Mushroom Master Mia, Summoned by the Forest
“Wow! Look, look, Miss Mia! The Libra King has an apron on!”
Miabel squealed with delight as soon as she walked into the kitchen. Her big, bright eyes were drawn to Sion. It was clear that Maniabel was still alive and well.
I swear, there are times when I almost feel bad about Bel being my granddaughter. That girl is so embarrassing at times…
This, of course, was coming from the person who had looked at Sion for the first time in the previous timeline and said, “My! He is it! My Prince, Prince Sion! And he has a uniform on! Moons, is there anything else in the world that is more beautiful? No, there’s nothing.”
Maniabel Luna Tearmoon, meet Mania Luna Tearmoon, who is your grandmother. Given how bad her memory was, however, this particular event had long since passed the point where she could no longer remember it.
Soon, a few more girls came into the kitchen.
Chloe, Tiona, Liora, and even Lynsha had all arrived with the kind of excitement that usually happens right before a live idol show starts.
Keithwood said, “Now then, let’s start making the sandwiches we’ll eat for lunch today.”
Even though their fans were talking excitedly, the team got to work.
“As usual, I’ll be helping milord Sion. Could you please help Prince Abel, Lord Sapphias?”
“Of course I can. But what about the menu itself?” Sapphias asked, “What kind of sandwiches should we make?” as he crossed his arms and looked at the ingredients Keithwood had set out.
“Well… Let’s do the same thing we did last time to be safe. White sauce on grilled meat. Oh, and since we already have them, why not add some fried eggs?” suggested Keithwood.
“That seems good. But there are a lot of girls here today, and they might prefer some with more vegetables.”
“Ah, I see. It’s true that a meal made of just meat can be pretty heavy. So, let’s make several different kinds. One has vegetables and fried eggs, and the other has meat that has been grilled. Then, we’ll add a third choice with thin slices of smoked meat on a bed of greens.”
Mia’s lips were pursed as she watched the two talk.
Hmm, not bad… I didn’t think Sapphias could keep up in a conversation about cooking with Keithwood. He’s very good for getting married. So, I’d better step up my game!
She took a deep breath and said, “Are you sure you have enough hands there?” with a challenge in her tone. Since I don’t have anything to do, I might as well help—”
Her dangerous idea was shot down with a lot of hostility. Keithwood would usually have to deal with such dangers on his own, but this time Sapphias was there to help. After both boys twitched at the mention of her encroachment, they didn’t look at each other for more than a second before launching a quick and coordinated attack.
Sapphias was the first one to attack.
“No, no, Your Majesty. We could never cause you so much trouble. Please feel free to stay where you are and keep watching us.”
Keithwood didn’t miss a beat and added the cross to Sapphias’s first punch.
“This is milord and Prince Abel’s chance to show you what they’ve made. Surely, you wouldn’t want to take away their chance to shine?”
“Is that right? Well, if that’s the case, I guess…”
Mia awkwardly scratched her head and went back to watching the royal cooking show as a spectator after the two people stopped her from getting closer.
“Okay, Prince Abel, let’s chop up these vegetables. Hey, wait. Curl your fingers on the hand you use to hold them. Yes, yes, just like that. You won’t cut yourself that way.”
Mia couldn’t help but stare as Sapphias taught Abel the basics of how to use a knife in a careful way.
“Huh…”
She stared at the two boys for a while, then she broke into a smile.
Oho ho, this is wonderful. Abel’s so adorable. I love how clumsy he is with the knife, but how hard he tries to use it right. Ah, it’s just too good!
She thought it was cute how hard he tried, and she liked watching him learn. That is, until she saw that his hand movements were getting faster and more practised.
W-Wait, is it just me, or does it look like he’s better with the knife than I am now?
She was sorry she had seen. She couldn’t stop comparing herself to the others once she started thinking about it. Sion, being the perfect guy that he is, was kneading dough like a pro while the other girls looked at him.
She knew that would happen. What she didn’t expect was for Sapphias to be so skilled. He was also much better at cooking than she was.
In other words, Mia, who was very good in the kitchen… No, not just her, but all of the young, well-known women there…
We lost to the guys from the student council?!
She was shocked by this terrible news. The whole point of her making sandwiches was to show her marriageability.
So, something very big had gone wrong with her plans.
“Oh, I just thought of something. Why don’t we add more detail to the shape? Food should not only taste good but also look good. Last time, we made them in the shape of horses. This time, why don’t we try making them in the shape of mushrooms?”
Again, the dynamic duo moved quickly and cut her off before she could even finish her offer.
Keithwood said very quickly, “Don’t worry about it, Princess Mia.”
“But—”
“It’s not necessary.
“Everything is fine,” Sapphias said with an iron will.
Furthermore…
“Yeah, relax, Mia. I understand that you’re worried, but could you just let us handle this?”
Even her best friend Abel spoke out against her, so she had to give up. In the end, she had no choice but to sit there and watch the princes show off in the kitchen. She felt completely helpless after what happened.
I hate to say it, but it’s clear that they’re better than me…
Sion was not like other people, so he did not count. Even though Abel wasn’t a genius, he was better at this than she was. Mia realised that she couldn’t cook as well as they did, so she tried very hard to come up with a way to make it look like she could.
She thought and thought, and finally came to a simple conclusion: she had been doing this wrong the whole time.
You’re right. Why did I do that?
I am not the Great Gastronome of the Empire; I am the Great Wisdom. I got too involved in all this talk about getting married. What should impress people about me is how wise I am. In particular, my experience as a guide for mushrooms!
Since most of what she knew about mushrooms was about how to eat them, the difference seemed a little off, but maybe some truths were better not known.
“That’s it! For the sake of my delicious mushroom stew, I’m going to hit this one out of the park! I’m going to look for mushrooms!”
Mia felt something stir inside her when she thought about how much better the boys would be as husbands. She didn’t know if her strong feeling was motivation or desperation, but it drove her back to her room, where she told her trusted maid, “Anne, get me a change of clothes. No self-respecting mushroom master would wear a school uniform into the woods!”
“Right away, milady!”
Both Mia’s heart and body seemed to be drawn deeper into the forest, as if by an invisible force.
