Chapter 30: Cooking with Heavenly Fire

"Uh... Liam, why did you bring that thing out? Even if you're upset about Shogun asking you to cook, there's no need to do anything drastic, right?"

Yae Miko raised an eyebrow as she looked at the familiar, scorching hot greatsword in Liam's hand, a peculiar expression on her face.

"What do you know? Who's the better cook here, you or me?"

Liam shot a glance at Yae Miko, who was watching the scene unfold with interest, and retorted irritably. Then, he thrust the Judgement of Shamash into the stove. Judging by the marks left behind, it was clear that this wasn't the first time Liam had done this.

Liam then turned to the ingredients on the counter, washed them thoroughly, and with a flick of his wrist, the ingredients floated into the air. From his waist, Liam drew the Seven Thunders of Retribution. A flash of purple light, and a magnificent purple kitchen knife appeared in Liam's hand.

"Submit to me, ingredients!"

With that declaration, a flurry of knife strokes followed, slicing all the ingredients with precision.

"Heavenly Fire, ignite!"

"Boom!"

At Liam's command, flames erupted from the Judgement of Shamash, instantly raising the temperature in the kitchen to an unbearable level.

Yae Miko: "..."

Though Liam's movements were swift and precise, Yae Miko couldn't shake the feeling that something was amiss.

Also, you're really using those two divine weapons for this? They're going to cry, aren't they?

But Liam paid no mind to Yae Miko's internal complaints. A qualified chef must focus entirely on the task at hand.

Under Yae Miko's astonished gaze, Liam began to perform a series of bizarre culinary techniques.

"One pot, two dishes!"

"Roar, pots and pans!"

...

"Huh? What's that noise?"

A nearby patrol guard, hearing Liam's voice, turned to his companion with a puzzled expression.

"Oh! It's your first time here, right? That's Lord Liam cooking. For some reason, Lord Liam always says strange things while cooking. Maybe it's just an eccentricity of the powerful. You'll get used to it. Just pretend you didn't hear anything."

The other guard, who often patrolled the area, responded nonchalantly. Though initially surprised by it, he had since grown accustomed to Liam's quirks.

"Oh, I see."

The new guard nodded in understanding.

Liam, a master of the culinary arts, cooked quickly. In no time, he had prepared several dishes.

Yae Miko, watching Liam with great interest, chuckled and said, "Little Liam, how long have you had this condition?"

Liam's face darkened at her words. Was this sly fox implying that he was unwell?

"What do you mean by that, Miko?"

"Yingying~! I'm just concerned about you! Look at that expression of yours. Fine, I won't say anything else."

Yae Miko pouted, feigning hurt as she gazed at Liam.

Fists clenched! His fists were clenched tight!

Liam was now seriously considering punching this sly fox in the face. How dare she make those noises! He took a deep breath.

I'm not angry! I'm not angry!

Repeating this mantra in his mind several times, Liam gradually calmed down. He turned to Yae Miko and said, "I know what you're implying, but let me just say that I'm fine. Don't overthink it."

Liam was the type of person who, once focused on a task, would become entirely engrossed in it. Combined with his occasional eccentric tendencies, this meant that he often ended up shouting theatrically while cooking. Though it might seem embarrassing, Liam's thick skin meant that the awkwardness was always someone else's burden to bear.

He then turned back to the dish he was still working on. With a snap of his fingers:

"Clink, clink, clink~!"

A small basin of ice fell into the porcelain bowl in front of Liam, along with some prepared dough and batter beside it.

"Hey, Liam, what are you making now?" Yae Miko asked curiously, watching his movements.

"Fried ice cubes!"

Without turning his head, Liam replied. Yes, today he wanted to try making fried ice cubes, a dish supposedly quite challenging.

"Oh~! You can fry ice cubes?"

Yae Miko's interest was piqued. She wanted to see how this would turn out. Suddenly, she remembered something and said to Liam, "By the way, Liam, will the ice cubes you created contain any of that Honkai energy? You wouldn't want to make Shogun sick, would you?"

"Don't worry. This is just regular ice formed by controlling the temperature with my powers. There's no problem."

Liam wasn't foolish enough to serve Honkai-infused ice cubes to the general.

"Ah, I see."

Yae Miko nodded in understanding, and Liam continued with his task.

The flames from the Judgement of Shamash intensified, causing the oil in the pot to boil rapidly. With swift movements, Liam coated the ice cubes in dough and batter, then dropped them into the oil.

In a matter of seconds, a batch of fried ice cubes was ready. Liam stored them in his spatial inventory and then began working on another dish, a signature creation of his using the Heavenly Fire.

He then presented a freshly baked toast pizza. All that was left was to add the final touch.

Drawing the Judgement of Shamash again, Liam transformed it into twin guns. He approached the toast pizza and, with precise control, fired a small flame from one of the guns, lightly charring the top of the pizza. Satisfied with the result, Liam nodded.

The Heavenly Fire Toast was complete!

Storing the dish in his spatial inventory, Liam turned to Yae Miko, who had been watching him the entire time.

"Have you seen enough? Let's go."

"Hehe~! Liam, what do you think the creator of those weapons would feel if they knew you were using them like this?"

Yae Miko teased with a playful smile. She had seen the power of the Heavenly Fire with her own eyes, and knowing its potential, she wondered how its creator would react to seeing it used for cooking.

"What would they feel, huh?"

Liam thought for a moment, recalling Velvi's quirky personality, and then answered, "She might find it amusing, though she probably won't get the chance to see it..."

Thinking of the now-extinct Velvi, Liam couldn't help but shake his head. Vel-V had truly been a genius.

After saying that, Liam left the kitchen, with Yae Miko following closely behind. She noticed the change in his expression and asked, "Liam, do you know the creator of these weapons?"

"Well... I guess you could say I do."

Liam pondered for a moment before replying. A one-sided acquaintance should count, right? If he ever got the chance, he'd love to visit the world of Honkai someday.

The reminiscence didn't last long because Liam had no idea what time it was in that world. It could be before the previous civilization, or perhaps the Insect had just started its journey. Maybe it had already become the God of Earth.

"How about traveling to the world of 'Honkai' after awakening?"

This thought suddenly arose in Liam's mind, but he immediately dismissed it. He felt that the world of 'Honkai' wouldn't be able to withstand the Honkai energy that would leak out during his awakening.

Maybe there were other ways, Liam thought, lowering his head in deep contemplation. He truly wanted to see the living Insects in person.

"What are you thinking so deeply about, Little Liam?"

Yae Miko noticed the frown on Liam's face and couldn't help but smile.

"Something important. But never mind, there's no good solution for now."

Liam sighed. Indeed, there wasn't a good solution, so he just let it go. After all, he had just arrived in Teyvat and hadn't even met the mysterious one yet, so how could he just leave?

Then, Liam and Yae Miko arrived at Raiden Shogun's room. As soon as they entered, Liam's vision went black again, and he felt something soft pressing against his face.

"Ah~♂! Suddenly, the Insects don't seem that important anymore!"

"Oh my~! Shogun, you're unexpectedly bold. You don't even restrain yourself with me here?"

Yae Miko couldn't help but tease as she watched Raiden Shogun hug Liam and smother his face.

"Why are you here, Miko?"

Raiden Shogun calmly stroked the back of Liam's head, her expression unflustered as she looked at Yae Miko, showing no signs of embarrassment.

"Hehe, I just happened to run into Little Liam outside, so I thought I'd tag along."

Yae Miko smiled at the greatly changed Raiden Shogun.

At that moment, Raiden Shogun loosened her grip on Liam. He reluctantly left that comfortable embrace and looked up to see Ei, whose face was slightly flushed but still wore a faint smile.

"Ei..."

Since that incident, his relationship with Ei had improved considerably. Even when the Shogun embraced him, Ei wouldn't immediately take over and push him away anymore, although she still felt a bit shy.

"Liam, you're here!"

Ei was very happy to see Liam. Nowadays, she had nothing to do and just looked forward to Liam visiting her. Honestly, if it weren't for a bit of shyness, she might have agreed to the Shogun's suggestion of sleeping with him.

"Oh my~! My dear friend, I'm standing right here, yet you haven't even glanced at me. That really hurts! Is Little Liam really that charming, making you unable to even look at me? Even the Shogun greeted me!"

Seeing Ei's eyes full of Liam, Yae Miko couldn't help but speak sarcastically.

Only then did Ei notice Yae Miko standing behind Liam, and her face turned red with a hint of embarrassment. She quickly responded to Yae Miko.

"Sorry, Miko, that was my mistake for not noticing you. But why are you with Liam?"

Yae Miko: "..."

Why am I with him? Do you not care about his safety at all? I even had to watch over him personally. While you're either eating or sleeping, making him cook for you and tell you stories, weren't you his teacher before? Is this how you act as a teacher? Not even the great masters were this absurd!

"Why am I with Little Liam? It's because of someone who's as lazy as a little pig and loves to eat, making him fed up~!"

Yae Miko looked at Ei with a sly smile and continued speaking cheerfully.

"Little Liam said this was your last meal. After that, he'll head to the Grand Narukami Shrine to take care of the most beautiful and wise Guuji, which is me~!"

"Liam, is what Miko said true? Are you really fed up with me?"

Ei panicked upon hearing this. She quickly grabbed Liam's sleeve and looked at him with pitiful eyes.

Liam: "..."

Seeing Ei like this, Liam felt a bit speechless. Wasn't she smarter when they first met? The sly fox was obviously joking, so why did she act like she was being abandoned?

But despite his thoughts, Liam reached out and patted Ei's head, reassuring her.

"Don't worry. Miko is just teasing you. Both you and the Shogun treat me well. How could I be fed up with you? It's more like you might be fed up with me!"

Hearing this, Ei breathed a sigh of relief and then looked at Yae Miko with a gradually dangerous expression.

"Miko!"

Ei let go of Liam. Behind her, the Thousand-Armed, Hundred-Eyed God of Thunder appeared, and in a flash, Musou Isshin materialized in her hand. Instantly, the once clear skies over Inazuma City became overcast, and lightning element surged violently.

Even Yae Miko was startled by the sudden change. She looked at Ei's dark expression and the crackling lightning on Musou Isshin. The usually fearless fox couldn't help but swallow nervously.

Wait, Ei, are you serious?

Seeing the increasingly dangerous aura emanating from Musou Isshin, Yae Miko had no doubt that Ei was genuinely considering cutting her down with that sword.

"Ei, calm down, put the sword away! I was just joking, no need for this!"

"Don't worry, you won't die!"

Yae Miko desperately tried to explain, but it seemed Ei wasn't inclined to accept the sly fox's excuses.

Meanwhile, Yae Miko was subtly signaling Liam with her eyes, urging him to intervene. The sight made Liam want to laugh. The sly fox had finally messed up!

In a good mood, Liam quickly pulled out his newly purchased camera and, with a "click," captured the moment. Looking at the photo of the flustered Yae Miko, Liam grinned even more. The next time the fox teased him, he'd whip out this photo and mock her mercilessly!

After putting the photo away, Liam was about to try and calm the situation when a gentle voice interrupted.

"My, my~! Such a lively scene!"

Raiden Makoto suddenly appeared beside Liam, smiling warmly. She glanced at the panicked Yae Miko and chuckled softly.

"Miko, I told you not to tease Ei. She's straightforward and might actually cut you down."

Then, Raiden Makoto turned to Ei and spoke softly.

"Alright, Ei, let it go. Do you really want to cut down Miko?"

"Sister, I..."

"Hmm—?"

Ei tried to say something but was instantly silenced by a single look from Raiden Makoto.