บท 44: She Returns to the Kitchens
"Your Magic core is where the source of your magic resides." Jasmine explained. "If you can't connect to your mana source, then any magic, no matter how good the aptitude, is impossible."
Robin imagined magic like an electric appliance. Even if it were in perfect mint condition, a toaster would be useless if it wasn't plugged into a power source.
"Okay then, so I need to locate this mana source of mine, somehow?" Robin asked. "And only after that will I be able to use magic, right?"
Jasmine nodded.
"Okay then! What are we waiting for-"
Robin's words were interrupted by a very loud growling noise. Jasmine blushed a bit in embarrassment. Why did her stomach have to complain now!?
"Ahem!" Jasmine tried to salvage what was left of her pride. "While now would be a good time, unfortunately this person has yet to eat dinner. Perhaps tomorrow morning?"
"Tomorrow? Why not after you eat?" Robin asked.
"Because, everyone else thinks your a man. While I'm not averse to teaching you, a girl and a man alone together after the sun sets… I'm sure you know how detrimental an effect that has on a girl's good reputation, right?"
"Ah, sure! Fine with me!" Robin realized the implications. She was now acting as a man…this might take some getting used to. After all, she had dressed up as men in fighting scenes, but actually acting as a man was something that she was not used to.
"What should I do?" She muttered to herself, but Jasmine heard her.
"Just act as you always have." Jasmine encouraged. "You've been doing a great job so far!"
Robin sighed. Yet another trouble had landed on her plate, she thought to herself as she walked back down the stairs, heading to her rooms.
"Ah! I forgot!" She suddenly exclaimed as she rushed down the stairs to the audience hall. The King and Queen were still waiting for her to show her face, after all!
When she arrived, she immediately began apologizing. "It appears that I am a bit late. My apologies, I have had a lot happen to me in the past few hours."
"Not at all." Queen Emeline smiled at her. "Actually, we've only just arrived a moment ago. Rather, it is we who should be apologizing to you for the troubles our son has caused you today."
Robin shrugged, and joked. "At least I can't complain about the lack of liveliness around here. The Prince's faults are his own. Any anger I may have had for him vanished the moment I got a solid kick on him."
"If only everyone's ire could be solved with such a method." Emeline sighed. "Jasmine told me that it was one of her failed potions that did this, so it is entirely our own fault on this matter. I do hope you don't hold it against her."
"Not at all! I regard her as my magic teacher, after all." Robin smiled.
"Well then! On to the main topic, you wish to see my true face, correct?"
"Yes, but where will that be? The hall is covered in magic eyes for security reasons." Zephron asked.
"Are my personal guest rooms also covered?" Robin asked.
"There is only one that covers the doorway, to make sure that unauthorized people don't go in there." The King replied. After all, who would feel welcome if they knew they were being watched? And who would dare place a magic eye in the Hero's rooms? That was simply asking for his ire.
"Then, would it be presumptuous of me to invite just the both of you to my room?" Robin asked. While Keith's suggestion of the cloak room seemed like a good idea, it was still possible for someone to hide a small magic eye among the cloaks.
"No, not at all! We'd be delighted." Emeline replied.
"Good. Then I extend my invitation to the both of you to have an evening chat in my rooms. At...er...what time is it now?" Robin asked somewhat awkwardly.
"It is five minutes to six." Emeline replied.
"Thank you, at six thirty this evening, then." Robin finished.
"Why the wait?" King Zephron asked.
"It wouldn't be much of a talk without some drinks and snacks, now, would it? And it is such a shame to have such a nice parlor without using it. So, I was thinking about preparing a few snacks from my homeland for you to sample. If they suit your tastes, then I can pass the recipe on to your chefs." Robin explained.
"What a lovely idea! I approve!" Emeline clapped her hands at the wonderful idea. "We''ll be looking forward to them!"
"With your permission, I'll be leaving for the kitchens, then!" Robin nodded her head in farewell, before leaving the hall.
Zephron and Emeline watched as she left.
"Your Highness, I don't think that accepting food and drink from a stranger is a good idea." Zephron's Secretary spoke up after the Hero had left. But Zephron disagreed.
"While I would normally agree with you, this situation is a bit different. The Hero's blade would never acknowledge anyone with wicked intentions towards the kingdom. You know that. Furthermore, how many people can claim they had eaten food made personally by the Hero? Even if it were poisonous, Many people would jump for the opportunity."
If Robin had heard that last sentence, then her opinion about her fans would drop to an all time low. If the food was bad, then obviously you shouldn't eat it!
Robin was now in the kitchen, wondering what she could make that would fit well with tea. Jello? No, that needed about two hours to cool. Potato chips? But would those go well with tea? Should she just make some sugar cookies, then? Hmm…
At this point, Ponshieu finished polishing and sharpening his kitchen knives.
"Teacher, what are you going to make today?" He asked. Hopefully it wasn't another mask…
Robin glanced around the kitchen, her eyes finally falling upon a small pile of what looked like bread and cake.
"What is that?" Robin asked. Ponshieu followed her finger to the pile, and then shook his head. "Teacher, I don't suggest that you use those. They are all stale cake and bread that has turned hard. I''ll go throw them out right now."
"Wait!" Robin stopped him and smiled. "Didn't you want to learn my recipes? Well I have a few which requires just this kind of cake and bread. Would you like me to teach you?"
"But, they're stale! No one will want to eat them…" Ponshieu objected. However, his curiousity ended up getting the better of him. He brought the pile of stale cake and bread over to Robin, and helped her separate the cake from the bread.
"What kind of food can you make with these?" He asked.
Robin pointed at the cakes. "Biscotti and Cake French Toast." She said. "As for the bread, I'll tell you later. For now, please help me cut some of this up into strips the width of one finger."
Ponshieu tried, but the cake was so hard that he had to take out a carving knife in order to cut the stale cake. Robin munched on a crumb in order to test the flavor. It was already sweet enough, so she didn't need to add any toppings to it.
But she might sprinkle some vanilla extract on it before sticking it back in the oven to toast. Considering how hard it already was, that shouldn't take long. The real thing she needed to consider was the French Toast.
3 Eggs, one and a half cups of Milk, eight slices of cake, and just a smidgen of cinnamon and nutmeg. The spices were optional, but Robin never had it without them. That was all it took to make Cake French Toast. Moreover, this was something that was very quick and easy to make with minimal ingredients. She also didn't forget about the dab of butter in the pan.
She quickly whipped together the eggs, milk, and spices in a small bowl while she waited for the pan to warm. When all the ingredients were mixed together, Robin glanced at the pan. The butter was melted and bubbling a bit: just hot enough.
Then she grabbed two slices of cake and dipped them into the mixture, coating all sides evenly, and placed them in the pan. It was just large enough to hold two slices at a time. The slices sizzles against the bubbling butter, and a tempting aromatic smell wafted from the pan. This was the cinnamon and nutmeg at work.
After watching it for about a minute, Robin flipped the slices over, revealing a nice golden brown surface with a few dark specks here and there. The dark specks was the spices. After another minute or so, the toast was done, and Robin used a spatula to move it to a plate.
"Toppings that go well with these are whipped cream, with minimal sweetening, honey, fruits, and sprinkled sugar of any kind." She told Ponshieu, who quickly noted everything down in his notebook as she finished up the other slices. Since it would be just her, the King, and the Queen; she made just enough for everyone to have an extra half serving, just in case.
They also made the rest of the cake into pieces the size of a finger, sprinkled some vanilla flavored water onto them, and stuck them into the oven to dry it out more. Once it was finished, that would be the biscotti.
"Now for the bread." Robin said as she turned her eyes to the hard pieces.
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BriarRose
BriarRose More recipes for today. ufufufu~! I personally like cake pudding, but that's more appropriate for a larger crowd than just the three of them. It also takes longer to bake than a half an hour, so I'll have to save it for another day....
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