The Personal Chef of the Sorceress Who Can’t Eat Alone

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What should I do first when I reach the coast?

That’s right.

I need to eat freshly caught seafood that you can’t find in stores or markets.

No matter how fresh it is, nothing compares to the taste of a creature that’s still flopping around locally.

Fortunately, the area near Borderedge Village is by the coast.

In fact, I’ve heard there are mudflats as well.

Of course, while I need to be careful with seafood caught from the mud, it seems like the mudflat is hidden down there because it’s high tide right now.

Yet, Karem didn’t give up on the fresh seafood.

So there are two methods.

Karem chose one of them.

Swish—!

“…Are you catching anything?”

“Can’t you tell by looking?”

“I’m just saying that because I know.”

Mary looked down into the bucket filled with seawater, which had only snow that had fallen from the sky until now.

Indeed. Karem had not caught a single fish so far.

The only things that were dwindling were the bait and Karem’s patience.

At first, Catherine, who had been interested in how well he was catching fish, seemed to lose interest and had laid back on a Servianus-style sofa behind Karem, yawning.

“If you don’t catch anything, why not just give up and hire an adventurer or a villager—”

“Guh… No, there’s a fish right down there.”

The sea, appearing even darker due to the gloomy sky, was void of any activity for quite some time by the pier as the shape of a fish clearly became visible.

“It just won’t bite the hook.”

“Don’t you think giving up and just buying some would be the quicker way?”

“Just one more time. Just one more time.”

“That ‘one more time’ is how many times—”

Karem silently cast his fishing line.

Whoosh— The hook with bait flew through the air and landed in the water with a soft plop.

‘Well, I suppose it’ll figure itself out.’

Mary, who had been poking fun at Karem’s reactions, returned to Catherine’s side.

“When do you think he’ll give up?”

“Probably never give up but change his method.”

“Change methods?”

“Yeah. Just think of that guy’s obsessive stubbornness regarding food.”

“Oh.”

Catherine shook her head at the sight of Karem gripping the fishing rod while sitting at an awkward angle on the pier.

Hours passed like that, and soon it would be lunchtime, so a resolution was about to be drawn.

“I guess he’ll bring home some results one way or another.”

“Results, you say?”

Mary tilted her head in curiosity as she looked down at Catherine.

“Not a single fish caught so far, you know?”

“Right. Look. Seems like patience has reached its limit.”

“Hmm? Ah.”

Catherine raised a finger, noticing Karem had tossed aside his fishing rod and had started to remove his outerwear.

“Karem has finally lost his mind. To think he would even consider jumping into the winter sea in this snowfall?”

“Well, to be precise, he’s still wearing a pair of pants and a shirt.”

Catherine lightly brushed off Mary’s gaze that questioned the significance of that in this situation.

“Well, he must be mad.”

“Are you going to just let him?”

“What? You think he might catch frostbite or something?”

“There are no holy relics left, though?”

“True, but blessings and grace remain unchanged.”

Mary fell silent.

Thinking back, it didn’t seem likely that something like that would happen.

As proof, Karem appeared completely unfazed by his outfit that one wouldn’t even wear in midsummer Iceland.

It seemed he had been a bit chilly before, but now he seemed utterly unconcerned by the cold.

Splash—!

“Ugh! It’s cold!”

…Though winter waters were probably an exception.

Yet, Karem didn’t come back up and stayed submerged, suggesting he could endure it well enough.

Catherine hesitated at the sight.

‘He’s really just going to jump in like that?’

Then she quickly came to a realization.

‘No, it’s fine. With divine magic, he’ll manage somehow.’

If he needed cold resistance magic, he would have asked for it before jumping in. The way he dove in, he must be prepared to self-protect and took the plunge.

Suddenly, she wondered if he could even cast that protection magic underwater.

To cut to the chase, Karem could indeed cast it.

[Winter’s Veil]

One of the basic divine spells passed down in the Three Gods’ Church, a spell that protects the body from cold winds.

The issue lay elsewhere.

‘Wait, that spell…’

Even without the master’s technique, neglecting to practice would lead to regression.

Unless Karem had been using it regularly, which was unlikely, he had forgotten most of the spells he learned from Iona.

It wasn’t that he had completely forgotten.

He was well aware there were spells; it was just that how to cast them had become blurry.

Unless there was a reason to cast them, of course. The cold would have been manageable with a few layers of clothing, and the ice magic Catherine was throwing at Karem posed no threat at all.

Thanks to acquired blessings, grace, and magical resistance.

‘Ah, whatever. I mean, I probably won’t even get frostbite.’

Furthermore, being underwater seemed to lessen the cold more than being above it.

As Karem scoured the seabed, which undulated with dark waves, he felt the thick seaweed crowding around him, and suddenly turned his head.

Though faintly, he hadn’t missed it.

While serving Catherine, Mary suddenly recalled something.

“But wait, you jumped in without any tools or gear. How on earth are you going to catch fish—”

Splash—whoosh!

Suddenly, something long shot out of the water, and Mary was momentarily at a loss for words.

Soaring through the sky in a perfect arc, it eventually landed on the sand at the pier’s entrance.

Catherine quickly raised herself up to get a better look and shrugged it off.

“An ice spear?”

“Looks like an ice spear.”

“Last time, he created an ice wall with a single kick, and this time it’s a similar ice spear? His divine power seems to be growing stranger by the day.”

With its diameter and shape akin to an ice spear.

With the evident divine power resonating from it.

It was an ice spear with physical force and penetrative ability that was far more threatening than any mid-level attack spell from a skilled ice magic wizard.

Wondering if she should deploy defensive magic to prevent herself from being accidentally struck by the spear that was flying blind, Catherine pondered briefly, but for some reason, the ice spear didn’t shoot up from the sea again.

“Phew! Ha!”

Karem, submerged in the winter sea, surfaced periodically to take a breath and then dove back down.

Suddenly, Mary struck upon an idea.

Lunch was just around the corner.

‘Oh, wait. Isn’t this my chance to prepare lunch alone?’

It was a golden opportunity.

It couldn’t be missed.

Rummaging through her bag of space-extension, Mary casually asked Catherine.

“Would you like lunch? Or should we wait for Karem?”

“Let’s wait just a bit longer. But I do need to prepare some things.”

“Contractor. Then—”

“Right. Get the tableware out and tidy up the place.”

Finally seizing the opportunity, Mary raised a fist toward the sky.

Do you see that, Karem? I’m finally doing something!

Of course, you wouldn’t see this since you’re underwater catching fish.

After reveling in that for a while, Mary composed herself.

This wasn’t the time.

She had to finish preparing before Karem came up so that she could swiftly prepare the meal.

Time was short.

Karem must have sensed it was lunchtime soon.

So she needed to hurry—

“Phew! Freeze!”

“Your Grace. Seriously. Goodness gracious.”

Mary sighed with a touch of disappointment.

Karem was quite accustomed to spear fishing.

This was also due to the drudgery of modern life.

Of course, Karem was not insane enough to go spear fishing naked in the winter sea. Frankly, he rarely ever went to the sea in winter.

So, what was the reason behind his current insanity?

He had blessings, abilities, and divine power right now.

In all honesty, he felt like he could do it.

He thought it would probably be faster and easier than fishing.

As proof, Karem stumbled a bit under the initially heavier weight of the seawater, but he quickly started throwing ice spears as easily as he had expected.

If the sea were as clear and transparent as in tropical regions, he probably would have caught much more, but in any case, he caught three.

He had struggled a bit due to forgetting how to use the divine magic because he hadn’t practiced it at all.

But the results were solid and satisfying.

“You had a reason to jump in with such confidence?”

“If only the water had been a tad clearer, I might have caught more… Ugh, Mary. Cold Resistance Potion, please.”

“You have no direct or indirect damage due to the cold, right?”

“The divine power is strange like that; it keeps me safe from harm, but I’m still cold.”

“Tch. Here… hmm?”

Mary clicked her tongue but then moved diligently, driven by the instincts of a House Fairy, quickly inspecting Karem, the fish, and Catherine, who was inspecting.

After a bit of rummaging, she pulled out not the Cold Resistance Potion but a thick blanket.

She handed that over to Catherine.

“A blanket? Why suddenly a blanket?”

“Thinking about it, this feels like a better option.”

“What do you mean by that—”

Catherine’s eyes widened in surprise as Mary hastily whispered.

“No, it’s a bit chilly because of the magical power, making my body feel cool too. You don’t really think—”

“Since Karem just jumped into the winter sea, he’ll definitely appreciate the warmth from the contractor’s body.”

Then Mary had already nudged Karem, who had changed back into his clothes, toward Catherine.

Catherine, glancing at the blanket, shrugged and silently draped it over herself, then opened her arms toward Karem. Karem hurriedly stepped in and let out a relieved sigh.

“Goodness, what temperature is this?”

“Phew… It’s better now.”

“Goodness, it’s this cold? Is the blessing not working properly?”

“If it weren’t for the blessing, I’d probably be frostbitten by now.”

Though incredulous, Catherine quickly conjured defensive magic to block the cold winds whipping through the winter sea and wrapped her arms around Karem’s body, which was much colder than usual.

While Karem would usually be cold, now he felt a different kind of warmth from her embrace.

“There must be some form of protection magic in the basic divine spells of the Three Gods’ Church, right?”

“Yeah. There is. Winter’s Veil.”

“Then why aren’t you casting it?”

“I was planning to cast it while diving down, but—”

“But?”

“It turns out the water wasn’t that cold after all, and since I hadn’t used magic in a long while, I kind of forgot how to.”

“Did you completely forget?”

“Well… not completely, just kind of hazy.”

What on earth should be done about this?

As Catherine clicked her tongue, Karem averted his gaze slightly. She saw his expression, sighed, and wrapped the blanket even tighter around herself.

Meanwhile, Mary had been inspecting Karem’s catch.

With the exception of the one that was pierced with an ice spear, the three fish were all different kinds. Specifically, aside from the trout, they were unlike the ones Karem knew.

“All of them look high-quality.”

“Their appearance, size, and color are all unique. I recognize the mackerel and trout, but I’m not sure about the other one.”

“It’s a red-striped mackerel. While it’s a relative that’s smarter than mackerel, it’s also—”

Mary pointed to the largest fish.

“Specifically, it’s the gills of a hammerhead wrasse, which is bigger than the upper body of an average adult.”

“To think we’d see a hammerhead wrasse here. This one’s basically fully grown.”

“What? This is really a wrasse?”

“Look at that head.”

The fish that Mary and Catherine had called a wrasse looked completely different from the wrasse that Karem knew.

It was not only black but also bore a thick coat of scales that appeared armor-like without showing even a hint of redness or scale marks. Its head was bulging on both sides, resembling a hammerhead shark.

“The hammerhead wrasse smash up hard-shelled crustaceans, shrimp, clams, and conchs with that peculiar head of theirs.”

“But the eyes are not where you’d expect them to be.”

When asked where the eyes were, Karem realized that behind the hammerhead—

“It’s not a hammerhead; it’s a hammer fish, isn’t it?”

“Huh? What are you saying?”

“No, I mean, think about it.”

Catherine blinked as she looked at the wrasse that had a hole drilled vertically through its head.

“Well, that’s a concern for whoever named it originally, but they’re all mouthwatering fish. These would make perfect steak.”

“They’re all fully grown, so surely steak will suffice—”

“No, wait. Steak? Are you really suggesting cooking this fish as steak?”

Karem looked back and forth at Catherine and Mary with the same expression as an Italian who just witnessed pasta with chocolate sauce.

He didn’t say anything about the narrow-minded assertion that wrasse should be eaten raw.

Although he personally didn’t really enjoy sashimi, if pressed, he would also prefer matured sashimi.

“It’s absurd to just grill such a robust-looking fish like this. Isn’t there a more careful method we can use?”

“Then do you mean to stew it? Because I don’t think the contractor from Servianus will just sit still if you do that.”

“No, I’m saying if we stew, we just need bones and heads for the broth—guh.”

Karem gasped in disbelief.

The completely emotionless expression without even a slight shift gave off a feeling of void. He could feel the invisible pressure from her empty eyes.

Karem had never once seen Catherine lose her temper like that since he met her.

“Karem.”

“Wait, with the bones and head, the meat will be prepared differently for the stew!”

“Then if it’s not steak or stew…”

Catherine, who had been pondering for a moment, finally grasped it.

“Are you suggesting frying it?”

“Right. Of course, I can’t fry this whole fish considering its size; that would take too long and the timing would be awkward.”

“Then you’re planning to make fish fritters just like before?”

“I’m thinking of doing it in a more Chinese style.”

“Like the sweet and sour pork you sometimes make?”

“It’s called Sweet and Sour Fish, it’s a different dish, but the method is quite similar.”

There was no need to be overly concerned about the wrasse varieties.

As it generally goes, the method of frying fish cut into bite-sized pieces or whole and tossing them with sweet and sour sauce enhanced with colorful vegetables for flavor and texture is very similar across the board.

“If only the size were down to what I know with the red snapper, I would’ve fried it whole.”

“Then hurry and make it. Don’t just tease my appetite. You’ve raised your body temperature enough, right?”

“I’m warm enough now. Mary—”

“Did you call me?”

Pursue!

Before Karem could finish his sentence, Mary had already removed the cooking tools and table from her bag of space extension, quickly tending to the monstrous hammerhead wrasse.

“No, I didn’t even properly say anything, and yet—”

Mary scoffed before Karem could finish.

“I figured Karem’s having a good time with the Contractor, so I thought I’d just get things ready in advance.”

“No, how could you possibly know I was going to prepare?”

“You mentioned it was similar to sweet and sour, and didn’t you say you’d make a soup with the head and bones?”

“…”

To be sure, he had mentioned that at some point. But that was a passing remark.

Mary gestured as if to say, ‘Look at that.’

“So Karem, wouldn’t it just be better to snuggle up to your Contractor and share body heat?”

“Hm. That’s definitely tempting.”

“…Catherine?”

Could it really be? Was she genuinely considering it?

Breaking her silence, Catherine glanced at Karem, then let out a small chuckle.

“Just kidding, Mary. Don’t just say what you find amusing. It’s already getting late.”

“Tch. Fine then, Karem.”

“Phew, then I’ll start by heating up the pot with oil.”

Letting out a sigh of relief, Karem stepped out from under the blanket and stood beside Mary.

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