...
After the cold dishes came the hot dishes. Lucian also carefully selected three: braised abalone, sesame crispy chicken, and crab with egg white sauce.
These couldn't just be pulled out of the fridge—they had to be made fresh.
But making everything at once wasn't practical, as after the hot dishes, there were still soups, main courses, desserts, and drinks to prepare.
For the soup, Lucian only prepared a nourishing black chicken soup with ginseng.
The main courses included crab roe shumai, supreme shrimp dumplings, and scallop egg white fried rice.
The dessert was sweet tofu pudding, and the drinks were various imported teas Lucian had brought.
"Rice Shower, pick one dish. I'll make it on the spot and explain it as I go. But in return, you'll have to introduce its flavors to the guests later."
"There's still some time, so if you can't decide now, it's fine. You can go back and think about it slowly."
Rice Shower nodded, not refusing Lucian's arrangement.
She glanced at the menu Lucian provided and chose the crab with egg white sauce, with the main course being scallop egg white fried rice. The rest were up to him. "Onii-chan... is that okay?"
"No problem, absolutely no problem."
Being called "Onii-chan" like this struck right at Lucian's heart. Even if there were problems, they'd be no problem now.
"For this dish, we first need to extract the crab meat and roe..." Lucian skillfully cracked open the crab shells, split the crabs in half, then took two small bowls, placing the extracted roe and meat into them separately.
"Don't waste the meat in the legs either. You can extract it like this..."
Rice Shower's eyes were glued to his hands, unable to help but marvel at Lucian's technique. "It can be done like this? So amazing."
Amid Rice Shower's praises, Lucian gradually lost himself, becoming more and more adept. "For two crabs, we'll use six eggs—only the whites... add pure milk, minced garlic, to preserve freshness... stir, then into the pan..."
After the final step, the dish was successfully plated.
"Finally, presentation."
An exquisite presentation could also reflect a chef's imagination and creativity—two fierce crabs spread their claws, embracing a mountain of snow-white crab meat.
"Th-this is amazing..." At a loss for words, Rice Shower couldn't think of any other exclamation besides "amazing."
But "amazing"... was also quite a powerful word.
Though Seiun Sky wasn't here, her influence on Lucian remained.
Rice Shower's delicate nose twitched. Just the aroma alone was enough to make her unable to resist tasting it.
Wouldn't it be a waste not to eat it while it was hot?
But this time, her wish to enjoy it alone was dashed, as three heads had unknowingly piled up at the kitchen door.
The three horse girls working outside had also been drawn in by the fragrance.
"Uh... would you like to try some too?" Lucian had originally planned to let everyone sample the other dishes at mealtime.
But now, faced with three pairs of ravenous eyes, he didn't dare refuse.
"Arigato!" x3
The three horse girls filed into the kitchen, while Lucian handed out spoons like he was doling out relief supplies.
The petite Rice Shower unconsciously retreated to a corner. For some reason, she felt a faint unwillingness, as if something of hers had been taken away.
But... if she wanted to eat, Onii-chan... no, Trainer would surely make it for her.
After all, she was the only member of "Dream" present. (Proudly puffs chest)
"Go ahead and try it. You're practically drooling." Lucian smiled as he watched the horse girls waiting for his signal.
Doto was the first to taste it—and the first to react. "Woah—hoo~ th-th-this is... this is too delicious..."
In her imagination, two giant crabs each held a clawful of fresh, tender crab meat, both shouting, "Eat mine first!" Then, without waiting for her opinion, they began stuffing clawfuls into her mouth.
"Good!" Taiki Shuttle was lost in a castle built of crab meat, the lingering sweetness and fragrance stimulating her taste buds.
She even began to suspect that Lucian hadn't put much effort into the home-style dishes he'd made before.
Ines Fujin initially thought the other two were overreacting—until she took a bite herself... The freshness and sweetness of the crab meat formed a tangible melody, as a gentlemanly crab took her hand and danced wildly with her.
Rice Shower watched their reactions, her spoon frozen mid-air.
Sh-she... had she looked like that in front of Lucian earlier?!
How embarrassing...
But...
Staring at the crab meat before her, Rice Shower swallowed hard.
"Rice Shower, aren't you going to eat?" Lucian's voice sounded beside her ear, echoing as if enchanted.
The smile on his lips seemed to mock her inability to resist.
What a blatant temptation.
"But... Rice Shower is so weak, Rice Shower is going to... jump in!"
"Mmm—"
...
One spoonful after another, the plate of crab with egg white sauce was soon scraped clean, leaving only the empty shells of two crabs behind.
Lucian looked at the four horse girls still savoring the aftertaste, a sense of conquest rising in his heart.
There was no need to hear descriptions—their flushed faces said it all.
"Doto, have you three finished cleaning outside?"
"No... we just smelled the fragrance and couldn't resist coming over." Doto pursed her lips nervously, her cat-like mouth twitching as if expecting a scolding.
"Then please hurry up. It's almost mealtime—you wouldn't want to eat in a dusty environment, right?"
"Y-you mean... there are more dishes coming?" Not just Doto, but Taiki Shuttle and Ines Fujin's eyes lit up.
"I told you when you arrived—I needed you to taste-test."
"We'll go clean right now! I'm going to eat so much later!" Ines Fujin was suddenly full of motivation. As someone constantly juggling part-time jobs, she often ate hastily and carelessly—when had she ever had food this delicious?
She might not get another chance like this.
"I'm going too!" Taiki Shuttle hurried after Ines Fujin.
"Wait for me... Lucian-san, I-I'll go too."
...
After the commotion, only Lucian and Rice Shower remained in the kitchen again.
"Let's not waste the crab roe from earlier—it's perfect for fried rice. And we can make the tofu pudding first, one bowl for each of you." Lucian muttered to himself.
"Trainer..."
"Hmm? Call me something younger."
"O-Onii-chan... is there anything Rice Shower can help with?"
"There is." Lucian thought for a moment, roughly mapping out the cooking sequence. "For now... let's wash the rice first."