Chapter 58

Was he thinking that it's delicious despite how much he eyed it so judgmentally earlier? Was he being so flustered because it's yummier than he was expecting?

With Reina's eyes narrowing as she giggled, she looked at Luke.

"If you think it tastes delicious,"

Having already grasped what he's feeling from his actions, Reina crossed her arms and pointed it out.

"..."

"Or if you don't, then just say it. I'll just eat alone, whatever."

As much as a cook's desire was to make delicious dishes, a good cook also had a great desire to enjoy those dishes and reward their tongue.

Reina grabbed the bowl again, but this time, Luke quickly overlapped his hands over hers.

"…It's delicious."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

Oh… For her to be recognized by that 'Luke' Penfound. It took a while for him to admit it, but this meant that Reina's cooking skills really were considerable.

"How did you come across this idea?"

Recognizing Reina's cooking, he then began to ask this and that, as if there was nothing more for him to hide. Of course, in the meantime, he couldn't let go of the fork he was using to eat the kalguksu.

"What idea?"

"The idea of adding noodles into the soup like this."

In the Pluntria Empire, pasta and soup were common enough things to eat, but it was safe to say that there's no such thing as noodles in soup.

Of course, if you want to be more technical about it, the use of noodles in their dishes wasn't so widespread in the empire. But, in any case, it was for this reason that Reina's cooking was quite fresh to Luke.

"I came up with it because I want to eat noodles with warm soup on a cold day."

By any stretch of the imagination, this woman right here looked like the very picture of a con artist through and through. Even though she didn't come up with it, she let the words flow out of her lips seamlessly.

"I thought that if I cook a noodle dish full of warm soup, it'll be as if my frozen body would thaw and melt."

"Mm… Something to eat on a cold day, huh. Not bad?"

Eyes twinkling now, Luke opened his lips as if he was about to ask Reina something again.

However, his words were cut short as a group of people stormed right into the kitchen, immediately kicking up a fuss.

"Then—"

THUD!

"Hey, hey, hey! You promised that you'll cook only for me!"

Coming into the room in such an unruly manner, Paul shouted at once as he flailed his arms and complained.

A sweet, fruity scent similar to a lychee exuded from him right then, wafting in thickly. Reina surmised that he probably ate a whole basket of fruits again tonight.

"Hey, didn't I also tell you not to eat fruits at night, but what did you do, huh. How many times have you complained to me about how bloated you feel after that?"

"Hehe."

"And when the heck did I promise to cook only for you?"

"You promised to me in a dream of mine!"

"…Just stop it with the nonsense. There's more dough to go around anyway, so if you're gonna eat, just sit quietly why don't you."

It's a known rule that kalguksu noodles would be better as time goes on, so she made a lot of dough that she could cook and eat more tomorrow.

"Are you guys going to eat as well?"

At her question, Letis and Eli nodded.

With Fran remaining, Reina looked at him and waited for him to answer.

Until the end, he looked so hesitant about whatever it was that he found scary. Even so, he reluctantly took a seat and answered.

"…Me too, yeah."

Watching him act like that, Reina inwardly clicked her tongue.

'This guy's really an M, I see.'

What a certainly unique preference.

"I'll help you."

While Reina turned to prepare and make the food, Luke stood up from his seat and approached her side.

At the same time, Eli jumped up like a spring and rose to his feet as well.

"Me too."

"Then, can you help me knead the dough, Eli?"

"Okay!"

"What about me?"

"Chef, you'll be making the broth with me."

"Chef?"

Chef.

The term Chef de cuisine in French meant 'chief', 'conductor', 'leader', etc., and down the line, the term came to refer to the 'chef' or 'cook' itself.

Where, you ask? On Earth. In other words, the word 'chef' did not exist here.

"Um, uh… That's what you call the best cook."

Well, in this place where no other people from Earth resided, Reina's words were the truth and nothing but the truth. There was no other correct answer. So, if that's how she were to define the term, then so be it.

"Chef, you say? That doesn't sound bad."

Perhaps he liked the new title that Reina gave him. With that, Luke rolled up his sleeves, a small smile tugging up on the corners of his lips.

'Holy… Those muscles, omg.'

Any first-rate chef would need to pack some tremendous muscle that would make you go, 'omg omg', too. Therefore, almost always, any chef worth his weight would have such phenomenally fine muscles.

Thus, Luke followed exactly this law. As he rolled up his sleeves, he revealed the hidden, fine muscles of his arms.

Reflexively, Reina's gaze gravitated towards Luke's forearm, her pale purple eyes reflecting those muscles.

"You're gonna wear down our Luke. Stop it."

If it's like that, then Ethan would have long since vanished already at this point, with all the staring she'd done to him.

"Don't be ridiculous and keep your hands to yourself, my dear friend."

"Yes, we can't possibly lose our precious chef to a poisonous witch."

Poisonous witch? These punks, seriously.

"Then, want me to just ditch everything?"

"No, ma'am."

Paul quietly lowered his hand. Meanwhile, Letis from the other side of the kitchen suddenly opened his lips to speak.

"Now that I think about it, Reina, seems like you're flirting around here and there?"

Oh. Reina thought this kid was just coo coo bananas, but it turned out that he's a sharp nut, huh.

As though he had discovered something incredibly important, Letis swept a hand over his lips, and there was a grave expression on his face.

"Ethan is 'my love', I'm 'my sweetheart', Fran is 'my darling', Eli is 'my rice cake'… and on top of that, there's the new addition of 'my chef'."

A brief moment of silence blanketed the entire kitchen.

Letis, who was the culprit to this silence, grinned playfully.

"Your love is much too spread out, don't you think, Reina?"

And, as if to hit the nail on the coffin, Letis' final words made the air in the kitchen sink heavily.

The mood suddenly got weird.