Inside the Recovery Sanctuary, none of the three women said anything, they simply stared at what was happening.
Only a few minutes ago, they watched this man fight.
No.
Calling it a fight felt... wrong.
It was more like a one-sided assault. The three men were taken down and it all happened so quickly, so precisely that it was... almost unbelievable.
The women couldn’t get the image out of their heads, there was absolutely no hesitation in Kaine’s movements, there were no wasted movements, his expression was so cold that even watching him from somewhere completely safe made Nerys shrink closer to Lysara.
It was obvious.
Kaine knew how to hurt people, he knew exactly where he was supposed to strike and how much force to use to make sure the opponents had no resistance left in them.
The women noticed how his hand didn’t shake even once as he placed a knife on that man’s throat.
The women had seen dangerous and cruel people before. From the way Kaine moved, there was no doubt that he could be every bit as dangerous as them.
And yet...
"...what is he doing?"
Serathiel muttered as she stared ahead with an absurd look on her face.
Kaine had already taken the ingredients his cousins tried to keep away from him and instead of chasing them or threatening the servants or doing anything else the women expected from someone who had just shown that kind of violence...
This man was standing in front of a pot, staring at his notes, then at a pot with an unusually serious expression, trying to make food for them.
The difference between the sight of a man plunging his fingers into another man’s eyes and this was abysmally large.
So large that it bothered them and... it didn’t bother them in a bad way.
Especially Nerys, she was looking at him very, very carefully. The Shadow Demon could now tell that Kaine wasn’t gentle because he was incapable of violence, he wasn’t some sheltered young man who had never hurt anyone.
He could.
Very easily.
And yet...
Every time he looked at her, every time his hands got close to her, they were very, very careful, as if he was scared to hurt her.
And now, the same hands were making food for her and...
Strangely enough...
Knowing that made her feel a little safer.
...
Back inside the kitchen, Kaine ignored the servants staring at him in shock and silence, he didn’t care what they were thinking, he had more important things to deal with.
Serathiel’s Marrow Meat Broth was already simmering over one of the stoves, the Spirit Grain for Lysara was also placed on low heat.
That left Nerys.
Kaine looked at the notes he made earlier, well, he wasn’t exactly looking at the notes, that was just a ruse so the servants here did not find it suspicious, he was actually looking at the system screen.
[Nerys.]
[Current State: Severe malnutrition, essence depletion, unstable physical form and active Binding Seals.]
[Current Needs: Easily digestible protein, minerals and frequent small meals.]
[Recommended Meal: Mineral Meat Broth.]
[Ingredients:]
[Soft meat.]
[Bone broth.]
[Mineral salt.]
[Water.]
[Preparation:]
[Cook the meat until extremely soft. Shred into small pieces and mix with the broth. Add a small amount of mineral salt.]
[Serve warm.]
Kaine stared at the instructions, then he frowned. This wasn’t enough. He focused on the preparation section and the System reacted immediately.
[Preparation:]
[Place the meat into the bone broth.]
[Add sufficient water to maintain the required consistency.]
[Cook over low heat until the meat becomes extremely soft.]
[Remove the meat.]
[Shred into small pieces.]
[Return shredded meat to the broth.]
[Add a small amount of mineral salt.]
[Mix thoroughly.]
[Serve warm.]
Kaine stared at the expanded preparation screen with a dull look on his face.
That was... almost exactly the same thing, just longer.
Clearly, Kaine had no idea how to cook food. He never needed to learn in this life and in his past one...
He never had proper food.
What he had was whatever his ’father’ threw at him, sometimes, he went without food for days. He wasn’t even allowed inside the kitchen, let alone taught how he was supposed to cook.
In the end, Kaine sighed. His eyes moved towards the meat, then towards the pot.
"Sufficient water..."
He muttered.
How much was sufficient?
He looked back at the System, hoping for information, but nothing appeared. That made him frown.
The medicinal recipes were much better.
One hundred millilitres meant one hundred millilitres, three grams meant three grams, ten minutes meant ten minutes.
There was no uncertainty.
Cooking, apparently, was different.
He looked at the cook who was only standing a short distance away, he had helped him prepare the other two meals, it seemed like he needed his help again.
"How much is sufficient water?"
"...Young Master?"
The cook blinked.
"It says sufficient water. How much is that?"
The cook paused, he looked at the amount of meat, then at the broth.
"Enough so that the meat remains covered while it cooks."
Kaine’s eyes moved back toward the pot.
"That isn’t a measurement."
He narrowed his eyes.
"...yes?"
The cook was very confused.
"How much water do I use?"
Kaine asked again. The cook walked closer.
"For that amount of meat?"
He spoke as he looked at the pot again.
"About this much should be enough."
He picked up a jug and started pouring.
Kaine stopped him immediately.
"How much did you pour?"
The cook froze.
"...Young Master?"
"How much did you pour?"
He repeated the question.
The cook looked at the jug, then back at the pot.
"Roughly two cups?"
"Roughly?"
Kaine raised an eyebrow.
The cook stared at him, Kaine stared back and for some reason Kaine didn’t understand, the kitchen became quiet again.
The cook finally cleared his throat.
"Cooking doesn’t always require exact measurements, Young Master."
Kaine looked at him in utter confusion.
"Why not?"
And the cook...
He had no idea how he was supposed to answer that.