Learning To Cook

It was soon bright. The kids were about to wake up any time soon if it was a normal routine. However, since they slept late yesterday, they would have woken up much later. That was true, except for Nova and Enma who were out of the house when the phoenix had arrived and let out its voice.

Before heading back to the orphanage, Leo decided to stop by the market for a while to buy some vegetables for the kids.

Darion slipped a few copper coins into his hands before leaving last night, so he used most of them to buy some vegetables and food items.

Since it was early in the morning, the market wasn't that busy. Although it was a poor village, there still was a market where people would come to buy things.

Most people were asleep and some were in awe of the phoenix that they saw. Hence, the market had yet to be set. Leo, wasted a lot more time admiring the majestic feather and by the time he decided to walk back to the orphanage, it was almost noon.

"Buy some meat! Fresh from the farm!"

"Vegetables for sale! Discounts available! Hurry and buy before it's sold out!"

Leo had to squeeze in between the crowd that had accumulated after the market was set up and people had become busy. After much difficulty, he finally managed to buy two bags full of vegetables. He placed them all into the spatial ring.

Satisfied, Leo walked back to the orphanage with a smile etched on his face. By that time, it was already noon.

"Leo! Where have you been!?", Ai called out anxiously as she saw Leo entering the orphanage.

Darion had already gone back as soon as it was morning. Of course, Leo also had walked away toward the market which was much safer than the graveyard or forest areas.

"Hello, Auntie!", Leo said as he took out the bags and placed all of them on the wooden table.

"Answer my question, Leo. Darion told me you would be back soon, but I didn't see even a single strand of your hair until now!", Ai furiously asked.

"I was with grandma, Father's friend. She wanted to visit his grave. So I accompanied her.", Leo said casually while trying to not look in her eyes.

"I understand, but you are still young, Leo. It's not safe for a child like you to roam around the streets at night. This world is filled with bad people who care of nothing but themselves.", she said

Leo took out the vegetables one by one, "Alright, Auntie. I won't do it again. I bought a few vegetables from the market."

Ai exhaled loudly, "Where did you get the money to buy them?"

She asked as she recalled that Leo had handed all the change to Ai, including the red-designed expensive pouch.

"Uncle Darion gave me some coins before leaving me last night, so I thought I should buy some vegetables instead.", Leo answered honestly.

'Though, why would he give me money at all? The situation didn't make sense…'

'I wonder what he keeps thinking…', Leo wondered.

Ai picked one of the vegetables and inspected it. It was a white radish and seeing how smooth the white radish was, it wasn't hard to say that it was quite fresh.

There were other veggies as well which looked extremely fresh.

"Thank you for buying these, Leo. It saves me the trouble of waking up early tomorrow to visit the market.", Ai thanked earnestly. Normally, it was her duty to ensure the vegetables were stocked enough for all of them while Leko took care of the orphans. However, since Leko had passed away, she was currently stuck in a dilemma. If she had to visit the market, no one would take care of the orphans.

Moreover, she was way too tired. After seeing the dark circles again, Leo realized that she hadn't slept the previous night either, after returning from the graveyard.

"No problem, Auntie."

"But I think you should really go and sleep."

"It will affect your health because you have been awake for almost three days straight.", Leo was worried.

Ai patted Leo's head, thanking the gods for such a sensible child.

"I'm going to cook lunch now. Would you like to come and help me?", she asked as she ignored his request.

She hadn't made breakfast as all the kids were asleep. Of course, she wanted to wake them up but thought it was best if they slept for a little longer.

Even her mind was blank as the time for breakfast passed as she kept sitting in the same place. It was only an hour earlier when she snapped out of it and realized that it was about to be noon.

Nova and Enma were the only ones awake and had gone to take a little bath in the bathroom when Leo arrived.

Regardless, Leo nodded and picked up the vegetables with Ai, a bit hesitantly though. Both of them walked to the kitchen at the back and started prepping for the meal.

"Okay. How about I teach you how to make boiled radishes? When you are no longer under my care in the future, at least you could still make yourself a meal.", Ai asked.

Leo nodded willingly. "Okay, Auntie."

Yes, Leo had no idea about cooking despite having the memories of an adult. That was because, in the past life, he was never required to cook. He was a young master who was served by many. So what led to his doom? This would be a story for another time.

'Ha… All I know is alchemy, not cooking.'

'I think this is a good chance to learn cooking.', he grinned as he looked at her in excitement.

Ai proceeded to instruct Leo to wash the white radishes thoroughly as she sliced a few pieces of ginger. After Leo washed the white radishes, Ai cut all of them into small cubes.

"Okay, firstly, we need to add water into this pot.", Ai said as she pulled out a large pot.

She poured water into the pot until it was one-quarter full. Then, she carried it on top of the unlit fireplace.