บท 98: 'First' Cooking Experience
Normally, confidence would outweigh the pressure Erina feels from doing her tasks. But this was not cooking. This task, this mission, was much more than that!
Marcus gave her something major, something insane! He wants her to taste and record everything they bring through 250 million years of Earth's history.
It's simply mindboggling; she must sit and let it sink in.
[Final preparation for Time Jump is complete. Everyone return to your stations.]
Aurora's words spread through the vessel. It was time to launch.
"...Erina-sama, should we go?"
"Hmm?" The cherry blonde snapped out and looked at Hisako.
"Yes, of course." She stood up from her seat. Her legs were a little bit wobbly. When someone is tasked with such a task, it makes her any previous job look like an elementary school assignment.
Regardless, she won't allow pressure to get to her.
The pair left the room and walked forward. They saw a pair of silver-haired girls in uniform looking through a window before them. The window was huge. However, what got Erina curious was their disposition. They felt different from the rest of the girls they met.
Devils they meet have these dark, almost sinful auras, while goddesses they meet make them feel this urge to worship them. At the same time, the dragons had that primal feeling of fear while looking at them.
But these two… it made her back straighten up like they were in front of a military officer.
"Hmm? Oh, you are that Chef Girl everyone was talking about." The one with the sailor's hat and leather jacket spoke first.
"...Yes. I am Erina Nakiri. It's an honour to speak with you two." Erina, while having no idea who these two were, was respectful nonetheless.
"Right, apologies. I am CV-6 Enterprise. My designation is Biological Combat Model Enterprise. I am a Carrier Ship's combat model."
"What does it mean?" Hisako blurred her words as she tried to grasp the silver-haired girl's words.
"In simple terms, we are 'spirits' of warships." The other military girl with short silver hair spoke with an icy tone; while she sounded cold, it wasn't directed at them. It was more like how she just is.
"Spirits?"
"Yes. We are the embodiments of our warships. Though this journey…" Enterprise spoke with a strained smile.
"I don't think we will be able to summon our warships as we will be far away from the influence of Technocracy."
"...You need the technology of Technocracy to access them?"
"Indeed. We were designed like that. We are part of this trip to conduct two things. One is to feel what it means to be a human without our ships, and the second is to figure out a connection to reconnect to the golden armoury."
"...Figure out? Is it even possible? Jeanne-san said that the distance would be enormous." Erina spoke as her eyes went to the side. Something caught her attention.
She realised that she could see the space gun's barrel insides.
The gun started to send pulses of energy towards the end of the construct.
It looked like a runway, and they were about to get launched.
"Don't worry about us. Chef Girl. You have your assignment, and we have ours." As Enterprise said that, she looked back at what was before her.
The lights got brighter as it looked like a bridge of some sort was created under the survey ship.
Then…the vessel moved.
One second, they were in the barrel. The next second, it was void, and it looked like the stars were getting stretched out by some strange force.
They were stretched in reverse!
'This…this is Time travel!!!'
'Even if I ever mention that I was part of it… would people believe it?'
Sure enough… all she could see was that they were flying… somewhere…fast…
"Well, it was not that bad. But not as explosive as I thought." Enterprise was not dissapointed or impressed. It felt like another mission to the carrier ship.
Something she was created for.
"Yes. It was… just a mode of transportation." The other girl said in a plain but cold tone.
"Oh, right! Erina Nakiri. This is Tirpitz. She is a battleship, One of the Admiral's creations. It's the same as me. More ship girls are coming out soon. Well, it depends on Admiral's mood!"
The ship girl introduced the girl next to her.
"I do want to know what you can cook for us!"
The silver-haired girl smiled at her; she looked excited.
Then…
[Erina Nakiri. Supreme Commander wants to see you.]
The chef girl's face paled as she felt Marcus was summoning her to the chopping block.
[Proceed to the lift, which will take you to the bridge.]
…
…
…
"You shouldn't keep Admiral waiting as you are new in Technocracy. You need to prove yourself and prove your value. As a spirit of a warship, I am well aware of what it means when a new sailor shows up on the ship." Enterprise commented as she looked at petrified Erina.
"Enterprise is right. You should proceed." Tirpitz chipped in as well.
"Erina-sama, let's go!"
"...R-Right."
The pair proceeded to walk towards the lift.
~~~
Erina stepped onto the bridge.
It was more like a throne room than a Bridge. Glass surrounded it. It was like a squire room. The only way she could discern this as a bridge was from the view in front of her, as she could see the ship's hull stretching in the distance and a bunch of girls sitting around computers.
But that throne in the middle stands out the most.
The throne moved around and revealed Marcus with… a maid on his lap… this maid had cat ears and a tail… a cat girl?
For a second, she remembered seeing this girl standing in the line when they first arrived at the hangar deck.
"I hope you settled in properly?"
Marcus asked her curiously; he did want her to settle in as he wanted her to operate at 100%.
"...Y-Yes," Erina replied with a nervous voice.
"Good. Our journey will take around 32 days. Ars Almadel Salomonis barrel accelerated us quite a bit. Instead of 60 days, it will be 32 only." He explained the journey.
"...That is good?" Erina tried to understand his angle.
"It depends. After all, you have 32 days to impress us, Erina." He smiled while stroking his lion girl. The lion girl looked at Erina with a curious look.
She wants to see how good of a cook she is if she attracts the attention of her Master.
"...I see. Then I need a kitchen and what everyone wants for dinner."
The moment it was cooking, her confidence returned with force.
Marcus and his pet noticed that immediately. They slightly smiled, though the reasons were different.
For Marcus, it was nostalgia as he finally saw some glimpses of that girl he remembered from the anime, and Atalanta in his lap was intrigued by that confidence. Does it mean she is good enough to have such confidence in front of the Conqueror of the Underworld?
"Jeanne, take her to the kitchen and show how everything works."
"...As you wish."
One of the maids who was standing behind Marcus moved forward.
"The rest of you will prepare the dining hall for dinner." The Inventor instructed the rest.
With a nod, they all went to lower levels.
"...What should I cook for you?" Erina asked him as she started to feel the pressure.
"That depends on you. I left enough hints for you." He said that with a small smile.
That moment, Erina had a flashback as she recalled him leaving maids to her to help her, and they talked about Marcus.
'He used his maids' affections to make them tell me what he likes for food!'
Part of her felt a chill go down her spine. If she were more terrified and spoke less, then she would know less! If she knew less, then she would be going blindly into this!
"I understand."
"Good. Then—"
He had a pondering look.
"How about this? You are all about making food and running restaurants.
Then treat this like a new 'restaurant'.
Let's make a 'Menu'." He said with a smile.
"...But… restaurant is to accommodate an array of people with distinctive tastes," Erina replied with a sweaty Does he want to make a restaurant experience from just himself!?
"And we are an array of people."
He pointed at his girls.
Sirin, Gu Yuena, Goddess Athena, the lion girl, Quinella…
And from the looks of it, they could potentially have various tastes.
"I Understand. Then leave it to me."
With a bow, she turned around and left with her assistant; Jeanne motioned for them to follow her.
Seconds later, they left the bridge.
"...The moment it was cooking, something flipped inside of her," Athena commented with a curious tone. Before this conversation, the girl was mundane and afraid.
"She is like me, Athena. She is a COOK, and she is good at one thing, and that is to cook." He said with a small smile while he stroked Atalanta's long hair. He slightly missed this feeling.
"...so you expect her to excel? Very interesting."
If Marcus vouches for this human chef, then even the Goddess is interested.
"Interesting." Athena nodded while Quinella looked at the lift doors. She was slightly concerned that a human could potentially impact her creator.
If this Erina Nakiri influences her Creator, it could potentially impact Project Eden.
They only want resourceful humans to survive. What is the point of bringing humans to stars if the same weed will recover?
But then again, she read about Totsuki. This academy is something she likes. She likes the weeding-out system they had in place.
'I suppose this rests upon Erina Nakiri's talent. If she can impress, Totsuki might as well survive and be useful to us in the future.
We can copy the method they use for future academies.'
For the first time since she was created, Quinella is intrigued by humans other than Marcus.
Of course, this intrigue will only continue if Erina completes her tasks.
Quinella has weeks to study the chef girl.
One way or another, the fate of wider humanity is in the hands of a proud Chef Girl who likes reading Shojo Manga.
~~~
Erina looked at what she called a bleak kitchen. It had no character, and there were no pots or pans…
It was…
Ugh… moment…
'I may be a bleak kitchen, but I can feel Marcus Goldman all over it.'
"Is it possible to step back and turn this kitchen how I want it?" Erina asked Jeanne as the chef girl looked around. She felt her soul slowly leaving her body, as this kitchen was soulless.
If Marcus were to read her mind now, he would be somewhat offended as he spent quite a while designing his kitchen models.
"Of course. Tell me what you want."
There was a glint in Erina's purple eyes as she unleashed an avalanche of words.
"When I will start with a cooker—"
She started to with cooker, pods, pans, tools, knives and other things. The Totsuki Elite send Hisako away to bring her personal knives as well.
As the kitchen was getting refitted to fit Erina's taste, the girl in question changed into her white chef uniform and put her hair into a ponytail.
By the time she was done changing, the kitchen looked different. Erina didn't expect how quickly everything was happening! She thought she had some time to prepare a plan for what she wanted to cook!
"The bots are almost done with the upgrades you requested," Jeanne informed the girl, as Aurora's bots were almost done installing the kitchen equipment.
"So what you are thinking to cook?" The Saint maid asked with a curious tone.
However, she didn't expect a Marcus-like answer.
"Well, I am thinking with an array of pork and potato dishes, considering he is from Eastern Europe, I could do some Slavic dishes, try out several methods of—"
Erina got Jeanne lost when she started naming possible taste variations.
'Is this even cooking? Food is food!' The maid's eyes started to spin.
"...Great…"
After telling her plan, Erina started inspecting everything. The craftsmanship was extremely good. For a while, she forgot that she was in a spaceship travelling through space and time, and instead, she was in one of her kitchens.
"Jeanne-san, how do I get products?"
"Oh, right, use the fridge over there."
The blonde maid explained how to use it, and the chef girl started ordering things in bulk…
But…
The first major hurdle manifested for Erina.
'This isn't good… these products are like… being printed out… they are all the same!'
The cherry blonde inspected the tomatoes, potatoes, and pork she got.
They all look identical!
"...Hisako, do you see this?" Erina handed over a bowl full of tomatoes to her assistant.
"...Apart from being created from thin air?" The pink-haired girl nerviously pointed out how stuff was appearing from thin air.
Something Erina glossed over as she was focusing on her work.
"Not that. Inspect the tomatoes."
For a second, Hisako blushed, but then she started to inspect them.
…
…
…
"They look identical, like…cloned?"
Hisako answered with realisation.
"Yes…we have a big issue… how I am supposed to perform at my best if products we have are not the best…" Erina sighed as she was in a pickle.
'Or is this on purpose? I am being challenged with limited resources. Isn't this like Totsuki training camp?'
The cherry blonde girl bit her right thumb's nail as she was thinking about how to approach this.
[Instead of growing products in an old-fashioned way, we record the genetic make-up and then continuously use atom manipulation to copy according to the recorded genetic map.]
Aurora explained to the pair.
"...but this leads to stale taste." Erina immediately replied to her.
"Each and every farmer produces food according to their unique methods. Some use a more natural approach, and others use more modern practices, which give products different tastes." The Chef girl explained as she looked at the potato in her hand.
"And that is why you are here," Quinella spoke as she walked into the kitchen. She inspected the newly reworked kitchen before looking at the chef girl.
"..." Erina felt that this woman was dangerous. Like… from all the women she saw in this place, this one is giving her the most dangerous chills.
"...You see… I have been reading about your Totsuki for a while now." Quinella placed her elbows on the table and put her cheeks on her palms while inspecting the cherry blonde.
"I like your school. It reminds me of what we want to do to the planet as a whole."
Erina didn't know what to feel about that!
"Come now. Don't look at me like that. What we want is very similar." Quinella smiled at Erina.
"You want the best possible outcome for your Totsuki, right? I want the best outcome for Technocracy. I want my creator's dream to come true. To make his dream come true is not hard.
By this point, it's inevitable. My current job is more like being Noah. You have heard of him, right?"
The chef girl slowly nodded her head. She was on guard against this dangerous female.
"The man who builds a boat to survive the flood?" Erina recalled what she remembered.
"Precisely. Here is the plan. Cook, impress our Master. Once you do that, we can start herding your Totsuki into the ark." Quinella smiled.
"After all, if we make Totsuki survive, we can use your Academy expertise to improve farming, logistics, and other things related to agriculture."
"...That is good to know that I have someone who feels the same way I do."
Erina was slightly relaxed when she heard about the possible outcome for her academy.
"It should be obvious. I am his assistant. My job is to please him in any way he wants.
If I see something that could make him happy, I will acquire it." Quinella smiled before it morphed into a chilling one.
"The same can be said about failure and him becoming angry at someone. It's not that you shouldn't be afraid of him. You should, but it's me and his followers who can make someone's life into a living hell. After all we do control hell now." The beauty giggled when she mentioned the last words.
"Regarding your products. You should address this issue after preparing several dishes and pointing out the staleness of the taste.
Once he realises this, he will arrange changes, and you will get what you want." After saying that, Marcus' assistant left.
…
…
…
*Relieved Sigh*
Erina released a sigh. She forgot that she was holding her breath!
"That is his assistant…" Hisako never thought she would meet an assistant as dangerous as this one!
"Yes. But she gave me an idea." The chef girl returned to her work and continued to make spices and other materials needed for her dish.
~~~~~~Meanwhile~~~~~~
Marcus checked over data his has on the time periods..
It will be alien worlds, and that is an understatement.
'From 40 to 60 degrees Celsius average to oxygen levels being much higher than normal. Then, dominated by desert and tropical climates, the temperate climate concept is nonexistent.'
The inventor stroked his chin as holograms surrounded his throne.
"I need to come up with something to maintain 'purity' of the time we are moving too."
"Purity?" Atalanta sounded confused.
"Precisely, we should not allow any of the bacteria we carry to contaminate the period we are entering.
I suppose special suits will be needed." Marcus explained to his lion girl.
"If we leave something by accident, it could potentially survive all the extinction events. Something I don't want to happen."
"...Oh… like bringing diseases? I remember that story about South America and the first encounter of the Spanish and natives." Atalanta casually commented as her tail wiggled back and forth.
"Yes. The basis is that, but as I said, it's just another layer of protection I want. Diseases from humans moving to prehistoric animals is something I have no knowledge to base how it will work." He said with a sigh to his pet.
"Many palaeontologists even say that we wouldn't be able to hear dinosaurs as they release sounds in different frequencies. Not that I know if this is true." Marcus explained to her.
"...I see… so it is a completely different world we are going to."
"Of course. It's the first ever alien world we are going to.
It's a test as well. It's a test to see how we will fare once we land on another planet in a different solar system." Excitement swiftly returned to Marcus's voice.
"Good. I can't wait."
Atalanta nodded with a similar excited tone.
"Indeed, so I need to make explorer's gear. Thankfully, I have a whole month to come up with something." He said that while stroking his chin with his free hand.
"The armours you build are not good enough?" The lioness pointed out. As far as she is aware, those armours are space-worthy. If they are space-worthy, they should be alien planet-worthy too.
"Yes. They could work, but they are meant for conflict. They are armour, not a suit. A suit should fit nicely and be comfortable to move in. It's still a chunk of metal. I am thinking of branching out. Maybe nanotech or human-made material at the atomic level." He mentioned some possibilities out loud.
"..."
"Let's see…"
His free hand moved away from his chin and proceeded to make something using his holograms. It has been a while since he did that.
First, he designed a prototype nanobot. These are not hard. He already had everything needed; all he needed to do was program them.
Add new routines only available to nanobots, as well as self-replication and frameworks that they have to follow. One doesn't want these things to get out of control.
"They look like small bugs." Atalanta looked at the design with disgust. Bugs and females don't mix that much.
"Hah. To think that a huntress has such traits."
"And why not? I see a bug… I kill it. Simple as that." She shrugged at him.
"Regardless, these will come in handy in several situations, like in my soldiers or the buildings themselves."
"...Soldiers?" Atalanta shivered when she heard that. Is he planning to put these inside his men!?
"Oh, yeah. I guess you never heard about this but nanites are stample technology in most sci-fi tropes. Besides—"
Marcus stroked his chin as he realised that if he used nanobots in critical future infrastructure like the Star Ways…
A.K.A. highways in space between the solar system could constantly recalibrate the Star Ways in case something interferes between them.
The inventor's initial idea was simple and very similar to space grand strategy games. In games, there are highways between solar systems, and since he has unlimited resources, he might as well start making grand projects at Galaxy levels.
He might as well embrace his 'fetish' for the desire to leave a forever-lasting legacy at a cosmic level.
"These little thingies add flexibility to my Technomancy."
"...Another fiction turning reality thing… I think that genre has to be deleted as it's no longer fiction; it's more like science fact." The Liongirl snorted.
"Maybe…"
~~~
Sirin pouted, seeing the lion girl snuggling on Marcus' lap. What she saw made her jealousy burn with intense heat.
'That fake feline! How dare she act like that!!! All she wants is to use him for her needs! If only I had my powers, I would crush her!'
However, she quickly declined that idea. She can't fight his maids. That's a big no-no.
"Excuse me…"
Sirin's thoughts were interrupted as she saw the chef's assistant.
"...What?" Sirin channelled her cold queen attitude.
Hisako paled as she took a step back.
"...Well… we need a tester. Some of the dishes are ready. We only need to pass through some testing. Erina-sama still has no idea what kind of taste buds Marcus and his faction have."
When the Herrscher heard that, she calmed down somewhat.
She decided to bury her jealousy with food. That should help!
"Fine. I will test it out." Sirin brushed her hair; it reminded Hisako of Erina. This girl has a similar queen-like attitude.
"Me too."
When Hisako heard that voice, she paled ghostly. Turning her head to the side, she saw Marcus leaning against the doors.
'Did he teleport!? Wait, why was Sirin behind these doors?' A bunch of questions popped into the chef's assistant's head!
'Wait! Did I wander close to Marcus' workshop!?'
Hisako realised that her luck was garbage!
She nearly landed on a landmine, but in this situation, the landmine ended up hitting her anyway!
"S-Sure."
'It's not like I can deny him!'
"Great! Developing a new branch of technology builds up an appetite." He motioned them to walk.
"W-Wait for a moment, Mr Goldman—"
"Call me Marcus." The inventor interrupted her.
But his words only terrified Hisako more.
"...The thing is, these dishes are just test runs. We are adjusting to the ingredients we have and trying to develop the menu you asked of us!" Hisako swiftly caught up to him.
"I know. That better than anyone." He rolled his eyes at her.
"You do realise that you are walking aboard a ship which has been improved three times. You are serving a dish to a fellow creator, but I am not some customer in a restaurant."
"...Right…"
Honestly, when he said that like that, it…
It was enough to lower the pressure, somewhat…
'I need to tell Erina-sama this; maybe it will help.'
…
…
…
"...Hisako… HIIII!!!!" Erina squeaked loudly. She asked Hisako to find some maids to test, but she brought the one she didn't want to touch for several days!!!
When the pink-haired assistant saw the reaction of her lady, she could only want to try to find a hole to hide.
"My- oh my… to think you discerned me to this degree."
Marcus walked over and saw an array of very familiar dishes…
'Potato pancakes, rice with pork, white salads, beetroot soup, an array of sour cream dishes.
She created an array of traditional food from my side of the continent.'
"...These are just your local dishes… from my understanding," Erina explained with a sweaty forehead.
"True…but you have checked the data logs, didn't you?" Marcus smiled while saying that. He ate all of these in the past two to three weeks. Especially when he was living aboard Scavenger and Confiscator.
"Your Artificial Intelligence showed your eating habits. All I did was improve the recipes." Erina explained before swiftly clarifying to him.
"...But these are not my final dishes for the menu you asked…"
Seeing how on edge she was, Marcus rolled his eyes.
"Relax, I know that this is a test." He explained before using his powers to summon a chair and a fork with a knife and a spoon.
"That is why I want to eat this. You do realise that I care more about progress than the end goal." He explained to her before his eyes ended up on the pancakes. This dish is extremely heavy on the stomach, but honestly, he doesn't give fuck about 'heavy stomach'. He is an existance which evolved beyond such mundane nonsense.
So he quickly cut a piece as he looked at what was inside the pancake.
It was a thick layer of meat.
'Ah, yes, I forgot that Erina cares about 'perfection' sometimes… all the time… that can mean that the portions will be smaller.'
Regardless, he took some sour scream, a stample 'sauce' from Eastern Europe.
Then he took a bite. The moment the food touched his taste buds… something happened.
Marcus closed his eyes and tried to process what he was tasting.
As he was doing that, Erina and Hisako looked at him with nervous looks and sweaty foreheads. The food he eats is very oily and heavy. Since Eastern Europe is known for cold winters and home food dishes, it took her a while to adapt to her standards.
That means she didn't want him to see this for a while!
"...It's good."
"..."
"..."
Erina expected him to tell more!!!
"..."
"..."
"..."
"Let me!" Sirin couldn't contain herself as she used her psionic powers to get a seat and her fork with a knife.
As Sirin was doing that, their attention swiftly went back to Marcus.
"...Any more…opinions? I don't have much experience with your cuisines." Erina wasn't embarrassed to say that Eastern European, like Baltic and Slavic food, is considered minor when compared to Italian or French.
"It's different from what I am used to." He said with a thoughtful voice as he pondered what to say.
"I suppose you lowered what makes these pancakes, pancakes." He pointed at it with a fork.
"...Umm…"
She tried to understand what he meant.
"These pancakes should fill up someone who returned home from work on a tiring day—" He placed the fork down and crossed his arms.
"I suppose when I eat this, I expected to be filled up."
"....I see…" The cherry blonde swiftly understood what he meant. She has not caught the essence of the dish.
"Regardless, the taste is good, but it doesn't have 'punch'." He then moved the dish to Sirin's side, who had already finished her pancakes and was eyeing his.
After pancakes, it was time for other dishes, which were all good. But they all sort of lacked a similar thing—a similar essence…of home cooking.
"..."
"..."
"..."
"This is the first time that I had someone else taste my early dishes like this." Erina had a 'dark cloud' above her head.
"Oh, your assistant never points out certain things?" Marcus asked with a smile, impressed by all these 'tests'. These dishes had already improved whatever his Database had. After all, he never improved them after initial downloads.
"...No, she does." Erina shook her head.
"But this was different. You found the core issue. Instead of taste, you found where I should improve."
'It's important for the specific menu you want,' Erina said to herself. Maybe this was for the best. Now she know where she should work.
"That reminds me. I wished to discuss something with you." The chef girl realised that this was the perfect opportunity to speak with him about the ingredients.
"It's the ingredients… isn't it?"
He chuckled as he already knew.
"...so you knew?" Erina shouldn't have been shocked.
"Of course. I am the one who invented everything." He rolled his eyes.
"I simply filled the database with single examples of everything." Marcus leisurely explained as he accepted a cup of tea from Hisako. By this point, Sirin's upper half was lying on the table. She was stuffed herself full.
"I was looking for someone who could expand on it. But no one noticed the issue." He shrugged.
"...Wait… Master… are you telling me that there were hidden missions all over the Technocracy…" Atalanta looked dumb for a second. Something like this was available, and she never noticed it!
"Of course." He scoffed.
"Why do you think I want to create Technocracy in the first place?" He asked her as he lifted his finger.
"For example…" He pointed at Erina.
"We are going to the Triassic Period with a chef who has an unparalleled ability to discern taste. Once she starts tasting new ingredients, she will invent tens, if not hundreds, of dishes.
And that is science and inventions, which is what my Technocracy does."
When Marcus pointed that out, both Erina and Hisako gulped down. Their eyes trembled with excitement.
"...True… I forgot…" Atalanta realised that Technocracy studies everything…
Even food…
"...then I can study dinosaur behaviour patterns?" The Lioness pointed out.
"Of course. But what for? You are my pet. Leave such a mundane stuff to Artemis." Marcus waved his hand as if it were a nuisance.
Atalanta sighed. Sure, she will keep that in mind, but she will still hunt in prehistoric Earth!
~~~
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~~~
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