Short disclaimer to start this chap: No animals were harmed in this story.

Enjoy!

CHAPTER 11

…despicable.

"Mako, is your niece here?"

The mayor's voice brought Reina to attention as she went down the stairs. Once the first floor came to view, she saw Ina and her uncle standing by the kitchen.

"Reina," Mako called her, "Ina wants to—oh." He only turned when Reina walked towards them.

"Hello, Reina," Ina greeted. "I'd like to tell you it's Cooking Festival two days from now, and I want you to participate." She crossed her arms. "Rutger's team seems to be getting better these past few Festivals, so we should hit our best shot this time."

Konohana had lost to Bluebell twice in a row: Rutger, the other town's mayor, had always included the eccentric café owner and the young blonde—maybe the café owner's daughter, if he could have one with having a contrasting personality to his body built—on the Salad and Soup categories. Reina admitted to herself, Those two were talented, I give them that. But why would Ina pick me to contend in the next one? Nori and Yun were sufficient.

"I'm sure you can whip something up," Ina continued with a confident grin. "Not with all of your experience in the city!"

Touché. So that was the reason.

Truth be told, Reina learned to cook through research (the same way she handled her experiments in school) back in her university days, remembering how Mako would encourage her before, "A fine lady should master the ways of the home!" So far, her uncle wasn't complaining with her food; either it was palatable enough, or he was too used to eating them already.

But other people had tasted her food, too, as she had participated in the towns' Cooking Festivals before. Aside from that, a prominent young man commented on them recently. His unreadable expression then came to her mind.

Maybe he was just bluffing, she thought grimly. So as not to offend me. But he did finish off the bento—

"So, is it a 'yes', Reina?" Ina's hopeful tone made her realize she hadn't said anything yet.

Well, when was the last time the Gourmet critiqued my cooking? I would require a fresh reassessment. Reina nodded.

...unctuous.

She proceeded to her original plan that day: observing the mountain plants. On the way, however, she was now scanning through a cookbook she borrowed at the Town Hall. Omelet…no, we don't have eggs here. She flipped the next page. Fried Rice, perhaps? But I would need carrots for that, and they're not in season yet—

"Reina!"

She looked up, startled, and whirled her head to the voice. Phillip stood at the shallow river, with his orange shirt sleeves rolled up to his elbows; his blue pants, to his knees. "Please be careful where you're walking!" he hollered.

Reina arched an eyebrow. "What are you doing there?"

He grinned. "It's hot, and I need something to ship with. Kana taught me an ingenious way to cool off and earn at the same time." He looked down. "Oh, here it is!" He then stepped forward and grasped something in the surface with both hands.

She winced when water hit his face and the front of his shirt. "Aw, shoot, I missed," she heard him say while clutching his wet garment. "And I forgot to bring extra clothes."

Defeated, Phillip trudged to land and picked up the basket he left close by. Slowly, he approached her. Wait. I swore I just saw something…flailing inside just now.

He chuckled sheepishly. "Guess I should head home. Besides, they won't be back until later." He peered at the basket with one brow raised. "Plus, they're awfully tiny…"

Reina glanced at the contents in horror. W-w-was that—?!

He noticed her apprehension. "Are you OK? You look pale."

She quickly stepped backward and shielded herself with the open cookbook. "J-just…d-don't move that basket closer!"

…utterly repulsive.

Reina forcefully shut the cookbook as she returned to the Town Hall. If I'm going to read one more word of "sushi" in the Main Dishes chapter… She sighed exasperatedly. None of that. I've seen enough horror for myself today.

When she opened the door, the mayor greeted her with a smile. "Oh, were you done with the book?"

Best be honest. "Well…no, I haven't picked anything yet, Ina. I would like to ask if I could extend my borrowing period."

"No problem! And maybe, I can help you." That was Ina; always suggestive. "How about…risotto? I'm sure Pierre would like to taste some this season." She was talking about the Gourmet who would judge the Cooking Festival.

Reina considered the ingredients to use. "Hmm…yes, why not?" She opened the book again and quickly skimmed the page for rice recipes. Yes, yes, these are accessible this season. "Thank you."

Ina smiled again. "Anything to win the Cooking Festival!"

I'm…not sure what to respond.

"Oh, no, I forgot," the mayor mentioned, smacking her forehead lightly. "These requests should be posted by now." She picked up a box and picked a few pieces of paper. "Can't have them piling up!" She turned to the young botanist. "You have something to catch up?"

Requests, huh? She suddenly remembered the scene she had with Phillip at the river. She internally shuddered at the thought of the basket's contents. B-but, I read about desensitization, and it is high time I do it now.

"Well…yes. I would like to post a request."

…abhorring.

"It looks scrumptious, Reina," Nori commented as she looked at the risotto placed on an oblong ceramic bowl.

"If only the Gourmet could say that as well."

Today was the Cooking Festival. All villagers from the two towns were present, feeling spirited as seen in their intricate preparations. For Konohana, Yun had designed their circular table with white and red square motifs. Her granddaughter, Ying, placed a vase full of pink cat flowers to accentuate the table.

As far as Reina knew, she, Hiro, and Phillip would form the team for their town. When she found out, she was confident they had a teammate known for his hidden cooking skills. With Phillip…he does join every Festival, and the Gourmet's indifferent to his dishes.

However, she had learned through the times they shared that her colleague wasn't to be underestimated.

"Phillip has arrived," Hiro said, breaking her thoughts.

The young farmer bowed to the villagers, which was reciprocated by a soft cheer. His dish was in a rectangular plate and wrapped in aluminium foil.

Kana sniffed at the foil. "I smell…charcoal and grills. Watcha got there, Phillip?"

Before he could answer, Yun called their attention. "Let's set the table now, dears! Pierre will start judging anytime soon!"

The three contenders approached the tea house owner and positioned their dishes on her instructions. Phillip glanced at Reina's. "Wow, the color fits the heat of the season nicely."

She took a second look. "Tomatoes." As plain as that.

"Hey, could you teach me the recipe? Let's exchange." He unravelled the foil, and suddenly, Reina didn't feel like saying "sure".

"And now, Team Konohana!"

The Gourmet Pierre, a blonde man garbed in a purple top hat and purple suit, gaily approached the circular table after giving his comments on Team Bluebell's food. Their line-up—the motherly livestock shop owner, the burgundy-haired horse lover, and Raul's blue-clothed brother—seemed heterogeneous to Reina. One is an expert at home cooking; the other, a novice like me; and…I have nothing to say about Raul's brother.

The Gourmet first sampled Hiro's tofu burger. "Hmm…" His tone suddenly shifted to delight. "Mmmm! It's as if the Harvest Goddess has made it Herself!"

Huh? The Harvest Goddess can cook? she thought skeptically.

Next, he scooped some of Reina's risotto. She tugged her skirt out of anxiety as she waited for her verdict. "The consistency's OK, but the sauciness of the tomatoes is released well with it. Good job!"

She sighed in relief and put on her proudest smile. Not bad for starters, Reina. It is always wise to follow the cookbook!

Lastly, the Gourmet went to Phillip's dish. "Hmm, grilled fish." She cringed by the mere mention of the name. "It reminds me so much of the Sunshine Islands."

He scraped a piece with a fork and eagerly took it in his mouth. He slowly chewed. "This…this is…" He swallowed exaggeratedly. "…perfect! It must've been grilled watchfully to achieve such flavor!"

Konohana let out their cheers loudly. They intensified in volume when Pierre declared, "We have a winner! This goes to Team…Konohana!"

"Reina."

The young botanist stopped walking towards Mako's house and turned to the voice. Phillip approached her, a piece of paper in one hand.

He raised the paper to let her read the content. "I guess this explains your behavior two days ago and today."

She recognized the handwriting. "That's…my request."

"Yeah, and I accepted the job yesterday." He smiled. "You could've just told me that day. Sorry if I startled you."

Well, he really didn't know then. "It doesn't matter." She took a deep breath. "S-so, are you helping me with my desensitization or not?"

He chuckled. "You can't just desensitize at once just by touching a real fish. It would still scare you. But I'm willing to help you fight your fear slowly." He showed his other hand—which was actually hidden behind him—and brought to her sight a small round glass bowl. Water filled it halfway, and a small fish swam lazily around.

"This fish is a Small Funa, as you requested. I borrowed the aquarium bowl personally from Miss Ina so that I can show this to you. At least, just look at it for a while and think, maybe, fish aren't so bad after all."

She cautiously received the aquarium bowl from him. Her hands became shaky. I…it's a r-real…

Sensing her reaction, Phillip wrapped his hands on hers. "It's OK, you're doing fine."

She had heard his calming voice once more, just like the time at the zipline. Suddenly, her attention was now on the effects of his touch. She couldn't believe that she was able to stare at the fish longer than she could dare.

Unconsciously, Reina looked up and met his gaze. There's that unreadable expression again…

"Oh, see?" Phillip broke the spell. "We could just do the desensitization often, and you won't be scared of fish that much in no time." He slid off his hands and gently took the aquarium bowl.

Oddly, she was disappointed he let go. Wait, what? No! she denied. "T-the payment for the request…I should—"

"You can give it tomorrow if you want to. I'll be illustrating, remember?" He moved backwards. "So, see you!"

She watched him leave.

What I learned just now: fish are…indolent when swimming in stagnant water.

This chapter was inspired from our lesson on phobia today at review class. Phobias are irrational fears of certain objects, and one way to manage this is desensitization, as mentioned by our characters here.

Let's say you feared spiders. First thing you gotta do is try looking at pictures of spiders (our reviewer even suggested someone can draw it for you). Once you get used to it, go watch videos on spiders [inserts clips on NatGeo and Discovery Channel]. Then, go get exposed to the real thing (watching spiderweb making in action will do). Of course, you need someone who can help you with that and who can control panic attacks you'll have through the process (it's normal, really).

Oh, great, I'm rambling again.

Hope we all learned something today! And don't forget to drop your reviews! :D