Chapter 612: The Children’s Achievements
Ash furrowed his brow deeply and tightened his lips, leaving the cream puffs behind with a heavy heart. Right now, the cream puffs were safely stored in my [Storage].
As a compromise, we decided to hand them over again tomorrow, so they could be enjoyed fresh.
I never expected that cream puffs would cause Ash this much distress. I misjudged the depth of his passion for sweets.
I passed through my house, Kanum, and headed to the Dinoss Family’s residence. I knocked gently on the front door. There was actually a knocker, but I still wasn’t used to it.
“Welcome!”
“Welcome!”
“Welcome~”
The children greeted me, taking my hand and leading me inside.
“Hey! I’ve been waiting! I’m starving!” Dinoss said with a laugh.
“Welcome,” Shiva peeked out from the back.
“I’m intruding. This is for tomorrow,” I said, handing Dinoss a basket filled with bread, ham, and eggs.
“Oh! It smells great!” Dinoss exclaimed as he lifted the cloth covering the basket, revealing the delightful aroma of freshly baked bread.
“It smells amazing!”
“I’m so hungry!”
“I’m starving~”
The basket was passed among the children, eventually landing in Shiva’s hands.
“This is from Ash-sama. I’ll prepare the tea after the meal, so may I ask for some hot water?” The butler also handed Dinoss a wrapped package, which was similarly passed to Shiva.
Since it was a package from the butcher I recognized, I assumed it contained some good-quality meat. I often used the meat from the [Food Storage] and the fortress city, so I wasn’t familiar with Kanum’s butcher, but I figured everyone else knew it was meat without needing to guess.
“Thank you, this helps a lot. Tina, En, Baku, prepare the hot water,” Shiva said with a bright smile as she headed to the kitchen.
“Okay!”
“I’ll fetch the water!”
“Is a pot alright?” The children giggled as they followed Shiva.
Dinoss watched them with a smile, stoking the fire in the fireplace.
“Alright, let’s bring out the food.” I retrieved the dishes I had prepared from my [Storage].
“Mmm…”
“Oh? Curry!” Ash and Dinoss reacted immediately.
Curry wasn’t something we had here, but since I had made it a few times, they must have memorized the scent. The smell of curry is strong and unmistakable—though I had once disappointed them by serving fried food coated in curry powder instead.
While something with a curry flavor is delicious, it seemed they were eager to indulge in actual curry.
“I had received a request,” I explained. Before Dinoss and the others went out, they had said they wanted curry for dinner on the day they returned.
So today, it was Katsu Curry.
Boiled eggs, cheese, small shrimp, and broccoli salad. Pickled shallots.
What about lassi? I had made some, but if the butler was going to serve tea after the meal, maybe it wasn’t necessary? No, the tea was for the cream puffs. Since drinking tap water here is risky, I should definitely serve the lassi as well.
“Gene, beer…” Dinoss whispered his request.
So, from the lassi, Dinoss and Shiva would have beer, the butler would have wine, and Ash, the children, and I would have lassi.
The children, except for Baku, preferred their drinks a bit sweeter, while Shiva liked hers spicier. The others were somewhere in between.
The children returned with the water, bustling with excitement. Dinoss placed the pot filled with water over the fire in the fireplace, and we all gathered around the dining table.
“Welcome back once again.”
“I’m home.”
As Dinoss and I exchanged greetings, everyone chimed in with their own variations of welcome back.
And then, we immediately said, “Let’s eat!”
“Ahh… Delicious! The hardest part about being away from home is definitely the meals. Shiva’s cooking is great, but out there, the flavors tend to be closer to the ingredients themselves,” Dinoss said, savoring the katsu and curry while sipping his beer.
“I also gathered some local ingredients!” Tina proudly announced.
Local sourcing, huh? Her intonation was a bit awkward.
“Sis, you were so amazing when you did it!”
“I tried my best too, but I couldn’t handle the big one,” En and Baku chimed in.
“Wow, that’s impressive!” What did they hunt?
Local sourcing must mean some kind of animal meat or demon beast meat, right? I smiled at the excited children while looking at Dinoss.
“A Two-Horned Gray Bear,” Dinoss said between bites.
“A bear…”
“A Two-Horned Gray Bear… that’s quite a catch,” the butler remarked.
A big catch? Was that flattery? Which was it?
I probably had taken one down before, but with my Zanzenken and magic, I was aware that my standards were out of the ordinary.
“That’s amazing,” Ash paused in his curry-eating to look at the children.
I see, it really is impressive.
“Hehe,” Tina blushed at Ash’s words.
“Once we finish eating, you have to show us what you brought back, okay? Take something you like as a souvenir!”
“I brought back all sorts of things!”
“I’m sure they’re all rare!”
It seemed the children had souvenirs to share.
“Very well. Once we’ve finished eating, let’s take a look,” Ash said, sipping his lassi.
Ash’s face turned slightly red from the spiciness of the curry as he tried to mask it with the lassi. It seemed he preferred medium spice over the sweet variety.
Sweet curry does feel like a different dish altogether.