Part 2/4
After buying the ingredients and returning home, the first thing I did was send Hayato to Yutopola with teleportation magic.
After that, until he called for me, it was time to work on the cake.
Chris steadily kept preparing dishes, and if I stored them hot in my magic space, by the day of the party we’d have a mountain of food ready.
Since the oven wasn’t that large, I couldn’t bake a huge sponge in one go. So I baked several layers, cut them, and pieced them together to form as big a base as possible.
Of course, that meant I also needed an absurd amount of whipped cream… but whipping it all up by hand would be exhausting.
So, I decided to head back to the alchemy room and make a fully automatic mixing machine.
Riito-san was using the room at the moment, but this wouldn’t take me long, so it shouldn’t bother her.
「Ah, welcome back, rookie」
「I’m home. How’s it going?」
「Smoothly. More importantly… this chair is so comfortable…」
「Darwin prepared it. Feels good to sit on, right?」
「Very much so… Honestly, with this chair I feel like I could keep alchemizing forever」
I get the feeling.
Having a good environment really matters when working.
A chair may seem minor, but it’s actually pretty important.
「Ah, how about this?」
Riito-san showed me a big bell and shiny round ornaments.
「Ohh, as expected! Looks amazing」
As expected from Riito-san.
Even with my poor explanation, she understood exactly what I had in mind.
「Fufu. Next I’ll make the glowing magic stones. I believe combining them with colored glass does the trick, right?」
「Yes. Ah, and if possible, please link them so that they require fewer points of magical infusion」
「Understood. Then I’ll set them up so that magic distributes evenly to all stones」
Impressive.
She said it so casually, but that’s actually really difficult and complicated to pull off…
While thinking that, I got to work on the automatic mixing machine.
I shaped a rotating sphere through synthesis so that it turned like a stirring spatula, attached it to a stand with a bowl, and added a scraper to keep things from overflowing.
Finally, I set a magic stone as the power source, and it was complete.
Using Multi-Copy, I created several identical machines, stored them away in my magic space, and left the alchemy room.
-0-
Back in the kitchen, Chris had finished several more dishes, so I quickly stored them while they were still warm.
「Ah, I’d like to prepare sweets for Wendy-san, Emily-san, and Riito-san. Would that be alright?」
「Yeah, take them along as a little treat」
「Yes! Oh, and I also brewed some tea for you, onii-san, so please have some」
Much appreciated…
Chris really is a good kid.
It’s not just that she’s considerate, she’s on another level.
Every household ought to have a Chris, honestly.
…Though this isn’t the time to be messing around with fake Kansai dialect.
I don’t have much time.
For now, I poured the fresh cream into a bowl and set the automatic mixing machine I’d made earlier.
I infused the magic stone with magic power, checked the operation, and everything seemed fine.
「You’ve made another interesting device」
「Convenient, right? Seems like it’d be great for mixing eggs too」
「That’s true. With that, making sweets would be much easier!」
「If you’d like, you can take one after we’re done」
「Really!?」
「Of course. You’ve been helping out, so I’ll even give you some other useful gadgets as presents」
「Waa! Then I’ll do my best!」
Chris really has brightened up a lot.
Now, she can even talk with me normally when it’s just the two of us. Quite the difference from when we first met.
Alright then, if Chris is working hard, I can’t fall behind. Time for me to give it my all too.
While making whipped cream, I baked sponge cakes and sliced fruits in between.
I spread whipped cream on the bottom layer of sponge, scattered fruits over it, sandwiched them with more cream, then stacked another sponge cake on top.
Normally, the next step would just be to keep adding cream and layers. But if it were just stacked high, cutting it later would be messy and hard to eat.
So, I aligned the sponges carefully, making sure that each seam would serve as a natural dividing line when slicing.
Of course, I also varied the contents for each layer so the flavors would change.
Different fruits, or whipped cream mixed with fruit pulp, variety to make every slice enjoyable.
And before long, a massive cake, enough for dozens of people, was complete.
「Ooh…」
Chris was so astonished she couldn’t even form words.
Her eyes went wide as she stared at the cake.
It was three layers tall, and as wide as my arms could stretch. Since I didn’t have a plate large enough, I had to hastily alchemize a huge iron sheet to serve as the base.
For the finishing touch, I covered the exposed sides of the cake with plenty of cream and decorated them with fruits. Just as I was about to start, a message came through from Hayato.
『Itsuki-san, I’ve arrived at the destination! It’s really cold, so make sure to wear warm clothes before coming over!』
「Got it. I’ll head over once I’m ready」
『Okaaay, I’ll be waiting!』
Hmm…
What should I do?
「Chris, could you help me with the final decorations?」
「Is that alright? Even if I add my own touch…?」
「It’s just spreading the cream neatly and placing the fruits on top. You’ll probably make it look cuter than I would. Besides, I know your skills, so I can trust you with it」
「Understood! Leave it to me!」
Chris patted her chest with confidence, flipped her apron, and began selecting fruits.
Her expression was full of determination and joy.
Seeing that, I was looking forward to coming back to see the finished result myself.
「Alright then, I’ll be going」
「Yes. Please give my regards to Hayato-sama」
「Got it」
-0-
On my way back to my room to grab winter clothes, I decided to let Wendy know I was heading out.
I knocked on her door.
「Wendy, got a moment?」
「M-Master!? Umm… right now… it’s… it’s fine…」
Her voice sounded hesitant. Wondering why, I opened the door, and understood.
A red, cone-shaped hat topped with a fluffy white pompom.
A red outfit that exposed her shoulders and emphasized her cleavage.
A glimpse of her navel, a short skirt, and below it, white legs as beautiful as a snowfield.
「M-Master… how do I look? I tried it on just to see…」
「Haa… this is bad. Really bad」
「B-bad?」
「Yeah, bad. It suits you. It suits you far too well. If Emily weren’t here, I might not have been able to hold back」
That’s how dangerously alluring it was.
The glimpse of her navel was sexy, and above all, the design that emphasized her chest paired with the red-and-white contrast was… kuuh!
「Hey… isn’t this outfit a little too indecent?」
「Don’t be ridiculous… this is a proper, formal outfit」
Though… it definitely didn’t have to be a miniskirt.
「Besides… I’m about to go meet Hayato. If Emily were to wear that outfit when we got back, I guarantee Hayato would be delighted」
After all, he and I had exchanged a firm handshake.
There’s no way he’d dislike it.
「…But that means you’d be seeing me in it too, wouldn’t you?」
「Sooner or later, I’ll see it anyway. So wouldn’t you rather be the first to see Hayato happy?」
「…Fine. I’ll take that provocation. Wendy-sama, I’ll try on this outfit for myself, so could you help with the adjustments?」
「Yes. If Emily-san is wearing it with me, then it won’t be embarrassing」
There’s no reason to be embarrassed.
It suits them perfectly.
Honestly, this alone could be my present.
I can’t wait to see Aina and Sorte in these outfits too!
Just knowing I’ll get to see that makes me feel like I can endure anything.
「Alright then, I’m off to pick up Hayato! Everyone, keep working hard!」
「…Your excitement is showing on your face. Do you really like these outfits that much…?」
「Ahaha… still, it feels nice to be complimented」
Unless it’s that kind of shop, you’d never get to see girls, beautiful ones at that, wearing outfits like this.
This kind of thrill… only we could understand.
Leaving Wendy’s room, I bundled up in my winter gear and slipped a fire magic stone into my pocket to use as a hand warmer.
-0-
I located Hayato’s coordinates, shifted them slightly, and activated teleportation.
My vision instantly turned into a snowy world, and a chill cut right through me.
「Uugh… so cold…」
Well, of course it was. Snow was falling, and the air was freezing.
Since I didn’t have gloves, I shoved my hands deep into my pockets and kept them there.
「Ahaha, it’s snow, Itsuki-san!」
「You look way too happy… Here, take one of these warmers」
「Ah, thank you. But I’m fine!」
Hayato was brimming with energy.
Behind him stood a massive dome-like structure.
「That’s… a snow hut?」
「Yes! I had some time, so I made one! Where I lived, it hardly ever snowed…」
He scooped up snow with his wide blade and packed it onto the hut.
Was it really okay to use such an important weapon for something like that…?
「So what are you going to do with it? Bring it back and set it up in the yard?」
「If possible… that would be fun, wouldn’t it?」
「It’s doable. But we’d have to dismantle it first」
Worst case, we could just carry chunks of snow back and rebuild it.
As for making it snow…
Well, since it was snowing right now, I could just record these coordinates and use Input and Output to reproduce it.
「Alright then, let’s quickly store some snow in the magic space. It’s freezing, so let’s hurry」
「Got it! I’ll hold it, so please keep filling it up!」
Hayato really was full of energy…
Maybe adventurers gain resistance to the cold when their stats rise?
Uugh… it’s freezing…
So this is what youth feels like…
-0-
After gathering up the snow, we returned, using Wendy’s location as the anchor.
The warmth of the room enveloped me, and my eyes were drawn to Emily.
She looked a little sulky as she glanced Hayato’s way, while Wendy smiled brightly beside her.
「Wow… Emily! You look so cute! It suits you so well!」
「R-really…? I just tried it on for fun… I see…」
Just as Hayato said, an elf with a Santa hat was… something else.
It wasn’t really sexy, more like adorable.
The skirt length was the same, but the design was more of a one-piece dress.
Her navel wasn’t exposed, but the bright red stood out beautifully against Emily’s pale skin, making it suit her perfectly.
Satisfied with the answer she wanted, Emily quickly returned to her work.
Hayato watched her with gentle, affectionate eyes.
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