After beating a Mawile that challenged us to a fight, we returned to the camp. I suspected that Mawile had reasons for fighting other than just simply wanting to. But would I be right?
"Alright, why'd you two just up and disappear?!" Lynn screamed at us. Yeesh...! I forgot she gets like this when we run off like this...
"Wh-What did we do, Lynn?!" Ash says, out of surprise.
"You just got up and left!" Gloria yelled. "We thought you were captured by Team Noir or some other evil force we don't know about yet! Do you have any idea how worried sick we were?!" Wh-?! Now Gloria?! Where'd she come from?! Ugh... looks like these girls have some common ground...
"Lynn... Gloria..." Susie sighs. "That was just you two. The rest of us weren't... that high-strung, you know."
"W-Well, yeah, I guess... But still! I thought you guys were gone for good!"
"She's right," Lynn agrees. "You could have just warned us."
After a few apologies, Lynn and Gloria let us off the hook. I looked around the campsite, looking for something to do. I could see Robert and Victor talking, so I got closer to listen in.
"...Really?" Victor says. "Wow, and I thought Gloria was enough..."
"I know, right?" Robert says. "Although I don't know if Lynn is more overprotective than Gloria..."
I couldn't really catch much of their conversation, but I did know they were talking about Lynn and Gloria. I was able to keep in my snickers so I could stay under the radar. Speaking of staying under the radar... Maybe I could try giving cooking another shot.
When nobody was looking, I snagged the cooking equipment and went a considerable distance away from the campsite so nobody could see what I was doing. I took a look at my inventory. No key ingredients... I recalled what happened last time I made curry, and I used Tamato Berries to make it overwhelmingly spicy (At least, according to the others).
Now all I had were a handful of Oran and Sitrus Berries, along with one last Leppa Berry. I decided to hold onto that Leppa Berry for later- conserving magical energy is important to me. I decided to make totally plain curry this time around. No key ingredients, no particularly-flavored berries... Just good, old-fashioned, plain curry. I was pretty sure the Oran and Sitrus Berries wouldn't affect its flavor, so I threw in two of each into the mix.
Using the methods I already knew how to cook, I made enough curry for everyone. And I was feeling pretty confident about it too- It smelled pretty good, and it didn't give off any unsettling miasma. I was pretty surprised nobody caught me- The smell surely would have wafted over to the campsite and attracted the guys' attention. But so far, no interruptions.
I brought back my creation the campsite, and I set the table while nobody spotted me. I had to say, I thought this whole "stealth mission" would end in disaster, but I was actually able to pull it off!
Ash was the first to notice the food when I finished setting everything up, and he rounded up everyone. Although... everyone except Ash, Victor, Gloria, and Hop recoiled in horror when they learned I was the one to make it.
"Relax," I say. "I didn't use anything that would make it excessive in... any way that wouldn't make it qualify."
"What are you talking about?" Victor asked.
"You... don't wanna know," Robert dreadfully says.
"Let's just hope it'll work out this time," Aaron mutters to himself.
I took a bite out of the plain curry I made... and was actually surprised. I actually made some good food! I thought it'd end in disaster, but turns out you can't really go wrong with normal curry.
"You know what?" Ash says. "This is actually a big improvement!"
"It is," Lynn agrees.
"How'd you do it?" Chloe asks me.
"Well... I didn't really add anything other than Oran and Sitrus Berries. If I added anything else... I'm pretty sure it would have tipped the scales in the flavor departments."
"I think you're exaggerating," Rotom counters. "You can probably add a few Pecha Berries or Cheri Berries and it wouldn't be spoiled."
"Yeah... Well, I'll do better next time, okay?"
The one in which David undergoes a stealth mission just to cook. And he actually does well!
FYI, I accidentally let the previous chapter come out later than when I finished it. Sorry about that. And what do you know? First chapter less than one thousand words in a while!
