Chapter 472: Cooking and dinner
When Arabel returned to the hotel after meeting with Leo and inviting him to join her and Idan's guild, Idan was just finishing preparing a sumptuous dinner.
The aroma of the fresh dishes that Idan was cooking instantly replaced the unpleasant smell that Arabel could still smell. Even without tasting the dishes prepared by Idan, she realized that his cooking skills far surpassed her own skills.
"I can't lose to him", — Arabel thought, feeling a surge of competition. She didn't want to give in to Idan, especially in the culinary arts.
Trying not to attract attention, Arabel quietly entered the kitchen. She saw Idan, who was standing with his back to her, cooking. She stared at his silhouette for a moment. Only then did she notice Coco sitting on a chair and licking a lollipop.
When Arabel looked at her, Coco looked up from the lollipop and looked at her. She noticed Arabel, despite her ability to hide, and it didn't surprise Arabel.
Arabel looked at Coco, smiling, and Coco, noticing her smile, winked with her right eye and showed off her lollipop, as if to say, "Everything went well."
Arabel gave him a thumbs-up sign of approval.
Coco, pleased with the praise, happily wagged her tail.
Idan, who had almost finished cooking, noticed her activity and, turning around, saw Coco actively wagging her tail, looking somewhere to the side. When he looked there, he saw no one.
"Belle?" called Idan, making the assumption that Arabel had returned.
No one answered. Idan turned his attention back to Coco, who was now looking at him, licking a lollipop at the same time.
Before he could ask her a question, he was hugged from behind, startling him slightly. However, he quickly realized who it was.
"Hehe, did I scare you?" asked Arabel, canceling her concealment ability.
"You scared me," — Idan replied with a smile. "As you asked, dinner is almost ready."
"Yeah, I see," — Arabel replied, releasing him.
"Wait a bit, and we can get started," Idan asked, starting to serve the prepared dishes to the table.
"I see you've prepared enough portions," — Arabel remarked. "For Hailey and Felicia?"
"Yes, they're our guests," Idan nodded, confirming her guess.
"How did it go?" asked Idan.
"Very good," Arabel said with a smile, sitting down on a chair. "Leo immediately agreed without even asking or thinking."
"But I gave him time so he could think about it well," she added. "I'll visit him at the same time tomorrow to find out his decision."
"What? Really? He surprised me," Idan said, not hiding his surprise.
"Yes, he surprised me too," Arabel agreed. "But you know, if Leo joins, we'll have to work hard on him. Especially with his bad habits and complexes."
"It's quite obvious," Idan nodded. "Although we can appoint someone who will look after him and help him get rid of bad habits and complexes."
"Now, unlike in our previous world, the problem of excess weight is easily solved with potions or a change of bloodline," Idan added. "But before we offer him anything like that, we need to study him carefully and see if it's worth helping him."
Arabel agreed with this opinion.
"What about those three?" she asked, thinking of the other candidates besides Leo. "Esma and Bera have agreed to join our Guild."
"Two of the three have already agreed, and the System has counted them as members of our Guild," Idan replied. "In addition, the System counted another candidate. Of the five required members, three have already joined."
"Phew. It's probably Esma," Arabel suggested. "Bera doesn't have her ID yet."
"All that remains is to ask Hailey and Leo for their opinion tomorrow. I think tomorrow, together with the completion of the process of merging the territory with the core of the spatial storage, we will complete this task." Idan was confident that they would successfully complete the System's task and receive the coveted coupon.
"Is there something you want to ask me?" a slightly hesitant voice asked, and Hailey cautiously peeked around the corner of the hallway. Her nostrils flared, catching the delicious aroma of the dinner that Idan had prepared.
Before Idan could ask how Felicia was doing, Hailey quickly hid around the corner, meeting Arabel's gaze.
"How scary!" she exclaimed mentally, holding her breath in her hiding place.
"Hailey," she heard Arabel say before she could move away. "Come here."
Hailey peeked around the corner and looked at Arabel first. However, this time, she did not see the look that made her heart freeze in fear just a few moments ago.
"Don't be afraid, join us," Arabel said, smiling, but Hailey sensed something dangerous in her smile.
"Okay," — Hailey agreed, cautiously approaching the table.
Idan hesitated for a moment and glanced at Arabel, then added the dishes for Hailey, and soon the three of them sat down at the table.
Without further ado, they began to have dinner.
Arabel, who had already tried Idan's cooking many times, was pleasantly surprised to find that his skill had increased again. She happily began to eat.
Hailey, after tasting her first spoonful, lost touch with reality for a moment.
"It's... it's... so delicious!" she blurted out as soon as she came to her senses. When she saw Arabel and Idan's gazes, she quickly covered her mouth with her hands.
"I'm sorry, I couldn't resist," she apologized with a guilty look and continued to eat.
As time passed, Idan and Arabel noticed Hailey's blissful expression and eagerness as she devoured her food. From time to time, she stopped abruptly, glancing at them, and was embarrassed by her behavior.
"Is it really that delicious?" Idan asked Arabel through a mental link. He, who was already used to his cooking, did not find anything surprising in it. Although, compared to the restaurant food, his cooking was much better, he was aware of that.
"Of course it's delicious," Arabel said with a smile, finishing her portion.
Hailey, in turn, could hardly contain her delight. She finished her portion first, but it was clearly not enough. Her gaze, fixed on the dishes of Idan and Arabel, did not go unnoticed.
"Is it really that delicious? Aren't you exaggerating too much?" finally Arabel couldn't stand it.
"I... I've never eaten anything so delicious and healthy," Hailey confessed. "Everything I ate before was simple food, no different from the food from the old world. But your dishes—not only this one, but also the ones I tried this morning—they are really special."
"Oh!" Idan and Arabel exchanged glances, surprised by such a high rating from Hailey.
"What's the difference?" asked Arabel.
"Are your ingredients from Junonia?" she asked instead.
"Yes, they're from another world," Idan confirmed.
"No wonder," Hailey said. "But what's even more amazing is that you can cook these ingredients while preserving not only their qualities, but also the mana and nutrients contained in them."
"I have yet to meet chefs who know how to properly cook not only the meat of evolved beasts, but also rare ingredients. All they do is eat ordinary food that doesn't retain anything useful from the original products."
This revelation from Hailey not only amazed Idan and Arabel, but also made them both take a fresh look at their Level 2 "Cooking" ability.