NOVEL NEXT Chapter 54
Chapter 54
Mark was feeling a bit flustered. He had been responsible for the kitchen of the Demon King Castle since the previous generation, but he had never experienced a situation like this in his life.
“Ah, Mark. How much sugar should I add?”
“Add 90 grams.”
“I see.”
Nahun poured the sugar into the bowl and began to stir, while Seere watched with a smile. It was the Demon King and their master who had come to the kitchen to cook.
Mark was wondering what kind of situation this was. The duel to decide the executive officers was probably in full swing, and it was peculiar enough that they had come to the kitchen instead of watching that…
‘They are actually making a cake themselves?’
Seere had watched Mark make cakes and puddings a few times when they were little, but for the royal master to come to the kitchen and cook—this was truly remarkable.
“What should I do now?”
“You should use a double boiler here.”
“Got it.”
They weren’t even using magic. Given Nahun’s skills, they could easily make hundreds of cakes with magic without needing to do it by hand…
‘Their devotion to Seere is impressive.’
There was a reason Seere followed them so closely. Mark was touched and tried to help Nahun. However, Nahun stopped him.
“Mark, just teach me what you don’t know from the side. I will handle everything.”
“If I help you, it’ll be much easier.”
“I know that, but I promised to do it myself. This is a present for Seere.”
“That’s right, Mark. So let the teacher do it.”
“Alright, understood.”
If it was a present, that meant Seere had wished for it. Mark had known that Seere followed Nahun well since they were already a teacher, but wanting them to make the cake by hand like this—it showed just how much Seere liked Nahun.
As Mark thought, Seere had a blissful expression on their face.
‘The teacher is making this for me…’
For them to make a cake just for Seere! This was a revolution, a revelation for them. They felt so happy they could almost fly to the sky right at that moment.
What’s more, it was Nahun’s idea, not Seere’s suggestion. Feeling how much Nahun cherished them made Seere feel great ever since yesterday.
‘The teacher focused on making the cake looks amazing…’
Seere thought this must be happiness. They wanted to enjoy the moment endlessly. But…
“Your Majesty, it’s time to go. The first match has already concluded.”
Kain’s voice announced the end of that time. It seemed that of the 16 candidates Seere picked, 8 had already been eliminated.
“Go on. When you come back, I’ll have a delicious cake ready for you.”
“Yes…”
Seeing Seere rise from their seat regretfully and approach Kain, Nahun smiled gently. Once Seere left, Nahun spoke to Mark.
“We have to hurry and finish.”
“Yes, I will assist with all my heart. Now you need to whisk this to create foam.”
Following Mark’s advice, Nahun quickly began to stir with a spatula while using the double boiler. After stirring quickly for a while, as Mark had said, bubbles began to form.
“Now, you need to eliminate the bubbles while ensuring the foam doesn’t disappear. If bubbles form, holes will appear when baking the cake, so you must eliminate as many as possible.”
Nahun followed Mark’s instructions precisely. They didn’t insert their own opinions or thoughts, as they knew Mark was much more knowledgeable about cooking. Seeing this, Mark thought.
‘I was worried since you said it was your first time, but you’re doing well.’
Mark thought to himself that the position of a royal master was not something anyone could just take up, and began explaining the next steps to Nahun.
“Now, sift in the strong flour. And keep stirring.”
“Understood.”
Nahun sifted the prepared strong flour into the mixture and stirred gently to ensure the foam didn’t collapse. Nods of satisfaction came from Mark.
“Now we need to add the melted butter.”
“How much?”
“About 25 grams.”
Nahun quickly grabbed the butter with a measuring spoon and mixed it well. As they continued stirring, Mark eventually remarked that it was ready.
“You can pour it into the mold now.”
Mark had prepared the mold beforehand. Nahun carefully poured the batter into the lined mold. Mark then instructed to place it into the oven.
“It needs to bake at 180 degrees for 25 minutes. Using magic would make it easier, but…”
“That’s fine. I want to do everything by hand.”
Seeing the effort Nahun was putting in for Seere moved Mark slightly. His heartfelt devotion towards Seere was also considerable. Mark praised Nahun’s attitude internally and nodded.
“Understood.”
Nahun used the oven to bake the cake instead of magic. They carefully took the mold out and flipped it over onto a plate. As they raised it slowly, the cake slid out perfectly.
“Oh, well done. It’s perfect.”
“Really? I’m relieved.”
“Now, after cooling, you need to cut it lengthwise into three equal parts. While it cools, let’s make the whipped cream.”
“Sure.”
Mark took out the ingredients for the whipped cream and placed them in front of Nahun. Milk, sugar, and heavy cream. Nahun tilted their head in confusion as Mark brought out the heavy cream despite saying they would make whipped cream.
“Using just heavy cream would be bland. You need to mix in a bit of milk and some sugar to make delicious whipped cream.”
“I see.”
Mark handed Nahun a large bowl filled with ice. Then, he instructed to place the bowl for whipping cream on top of it.
“We need to keep the whipped cream cool to prevent it from separating. Place the bowl on top and mix the heavy cream, milk, and sugar.”
Nahun nodded, reflecting on how remarkable it was that Mark handled such tasks for Seere.
‘Indeed, a profession related to cooking isn’t something just anyone can do.’
Nahun followed Mark’s instructions accurately. In fact, it can be difficult for beginners to follow even simple instructions, but Nahun seemed to have a talent for it and succeeded without issue.
With the whipped cream finished, Nahun spread it over the three layers of cake. They sliced strawberries thinly to place them on top and layered more cake on.
After repeating this process and creating a three-layer cake, they covered it with whipped cream overall. Finally, they placed delicious strawberries on top…
“…Oh.”
“Well done, Nahun. It’s perfect!”
The strawberry whipped cream cake was complete. Nahun glanced out the window. What had started in the morning was now nearing noon.
“Is Seere still not done?”
“Since they haven’t come back yet, it seems so. Ah, it worked out well.”
“Huh?”
“Let’s deliver it directly to the Majesty. That way, they’ll be even happier.”
“Hmm.”
Hearing Mark’s suggestion, Nahun pondered briefly. Then they nodded, accepting Mark’s idea.
“You’re right.”
“Shall I accompany you?”
“No. Mark, you have things to do, right? I’ll go alone.”
“Yes, understood. I’m sure the Majesty will like it.”
Mark’s compliment made Nahun chuckle. Holding the cake they made for the first time, they said.
“I hope so.”
#
Continuing from yesterday, the final selection exam for the executives was taking place today. The 16 remaining candidates were facing off to determine the final 4. While the first round had been a simple tournament format, the current process was a bit different now that only 8 contestants were left.
First, the 4 winners would be chosen, and then 2 of the remaining 4 losers would be selected again. The winners would face each other, and after identifying another 2 losers, the 2 chosen from the losers’ match would face off again.
Ultimately, the two who won all would become the squad leaders, while the losers of the semi-finals would face the winners of the losers’ match to identify two vice leaders.
Thus, the process took some time. The winners had just been announced, and the losers’ match had recently concluded. It was time for the winners to face each other.
“Yawn.”
“Are you bored? It seems there’s no one in particular you’re watching closely.”
“No, they’re good, but…”
Particularly, Seere’s attention caught on Celestia from the 4th Legion and one of the applicants from this selection who was a high orc. High orcs were a rare race that was a higher tier of orcs. They were not only stronger than standard orcs but had highly intelligent brains. They had demonstrated their sharp intellect earlier when the 4 winners were decided.
But Seere was feeling bored. And the reason was something only Seere precisely knew.
‘The cake…’
Watching Nahun make the cake was more enjoyable than observing these outstanding talents at work.
‘The cake made by my teacher…’
They wished to eat the cake made by Nahun as soon as possible and hoped the results would be concluded quickly, so they couldn’t help but feel bored.
In that moment of thinking, Seere abruptly blinked awake from their drowsiness and quickly turned around. They were reassured that they hadn’t misperceived anything.
“Teacher?”
“Is everything proceeding smoothly?”
It was Nahun. The sudden feeling of their magic had startled Seere. Seere looked up at them in surprise.
“Uh, how did you get here? The cake…”
“You didn’t think I’d leave it behind, did you?”
Nahun said that while holding out a small paper box in front of Seere. The square-shaped box made it clear what was inside without needing to say.
“I made it all.”
“You came to bring it yourself?”
“It’s best to eat whatever’s made right away, right?”
Nahun placed the cake box on the small table prepared for Seere to set down their teacup. They opened the box to reveal a beautifully made strawberry whipped cream cake.
“Wow!!”
As soon as Seere saw the cake, they couldn’t help but smile widely in admiration.
“Winner, Murciela!”
At that moment, the first victory of the matches was declared. But for Seere, the outcome of the exam was irrelevant. Their gaze was solely focused on the cake.
‘This was made by my teacher?’
They had mentioned it was their first time, yet it looked extremely high quality. With Mark present beside them, they wondered if he had helped out.
“Mark only guided me from the side. I did everything myself.”
“Really? You made this yourself, Teacher?”
“Of course.”
Nahun smiled warmly. In Seere’s expression, an innocent and cute face from childhood was visible. Nahun was pleased with their decision to make this and silently praised themselves for the excellent idea.
“I’ll cut you a piece, so give it a try.”
Nahun carefully sliced the cake using a bread knife they had brought along with the box. Then, they placed a piece of the cake onto a plate that they had also prepared, handing it over with a fork. Nahun was thoroughly prepared.
Seere marveled at the piece of cake in front of them. With layers of strawberries and whipped cream, it was impossible for it to taste bad.
A smile stayed on their face. They loved cake already, but knowing it was made by their favorite teacher made it taste even better.
“This is a strawberry cake made by Teacher for the ‘first’ time, right?”
“Huh? That’s right. I haven’t made something like this before, but it turned out more fun than I expected.”
“Hehe… So I’m tasting Teacher’s cake for the ‘first’ time.”
“…That’s right.”
Nahun had felt Seere’s emphasis on ‘first’ from earlier. When Nahun tilted their head in confusion, Seere quickly picked up the fork and took a piece of strawberry, cream, and cake in a suitable ratio.
“Nom.”
Then they swallowed it all at once. In that moment, Nahun felt slightly tense for some reason. They worried about what might happen if Seere said it tasted terrible since it was their first cake.
“Hmm~♪”
But there was no way it could taste bad. Frankly, even if it were mediocre, just having the fact that it was made for them by Nahun would have made it taste delicious. Given the excellent quality of the cake, they objectively found it delightful.
“It’s so delicious, Teacher!”
“Really?”
“Yes! It’s tastier than the one Mark made!”
This was Seere’s mistaken impression as their objectivity shattered. It felt like they had at least 500 bonus points simply because it was made for them by Nahun.
Watching Seere eat like a child made Nahun smile. They then spoke to Seere.
“Seere.”
“Yes?”
“Always remember that you come first for me. Even if I’m worried about others, it doesn’t mean I’ll care about them as much as I do for you.”
Although Nahun spun their words, the implication was to not overly guard against others, including Citri. Seere listened to Nahun’s words for a moment, staring blankly at them.
“So, that’s why I made the cake for you. If it were someone else’s request, I wouldn’t have bothered with it at all.”
“You made it just for me? So will you keep making it for me in the future?”
“Yes, I will only make it for you in the future. There’s no reason for me to do that for anyone else.”
Nahun reassured Seere like that. It was to ensure they wouldn’t feel jealous about losing their teacher. But Nahun was unaware of the fact.
“Thank you, Teacher.”
“Yes, good. If you understand, I’ll occasionally make you treats in the future.”
“Yes.”
…The meaning of his words was being conveyed to Seere in entirely different ways.