Did she already know what I would ask her for?

Ch 154: If I’m going to cook, it’s got to be big!

With peace again between the two guilds, the warriors, adventurers, knights, and all those present began to set up tents for the night with more tranquility.

These camping tents are provided by the Golden Lion guild. So, as good a person as I am, I was planning to help them... when suddenly Fabio stopped me.

"No need, Emir; we know you've been putting a lot of effort into this war. So, instead of helping to set up the tents, how about you help in the kitchen?"

Emir: "!!!!"

'T- This guy is planning to increase my chances of netorare! By 30%, to be exact! You're... You're too vindictive! That's not to be trifled with!!!'

"Guild master, I don't know-...."

"Do it!" He interrupted me.

It's at these moments that I hate this patriotic personality the most. Because, even though I didn't want to, I lifted my chest with pride and made stars come out of my eyes.

"As you command!"

'- Well, with this, I will miraculously prevent the tents from burning down or suddenly disappearing. At least my men will be able to sleep peacefully tonight…'

'Haa, I was so eager to get this horse poop out of my inventory and casually litter the tents... Well, somehow I'll find a way to get rid of that shit, literally speaking.'

Following directions, I managed to find the location of the makeshift kitchen.

This one is partially shielded from the outside to prevent animals or monsters from being attracted by the smell. But even if that happens, they can't get to the kitchen easily.

"My name is Emir. The guild master sent me to help in the kitchen."

"Emir, huh?" The chief cook looked at me from head to toe before saying, "Do you know how to cook?"

"I don't-"

'Wait…'

I thought of something.

"Of course, sir."

"Is that so? I see, that's good. Despite their appearances, my assistants are not really good cooks. Your arrival is like falling from the sky. Come, come. We are short on time, and I need to finish the meal in the shortest time possible."

'Ugh, seeing such good people in the guild further increases my guilt, but I must look on the bright side of this situation. After all, in a sense, this is also training!'

The chief cook entrusted me with four large pots that already had all the ingredients cut up and ready to be brought inside. I just need to light the fire and bring them in accordingly.

'Well, since I am in charge of these pots, I can't let the chief cook down!'

Even though Alessia and Delia do most of the cooking, I have to say that before I left home, I already knew how to cook… or at least the basics in the kitchen. Since my women cooked 100 times better than me, I ended up becoming their helper.

That's why, despite the difficulty of cooking for dozens of people, in my opinion, it shouldn't be that hard.

As all the ingredients are already cut, I add several pieces of meat to the pot, along with a few liters of water. I let them cook for a few minutes. And, with the resulting broth, I add the vegetables to another pot, wait for the water to boil, and then add the noodles. After 2 minutes, I turn off the heat and add the potatoes in small pieces in addition to the meat.

'I'm done. No, no, wait a bit. If there's one thing I've learned in my adventures, it's that if I'm going to do something, it's got to be big! Hmm…The horses looked so happy after eating Valerian roots that I'm sure it will bring the same happiness to humans!'

Without hesitation, I added pieces of Valerian roots to the soup.

'Well, what else? ...Ah, right. I understand that, in certain cultures, insects are eaten. Even if that cockroach walking on the ground doesn't look appetizing at all, people shouldn't despise the food.'

But I understand that food first enters through the eyes. So, before I put the cockroaches in the soup, I mashed them a little.

Taking advantage of this inspiration, I also mashed some worms and flies. 

'As the saying goes, even a fly has protein. But... Ugh! The soup is emitting a weird smell.' 

I quickly added some seasonings to the insects to mask the smell and make them taste better. Of course, I didn't even taste the soup. I'm simply deducing.

Once the soup returned to its natural smell and appearance, I was finally able to relax.

Wiping my sweat, I imply that this labor has taken all the remaining energy out of my body.

I hope that having exerted myself so much has not increased my chances of netorare… by 30%, specifically speaking. After all, there's a reason all these chefs look like widowers or cuckolds. 

'It's best not to interact too much with them. It may be contagious.'

"Emir, I see you're done." With a smile on his face, the chief cook comes over and, with a big spoon, tastes the soup.

Emir: "!!!!"

'Easy, easy, easy. This is a masterpiece. I just came up with the impossible for it to taste bad'

"Hmm... How can I say this? The soup has a good consistency, and the vegetables add that little characteristic taste without taking away from the other ingredients. And not to mention, the meat is perfect. It's on point."

'This guy has no way back. Should I advise him to immediately go back home and look for his wife? I am sure that she will welcome him with a big surprise! Wait, even more important… Does this devil's work really taste good?!!'

"Good job, Emir. Here's your plate; do the honors-"

"Activate!" I interrupted him.

I quickly activated the Hypnosis scroll.

"Eat that dish yourself and imagine that it was me who ate it! After eating it, I went to rest! Goodbye!"

The chief cook touched my sensitive nerve, making me spend a scroll just to get out of this dilemma. After all, who in his right mind would want to eat that stuff?!

As I leave the kitchen, I can hear how the chief cook gladly eats the food. 

'Ugh… I didn't have the courage to see him directly... The guilt is killing me.'

At this time of night, the camping tents are already up and firmly nailed to the ground. And, just by asking one of the managers, I arrived in front of mine.

Looking around, I can't help but think... 

'Why don't I have any neighbors?'

Everyone is happily interacting with the neighboring tent owners, while mine seems secluded… as if the owner of this tent is carrying the plague.

With complex feelings, I enter the camping tent and remove some blankets from my inventory. In less than 5 minutes of lying down, sleep attacked me fiercely, and I fell asleep.

***

*Omniscient POV*

"So... You're telling me that Emir ate the plate of food in front of you and even looked very happy; am I wrong?"

"Not at all, guild master. It's just as you describe it; I myself served him the plate and handed it to him. Just by looking at him, it was as if I were eating it myself. He is a very sincere young man. His face is very easy to read."

The chief cook is not a good person at all! He was just born with a humble face and is pleasing to the eye!

If Emir saw him right now, he'd be left with his mouth agape because his face-reading had failed him for the first time. And you can't blame him. His natural reading ability may be at quite a high level, but he still can't beat nature.

Since the chief cook was born with a sincere face, it's very difficult to distinguish his true thoughts.

 "I see... Thank you for telling me. That takes a big weight off my shoulders," Fabio sighed.

"I know this day has been very difficult, guild master; be sure to rest after dinner."

"Thank you, I will do that... Now go and serve dinner. Don't keep the others waiting."

"As you command."

With such words, the chief cook returned to the kitchen. Then dinner was served to the whole guild in very orderly fashion, indicating that this is not the first time he has performed such a task.

'- Even if that Emir did the meal right, I won't even taste a spoonful of what he has made! I'd rather give it to the dogs than eat it!'

Fabio ate the meal prepared by the chief cook without even giving a glance to the Emir's house soup, not knowing that this had been the best decision he had made this whole day.

After dinner, Fabio was about to enter his tent when he saw a woman in the distance.

'- Haa... It is better to be safe than sorry.'

"Beatrice! Come to my tent!"

Without any delay, Beatrice approached and entered Fabio's tent.

"Beatrice, I have a mission for you."