"So, do we already know what we're supposed to cook using that golden liquid?"
Kai asked as he looked at the expressions of everyone in the room. All of them wore complicated looks on their faces, clearly unsure how to answer his question.
"First of all, we can't make something boring… people won't want to try it if they don't see it as something interesting."
After a moment of silence, Kurt finally voiced his opinion. Kai, of course, already understood that, which was why he didn't look particularly pleased with the answer.
"Of course we understand that… that's why we're going to use that golden liquid, right?"
Kai said while pointing at the jar in Elly's hands.
"Honestly, I think any food that has that liquid added to it would become something out of the ordinary… after all, that thing is gold-colored."
Kai continued, starting to think that the object in front of him was extremely strange, and he wasn't entirely sure whether it was really edible. Then again, Katie's honey also had a color similar to gold, so something gold-colored should be safe to eat in this world.
"Now then, all of you… do you still remember what Grandma Lyla said last night?"
Claire asked while holding her chin, recalling Grandma Lyla's words.
"What did that old woman say yesterday, anyway? Honestly, I only remember the part about the festival."
Kai answered truthfully. With his limited memory, there was no way he could remember everything an old woman said—especially one who wasn't all that important to him. Of course, that would be a different story if he managed to marry her granddaughter.
"Well, I'm not surprised at all to find out that you can't remember much with that tiny brain of yours, filled only with lewd and useless thoughts."Claire replied sarcastically.
"Hey! My brain isn't filled only with lewd and useless things!"
Kai replied in an indignant tone. His eyes glared sharply at Claire, but the moment Claire returned the look with an even sharper gaze, Kai's courage immediately shrank, and he shut his mouth.
"Back to the main topic… Grandma Lyla said that one of the things we need for the festival is the most delicious soup in the world."
After Claire finished her sentence, Kai recalled that the old woman had indeed mentioned something about the most delicious soup in the world—the legendary soup.
"So, do you think we can use this golden liquid for that soup?"
Elly asked enthusiastically as she lifted the jug filled with the golden liquid in her hand.
"We were planning to use that liquid to make some kind of dish anyway, so we'll definitely use it—whether for that soup or for something else."
Claire replied with a slight smile. She felt a bit happy when she saw the bright smile and enthusiasm on Elly's face.
"But does that soup actually require that liquid as one of its ingredients?"However, her pleasant feeling was immediately shattered when she heard Kai's question, which was actually quite reasonable. Claire immediately shot him a displeased look to show how she felt.
"What? Did I ask something wrong?"
Kai asked, looking confused as he received that unhappy stare. He only understood the reason behind Claire's expression when he noticed that Elly's enthusiasm had vanished. The girl now looked absent-minded as she sat in her chair.
"Hmmm… I mean… um… we'll definitely use the golden liquid for something… but we still need to find out the actual recipe for that soup before deciding whether or not to use the liquid in it."
Kai nervously tried to fix the atmosphere he had ruined.
"It's okay, Kai… I understand… I was just too excited when I thought I could help everyone by finding this golden liquid."
Elly said with a forced smile. Kai truly felt guilty when he saw that smile.
Kai averted his gaze, the guilty expression still lingering on his face. He genuinely felt bad for Elly.
"Even if the recipe doesn't require the golden liquid, we can add it to make the taste even better… I'm sure that golden liquid will make any dish more delicious!"
Kurt said, trying to lift the mood.
"Wouldn't adding random ingredients to a dish just make the flavor a complete mess?"
Once again, Kai shattered the atmosphere. He immediately covered his mouth with both hands when he received glares from everyone present—everyone except Elly, who lowered her head even further. Kai truly couldn't stop himself from making logical comments whenever he heard something that didn't make sense to him.
"Kai, you might not know this, but this golden liquid always enhances the flavor of any dish we make… so far, there hasn't been a single dish that failed because of the golden liquid."
Claire said in a very firm and confident tone. Her words were clearly meant to warn Kai not to make any more unnecessary remarks.
Kai immediately nodded rapidly, before he could receive another sharp glare. He really should have realized from the start that this world was nothing more than a game world—one that didn't follow the same logic as the world he once lived in.
"It's fine… Claire… what Kai said isn't entirely wrong… we should focus on thinking about the soup recipe instead… where do you think we can find it?"
Elly said, trying to calm Claire down. A gentle smile—though slightly forced—was clearly visible on her face.
"Yes… I understand… I'm sorry too… it seems I was a bit too harsh on him."Claire said with a slightly regretful tone. She herself realized that what Kai had said wasn't completely wrong, so she decided to forgive the man who had disrupted the atmosphere in the room.
"You're right… if there's anyone here who knows about that recipe, then it's probably…"
Claire turned her head toward the person she suspected might know the recipe. Everyone's gaze immediately followed hers and landed on the same man.
"Dad!"
Katie exclaimed in surprise. Yes—if there was anyone who knew something about cooking recipes, it would be a chef. And the only chef among them was Pete, Katie's father.
But Pete, who was receiving those hopeful gazes from everyone else, merely scratched his cheek awkwardly before finally working up the courage to speak.
"I'm sorry, but unfortunately I don't know anything about the recipe you're talking about… in fact, I don't really understand the festival Grandma Lyla mentioned either."
Pete's honest answer left everyone present feeling disappointed.
"Does the festival Grandma talked about really exist?"
Kai asked, starting to feel suspicious of Grandma Lyla's words. He knew that it shouldn't be impossible, since the Fairy Goddess had already confirmed that he only needed to fulfill several requirements for the festival in order to save the village—which meant the festival truly did exist. Even so, it still felt strange that no villagers seemed to know about it, aside from Grandma Lyla.
"For some reason, my older brother seems to know about that festival… but you're right. I'm also a bit doubtful about the truth of the story behind it."Claire replied, this time agreeing with Kai.
Kai then remembered that Bob also seemed to know something about the festival based on what he had said. However, Bob was a strange and foolish man whose words were hard to trust, so Kai wasn't sure he should take him seriously.
"That festival really does exist!"
A sudden voice rang out, startling everyone.
They immediately turned toward the source of the voice and found Grandma Lyla already sitting on one of the chairs not far from them. No one had noticed her presence until she spoke.
"Grandma… since when have you been here?"
Elly asked in surprise.
"I've been here since the beginning of your discussion, listening to everything you were talking about."
Grandma Lyla replied with a relaxed smile. In front of her was a cup of tea filled to the brim and a teapot that seemed to be about half full.
"It may be hard to believe for those of you who have never experienced that festival, but I can guarantee that it truly was held in this village… you just need to believe that."
Grandma Lyla said, before taking a sip of her tea.
"I know you're thinking about searching for the recipe of that legendary soup so you can hold the best festival possible, but if I may offer you some advice… you'd be better off creating a new recipe rather than relying on the old one."
The next words that came out of Grandma Lyla's mouth stunned everyone.
"A new recipe…?"
Elly murmured, clearly unable to believe what her grandmother had just said. How could they possibly create a new recipe—one that had to become the most delicious dish in the world—when they were racing against the limited time before the village disappeared?
"Yes… a new recipe… I believe you can do it."