Sylphaeris materializes, appearing right next to the table with a playful smile.
[Sylphaeris] "I want to join too!"
[Wright] "You always show up at the right time for these things."
[Sylphaeris] "It's almost lunch time. I just happened to overhear the conversation."
Of course she did.
I sigh and turn to Eldrin.
[Wright] "Would it be alright if we have lunch here?"
[Eldrin] "Of course. Feel free to use my kitchen."
An idea hits me.
I have more mana now. Enough to buy something I've been wanting to try for a while. A portable stove and gas canisters for hot pot. I can even purchase the pot itself and all the ingredients.
I look at Vesper.
It would also be helpful to have her replicate the portable stove. Another useful magical artifact for the village.
[Wright] "Vesper, wait a moment. I want to show you something."
I open my Online Shopping skill interface and start selecting items. A portable gas stove, several gas canisters, and a large ceramic Japanese nabe pot. I add everything to the cart and click checkout.
My mana drains in that familiar rush, and a cardboard box materializes on the conference table with a solid thump.
Everyone leans in as I open it.
I pull out the portable stove first. It's compact, about the size of a large book, with a flat metal top and a gas canister slot underneath. The design is simple and functional.
[Wright] "Vesper, think you can make something like this?"
I show her how the gas canister slots in and twist-locks into place. Then I demonstrate the ignition switch. A small flame springs to life with a soft whoosh, blue and steady.
Vesper's eyes widen.
[Vesper] "Oh, this is fascinating! A portable heat source with controlled fuel consumption. The flame regulation mechanism is elegant. Yes, I can definitely work with this!"
She examines it from every angle, muttering to herself about mana conversion ratios and heat output.
I pull out the large ceramic nabe pot next. It's beautiful. Glazed in a deep blue-gray color with a wide, shallow bowl shape perfect for communal eating. The lid fits snugly on top.
[Wright] "Eldrin, do you think Kara could make something like this pot?"
[Eldrin] "That shouldn't be an issue. Let me fetch her."
He stands and leaves the conference room, his robes swishing softly.
While he's gone, I turn off the portable stove. The flame dies with a small puff.
[Vesper] "Aww."
She deflates, her shoulders slumping.
[Wright] "It'll run out of power if we leave it on. But you can examine the stove in the meantime."
[Vesper] "Fair enough."
She gets back to inspecting it, turning it over in her hands and peering at the gas release mechanism.
Sylphaeris leans over her shoulder, equally interested.
[Sylphaeris] "This is the portable version of your kitchen stove?"
[Wright] "Basically. Same concept, smaller scale."
[Liora] "Shall we head to the kitchen to prepare?"
[Wright] "Good idea."
Liora and I leave Vesper and Sylphaeris to their examination and make our way to Eldrin's kitchen.
The kitchen is spacious and well-equipped, similar to Liora's but larger. A magical stove and refrigerator sit against one wall. Vesper's handiwork. Counters provide plenty of workspace, and shelves hold cooking utensils and ingredients.
But we won't be using the stove today.
I open my Online Shopping skill again and start selecting hot pot ingredients.
Napa cabbage. The leafy base of any good hot pot. Shiitake mushrooms for earthy flavor. Enoki mushrooms for texture. Firm tofu that will soak up the broth. Green onions for brightness. Bok choy for color and crunch. Carrots and daikon radish for sweetness. A prepackaged hot pot broth base. The concentrated kind that just needs water. And fresh udon noodles for the finisher.
I also add another nabe pot so we have one to use today and one to give to Kara as a reference.
Everything goes into the cart. Checkout.
My mana drains again. More than before, but still manageable. Another cardboard box appears on the counter, this one larger and heavier.
Liora helps me unpack everything, her eyes widening as she sees ingredients she's never encountered before.
[Liora] "What is this?"
She's holding up the napa cabbage, examining the pale green leaves.
[Wright] "It's a type of cabbage. Very good in soup. Here, let me show you how to cut it."
I focus for a moment, and a sharp kitchen knife materializes in my hand. I demonstrate cutting the cabbage into wide strips, separating the leafy parts from the thicker white stems.
[Wright] "The stems take longer to cook, so we cut them a bit smaller. The leaves can be larger."
Liora nods, watching carefully, then grabs one of Eldrin's kitchen knives and starts cutting. Her movements are precise and confident. She's experienced with kitchen work.
While she handles the vegetables, I turn my attention to the meat.
I pull three different types from my storage: Skytalon Griffin, Warboar, and Frostfang Wolf. All of them are high-quality cuts that should work perfectly for hot pot.
I change the shape of the knife to one that's slightly thinner and sharper, better for slicing meat.
The key is to slice them thin enough that they'll cook quickly in the broth but thick enough to maintain texture and flavor. I work carefully, creating paper-thin slices that curl slightly on the cutting board.
The Griffin meat is pale and lean, almost like chicken but with a slight gamey quality. The Warboar is darker, rich and marbled. The Frostfang Wolf is somewhere in between, with a deep red color that suggests intense flavor.
[Liora] "I've finished the cabbage. What should I do with this?"
She's holding up the firm tofu, turning the white block over in her hands.
[Wright] "Cut it into cubes, about this size."
I show her with my fingers. Roughly one-inch squares.
She gets to work while I finish with the meat, then move on to the mushrooms.
The shiitake get their stems removed and caps sliced. The enoki just need their root ends trimmed. They'll go in as clusters. I slice the carrots into thin rounds, cut the daikon into half-moons, and chop the green onions into two-inch segments. The bok choy gets separated into individual leaves.
[Liora] "This is a lot of preparation."
[Wright] "Hot pot is all about the prep work. But once everything's ready, the actual cooking is easy and fun."
We work in silence for a while. Just the rhythmic chopping and slicing.
Finally, everything is prepared.
I take one of the nabe pots and start arranging ingredients inside. Cabbage on the bottom as a base, then the tofu, mushrooms, and vegetables arranged in sections around the pot. The meat I leave separate for now. It cooks quickly, so we'll add it once the broth is boiling.
Liora arranges the remaining ingredients on several large plates. Extra vegetables, the sliced meats fanned out attractively, the fresh udon still in its package.
I open the hot pot broth base and pour it into the pot, then add water until everything is just covered. The liquid is a rich brown color and smells incredible. Savory, slightly sweet, with hints of soy and mirin.
[Wright] "Perfect. We're done."
I store everything into my Storage. The prepared pot, the plates of ingredients, the udon.
[Wright] "Let's head to the dining room."
Liora leads the way back. As we walk through the hallway, she calls out.
[Liora] "Vesper! Sylphaeris! Bring the portable stove, gas canisters, and the extra pot with you!"
[Vesper] "Coming!"
We meet Eldrin and Kara in the hallway.
[Kara] "Heard you wanted to see me about a pot?"
[Wright] "Yeah. Hoping you can replicate the design."
We all enter the dining room together.
Sylphaeris floats in carrying the extra nabe pot. It hovers in the air around her. Vesper follows with the portable stove and gas canisters cradled carefully in her arms.
[Sylphaeris] "Here you go, Kara. This is what we'd like you to recreate."
She hands the pot over.
Kara examines it, running her fingers along the glazed surface, checking the thickness of the ceramic, testing the weight.
[Kara] "Good proportions. Even heat distribution from the shape. The glaze is well-applied. Yeah, I can make this. Might take a few tries to get the glazing right, but the form is straightforward."
[Wright] "Great! Thank you."
I set up the portable stove in the center of the long dining table, making sure it's stable and secure. Then I start pulling things from my storage. The prepared hot pot with its broth and ingredients, the plates of extra food, arranging everything within easy reach.
The display is impressive. The pot sits in the center, surrounded by plates of thinly sliced meats, fresh vegetables, mushrooms, and tofu. The colors are vibrant. Red meat, white tofu, green vegetables, brown mushrooms.
[Wright] "Liora, could you grab small bowls for everyone? And forks and a ladle for the hot pot?"
[Liora] "Of course."
She disappears into the kitchen and returns with her arms full. We distribute bowls around the table, place forks at each seat, and set the ladle near the pot.
Everyone takes their seats.
I slot a gas canister into the portable stove and turn it on. The flame springs to life with a satisfying whoosh.
While we wait for the broth to boil, Kara leans forward.
[Kara] "So, everyone's been obsessed with the board games. All of them. Othello, Go, and Shogi."
[Liora] "They're very popular. Nearly every household has a set now."
[Kara] "I was thinking. What if we had a tournament?"
[Wright] "A tournament? That's a great idea!"
[Liora] "Oh, that would be wonderful! Everyone would love that."
[Eldrin] "We could hold it after the next harvest. Make it a festival. Perhaps include a barbeque as well."
[Kara] "Exactly what I was thinking. Games, food, community gathering. Perfect way to celebrate."
[Sylphaeris] "I love festivals!"
[Vesper] "Can we include demonstrations of the new magical artifacts too?"
[Eldrin] "I don't see why not. It would showcase how far we've come."
Everyone's getting excited now, ideas flowing freely. Tournament brackets, different game categories, prizes for winners, food preparation assignments.
Then I hear it.
The signature sound of boiling broth. That bubbling, simmering noise that means the hot pot is ready.
[Wright] "It's ready!"
I lift the lid, and steam billows out in a fragrant cloud.
Everyone leans in.
The broth is bubbling gently, and the vegetables have started to soften. The aroma is incredible. Savory and rich, with that perfect hot pot smell that's impossible to describe but instantly recognizable.
[Liora] "That smells amazing."
[Kara] "What is this dish called?"
[Wright] "Hot pot. It's a communal meal where everyone shares from the same pot. Here, let me show you."
I materialize a pair of chopsticks in my hand and use them to fish out some cabbage and a piece of tofu. I place them in my bowl, then add a bit of the broth as a base.
[Wright] "You just grab what you want from the pot and eat it. When we run low on ingredients, we add more from the plates. The broth gets more flavorful as we cook more things in it."
I take a bite of the cabbage. Perfect. Tender but still with some texture, soaked through with the savory broth.
Everyone digs in, using their forks or the ladle to fish out ingredients.
[Sylphaeris] "This is delicious! The broth is so rich!"
[Vesper] "The mushrooms are incredible. They're like little flavor sponges."
[Kara] "I need to try that meat."
She spears a slice of Warboar and drops it into the bubbling broth. It cooks in seconds, the color changing from raw to perfectly done. She retrieves it and takes a bite.
[Kara] "Oh wow. That's amazing."
[Liora] "This tofu is wonderful too. It just melts in your mouth."
Eldrin is eating quietly, but I can see the appreciation on his face. He's methodically trying each ingredient, savoring the flavors.
Then his eyes focus on my chopsticks.
[Eldrin] "Liora mentioned your legendary artifact acquisition from the dungeon. I'm surprised you're using it as an eating utensil."
[Wright] "It's very helpful."
Vesper's head whips around so fast I'm worried she'll get whiplash. Her eyes lock onto my chopsticks like they're made of solid gold.
[Vesper] "That's the legendary artifact? The shapeshifting one? Can I examine it? Just for a moment? I promise I'll be careful—"
[Wright] "You can't have it, Vesper. It's bound to me permanently."
[Vesper] "But the magical structure must be fascinating! How does it maintain form stability? What's the energy requirement for transformation? Does it draw from your mana pool or does it have its own power source?"
[Wright] "I'm eating."
[Vesper] "After you're done eating, then?"
[Wright] "No."
She deflates again, but keeps glancing at my chopsticks with poorly concealed longing.
The meal continues, everyone reaching into the pot to grab ingredients, adding more from the plates as things run low. The broth gets richer and more complex as different meats and vegetables cook in it, each one adding its own flavor.
Talk of the upcoming tournament, plans for the demon kingdom visit, speculation about which academy the students will choose. Laughter punctuates the discussion.
[Eldrin] "This is wonderful, Wright. Thank you for sharing this with us."
[Liora] "We should do this more often."
[Kara] "Agreed. Once I can make pots like this, we could have hot pot gatherings regularly."
[Sylphaeris] "I'll definitely be attending those!"
The pot gradually empties as we eat our fill, the broth reducing to a concentrated, flavorful base.
[Wright] "There's one more thing. The finisher."
I pull out the fresh udon from my storage and add it to the remaining broth.
[Wright] "The noodles soak up all the concentrated flavor from everything we've cooked. It's the perfect way to end the meal."
The udon cooks, then we serve it out into our bowls.
The first bite is heavenly. The noodles are thick and chewy, and they've absorbed all that complex, layered flavor from the broth. It's like eating the essence of the entire meal in noodle form.
[Kara] "This is genius."
[Vesper] "Using the concentrated broth for noodles at the end. Brilliant."
Even Eldrin makes a small sound of appreciation.
We finish the udon, scraping the pot clean, and sit back in our chairs.
[Sylphaeris] "I'm so full."
[Liora] "That was incredible."
[Wright] "Hot pot brings people together."