"You don’t require exact measurements because, umm... you adjust depending on the ingredients."
"Oh, that sounds complicated. The food you people make always tastes delicious, you must have practised a lot."
Kaine noted as he then looked toward the pot.
The cook blinked in surprise.
Did he just... praise them...?
He kept staring at him for a while, then, despite everything that happened earlier, a small smile appeared on his face.
"Yes."
Kaine looked back at the instructions.
[Cook over low heat until the meat becomes extremely soft.]
Again, no time.
"How long until the meat becomes extremely soft? Also, how soft is extremely soft? How do I know it’s soft?"
Kaine asked a few more questions.
The cook sighed internally, then, he gave an answer.
"Probably forty minutes."
"Probably?"
Kaine raised an eyebrow.
"My Summons are hurt, this is for them. I cannot work on probabilities."
"Forty minutes."
The cook corrected himself.
Kaine nodded.
He placed the meat into the broth, then measured the water himself before adding it. Two cups, exactly like the cook said.
The cook didn’t say anything.
Kaine lowered the heat, then his eyes moved to Serathiel’s pot.
The marrow broth had started turning cloudy, just like the System instructed.
Good.
Then he checked Lysara’s Spirit Grain like the cook had told him before.
"Still too firm, correct?"
"Yes."
The cook nodded.
Kaine stirred it, then, he returned to Nerys’s broth.
Three pots, three different meals and Kaine stood between them with complete focus.
A servant watching from the side couldn’t help but feel the scene was strange.
This was Young Master Kaine. Until yesterday, people throughout the estate believed he would become the greatest Summoner of his generation.
He had servants for almost everything, the kitchen staff here prepared food according to his training diet without him ever needing to come here personally.
Yet now...
He was standing in front of three pots himself because he wanted to feed those three supposedly useless summons.
The servant looked toward the preparation table.
Everything Kaine used was placed neatly, almost unnaturally neatly.
The knives were aligned, the measuring cups were placed according to size, every ingredient he finished using was immediately returned to its place, even the scraps from the meat were arranged into a small pile rather than scattered across the board.
The servant kept staring in disbelief.
Just... what was this man thinking...?
Inside the Sanctuary, the women watched everything.
"He’s actually doing it himself..."
Serathiel muttered out loud.
"...just like he prepared our medicines."
Lysara was watching in silence and Nerys...
The Shadow Demon was very invested.
Kaine suddenly turned toward one of the pots, that made her flinch instinctively, then she realised he couldn’t see her and her fingers loosened.
Kaine opened the lid of Nerys’s broth, steam rose into his face, he leaned away. Then he took a fork and pressed it into the meat like the cook had told him to.
It separated easily.
That made him frown.
Was that extremely soft?
Or only very soft?
He pressed it again.
The meat broke apart, he looked at the cook, who smiled.
"That’s soft enough."
Kaine nodded as he removed the meat. Then, he read the next instruction.
[Shred into small pieces.]
"How small is a small piece for this meal? Same as the others?"
He asked.
The cook was now used to his antics, so he pinched his fingers together.
"About this size."
Kaine studied the distance between them, then he started cutting.
The cook watched as he cut one piece after the other, every single piece was almost exactly the same size.
The cook sighed.
"Young Master..."
"Yes?"
"They don’t need to be identical."
Kaine stopped, he looked at the pieces he cut, then at the cook.
"Why would I intentionally make them different?"
"...actually, I was wrong. You are doing an excellent job."
He gave up.
Kaine nodded.
Excellent was good, the better the quality, the faster they would heal. So he continued cutting with the same precision as before.
The three women, especially Nerys, kept their eyes on Kaine, watching him compare two pieces of meat and making sure they were of the same ’small’ size felt... good.
Back in the kitchen, Kaine finished shredding the meat and returned everything to the broth. Then came the final step.
[Add a small amount of mineral salt.]
He looked back at the cook again.
"Small amount of mineral salt."
"It’s a pinch."
The cook answered.
"What’s a pinch?"
The cook stared at him, then he raised his hand, placed his thumb and forefinger together and showed it to him.
"This."
Kaine looked at the cook’s fingers, then at his own and his frown deepened.
"The amount changes depending on the size of the fingers."
"That is true."
"So how much?"
The cook sighed in defeat, then he gave a number like Kaine wanted.
"Half a gram."
Kaine immediately reached for the scale, the cook watched him in disbelief.
"You don’t actually need to—"
...Kaine was already measuring it.
Exactly half a gram.
Kaine added the mineral salt, then he stirred the broth thoroughly.
The cook decided not to say anything.
Time passed just like that, but in the end, when it was all over, Kaine stood in front of three bowls and three system screens.
[Marrow Meat Broth successfully prepared.]
[Quality: Excellent.]
...
[Spirit Grain Fish Porridge successfully prepared.]
[Quality: Excellent.]
...
[Mineral Meat Broth successfully prepared.]
[Quality: Excellent.]
...
Kaine nodded at those messages. Then, he glanced at the cook.
"Thank you."
The cook blinked.
"For what?"
He couldn’t help but ask.
"Helping."
Kaine answered. The cook stared at him for a moment, then, he smiled.
"It was nothing, Young Master."
Kaine nodded, he placed the three bowls on plates, then placed the plates on a large tray, covered the bowls with metal covers, making sure they remained warm, then he added three cups of water and spoons.
Once satisfied, he lifted the tray and walked out of the kitchen, leaving a group of servants who kept staring at his back, even as he walked away.