When I opened my eyes back in my room, I quickly took off the VR Headset and walked to the bathroom to wash my face and then take a warm bath to unwind from all the tension. I relaxed and almost fell asleep midway through but managed to pull out of the bathroom to make dinner.
"Phew… I really needed a warm bath…"
I walked to the kitchen and readied everything. I decided to do some of the recipes I do inside the game, cutting meat, onion, potatoes, carrots, garlic, tomatoes, and added water and spices, boiling everything down into an earthy meat and tomato stew.
I also made some rice in the racing making machine quite easily, and boiled some water for some tea. After that I quickly called Elena, Anna, and Elisa, all three girls were inside of Elena's room and walked outside with sleepy eyes.
"Were you girls sleeping or something?" I wondered.
"We were playing BNLO for a while…" Elena yawned.
"We came across this huge area near some mountains infested with Miasma everywhere and there were wyverns and other mountain monsters going completely rogue!" Anna said.
"It was fun and we leveled a lot, it seems something is going on near those mountains leading to the forest. But we might not really arrive into the forest of beginnings yet… Maybe another day." Elisa said. "More importantly, what's this?! It smells so delicious!"
"Ahahah, it is nothing new, just some stew I made along the way, try it out!" I said. "I made it quickly but it is quite earthy. I also made some rice if you want it to go with the stew."
"Been a while since you made stew, smell so good…" Elena said, as she began to eat right away. "Hmm, meat is so soft… Ah, potatoes are hot… Gulp. But they were so soft too…"
"It is my idea or the food is shining?!" Asked Anna, eating the food as her eyes began to open wide. "T-This flavor is way too amazing!"
"Eh? Really?" I asked.
I looked back at the food and indeed, there was this something on it that made it different… Well, I leveled up my Cooking Skill to Level 10! …But this isn't the game, so there's no way the game Skills are somehow affecting the real world or something, that's just… pure fantasy, hallucinations.
Yeah…
I tasted the stew myself, the delicious meat bits were so juicy, and the other ingredients melded so nicely inside of my mouth, the soft potatoes, the sweet and soft carrots, the thin bits of onions, the mushrooms, everything.
Why am I enjoying this food as if I were inside the game?! Maybe playing for too long is affecting my head somehow, making me think this food is just as awesome? Perhaps it is the same for the girls…
Well, it is better than suddenly thinking the food of the real world is dull, which would had been a really bad side effect. Thankfully that doesn't seem to be the actual case.
We enjoyed the food peacefully, as we couldn't help but be entranced in the combination of flavors.
"Mom you should definitely do more stew from now on."
"I-I always thought it was not a preferable food, kids these days don't really like stew right?"
"That's not true at all! I love it!"
Elisa interrupted my conversation with Elena as she began to proclaim her love for my stew.
"I eat a variety of classy food every day but nothing this earthy and filled with… I don't know, love?!" Elisa cried. "Can I get seconds?!"
"Sure!" I quickly served her some more, as she continued eating it happily.
"Your mother's food is always filled with so much care. Feels like eating in a five-star restaurant." Said Anna.
"Have you ever eaten in one?" Elena asked.
"Not really…" Anna sighed.
"W-Well I could invite you to one, maybe!" Elisa said while smiling.
"Well for now you girls should try to go to sleep early, tomorrow we'll be waking up early in the morning to go to my parent's house in the countryside." I said. "Elisa are you not going to be picked up by your butler?"
"Ah no, but he'll come tomorrow morning with everything I need. Also does the house has enough space for all of us?" Wondered Elisa.
"Yeah there should be enough space, we got around four rooms for free back in that house, it was very big, our whole family used to live there. But as my uncles and aunts grew older and their kids moved out, the house slowly emptied itself, now only my parents live there." I said. "We still got a big farm with animals, and big fields with crops, so you will all have a nice breath of fresh air in the countryside."
"Oooh! I can't wait! I'm going to sleep right away then…" Elisa said.
"Hm, we'll surely go to sleep right away." Elena said. I knew she was lying though.
"F-For sure!" Anna was even more terrible at lying.
"Ahahah… Don't stay until too late please, it'll be a pain to force you all to wake up." I sighed.
After we ate, I quickly decided to wash the dishes and go back to my room.
However, Elisa quickly approached me.
"Please let me give you my help!" She said.
"Eh? But Elisa aren't you a young lady, you shouldn't be-"
"Washing the dishes is not something too complicated, right? I-I've done it… a couple of times, I think, like several years ago."
"Well it is easy, just rub this sponge over the dishes to take out all the things stuck to it and leave it crystal clean." I said with a smile.
"A-Alright!"
And like that, a spoiled rich girl helped me wash the dishes. Of course Elena got a bit jealous and ended helping as well, and Anna also helped too. I never thought these two would ever help me wash the dishes, it was quite surprising, to say the least.
