"Are you okay, Akira-san? I'm sorry, I might have used too much force." Ryuu stood beside him, looking down at his face covered by his elbow.
"I'm alright, just catching my breath." A small towel appeared on his face. He used it to clear his sweaty face and his tears, then put it back in his inventory. With a kick-up, he stood up and gave her a thumbs-up. "See, I'm back to full health, Ryuu-san."
Ryuu felt better seeing him smile. "Congratulations on becoming Level 2."
"Thank you, Ryuu-san."
"Now that you're Level 2, you should start looking for some teammates. You need to find some adventurer companions before going deeper, and make sure to thoroughly check their backgrounds. Since you're the fastest Rank Up in history, there will be many offers, but please choose carefully," Ryuu explained.
Seeing Akira smiling while Ryuu warn about the things to look out for, Syr snuck beside him and whispered, "What are you thinking?"
"Ryuu-san is reliable," Akira replied. His words caused Ryuu to pause. Seeing her ears twitch and redden, Akira knew his words reminded her of their conversation last night.
"I mean, Ryuu-san is like… like…" Akira was like a driver concentrating hard to avoid an obstacle but unconsciously steering toward it. His shoulders slumped and he mumbled, "reliable."
That earned him a giggle from Syr.
"Of course, Ryuu is not just reliable but strong. Nya," Chloe teased.
"Her beauty is like a fairy from a fairy tale," Lunoire said in a dramatic tone.
Hearing their words, Akira could only cover his face and vow to never drink again.
"Mr. 'I get jealous of people I imagine.' You didn't tell us about your Rank Up. Nya," Anya's cat eyes questioned him.
"Well, I wanted to surprise you all when the guild announced it," Akira answered.
"But you should tell us earlier than the guild. Nya," Anya puffed her cheeks. She considered their relationship close enough that he should have shared such good news right after telling his goddess.
"Anya, an adventurer's stats are a familia secret. Akira-san was waiting for the correct time," Ryuu scolded her.
Akira raised his palm to stop her. "Thank you, Ryuu-san, but I think Anya is right this once."
After Hestia and Eina, the waitresses at the Hostess would be at the top of his friendship tier list in this world. Maybe even above Eina, as most of his conversations with her were about the dungeon. He and Hestia came here almost every night; he would talk, bicker, and laugh with them. But he always thought of it as them just being nice. The sadness in Anya's tone was undeniable.
He bent his knees to be at the same height as her. "Sorry, Anya. I should have told you about it last night. I never meant to hurt your feelings."
He placed his palm on her head and rubbed it. "How about I cook you a very tasty breakfast dish today as a token of my apology? Would you accept it?"
"Okay, I like sweet. Nya." Anya accepted it and enjoyed his warm petting.
"Of course, as you wish, Your Highness. I'll take a bath first, then I will." Dodging further questions, Akira went back inside.
Entering the room, he instantly took a potion to ease the pain and then had a warm bath this time.
Going back down the stairs, instead of turning left, he went right to reach the tavern part of the building. Seeing the waitresses cleaning up the tables, he asked, "Anybody know where Hestia-sama is?"
"We put her in the room next to you. Should I wake her up? Nya." Chloe asked, wanting to get out of cleaning.
"No. Let her sleep, she's not a morning person." Akira answered and entered the kitchen, finding May, the Hostess's cook, setting up utensils.
"May, would it be okay if I use the kitchen to make breakfast today?" Akira requested.
"Yeah, Anya told me about it. Tell me what you need, I'll find it for you. Nya." After helping him, she stood behind him to watch what he was cooking.
Akira took out a bag of chocolate chips from his inventory. May tried to see where he pulled it from. Seeing her curiosity, he explained, "It's my skill. It's like a magic bag that can store a lot of things."
"That's an incredible skill." May wasn't an adventurer but still knew how useful it was. She pointed to the bag. "What is this? Nya."
"These are chocolate chips from my hometown." He opened the bag and gave some to her.
She ate one, finding it sweet, but then the taste changed. She stuck her tongue out. "Bitter. Nya."
Akira laughed at her reaction as he mixed the batter with the speed of a blender. After adding the chocolate chips, he let it rest for 5 minutes.
Heating butter in a pan, he poured the batter to make a pancake, flipping it to cook both sides. Once the pancake turned golden brown, he tossed it up and touched it with his finger to put it in his inventory. Looking at May, he said, "Another advantage of this skill is that anything inside will be frozen in time. Now, do you want to try it?"
May nodded, thinking the dish looked easy. Her first try produced a passable pancake, slightly burnt on one side. She wanted to try again, but Akira denied her, as he was supposed to make the breakfast. Putting another pan on the flame, he started making two pancakes at a time.
Ryuu came inside to help. He pointed and said, "Ryuu-san, could you take the plates, forks, and knives out? The cooking is almost done."
With the batter finished, the cooking was done. He walked out to see the waitresses sitting around the table, joined by Mama Mia and a sleepy Hestia.
"Good morning, Mia-san. Thank you for letting us stay the night," Akira thanked her.
"Hmm, it was these girls' insistence. Next time you pass out here, I'll throw you out," Mia warned him.
"I understand." Akira now had one more reason not to drink.
"Now, where's the food? Don't tell me you failed to make something edible." Mia crossed her arms.
"No! No! The food is as much about taste as experience." Akira answered as he moved to Hestia's side.
"Hestia-sama, how many pancakes?" Hearing the word pancakes, Hestia sat straight up, her eyes shining.
"Five, please." Hestia raised her hand.
Akira snapped his fingers above her plate. One by one, five hot golden-brown chocolate chip pancakes dropped onto her plate, followed by some choco chips and berries. Then, with another snap, a cup with butter and a 15 cm glass jar of maple syrup appeared beside her plate.
He stepped left to Syr's side, bowed like a butler, and asked politely, "Syr-ojou-sama, how many for you?"
Syr straightened her posture to act like a proper lady and ordered, "Butler, I will have three."
"As you wish, Syr-ojou-sama."
Snap!!!
"Chloe-onee-san, how many?" Chloe's ears and tail straightened.
"Five, Ototo." Chloe swallowed saliva from the smell of the pancakes, it had nothing to do with how he addressed her.
Snap!!!
"Mia-san?"
"Five."
Snap!!!
"My Lunoire." Hearing his tone, Lunoire imagined her ideal husband serving her breakfast while she lazed around.
"Five, for me."
Snap!!!
"Head Chef, May."
"Four for me, Sous Chef Akira. Nya," May giggled and watched the pancakes bounce on each other.
Snap!!!
The next customer was a little difficult for him. He couldn't be charming, as that would hurt her in the future, but he couldn't be cold either, as that would hurt her in the present. Ryuu looked at him and asked, "Four, Akira-san."
'Ever so reliable.' Akira smiled and nodded. "Okay, Ryuu-san."
Snap!!!
"Now last but not least, Anya-nya?" He felt his last word wasn't correct.
Seeing him try, Anya nodded. "Good try, nya. Five for me."
Snap!!!
Then he took his seat beside her, with Hestia on his left. He added five to his own plate and put his hands together. "Itadakimasu."
Seeing everyone was served, Hestia spread butter on her pancakes and drizzled maple syrup, then picked up her knife and fork to cut in. Everyone decided to follow her lead.
"Delicious." Syr was the first to comment.
"It's fuwa fuwa." Anya said, eating with gusto.
May added more choco chips to her pancakes. Earlier she worried the bitterness would overwhelm, but now she was enjoying the balance of light bitterness in the sugar rush.
"Akira, you really are a good cook," Lunoire said.
"Of course, Akira cooks all the meals when we don't eat out," Hestia said proudly. She placed her plate in front of him. Knowing her appetite, Akira added two more pancakes.
"A perfect husband material." Lunoire, lost in her fantasy, spoke aloud.
The sound of utensils stopped at the table. May pulled Lunoire's sleeve to bring her back. The only ones still eating were Anya and Akira.
Sensing the silence, Akira said, "Thanks. You know, my wife told me my cooking was one of the reasons she let me have a harem. That… and my… exceptional… handsomeness…"
Syr, seeing his dumb attempt to lighten the mood, giggled and covered her mouth.
"Did you laugh?" Akira angrily pointed at her.
"No. I didn't laugh because you called yourself handsome." Syr replied.
"A simple no would have been okay." Akira drooped from emotional damage. Seeing them bicker, everyone returned to eating.
"I want mewre, aniki." Anya put her empty plate in front of him, hungry for more.
"Here, eat till you're full, Ototo." Akira patted her head and put five more pancakes on her plate.
"That is a very convenient skill. Nya," Chloe remarked. By now, everyone understood somewhat what it did.
"I know, right? It also has the effect of freezing stuff in time. You can keep food indefinitely." May expressed her surprise, asking for more pancakes.
Akira summoned a small turning table in the middle of the table and placed a plate with two pancakes on it. Spinning the table, the pancakes reached May.
"How much stuff can you carry? Nya." Chloe turned the table left and right, marveling at how smoothly it moved.
"It can probably house about ten times the size of the Hostess of Fertility," Akira answered.
"That skill is very impressive. Every big familia will do anything to get their hands on it," Ryuu warned him.
"Let them. Akira promised he will never change his familia," Hestia said confidently.
"I didn't mean to offend, Hestia-sama. What I mean is, this skill is very valuable. You shouldn't tell anyone about it. It will only bring trouble," Ryuu explained.
"It's okay. I trust everyone in this room. As for trouble, no matter what I do, it always seems to find me." Akira shook his head tiredly, remembering his past experiences.
A few blocks down the road, trouble came knocking at the gates of the broken church that Hestia Familia called its headquarters. Ais Wallenstein was there and she was there to bargain.
...........
(A/N: I have never eaten a pancake and now I am feeling hungry just writing about it.)
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