"This house... doesn't look like the other mansions conjured by wizards," Xenk said, after changing into slippers and walking through the foyer of the Kujouin residence, curiously surveying his surroundings. "I've teamed up with wizards who could cast this spell before, but their mansions all looked more or less the same."
"I've reconstructed this spell," Aoko explained, handing her cloak to a faceless magical maid. "So, the interior of this mansion magic is actually modeled after my family home. This way, when I use the spell while away, I can enjoy a more comfortable stay."
"Your home is much more comfortable than the most luxurious noble houses I've ever seen," Edgin admitted frankly, sitting on the living room sofa. "I have to admit, you have much better taste than those snobbish nobles."
"Everyone, rest in the lounge for a bit," Aoko said. "I'll go to the kitchen and prepare today's feast. I happened to get some rare ingredients, so I'll show you my cooking skills."
Everyone looked at each other—what kind of ingredients?
"Oh, and if you want something to drink, just tell one of the magical maids. They'll give you a drink menu." With that, Aoko put on an apron and headed to the kitchen.
The others, including Holga and Edgin, actually felt a bit reserved after entering Aoko's mansion spell. Unlike other conjured mansions, which felt rough, everything here was exquisite and full of homey touches, giving them the feeling of visiting a friend's house. Even though Aoko had said, "Make yourselves at home," as guests, they still felt a bit restrained in her presence.
Now that Aoko had gone to cook, the strange tension disappeared for a while, and Edgin—the most socially adaptive among them—couldn't wait to try everything.
"Can I see the drinks menu?" Edgin asked one of the faceless magical maids.
The maid nodded, pulled a menu out of thin air, and handed it to Edgin.
The menu was written in Faerûnian Common, but its contents were from Earth, with many strange words that even the well-traveled Zank couldn't make sense of.
After a few minutes of collective research, they ordered three glasses of wine and two juices.
The juices were for Doric and Simon; Xenk, Edgin, and Holga ordered wine.
After receiving the instructions, the maid bowed, disappeared on the spot, and returned two minutes later with a cart carrying the drinks.
"I have to say, these wizards really know how to enjoy life," Holga declared, very satisfied with the wine. "Aoko can live in such luxury every day just by spending a spell slot."
"It's not as simple as just a spell slot," Simon explained to Holga. "That's a 7th-level spell slot. Making a scroll costs several thousand golds."
"Any wizard able to use 7th-level or higher spells has undergone rigorous training and countless days and nights of hard work," Xenk added. "Simon's right. It's not just about money—it's a crystallization of talent and effort."
"All right, all right, don't be so grim," Edgin tried to lighten the mood. "What do you think Aoko will cook?"
"How should I know?" Holga rolled her eyes. "Did she buy it back in Waterdeep?"
"No, I don't think it's that simple," Simon said after sipping his juice. "But considering what we've been through, could it be...?"
"Could it be Themberchaud's meat...?" Doric voiced Simon's guess. At first, it seemed ridiculous, but soon everyone thought it made sense.
…
Doric and Simon guessed right. Aoko had indeed spent quite some time cutting a large chunk of meat from the red dragon Themberchaud.
Themberchaud was so fat that it took Aoko a while to find a properly marbled cut, rather than those fatty, appetite-killing pieces of dragon meat.
If Aoko usually likes ribeye steak, then this was her carefully selected dragoneye steak.
Ordinary kitchen knives couldn't handle such a size of dragon meat, but that didn't matter. Aoko summoned the Sword of Mage Duncan, and its razor-sharp force blade easily cut the dragon meat into neat pieces.
Thanks to Earth's advanced culinary techniques, Aoko brought out all sorts of seasonings impossible to find in Faerûn, mixing them with mansion-magic-generated black pepper, sea salt, and more to prepare the dragon meat.
She also prepared garlic, butter, thyme, lemon juice, basil leaves, and olive oil.
Aoko made dragon steaks the way people cook beef steaks on Earth. Of course, she didn't use ordinary fire, but magical flames conjured with a spell slot—otherwise, the naturally fire-resistant dragon meat wouldn't cook through.
Besides the dragon steaks, Aoko ordered the magical maids to prepare a big Heroic Feast—a specialty the maids in the mansion spell can cook, which she wanted to try today.
"Caw, that smells amazing!" Stark was also let out by Aoko, standing obediently on her shoulder, staring at the fragrant dragon meat in the pan. "Is there some for me?"
"Of course! How could I forget you?" Aoko patted Stark's glossy feathers. "Go tell Edgin and the others to wait for me in the dining room. The feast is almost ready."
Stark nodded and flew off, thoroughly familiar with the Kujouin residence, behaving like it was his own home.
After helping the maids plate the dishes and load them onto the food cart, Aoko headed to the dining room first.
"You didn't really make a roast dragon, did you?" Edgin asked upon seeing her. "I heard dragon meat can be poisonous..."
"Don't worry," Doric said. "If you get poisoned, I can cure you."
"I hope the food will shut you up, Edgin," Aoko joked, then told the maids, "Serve everything, everyone's been waiting long enough."
As dish after delicious dish appeared on the table, even Xenk, usually the most disciplined and ascetic, couldn't help swallowing a mouthful of saliva. The aroma was irresistible, and the presentation was perfect—certain to whet anyone's appetite!
"Allow me to introduce the highlight of tonight's meal," Aoko announced, donning a tall chef's hat and placing a massive silver tray at the center of the table. "Themberchaud's Roast Dragon Steak!"