It was the day after I had been tasked with creating a dish that would satisfy the Flame Dragon Lord and earn me some merit.
I was brought to the kitchen as usual to provide my nectar. However, today was not going to end with the usual routine. I absolutely had to get permission to visit the Botanical Garden, and to do that, I was going to wrap my vines around the Flame Dragon Lord’s stomach. I was going to show off my home cooking!
"You’ve got to be kidding. Is it true that an Alraune is actually going to cook?"
The one who spoke to me was Scylla, a cook who worked in the Demon King's Castle kitchen. From the waist up, she looked like an ordinary human woman, but her lower half was truly something to behold. She possessed twelve octopus-like legs and six dog heads that resembled a Cerberus.
While her upper half was human, her lower body was a mass of tentacles and canine heads; in a way, we had a lot in common, considering my lower half consisted of a bulb and a tangle of vines. Our silhouettes were quite similar at a glance. The fact that we both had over ten "limbs" gave me a real sense of kinship with her. Because of that, I had recently started chatting with her a little bit.
"Rather than the Alraune doing the cooking, isn't it more like the Alraune is being cooked?"
How rude of her. Despite how I looked, I had plenty of experience cooking with the Little Witch back in the forest. However, Scylla was a professional cook, so I decided to explain the situation and have her watch my technique.
"Don’t... be surprised... if you... get a shock. Just... watch."
I used my vines to grow an array of vegetables—broad beans, turnips, and onions. Then, using eucalyptus, I set about fire-making. I wasn't just a chef; I could provide the ingredients and the cooking utensils myself.
"Alraune, you're on fire!"
"............Extinguish me... please."
Shortly after, I was promptly put out.
That wasn't right! If I had molted, I could have handled it myself, but since we were in a kitchen, I figured it was safer to let Scylla help me before things got out of hand. Besides, since I wanted to prepare a meal for the Flame Dragon Lord, I had been determined to cook the vegetables using my own power. But as I feared, it seemed I had reached the limit of what I could do alone.
"Ahahaha! I never thought I'd actually be that surprised!"
Scylla’s laughter was a bit painful to hear. Yes, I knew deep down that my Alraune-style Vegetable Cooking still had plenty of room for improvement. But it was the only thing I could think of at the time! With things as they were, I had no choice but to humbly accept Scylla’s help.
"Sorry to break it to you after you used your whole body to cook, but these are just plain grilled vegetables. And they're charred, too. Glüh-sama won't think these are delicious or rare or anything at all."
"Just... as I... thought."
Dejected, I was carried out of the kitchen by a maid. I had to work in the Flame Dragon Lord’s Office for the afternoon.
"I hear you attempted to cook in the kitchen," the Flame Dragon Lord said as I entered.
He was already aware of it? News certainly traveled fast.
"And? Did it go well?"
"I... am... not good... at cooking."
"I would be more surprised if you, a plant monster, were actually a master chef. There is no need to be so discouraged. Just take your time with it."
"But... if I don't... make... delicious food... I won't... get my reward... soon."
"I am not necessarily looking for something delicious. I have lived a long life, and my palate is quite refined. Therefore, as long as you make something rare and manage to surprise me, that will be enough."
"Is... that... really okay?"
"Yes. In fact, if you can produce something rare other than nectar, that would suffice."
A rare food item...
I went over the list of vegetables I could currently generate. I had actually predated several new species in the Botanical Garden, so I had quite a variety now. Apples, broad beans, turnips, onions, chili peppers, cassava... Ah, that’s it!
Cassava was the raw material for tapioca. It seemed that tapioca hadn't been invented in this world yet, so the Flame Dragon Lord would definitely find it rare! Back in my high school girl era in my previous life, I had researched a bit about how cassava was turned into tapioca. I didn't remember the exact process, but I figured I could make it work somehow.
With that decided, it was time to attempt tapioca making!
The next day, when I was brought to the kitchen, I asked Scylla if she would help me again. To my delight, she agreed immediately. Scylla really was a nice person!
"I want to help you out, Alraune, and besides, I’ve been told from on high to look after you."
"...From on high?"
"I got a message from Glüh-sama’s butler telling me to assist you."
In other words, the Flame Dragon Lord himself had asked her to look after me? I was stunned to learn that the Flame Dragon Lord and Uncle Teddy were secretly working behind the scenes for my sake. I would have to work my hardest on this dish to show my gratitude.
And so, using my hazy memories, the tapioca production began.
First, I generated the cassava tubers. I had used selective breeding to ensure they were properly detoxified, so they were perfectly safe. Together with Scylla, we grated the cassava and stirred the mash. A blender would have been great, but since we didn't have one, we had to do it by hand.
Scylla’s cooking speed with her twelve octopus tentacles was incredible. I tried to keep up by using twenty-four vines—twice her number—to grate the tubers, but I still lost. I was no match for a professional.
Once that was done, we squeezed the starch from the grated cassava to create a liquid. We let this white liquid sit for a few days.
Three days later, the liquid had settled, and the hardened sediment became our tapioca flour. By adding water and sugar to this flour and mixing it, we created the doughy base for the tapioca. Then came the tedious work of pinching off small pieces and rolling them into spheres, over and over again. Eventually, they started to look just like real tapioca.
After boiling them and then cooling them in water, they were finished. We had a massive amount of small, round tapioca pearls!
For a first attempt, it wasn't bad at all. They might only be "pseudo-tapioca," but they looked the part. There were a few steps I hadn't been sure about, but by experimenting with Scylla, we had managed to make it work. I’ll skip the boring technical details.
Scylla pinched one of the pearls and popped it into her mouth.
"Hmm. It’s not exactly what I’d call delicious on its own."
Well, eating plain tapioca isn't supposed to be amazing. However, by adding these pearls to a drink, it would evolve into something truly rare.
"What’s the next step?"
"I... want to make... tapioca... milk tea... but..."
"If you need milk, I can go to the ranch outside and milk some for you."
Getting milk from a cow would be easy. But now that I’d come this far, I wanted all the ingredients to come from me. Scylla had helped with the preparation, but if I didn't provide all the materials myself, I could hardly claim full credit for the dish. If only I could produce milk myself...
Wait, I just had an idea!
"I... might be able... to produce... milk!"
"............Eh?"
Scylla’s voice cracked, echoing through the kitchen.
Cassava wasn't the only thing I had predated in the Botanical Garden. Among the dozens of plants I had secretly consumed, there was one that was just right. If I used that, I could produce my own "milk."
Alright, for the sake of getting back to that Botanical Garden, I’m going to produce as much as I can! And then, I’m going to make the Flame Dragon Lord drink it!
Tapioca: A starch extracted from the storage roots of the cassava plant, a member of the Euphorbiaceae family. The name is said to derive from the word "tipi'óka," a name in the Tupi language for the process by which the starch is made edible.
Next time: The milk finally comes out.