Chapter 285: The Taste of Skill

After going through several more twists and turns, we finally managed to finish cooking and sit down at the table.

It was only then that I got a proper look at the other team’s dishes.

‘The side is a Cajun chicken salad, and the main course is a butternut squash seafood rose gratin…?’

I’ll skip the side dish since it needs no explanation, and focus on the main course.

It wasn’t made by mashing or dicing the butternut squash.

They had hollowed out the squash to use as a bowl, filled it with ingredients, then topped it with cheese and melted it directly with an open flame.

I suspect the reason Pret chose Hailga as his first teammate—her being a fire attribute user—was for that cheese.

The butternut squash gratin was basically given one per person.

But I used the word “person” instead of “individual” because the familiars were included.

And the phrase “basically” was used because there was an exception.

Fjodra and I naturally decided to share our gratin with our familiars.

Vigdis shared with Hailga, and Pret shared with Svein.

But Reysir, Liolikin, and Bjorn each received a whole squash to themselves.

That left an odd number, so Risi ended up with a gratin cut in half.

Fortunately, Risi didn’t feel left out.

Instead, she seemed relieved to avoid sharing food with someone she wasn’t close to. For reference, it was agreed that the leftover half of the gratin would go to anyone who finished their portion and still wanted more.

‘That aside… he managed to handle seafood with cooking novices? That’s amazing. And the chicken in the salad is fried, isn’t it?’

The shrimp were peeled for convenience, and judging by the texture, the tough membranes of the squid had been properly removed.

As for the chicken, even though it was fully cooked inside, the outside wasn’t burnt at all—it had a nice golden color.

And the taste was excellent too.

I couldn’t help but send an admiring look toward Pret.

“Pretty Senior seems to like the food I made? Sending such a passionate gaze like that—your junior is so shy, shy~.”

Pret must have noticed me looking at him, because he cupped his cheeks with both hands and spouted nonsense.

But there wasn’t an ounce of shyness in his expression, nor did his face flush red.

He was just acting exaggerated as always.

But the Protagonist of Another Novel didn’t seem to appreciate Pret’s attitude.

He voiced his complaint:

“Pret, you didn’t make that food all by yourself, did you? Thanks to you struggling to teach your teammates how to cook, you managed to produce food of this quality. But shouldn’t you not dismiss the efforts of others?”

“Oh? Seems like there’s a misunderstanding. Our team, unlike yours, didn’t mix all the ingredients together after everyone prepped them—we each prepared our own portions.”

Hearing Pret’s words, I scanned the table and closely examined the others’ food.

The filling in the butternut squash gratin was covered in melted cheese and sauce, making it hard to see details.

But I could immediately tell that the chicken on the salads had different colors.

‘Looking at it now, Fjodra’s chicken is a little… no, quite burnt. Maybe Pret helped, so it doesn’t seem inedible…’

Looks like the ‘Yorichi’ (bad cook) setting was assigned to Fjodra.

Even though she supposedly has a very refined palate.

The gratin was ruined too—her face was scrunched up as she chewed on squid.

Pret must have helped adjust the seasoning.

So maybe the squid got tough due to a timing issue.

“Oh! By the way, Reysir-senpai, Liolikin-senpai, and Professor Bjorn’s dishes were also made entirely by me. The others had trouble even prepping a single portion of ingredients.”

In other words, while Hailga, Risi, and Fjodra were prepping a single portion of seafood and other ingredients each.

Pret was teaching them the trimming methods and sauce recipes, and also completed five butternut squash seafood rose gratins.

‘No, that’s not all. He also made the salad…’

I already knew Pret was a versatile guy, but I realized he was even more capable than I’d thought.

So I marveled again.

But the Protagonist of Another Novel seemed to have a different reaction.

His gaze at the butternut squash seafood rose gratin in front of him held a hint of reluctance.

“I put a lot of care into making it, so Reysir-senpai, please enjoy it!”

“Uh… yeah… sure…”

In the end, the Protagonist of Another Novel picked a fight and ended up losing out. As he fished out and ate the seafood from the gratin, Reysir’s expression showed a mix of admiration and frustration. It seemed too delicious to eat with displeasure.

“That aside, this stew is also really good! You and Yor adjusted the seasoning, right? I’m used to cooking from my circus troupe days, so it’s familiar. But you two have at most half a year, and only occasionally, with light dishes. That’s really impressive!”

With Reysir quieting down, Pret addressed me again.

His words felt like a probe: ‘Are you sure you never cooked before the familiar was born?’

I hesitated, unable to answer immediately.

“During the time the stew was boiling, Pretty Senior made garlic bread all by himself, and it’s super tasty! It goes really well with the stew!”

Pret added.

With all the work of making his own dish and helping his teammates, he still managed to notice.

“That… I just made a garlic sauce and spread it on pre-made bread, didn’t I?”

“That’s why I’m saying the sauce is delicious, right?”

“It’s thanks to the recipe Yor taught me. The ingredients were good quality too.”

“Aww, just having a great recipe and good ingredients doesn’t mean anyone can make delicious food, you know? Looking at it that way, Pretty Senior definitely has a talent for cooking!”

“……”

Setting aside how embarrassing the repeated praise was.

I felt a pang of guilt for lying, so I quickly ended the conversation.

“I wanted to receive praise from Pretty Senior too… but it’s not easy.”

Pret muttered this in disappointment.

But he didn’t beg for compliments or stare at me with burdensome eyes.

He just acted as if he was patiently waiting for that day to come.

Thanks to that, I could quietly eat my food.

Of course, that didn’t mean silence fell over the meal.

The students chatted about the taste of the food and the fun they had during the cooking process, creating a warm atmosphere.

After a bit of small talk,

“Fashionable Lady, you were truly amazing yesterday. When I heard you challenged Young Master Offrausi to a duel and even said you’d fight yourself, I worried you might be doing something reckless. But to think you would crush him so completely and thoroughly… I am truly in awe.”

Such words came from Fjodra.

The sense of pride in her tone was clearly Fjodra’s own.

‘But was her bringing this topic up entirely her own decision?’

Currently, the character the Original Author can move most easily is Fjodra.

Maybe it’s because that notion is stuck in my head, but even a casual comment gets me anxious.

‘Given Author Senna’s tendencies, she won’t let a Villain who harassed a Heroine Candidate just walk away like this…!’

Even though he was tied up with wire and couldn’t move.

He was beaten senseless until he fainted, unable even to admit defeat, and suffered physical humiliation.

But I wondered if Author Senna and her readers would accept the Villain’s exit like this.

‘He never apologized to Hailga. Readers can’t tell if he repented or not, right?’

No matter how much he was shamed in front of many eyes.

***

After enough time passes, it’ll just be treated as an embarrassing episode from his immature youth.

And since he’s still from a wealthy family, he might find an easier target than Hailga and use his family’s power to bully them.

So a clear ‘end’ needs to be shown.

The problem is that Author Senna’s preferred fate for villains is ‘death.’

In a fantasy novel, a villain dying isn’t that big a deal, so some might wonder why this is a problem.

But for me, it’s a huge issue.

‘No matter how much of a villain he is, he’s still a named character who can’t just be dismissed as a background element.’

The more often named characters die, the lighter the weight of death feels to readers.

Moreover, it’s the Opraushy Count Family that has the power—’Drembi’ as an individual is worthless and insignificant.

And despite that, he dared to harass a Heroine Candidate.

Naturally, Author Senna will portray his death lightly.

Readers will feel exhilarated and expect or anticipate that future villains will also be cleanly executed.

And…

‘That executioner role will be given to the protagonist, Reysir!’

I know.

In the original novel, when Reysir first took a life, how much he blamed himself and suffered.

How those feelings dulled as he grew accustomed to taking villains’ lives, and how every time he realized that fact, he was plagued by self-loathing.

The fact that taking villains’ lives lightly also increases the likelihood of side characters dying.

That’s just my personal speculation.

Maybe I’m overly anxious and attributing too much meaning to trivial things.

But even so.

‘I can’t just stay complacent and let things slide, can I?’

The most desirable conclusion is to give the Villain a fate other than death.

If that’s impossible and the Villain must die, then at least I must prevent Reysir from getting blood on his hands.

‘If he ever kills someone, Author Senna will keep bringing unforgivable villains in front of him, as if encouraging murder. In the end, Reysir’s mind will be worn down…!’

Even though his current cheerful demeanor feels annoying, I don’t dislike it.

I don’t want that brightness to disappear.