oh you can tell from the smell

Ryouta bit into and was shocked at it. The noodles were perfect and the balance was perfect...he felt warmer and his body felt more relaxed

Ryouta: wow what is this...the most impressive thing is the noodles..how did you remove the starchy flavor

Man: I gave them a ice bath

Ryouta eyes shined: of course that removes excess starch....but sometimes when I make a broth it's starchy...

old man: did you separate the noodles when you cooked the noodles

Ryouta: no...I mean they are going to end up the same

Man: its a rookie mistake...

Ryouta felt shocked at this

Tamako: but you are quite knowledgeable do you like to cook

Ryouta:...I'm not sure...I like cooking for the people I care about..I like bringing joy to people...I learned that the one thing that everyone has in common in the world is food...when someone is hungry they will eat...

The man smiled and patted the boy shoulders and was surprised because...he felt tons of muscles on this boy...he also noticed a sword on his side and another special weapon on his right: hmm

Ryouta: huh?

Man:...oh nothing besides I am Jōichirō Yukihira , my wife the owner Tamako and this is my son Soma

Ryouta: Ryouta Kazum, this is Est, this is Restia and this is sakura...they are a little shy

old man: stop it kid

Tears come from Tamako as she hugs him

Ryouta was confused at what was going on

Joichiro: don't worry we will look

Ryouta: never mind that...can you be my master...I want to learn what it truly means to cook like you

Joichiro rubs his nose smirking: well if you

Ryouta holds hands: please take me as your disciple Tamako sensei

Ryouta bows

Tamako laughs and smugly says: well of course but it won't be easy to be as amazing as me

Ryouta kowtow Three times 

Joichiro, soma and old man Kazusato Yukihira were frozen at this devolopement...they couldn't process it

-------------------------

A little bit later Soma askes Ryouta

Soma: why did you want my mom to be your master...dad is a better chef

Ryouta:...she has a quality that I think I need...Sensei has something that he lacks...no not lacks but not as strong but not as intensed 

Joichiro who is watching Ryouta cut vegatibles in the back smiles...thinking to himself: yeah...she does have something...I guess you could say it isn't as strong as hers...

Joichiro: hey Ryo lets have a match...if you win I'll do all your prep for a week if you lose you have to be my genie pig for a week...

Ryouta:sure

...
Tamako: the winner is Joichiro 

Ryouta is then forced to eat his experiemnts 

Ryouta: bleh squid and peanut butter...thats horrible...hmm I have an idea for a new recipe 

---------------------

1 year later

Soma: the winner is aniki

Ryouta takes off his bandana: it wasn't much

Joichiro: grr fine...I'll take you with me

Ryouta: haha yes

Tamako: wow my disciple has sure has grown...I've done a good job teaching him...he still has a long way to go

Ryouta: yeah...I still have a long way

Ryouta/ Joichiro matches 19 wins 41 losses 

Joichiro: your not doing bad you won the last two

Ryouta: ugh that's because you did something crazy...ugh..anyway let's go

Soma: have fun, you guys

Soma waved and Ryouta and Joichiro left...Joichiro told him to call him Saiba ryouta just said he will call him chef

---------------------
Ryouta and Joichiro...Saiba called a cab 

Ryouta asked: why have you been letting me win...I noticed that your cooking has been less than normal...

SaibaL oh so I'm caught...I didn't really hold back I just gave you a slight handicap...I was testing something...

Ryouta narrows his eyes...he hated people not giving there best with competing against others...it was like his very core was being mocked...he wasn't angry but...annoyed..

Saiba: stop looking at me like that...I will be honest your gifted, but its kind of demonic

Ryouta: demonic? 

Saiba: I feel if your not careful you will end up going to the dark side

Ryouta looks at him confused

Saiba: you possess t something most people would only ream to have...God's eyes, you were able to tell the difference in what I was missing from the sight...

Ryouta: but I still have trouble with telling differences with taste

Saiba: that because your palate is still small...

Ryouta:...but whats god's eye?

Saiba: Every generation there are people born with great abilities. Their senses are greater than normal. for example, there is God's tongue that can taste any type of flavor and understand what makes it better. They say if you have one your destine to be a great chef and you have one. However just possession one doesn't mean you will achieve greatness some fall and never recover. 

Ryouta: so what good is having super senses? I think Taste is the most important... 

Saiba: For the cook, one might think that taste is the most important sense. It is indeed a common mantra among chefs: "Always be tasting." But it's not just tasting to taste, but rather to evaluate what you're tasting. Is there enough salt so that it tastes not salty but rather seasoned? Is there enough acidity? Enough richness, enough depth? If not, then think: How should I adjust this?

But often overlooked as a fundamental cooking sense is hearing. When I cook bacon, for instance, I start it in water. The gentle heat of water begins to render the fat and the bacon will never go above browning temperature; it's cooking, but it can't burn. But once I hear that pan crackling, I know that the water is almost gone; rendered fat can get very hot, and so I must attend to the pan.


Smell, likewise, is important, not just as an indicator of deliciousness (or the reverse) but of where you are in the cooking. If I am finishing up the components to go along with the prime rib I'm roasting in the oven, and I don't smell that delicious roasting meat, I'd better check the oven because it's probably not cooking properly, and not nearly done. If I smell it too early, perhaps the oven is too hot.

Touch is essential, a sense to call attention to because people are terrified of germs and bacteria, seem increasingly afraid of touching food. We touch a bread dough to evaluate if it has risen sufficiently. We press down on steak to intuit how done it is on the inside. We touch the top of a crème brûlée to ensure that it is smooth and brittle, not soft and sticky. Touch your food.

Sight is important, obviously — you can see that you've overcooked your pine nuts, or how delicious that roasted chicken is because you've put an aggressive coating of salt on it and roasted it in a very hot oven. You can see the oil ripple and swirl when it hits the sauté pan telling you the pan is good and hot.

But more important is imagined sight. What you expect to see should be a part of the cooking process."

Ryouta is frozen for a moment...like he had a deep understanding

Ryouta: (imaginary sight...that's right...

suddenly the taxi comes

Saiba stops talking and waits for Ryouta to regain his bearing and head off

Ryouta: so do you posses a god sense

Saiba: oh me...I wonder~

------------------

they walk and out of the taxi and walk to some old building...

They went inside then visit an old lady and Joichiro and this old lady talk for a bit. He introduces Ryouta to the old lady and they talked for a while. The old lady said something about trying some of his cooking later but Joichiro says they're actually running late. The lady was thinking about how the person once known as the demon has changed...

They then said bye and walked to a mansion...

Ryouta was shocked at the size and questioned: Does master know you have a sugar mama on the side

{Ryouta wanted to gain some experience outside the restruant so he had no clue where he was going) 

Joichiro lips twitch "no there was only one woman for me and this is an old friend of mine only my friend is home

They went to the back of it and went inside and got changed in one of the rooms. Joichiro changed into a professional white chef's uniform. he then had a black apron around his waist and Ryouta was wearing a white jacket blue pants. 

 they walk and see an old man drinking tea the old man smiles and is surprised to see a boy with and they talk for a bit and Ryouta cheekily asks: So you're going to rob them. stealing is bad..but I mean...as long as I get a cut its not bad...

Joichiro: brat shut up and prep...

I am known as man with many faces 

Sometimes I fight as a persona user, sometimes I fight as against people like baki 
Sometimes I play basketball with the generation of miracles
(Tenchi Nura childhood as ryouta kise)

Thats because I have lots of masks
Volume 1: I went to an all girls school (Shomin Sample/ Armed Girl's Machiavellism)
Volume 2: I went to a parallel world as Raku from Nisekoi met some twins and had an akira fight...
Volume 3: I spent time with my fiance yona of the dawn
Volume 4: I did a side job at a the prison deadman wonderland
Volume 5: checking out the three kingdom in tales of bersira and arslan
Volume 6: Cooking in Shokugeki no Soma

My identity can be Sanji from one piece, master roshi from Dragon ball, or many others

In my first life I was known as the smartest God

In my second life I was known as the scariest and most powerful Devil

In my third life I was known as the fastest human and called the flame King

Now in my fourth life I am the Grandson of two of the strongest in the world. Nurarihyon and Katsuhito Masaki

This organization has taken control of the multiverse with its leader goal of bringing destruction. My universe is prime, so I can combine the dimensions together and save them, or destroy them to sever them and lead them to their destruction 

Be a hero? a villain? Fuck that I'm a Guardian I'll go to the universe and judge them. Good and evil means nothing to me. but if they're with the organization they should wash their necks 

because I will even make a devil cry 
(Sequel to Tenchi Nura childhood as ryouta kise recommends read it but you dont have to)

Please check out my coffee page 

https://www.patreon.com/DemonKingVan

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