And now for some slice-of-life filler. But seriously, why do I only have a few reviews so far? You guys should have some time on your hands to write one.

Chapter 12 – Cooking Catastrophes (Blue Sea Moon)

Dorothea groaned loudly as she stood before the entrance to the kitchens. Surely it was a mistake that she had been assigned to help prepare today's meal. The instructions she held in her hand were far beyond her skill, but she knew if she tried to duck out of her task that she would receive a huge scolding and probably even worse duties from Seteth.

It was at this moment that she turned and saw, she hoped, her salvation.

"Oh, Professor Byleth?" Dorothea shouted, catching Byleth's attention.

"Dorothea? Is there something you needed?" Byleth asked as she walked over to the diva.

"Yes, there is. You see, I've been assigned cooking duty today, but… well, I can cook, but not anything you'd call 'cuisine'. And this meal I've been told to make is far beyond my skill. Could you, maybe, help me out with it? Pretty please?"

"I suppose I could."

"Really? That's great! Oh, you're a lifesaver! Come on!"

The two went into the kitchen after this, and quickly they were met by an overwhelming array of aromas and scents. Spices of all kinds could be seen lining crammed shelves, over a dozen wood stoves filled the room with smoke that, thankfully, was vented out of a wide chimney, and the voices of servants and staff created a cacophony of sound. It was little short of utter chaos.

One of the staff walked up to Dorothea and said, "Finally, you're here. Your station's over there, you already know what you're making. Now get to it!"

"W-Wait! Hold on a–" Dorothea's attempts to slow the staff member down were in vain as the woman walked off to handle her duties.

"I see why you wanted my help," said Byleth as she put on a dirty apron.

"Yeah, that's just one part of it." Dorothea then put on her own apron and, with a sound of disgust, said, "Yuck, these things are so drab."

"So, what is it we're making?"

"It says 'Sacred Beast Roast'. Looks really complicated."

The two went to their station to find a plethora of ingredients in place, all ready to be used in the preparation of their assigned meal. A large slab of Albinean Moose meat was in place, meant to be the main element of the food.

"Umm, I'm not really good with chopping up raw meat," said Dorothea. "Could you do that part?"

Byleth nodded and got started with a large, poorly maintained cutting knife. Meanwhile, Dorothea did her best with a group of vegetables, but her cuts were clumsy and resulted in chunks far too large for what was expected.

"Ow, dammit!" Dorothea hissed as she made a poor cut into a ripe onion, earning a spray of its juice to her face. She recoiled at the stench, which caused her eyes to water and led her to dropping the onion on the floor.

With a small frown, Byleth said, "Maybe you should let me do that too."

Sniffing from the onion, Dorothea said, "T-That'd be great. I'll get the spices then."

As Byleth took over with chopping the vegetables, Dorothea stumbled over to the nearby spice rack. Immediately she was at a loss for which spices she needed. They all looked the same, and the labels were hard to make out due to stains or faded lettering. Her blurry vision from the onion didn't help things.

Deciding just to try her luck, Dorothea grabbed some random herbs from the spice rack and brought them over to their station.

"Did you get the right ones?" asked Byleth.

"I… hope so…" Dorothea said uneasily. "Only one way to find out."

With that, Dorothea began to add the spices to a boiling pot over a stove. The spices were to be mixed together and used as a marinade, but Dorothea was clueless as to how much of each was needed. The instructions hadn't been all that clear.

Then, just as Dorothea was about to add a bushel of gray powder to the pot, Byleth saw her and, her eyes widening, shouted, "Wait! Don't add that!"

But it was too late. Dorothea had already dropped the gray powder into the boiling pot. To her shock, the pot began to bubble wildly. She then realized her error: she must have picked up an herb that was typically used to make smoke bombs.

Dorothea let out a scream as the pot spewed out a humungous cloud of black smoke, one that quickly caused the kitchens to be vacated, everyone coughing loudly on the fumes as they fled.

…

"Professor Byleth, I am SO sorry!" said Dorothea, her face red with shame. "I knew something like this would happen and yet I–"

"We all make mistakes," said Byleth, giving off a short cough.

With a loud groan, Dorothea said, "It's just like everyone keeps telling me: I'm a disaster in the kitchen. Anything simpler than a sandwich and I run the risk of setting things on fire."

"Dorothea, it's okay. You just need some practice, that's all."

"Oh, that won't help! I've had friends back in Enbarr who tried to teach me how to cook, and I either end up making people sick or… you get the idea."

"Why are you so reluctant to learn about cooking?"

"Huh? That came out of nowhere." With a sigh, Dorothea said, "You see, I just think it's all the same once it's in your stomach, so why overdo it with the cooking, right? Learning to make it all fancy just seems unnecessary to me."

"You shouldn't think of it that way. It really isn't all the same once it's in there."

"Really?"

"For example, say that you were to have two different herbs that, individually, were harmless, but when mixed together they become poisonous once ingested unless you prepare them properly. What would happen if you made a meal with those two herbs together?"

Eyes widening, Dorothea said, "I see your point." Then, her expression once again turning somber, she said, "Oh, I'm such an idiot."

"At least you aren't as bad as Hanneman," said a familiar sultry voice.

Dorothea and Byleth turned to see Manuela sauntering toward them, dressed in her usual revealing attire.

"That man can't even make a sandwich right," Manuela quipped.

"Oh, Manuela!" Dorothea said with some dismay. "Y-You overheard all that?"

"Dorothea, dearie, learning to cook is one of those things where you're bound to make mistakes. You learn from them and do better each time. It's just as Professor Byleth said: you just need some proper practice."

Dorothea said nothing to this, her face still blushing with shame.

Turning to Byleth, Manuela asked, "Tell me, what was Dorothea supposed to be making?"

"A Sacred Beast Roast," Byleth answered.

"Really? Now I see why you were having trouble. That one's tough to make if you don't know your stuff. I tell you what, Dorothea: I'll show you how a pro does it."

With that, Manuela strutted her way toward the kitchen, gesturing for Dorothea and Byleth to follow.

Minutes later, the two were astonished at what they saw. Manuela was a true expert in the culinary arts, dicing through vegetables rapidly and sorting through the spices as if it were second nature. Byleth noted that Manuela didn't seem to be going straight off the recipe but was making subtle changes here and there that showed her expertise. In the meantime, Manuela had the two helping her with the cleanup, a cooking task not even Dorothea could get wrong.

After a good half-hour, Manuela had produced a large platter of meat that glistened from herbs and spices, with a good amount of neatly chopped vegetables on the side.

"W-Wow…" Dorothea gasped. "You haven't lost your touch, Manuela."

With a smile and a wink, Manuela said, "It comes from years of practice. Go on, give it a try."

Gingerly, Dorothea brought a fork down to skewer a small cut of the meat and bit down on it. Her reaction was instantaneous.

"Mmm!" With the meat still in her mouth, she said, "Manuela, dish ish reawee–" Realizing her bad table manners, Dorothea took a moment to swallow before saying, "This is really good!"

"I agree," said Byleth after swallowing her own piece. "Job well done, Professor Manuela."

"Oh, it was nothing," said Manuela. "I couldn't leave my little protégé in need, now could I?"

"I have to ask: do you two have some history?"

"Oh, of course we do, Professor. Dorothea and I both were part of the Mittelfrank Opera, after all."

"Manuela's the one who found me on the streets of Enbarr," said Dorothea. "She heard me singing one day and, next thing I knew, I was suddenly a star."

"Ahh, I remember it like it was yesterday. Must have been nine years ago now. And look how far you've come since then, Dorothea. Really, I'm proud of you."

"Thanks, Manuela. If only I could've improved my cooking skills along the way…"

"One step at a time, dearie. You should have seen some of the mistakes I made when I was younger. You just need a good teacher."

"Well, would you be willing to teach me again, like old times?"

"Hmm, I suppose I could, but it would be tricky to fit it into my schedule."

Byleth then chose this moment to ask, "Are there any others here at the monastery who know how to cook?"

"Others?" Manuela seemed offended at this point. "Don't tell me you doubt my skill as a chef!"

"Not at all. But as you said, you have a busy schedule, so it would be helpful if we knew of others who could offer advice. Preferably, it'd be good if some of the other students could help."

"Ah, I see. Well, you're in luck. It just so happens that several of my Blue Lions know their fair share of the culinary arts. Mercedes is a marvel at making sweets, while Dedue's actually a lot better than you'd think of his demeanor. I'd never had Duscur cuisine before he offered to cook and, let me tell you, his food is delicious."

"Dedue?" asked Dorothea. "Who would've thought? Anyone else?"

"Well, there is Ashe. He used to work at a restaurant, so he knows a lot, but…"

Dorothea and Byleth could only nod affirmatively at this. They knew Ashe was still mourning Lonato's death.

"I'm sure he'll pull through," continued Manuela. "Kid's tougher than he thinks he is."

"And he has friends he can turn to," said Byleth. Turning to Dorothea, she added, "Just like you do. If you need any help with things like this, just ask them. I'm sure they'd be happy to help."

"As would we. We'll get you to be such a good cook, people will be eating out of the palm of your hand."

Dorothea couldn't help but smile and nod at this.

This might seem a little pointless, but I'm having chapters like this one to give Byleth and Dorothea extra chances to bond. And yes, canonically Manuela is the one who brought Dorothea into the Mittelfrank Opera Company; her A-Support with Ferdinand in the Japanese dub explicitly states this.