Chapter 257: Ryohei Tanaka Is Getting a Little Too Attached to Lucoa!
"What a strange person..."
Klinken looked at Ryohei Tanaka with a puzzled expression as the latter tasted and appraised various seasonings.
Once he put on the apron, his aura changed completely, giving off the feeling of an "impressive head chef"!
Yet, his actions were baffling, as if he didn't recognize the spices in the kitchen at all. It was a complete contradiction.
Could it be... he comes from a very distant place?
Does he not understand the condiments used here?
Klinken pondered and concluded that this was the only possibility.
"..." Callista stayed in the kitchen for a while, then left with a swaying, enchanting gait.
She was the owner, after all, and wasn't that idle. She planned to return later.
Lucoa, resting her arms on her ample chest, watched Ryohei Tanaka quietly, her eyes full of amusement.
"..."
Gulp, gulp—!
After figuring out the last seasoning, Ryohei Tanaka took a bottle of water from his spatial storage, stepped out of the kitchen, and rinsed his mouth.
He closed his eyes, visualizing the combination of the flamingo meat with various seasonings. The first thing that came to mind was the original recipe for the Roasted Flamingo—he had tasted it out!
Although he couldn't pinpoint the exact gram measurements, Ryohei Tanaka could identify which spices were used.
Based on that foundation, he made adjustments, adding and subtracting according to his own understanding...
"..." Ryohei Tanaka opened his eyes, a glint of sharpness flashing through them. He put away the remaining water, turned around, and returned to the kitchen to start cooking.
"..."
"Using boiling water to scald the flamingo... his very first step is different from ours!"
"Is he really going to make Roasted Flamingo?"
Inside the kitchen, a prep cook with buck teeth watched Ryohei Tanaka in astonishment, unable to comprehend what was happening.
Their usual method wasn't like this at all; this step simply didn't exist.
Was this the so-called improvement? Had it already begun?
But what was the point of doing this?
He couldn't understand!
"..." The prep cook couldn't help but look at the tavern's top chef, Klinken, wondering if his boss had noticed anything.
He saw his boss standing there like an immovable wall, arms crossed, exuding the air of a general.
"..."
"Scalding the skin with boiling water rapidly denatures the surface proteins and shrinks the pores. This makes the skin crispier during roasting. At the same time, this step effectively reduces the gamey smell, enhances the flavor, and improves the penetration of the marinade later on."
Holding a wooden ladle, Ryohei Tanaka poured boiling water quickly and evenly over the flamingo's skin while explaining confidently.
His professional commentary left the chefs of the Tulip Tavern stunned.
Of course, they didn't understand some of the technical terms, but they grasped the general meaning of Ryohei Tanaka's words. Expressions of realization dawned on their faces one by one. So scalding the skin has such an effect? Learned something new!
The smarter ones had already begun silently memorizing Ryohei Tanaka's words.
"..." The bearded chef looked at Ryohei Tanaka with great surprise, initially thinking he was spouting nonsense, but then he, too, silently took notes in his heart.
After scalding the skin, Ryohei Tanaka took out a few sheets of kitchen paper to pat the flamingo skin dry.
Then, he went to the pantry and brought out a basket of ingredients.
"'Onions,' 'celery,' 'carrots,' 'potatoes,' 'apples,' 'chestnuts,' 'shiitake mushrooms,' 'sausages,' 'bread'..."
The combination of ingredients surprised the Tulip Tavern chefs again, but this time Ryohei Tanaka didn't say anything.
He took two white "onions" from the basket, peeled them deftly, and diced them finely.
His superb knife skills made the chefs in the tavern want to exclaim, "So fast!" The bearded chef felt as though Ryohei Tanaka was displaying his martial prowess to him—
Like a warrior holding a spear, full of fighting spirit, ready to strike!
Bring it on!
He thought to himself.
As a renowned chef in the Royal Capital, he wouldn't admit defeat easily!
Chop, chop, chop—!
Ryohei Tanaka quickly mashed the diced "onions" into a paste, mixed in a pale green vegetable oil, added salt, freshly ground black pepper, and three kinds of chopped herbs, creating a thick paste.
He smeared this paste evenly over the flamingo's body, carefully coating the inside as well. Then, he gave the flamingo a professional massage, kneading it repeatedly to ensure the spices penetrated the muscle fibers.
Having finished the "marinating" process, Ryohei Tanaka set the flamingo aside and began preparing the stuffing for the interior.
The existing conditions in the kitchen weren't convenient for making the stuffing, so Ryohei Tanaka simply took a charcoal stove out of his spatial storage and set up a wok.
He quickly diced and cubed the remaining ingredients, then added the diced "sausage," "onions," "celery," and so on into the wok in sequence to stir-fry them.
A tantalizing aroma instantly wafted up!
"..." Watching this cooking method, which was clearly different from theirs, and smelling the fragrance permeating the air, Klinken confirmed once again that Ryohei Tanaka and his companion came from a distant land!
...
More than half an hour later—
"How much longer?"
Callista returned to the kitchen, her stiletto heels clicking clack-clack-clack. She had forgotten to ask earlier.
"An hour and a half."
Ryohei Tanaka looked at her and answered concisely.
That wasn't too long, about what Callista expected. She nodded, then placed her hand on her ample chest and said warmly:
"Come to think of it, we haven't introduced ourselves properly. I'm Callista, the owner of the Tulip Tavern."
"I'm Ryohei Tanaka, a traveler."
Ryohei Tanaka assigned himself the identity of a traveler, then looked at Lucoa. "This is Lucoa."
"Ryohei-kun, your introduction for me is way too brief, isn't it? Just a name?"
Lucoa turned her face away, expressing her dissatisfaction.
"What else then?"
"At least introduce our unspeakable relationship!"
"..." Ryohei Tanaka's mouth twitched. He was speechless for two seconds before rolling his eyes at Lucoa.
"You already called it an 'unspeakable relationship,' so how can I just casually introduce it?"
After throwing out that retort, Ryohei Tanaka raised his hand and re-introduced her to Callista, who was now wearing an expression of "I'm interested, spill the tea":
" This is Lucoa, a female friend with whom I share a very intimate relationship that goes beyond mere friendship or subordination."
Who wouldn't like a beautiful, incredibly built, and erotic big sister?
There was no doubt Ryohei Tanaka liked Lucoa—and not just for her looks and body.
Ryohei Tanaka felt very relaxed when he was with Lucoa. Occasionally being teased made his heart race.
And she was really clingy, even more so than Yurine!
—This feeling actually wasn't bad!
Lucoa had a good personality and helped Ryohei Tanaka a lot.
Honestly, Ryohei Tanaka was getting a little too attached to her...
~~~
Get early access to 20+ advanced chapters on Patreon!
https://www.pat-reon.co-m/c/Hollowborn
~~~
Every 5 new reviews = 1 extra chapters
Every 150 Power Stones = 1 extra chapter