Chapter 138: Impromptu Takoyaki!
After getting his fill of playing and singing on Monday, Ryohei Tanaka left his guitar at home on Tuesday. He was suddenly reminded of the Kraken meat he had stored with Lucoa—they had only eaten a small piece of one tentacle the other day.
On a whim, he took Jashin-chan, Minos, and Lucoa out to buy an electric takoyaki maker and all the necessary ingredients.
"Tanaka-kun, when are we making the takoyaki?"
Minos had just finished hauling the fresh ingredients into the restaurant and immediately turned to ask, her bright eyes sparkling with anticipation.
"This afternoon, probably. Once most of the others get here," Ryohei replied casually.
As he spoke, he pulled out his phone and sent a notification to the restaurant's LINE group chat.
Ryohei: "Good news, everyone! I'm making takoyaki at the shop this afternoon. If you want some, come early!"
Pekola: "Takoyaki!"
Poporon: "Are you using the Kraken? "
Yusa: [Sent a custom sticker: 'Kori-chan is very excited.']
The sticker was probably of her little sister, Kori-chan, though it was hard to tell.
...
The clock on the restaurant's bar soon pointed to 3:00 PM.
In the kitchen, Ryohei and Jashin-chan had just finished all the prep work for the takoyaki.
Everyone who lived at the restaurant, except for Yurine who was still at school, had arrived. They were all gathered around the counter. The taller ones were curiously watching the prep work, while the shorter ones were looking up at Ryohei with eager faces, just waiting for him to finish the first batch and call them over for a taste test.
The electric takoyaki pan, which had been seasoned as soon as they got it to the shop that morning, was now scorching hot.
Ryohei grabbed a stick of butter and rubbed it directly onto the hot griddle, brushing it around twice.
Tsssss—!
The moment the yellow solid hit the pan, it sizzled, the edges melting instantly into a fine foam. The rich, milky aroma of butter filled the air.
Ryohei inhaled the scent, set the butter down, and grabbed the stainless-steel batter funnel. With a flick of his wrist, a stream of milky-white batter poured out like silk, accurately filling every single round mold.
The kitchen was instantly filled with a dense hissing sound.
Steam, carrying the scent of wheat and the rich aroma of butter, billowed up, hitting Ryohei first. Jashin-chan was next, followed by everyone else in the restaurant.
Pekola lifted her delicate chin, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath, an expression of pure bliss on her face. "The pure scent of wheat, intertwined with the rich aroma of butter... It's so enticing!"
"It really is! Smelling this, I'm positively... parched," Minos said, placing a hand on her soft stomach, drooling.
"I don't think you're using that word correctly," Ryohei said, looking up from the batter to give Minos a deadpan look. He then grabbed two handfuls of the large Kraken chunks—which had been blanched with the standard "de-fishing trio" of aromatics—and scattered them over the batter, using a metal pick to distribute them evenly into the molds.
"Eh?" Minos looked at him, confused.
Jashin-chan shot back at her, "You're a Minotaur, not a succubus!"
"Technically, I'm of the Minotaur race, not a 'Cow Demon,'" Minos corrected her, holding up one finger. "My race has evolved beyond that."
Jashin-chan just shrugged at her and said no more.
"..." While those two were bickering, Ryohei grabbed two handfuls of chopped cabbage and sprinkled it evenly over the batter. He then picked up the funnel again and filled the entire pan, letting the batter overflow—this was the traditional method, which meant he wouldn't have to add more batter later.
Now, he just had to wait for the bottoms to set, flip them halfway, and then roll them into perfect balls.
Lucoa, who had been watching Minos and Jashin-chan, suddenly rested a hand on her impressive curves and said with a sly smile, "This big sister here..."
"No lewd jokes!"
Sensing danger, Ryohei looked up, narrowing his eyes at her and cutting her off.
"Eeeh!?"
Her "spell" interrupted, Lucoa's eyes flew open in surprise. Frustrated that her attempt to tease someone had been predicted and thwarted, she instantly thought of a new plan.
She tilted her head at Ryohei, feigning innocence. "I wasn't going to make a lewd joke. Tanaka-kun, what were you..."
Lucoa let her words trail off, then looked like she was about to speak again, then stopped. The others looked back and forth between Lucoa and Ryohei, their expressions turning strange.
"..." Lucoa's acting was so convincing that Ryohei was momentarily fooled. He mentally chided himself for stereotyping her and said, a little embarrassed, "I... I might have misunderstood... What were you going to say?"
"You interrupted me, so I forgot," Lucoa said, holding her chest with one arm and tapping her cheek with the finger of her other hand, pretending to think hard.
"Really?" Ryohei squinted at her, clicking his tongue. "You'd better have forgotten."
He looked down at the batter. It looked ready. He took his metal pick and began scoring the batter and flipping the takoyaki into half-moons. He was a bit clumsy at first, but after a few, he got the hang of it, and his movements became smooth and practiced.
Lucoa watched him, a sly, mischievous smile spreading across her face.
Soon, twenty-four perfectly round, golden glowing takoyaki were done. Ryohei divided them onto two plates.
He squeezed on some homemade teriyaki sauce and ketchup, then sprinkled them with aonori (seaweed flakes) and katsuobushi (bonito flakes).
"Impromptu takoyaki is ready! Come and get it!" Ryohei announced, placing the two steaming plates on the counter.
~~~
Get early access to 20+ advanced chapters on Patreon!
https://www.pat-reon.co-m/c/Hollowborn
~~~
Every 5 new reviews = 1 extra chapters
Every 150 Power Stones = 1 extra chapter