"Umm…did I miss a transaction?"
Amiya blinked while looking at the computer. A recent payment had been received by Rhodes Island- one she wasn't aware of. Usually, Kal'tsit kept her updated on all the business deals they were acquiring as well as the others they were working on.
"No. This was from a new client."
Rin and Sakura used one of the Fuyuki Clinic's accounts to move the payment through undisclosed channels. They were paying installments for the rescue operation Kal'tsit was putting together. The first installment covered the fee for the plans. The Rhodes Island leader had already sent word for the operations department to start conceptualizing a rescue operation.
"What did they want?"
"Rhodes Island's paramilitary services."
"Oh."
The two Cautus and Feline leaders continued to work until dinner.
"Hyaah~" Amiya stretched her arms after another tiring day. Kal'tsit had started bringing her along when it came to business involving Rhodes Island a year prior. It was part of education to learn more about how to manage the organization.
"Franka sent me a text inviting us to dinner. Do you want to join?" She asked her mentor.
"You go on ahead. I'm not finished yet." Kal'tsit was going to check up on Penguin Logistics. Since Rhodes Island were temporarily staying in the special guest reservations made by Lungmen's chief executive- Wei Yenwu- they couldn't bring in the three children. So, after some extended discussion with Penguin Logistics in the warehouse, it was decided that the logistics company would temporarily house them. Rin and Sakura paid for the extra hassle.
Under another of Fuyuki Clinic's covert accounts of course.
It was weird how this logistics company took on unusual requests.
Meanwhile, Misha was with the sisters. After somehow sneaking the girl away from the Reunion and the LGD, Kal'tsit trusted that they would be able to hide her safely.
A few minutes after Amiya left, the Feline doctor called Penguin Logistics.
"Ohayo~" Exusiai cheerfully greeted the caller on her boss's phone.
"Hey-!" The penguin snatched his phone back from the happy-go-lucky angel. "Sorry about tha-, Emperor here."
"You are the CEO? Texas gave me your number."
"Yes. I'm the papa around here-" The emperor penguin replied. "You can call me Emperor."
"I see. I'm just here to check up on the three children."
The founder of Penguin Logistics looked at the three children playing with another member of his company. Sora, the yellow-haired Lupo, continued to awe the three with her songs.
Why did an idol ever join Penguin Logistics? He did not know. She was supposedly here for protection, but there were better security firms out there than some random logistics company on the side.
Just another one of the weird members his company had. When you consider how eccentric and unusual their leader was, then it was normal for the rest to follow in his footsteps.
Wild and free. The code of Penguin Logistics.
Out of them all, he had the craziest background to begin with. Not even an idol or a former mafia member working in a logistics company could come within a mile of his. He was the unkillable king of disco!
"They're chillin yo!" Emperor snapped a quick picture and sent them to their client.
Exusiai assured him that they had bagged a big client during their latest delivery. The request was unusual, but Texas explained to him that it involved housing the three children for a week at most, a relatively simple task. Emperor hadn't believed them until payment from an undisclosed source arrived.
…and holy moly was it big.
"Anything else you need and we gotchu!" He offered.
If Texas approved, then there was nothing wrong with doing a little more business with this supposedly bigshot client right?
"Not at the moment."
"If you say so. Shoot us a call any time."
The other end cut off the call and Emperor lowered the device.
"Hey, Texas."
"Yes?"
"You never told me who the client was."
"It's that pharmaceutical organization. Rhodes Island."
Huh- didn't expect them of all people to reach out to something like Penguin Logistics. Who knew?
"Wait. Then the woman on the phone was…?"
"Oh, that's their leader."
Leader…
"Fuck."
At least Kal'tsit didn't know the real him. After everything he's heard about that woman, staying far away from her activities was in his best interests. Should they ever meet, Emperor would find himself with an immortal problem.
"I'm gonna drink and act like you girls didn't just somehow get Kal'tsit to hire you." Emperor reached out to one of the beers behind the counter and corked open the bottle.
"Huh? Boss, you okay?"
This shit can wait for tomorrow.
Emperor was going to take his sweet sweet time getting to know this bottle of Budweiser.
He's going to need it.
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"Mostima."
Texas approached the former Sankta on the roof of the bar.
"Texas." She acknowledged the dark-haired Lupo that arrived.
"..."
"..."
Mostima hadn't been to Lungmen for a long time. Her sudden appearance was an unusual one, but Texas wasn't going to complain. Not when her arrival helped them secure a big client.
"I have a question…and no, it's not why you're here."
Most of Penguin Logistics knew that Mostima was employed as a messenger by the Laterano Church. Texas wasn't going to ask about why the unusual Sankta-Sarkaz messenger joined Penguin Logistics in the first place.
Mostima hummed while she snacked on the Lungmen delicacy.
"I need to know why we should be careful around Rin and Sakura."
"...I cannot tell you how, but…" Mostima glanced at her staves. "They don't feel normal."
More like, the Lock and Key Staves with her didn't like being around them. Mostima didn't know which of the girls, but the weapons started exuding a negative response in their presence.
Almost as if they could feel something wrong.
"...they definitely aren't." Texas nodded. Not after what they saw.
The two settled into a quiet silence as they watched the Lungmen nightscape unfold before them.
"Texas."
The Lupo turned when her name was called.
"I need you to keep Exusiai busy for me."
"She has wanted to talk to you for so long."
"I…am here for other matters."
Mostima had been sent straight to Lungmen by the Laterano Pope after the events of Chernobog. The Church detected a miracle phenomenon transpiring over the city and immediately sent her and Fiammetta over to investigate.
Except, upon her arrival, news of Chernobog's fall reached Mostima. Now, the Laterano messenger and her overseer partner were busy scouring Lungmen for information about the event.
"Will you not give her a chance…?"
"It is for her own protection."
Mostima did not want Exusiai to learn the reasons behind the disaster that befell her sister Lemuen. The Laterano Pope and many other powerful figures ordered the fallen Sankta-turned-Sarkaz to keep it a secret. She and Fiammetta were not allowed to leak it.
"Very well, I understand." Texas knew the value of secrets. It was a large part of her old life after all. The dark-haired Lupo took out her own snack and opened it. "Pocky?"
"Thank you." Mostima accepted the offered snack.
Ch'en knocked on the door to announce her arrival. Her uncle called her first thing in the morning to come meet a guest.
"Sir, Officer Huichieh reporting for duty."
The door opened after a short moment and the executive chief of Lungmen beckoned her inside.
"Misses Mostima and Fiammetta, here is my niece, Ch'en Huichieh. As the head of the LGD, she may assist you in finding out about the events in Chernobog." Turning to her, Wei Yenwu introduced them likewise. "Ch'en, these are representatives from Laterano. They wish to find out what has happened to Chernobog."
"Sir? But only Rhodes Island-"
Ch'en froze.
This was a chance!
"I am happy to be of assistance. We can contact Rhodes Island immediately while also mobilizing the LGD to interview the immigrants about the events in Chernobog."
Lin Yuhsia pointed out that despite the inconspicuous deal made by the underworld dealer, there was no way that Wei Yenwu would allow the LGD to force a search warrant on the pharmaceutical organization without sufficient proof. It could be a third party framing Rhodes Island.
So, they had to keep digging.
"Rhodes Island? What about Rhodes Island?" The short-haired redhead between the two spoke up. "What does Chernobog have to do with them?"
"Rhodes Island was in Chernobog when the Reunion invaded. After the invasion, they tried to gain our cooperation in exchange for information. We declined." Wei Yenwu summarized the meeting a few days earlier.
"...I see." The red-haired Liberi turned to her companion. "You've checked up on Lemuel in Penguin Logistics, right Mostima?"
"Mhm. She looks like she's having fun." The blue-haired girl nodded. She escaped the logistics company with the help of Texas when Exusiai started hunting for her.
"Alright then, if you could, we'd like to begin right away." Fiammetta stood up from the sofa. "Thank you for your assistance, Wei Yenwu."
"It is my pleasure." The Chief of Lungmen waved at them as Fiammetta and Mostima followed Ch'en out the door.
When the door closed, he was left alone to his thoughts.
"...Chernobog?" He muttered while looking out the window overlooking Lungmen.
What happened during the invasion for the Laterano Church to be so interested in the small city?
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.
.
"Kal'tsit. The LGD and some Laterano representatives are heading your way."
The green-haired Feline jerked when the small bird started talking after she opened the balcony.
"What…Rin, is this you?"
"They want information. Do not let them know about Shirou. Anything else is allowed."
Kal'tsit told the sisters about the events that happened between Shirou and Rhodes Island during the invasion. Up until his capture when Rhodes Island was held hostage.
"What's going on? Tell me."
"The Laterano Church is interested in the events around Chernobog. We don't know what they want, but Shirou and his Arts must not be discovered."
Rin was going to put Shirou's little misadventure as another bullshit excuse behind his Arts. Which, technically, was correct.
Rhodes Island saw too much of his abilities. It was too late to deny it.
"I understand. How much time do we have?"
"They just left Wei Yenwu's office a few minutes ago. You have about 15 minutes."
Ah…so that's why they broke the cover of their talking bird. It made sense now. There was no time for Rin to send her a message behind the cover of a letter. They had to do it quickly.
Kal'tsit was learning something new about the sisters each day.
If they could use a bird to talk through…then they could use any animal. Kal'tsit could already see just how deep they dug their network into Lungmen.
"I'll inform the others."
The bird turned around and returned to perching on the balcony as if it were a normal animal.
…
"Amiya, whatever you do, do not tell them about Shirou or the sewer incident."
Kal'tsit instantly sought out the young Cautus after the urgent message from Rin.
"Okay."
Amiya trusted Kal'tsit. Her tone warned the young girl of how important the warning was.
"If they ask, don't lie. Just retell the extraction group's escape with the Doctor." Amiya wasn't good at hiding lies. So it was better if the Cautus told a portion of the truth.
"Does the Doctor know?"
"I've already talked with him. Only the three of us here knew what happened. The rest are at Rhodes Island away from here."
"Start rehearsing. Make sure to be careful when talking to them later." Kal'tsit advised. "If they notice anything unusual, then problems will follow."
Amiya nodded. She'd prepare accordingly.
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.
.
Mostima wasn't sure what to make of her current situation.
Just the other day, she was helping a new Penguin Logistics client smuggle the LGD's objective away from them, only to meet with the leader of the organization the next day. Worse, Mostima knew that Rhodes Island was actively making moves in the background. If anything, it was both a blessing and a curse. Mostima would've earned some brownie points with the leadership if they knew that she helped in securing Rhodes Island objectives.
So, how could she leverage both sides to her advantage…?
The blue-haired fallen angel smiled as the door opened when Rhodes Island received them. Ch'en had phoned ahead of their arrival to inform the pharmaceutical organization that they had new guests on short notice.
"Welcome, forgive us for the lack of preparations. We were not expecting to receive anyone today." The green-haired Feline from yesterday greeted the trio.
"No, it is ours for intruding on your schedule out of nowhere." Fiammetta replied.
Mostima glanced at Kal'tsit, but the leader of Rhodes Island didn't look at her once.
She's good.
Not so much for the two others behind her, who's eyes widened a little when they saw her.
"Please, come in and make yourselves comfortable."
"Thank you."
Fiammetta and Mostima settled on the sofa across the Rhodes Island trio while Ch'en stood behind them.
"As you've been told, we're representatives from the Laterano Church." The red-haired Liberi- a race of Terra that exhibited some features of birds- reintroduced their party. "If it doesn't trouble you, we're here to ask for Rhodes Island's account of the events in Chernobog."
"May we ask what this request is for? We don't know if our recount would assist you." Kal'tsit replied.
"We are here on orders of the Laterano Church to observe Chernobog after a phenomenon was detected. With Chernobog currently under the Reunion's control, we're looking into all avenues to find out what happened." Fiammetta answered.
Mostima stayed silent, happy to leave her friend to do all the talking for them.
"A phenomenon? I'm afraid we didn't run into anything suspicious, aside from the Reunion running around."
"Is that so?"
"Amiya can recount for you. She was part of the leadership heading the team during the rescue."
"Rescue?"
"Yes. The entire reason we were in Chernobog was to rescue the Doctor here from being captured by the Reunion." Kal'tsit gestured at the masked Doctor. "We were fortunate that the operation failed…not so much for one of our operators."
At this admission, Ch'en perked.
"One of your operators…?" The dragon lady asked.
"Indeed. It was the reason we wished to offer our assistance to Lungmen's defense. We wished to gain your assistance in rescuing our captured operator." Kal'tsit linked her hands together. "The Reunion is too powerful for Rhodes Island to take on alone. We hoped you would agree but…" She trailed off.
But we declined.
Well that was unfortunate. Too bad for them, Wei Yenwu and Ch'en cared more for the reputation and security of their city to work with Rhodes Island, or to lend some of their LGD divisions to help the pharmaceutical organization.
"Even if it doesn't help our cause, may we still hear it? If you require payment, then we will contact our superiors for you to settle an agreement with." Fiammetta pushed for her objective.
"We don't mind. Amiya, Doctor, if you would." Kal'tsit handed the stage over to the two.
"Okay…so the extraction of the Doctor went well until…"
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.
.
When the LGD chief and the two Laterano representatives left, Kal'tsit patted Amiya on the head.
"Good job."
Amiya smiled as she was praised. She managed to keep it together without slipping through her recount. Same for the Doctor, but Kal'tsit wasn't going to congratulate him.
"I'll buy you a treat as your reward."
The expression on Amiya's face practically glowed.
.
.
.
On the other side, more questions were raised.
Ch'en and the other two didn't find anything of interest from Amiya and the Doctor's account of their escape.
There was more to it.
She wasn't the only one with the same mindset.
"Miss Ch'en? We'd like to interview some of the immigrants or refugees from Chernobog that made their way here. If that is no problem?" Fiammetta asked the leader of the LGD.
"Of course, follow me."
Ch'en was just thinking the same thing. The option of digging around could open up more answers.
"Are you sure about this?"
"There is a high chance of drawing her out. We can use this to create a weakness in Lungmen's defenses."
"You'll be putting yourself right at their doorstep."
"They will not expect it. My appearance should garner a response from them."
"And what if it doesn't?"
"Then we try another way. As it stands, the Reunion cannot take Lungmen."
Two of the rebel movement's biggest leaders discussed together privately.
"I urge you to be cautious. Lungmen is not like Chernobog. They are prepared." Patriot cautioned.
"They are not strong enough to stop me. Not unless she tries." Talulah replied.
"…"
"I shall send a messenger once the assault is finished. We will see the results in a few days." The Draco stood up from her seat and left the Wendigo commander to brood over her decision.
"I pray that our success has not gotten to your head…Talulah."
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.
.
Shirou caught sight of the departing leader of the Reunion.
It was hard not to. Especially when a sizeable force in the hundreds followed her. They didn't march in an orderly fashion like standard military but in a relatively loose formation with the Draco in the front. Their march outside the city was met with celebrations by the Reunion.
"Where are they going…?" Shirou asked while he treated another infected member.
"Hmph- to attack Lungmen of course."
"Didn't you just capture Chernobog?"
"Why should we wait? Those rich bastards are within our grasp."
The Reunion member he was treating was on par for the course like most of the others he's treated. Many were thankful, and that was also all Shirou needed to start a small conversation. From there, he was able to slip in normal everyday topics.
Normal everyday topics for the Reunion anyway.
Simple questions like 'Don't you find it troublesome working with such bad equipment?' to 'Are all of the Reunion really just civilians?'. Concentrated on one patient, the choice of questions would've raised warning signals.
But spread over a hundred? Shirou was able to collect a sizable chunk to craft a picture of the Reunion's current status.
From the quality of equipment to the relative strength of their forces.
Added to his observation during the Chernobog Invasion, Shirou was able to formulate a plan moving forwards.
"Next!" Shirou called. For some weird reason, the following patient didn't enter immediately once the previous one left.
Nobody came.
"Ne-" He paused when someone cleared their throat at the doorway.
Furrowed eyebrows, a disapproving frown, crossed arms, and a pointed glare.
FrostNova didn't look amused.
Shirou blinked.
Riggghhht. What time was it again?
"…is it lunch already?"
Her glare narrowed.
"I don't exactly have a clock…?"
When her eyes narrowed even further, Shirou decided to shut up. He stood up quickly and walked out the door.
"…okay- let's go find a kitchen who hasn't started cooking yet."
The scene outside didn't help his nerves. The guards who were supposed to watch over him were scattered far. A few were watching the makeshift clinic from a distance away behind cover like rubble or ruined walls.
How did Shirou miss the massive change in atmosphere?
"It's already too late."
The cold words that came from behind him felt like icicles had stabbed him in the back.
"…we can take over one of the civilian kitchens?"
The frigid wrath softened to that of a freezing tundra. Not much of a downgrade, but there was some hope there.
"Is there something you particularly have in mind…?"
"Cook me a dish."
That seemed like a simple enough task.
"Okay."
Just like that, the atmosphere lightened. Still, a tinge of her disapproval remained. FrostNova walked past Shirou with him quickly stepping in line behind.
Note to self, do not forget about cooking lessons.
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"You're good with the knife."
Shirou watched as FrostNova replicated the cuts immaculately. The results were quite close to his own work, which impressed him. He didn't notice the light dusting of pink that appeared on her cheeks.
"I had to learn to use it in different ways."
Her combat knife was not just for stabbing and cutting. It was the best can opener Frostnova had on hand. Her cold body turned the metal brittle, so she was forced to be delicate with it when carving open meal canisters and the like. Eventually, she learned to manipulate the knife deftly to open many other containers, not just cans.
Shirou tilted his cutting board over, tipping the vegetables into the pot of soup he and FrostNova were cooking. Hers followed shortly after.
"Then we let the broth settle and cook the rest of the meal for us."
FrostNova looked as Shirou covered the top with the lid.
"This isn't any different from what the Reunion cooks do."
"It's the simplest meal anyone can make. Highly flexible and adaptable based on the ingredients you have on hand. It also serves the most people when you cook in bulk."
"I want to learn how to make a real dish."
"That would be difficult if you don't have the right ingredients or the tools to cook with. The most common tool you and the Reunion have are these large pots."
"…"
"What if I teach you how to create dishes from available ingredients instead? Kind of like a mix-and-match recipe? You can cook them easily by just adjusting portions to cover for the missing ingredients."
Similar to the soup really, but easy enough to adapt for personalized servings or bulk.
"Okay."
"You don't mind if we do it later? I still have an afternoon shift with the civilians."
FrostNova frowned. They had to rush the lesson because it was halfway past her lunch break. The food they cooked was going to the next batch of prisoners after the current one.
But…she was getting Shirou to teach her again later.
"Fine." FrostNova tried to hide the small pout she made.
Shitou smiled and patted her on the head. Honestly, the girl had changed a lot in the last few months. She used to carry a sharp and cold expression back when they first met. Nowadays, she has become more mellow. Seeing her pout was an expression Shirou hadn't expected to see.
It was adorable.
"Thank you."
The bunny's eyes sharpened and her ears stood straight when Shirou thanked her. His words and the pats on her head brought back the small tingly sensation inside her. She quickly retreated from him and shot the archer a burning glare.
"Don't do that ever again." FrostNova hissed.
She really really didn't like having to deal with the jumble of emotions whenever he did something stupidly-
Stupidly what?
"Okay, I won't." Shirou quickly raised his hands in surrender.
Alright, so maybe patting the commander wasn't a good idea. But honestly, how can anyone say no when she looked that adorable?
The rest of lunch quickly passed by. Shirou and FrostNova enjoyed the fruit of their labor- and so did the batch of prisoners who found out Shirou was cooking for them.
For some reason, the other civilian camps along with a few Reunion members looked like they were glaring in their direction, but that could probably be Shirou misreading things.
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FrostNova approached one of the chefs during her afternoon break.
"Yes ma'am? What can I do for you?" The Reunion chef gulped when the commander appeared during dinner prep. Him and the small team of chefs allocated to that part of the city were busy washing the vegetables for that day's dinner.
FrostNova eyed their work, mentally noting down the food preparation they were doing.
"Who here has the most experience in cooking?"
The chefs exchanged glances. One near the back was elbowed in the side. FrostNova raised an eyebrow when the two- joined by a third- started scuffling and whispering at each other.
He was promptly pushed forward in front of her.
"He does, ma'am." The two reported.
FrostNova gave the chef a look.
"I-I worked as a junior chef in Ursus before I got infected." The woman gulped. It didn't need to be said what happened afterwards. There was only so much you could do while infected before joining the Reunion.
"Why aren't you the leader of this group?"
"Uhh…we don't really have many ingredients to prepare meal varieties with. So I didn't think I needed to."
Shirou pointed out the same thing. FrostNova understood that they didn't have much in the way of options because of how large the Reunion was- and how they needed to portion everything equally while rationing supplies to last months.
"Do you know much about cooking tools?"
"Y-you mean culinary utensils, ma'am?"
Yeah…she meant that.
FrostNova forced down the small bubble of shame at her lack of knowledge. This was why she came here!
"Yes."
"I do. We were taught to recognize all of them."
"Come with me." FrostNova ordered.
"H-huh?" The bear lady blinked.
"You're going to help me find some in the city."
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This time, Shirou made sure to arrive before dinner preparation.
He blinked when he sighted a group of people setting up a small independent kitchen off to the side of the civilian kitchen.
FrostNova stood a few meters away watching them.
"What's the new kitchen for?" Shirou asked when he approached the commander.
"You said we lacked tools."
Shirou looked over and saw the people setting up the gas stove. Another table beside it was filled with a mismatched set of utensils.
"Wait, did you search the city?"
"Yes."
Suddenly, Shirou had an idea. The city must've had tons more of scattered appliances that survived the Reunion invasion. If he could get his hands on them, Shirou could set up a proper camp kitchen for the prisoners.
"Now you don't have an excuse not to teach me properly."
"That was never my intention and you know that."
One of the rebels came over and stopped in front of FrostNova.
"Ma'am, the kitchen has been completed as ordered."
"All of you are dismissed."
The man informed the others and the group broke apart. All except for one- the Ursine chef. FrostNova raised an eyebrow at the girl, but she stood her ground nervously.
"Why aren't you leaving?"
"A-are you really going to cook with Doctor Shirou?"
Shirou blinked.
"You know me?"
"The civilians and other Reunion members have shared stories about you! You didn't know?" The girl practically gushed as she realized that the kitchen had been for him. "I-I also got to taste your food yesterday." She added clumsily.
"Ah. I hope you enjoyed it." Shirou smiled.
"Could you…could you teach how to coo-" Her sentence cut when FrostNova narrowed her eyes from beside Shirou. "-eep."
"Coo-eep?" Shirou asked.
"I'llaskanothertimegoodbye-!" She ran away in a hurry.
Shirou gave a light wave as she departed, not noticing the narrowed side-eye FrostNova was shooting at him.
…
As agreed, Shirou taught FrostNova how to use common ingredients. Beef, pork, chicken, fish, were easy to texture and flavor, and so were the usual vegetables like tomatoes and beans. Instead, Shirou focused on showing FrostNova how to manipulate flavor. They started off with meat, which led them to herbs and spices.
"You'll always come across meat. It's the most sought-after resource when out in the wilds. Vegetables can be collected " Shirou pointed out. "So, I'm going to teach you the common spices in the wild that could enhance any kind of dish."
"Spices?"
"Most meat taste the same, unless you change the amount of time you cook them. It's how you combine herbs and spices that can change the flavor. Garlic, onion, mint, ginger, berries, flowers, grass, all of them can make a variety of dishes."
Shirou grabbed one jar of garlic.
"So, let's start with garlic for today."
Explaining to FrostNova the various methods to prepare garlic, showing the different results, and how they affected the dish took up most of the time. Shirou did each method separately on several pans, letting FrostNova dip her finger into the finished ingredient to taste.
"They all taste slightly different for the same ingredient."
"That's right. You can change the strength of garlic based on how you want the dish to taste."
"So, what next?"
Shirou pulled out a pan and handed it to her.
"Pick any method you liked and practice. We're going to add them into a small piece of each meat."
FrostNova tried her hand on 3 different garlic styles while Shirou prepped beef, pork, chicken, and fish on another side. He was going to add her spice on each one to show her how they interacted with the meat.
At the same time, he decided to pick a fourth method for his dish. The ingredients FrostNova collected for the kitchen weren't large enough for Shirou to contribute dinner for the prisoners, but he could make enough food for a small group of people. Maybe a serving for three?
Just enough for him, FrostNova, and Nearl.
…
"You should lift them out now to stop them from burning." Shirou commented while checking on FrostNova.
"They don't look cooked." She eyed the ingredients closely.
"It's experience. You try to avoid turning them brown. After a while, you start to figure out when to stop before they shade appears."
FrostNova followed his instructions and turned off the heat.
"Here, sprinkle them across each meat and taste. Just cut a small portion before adding."
The meat portions Shirou prepared were just enough to test all combinations between FrostNova's garlic and each type of meat.
"Can you tell which one works best with garlic?"
"Beef."
"Right. So now, you can change the flavor of beef with different ways to prepare garlic."
FrostNova wrote down her notes on a small notebook she found in the city.
"Now, do you want to help me with a real dish?" Shirou pointed at his side of the kitchen.
"I thought I wasn't starting on dishes yet."
"No, but you can write down the recipe and ingredients. Besides, you get to practice with other ingredients which I'll teach you later."
A small smile crept on his face as Shirou regarded FrostNova's interest. The Cautus sniffed the aroma coming from the sizzling beef and looked at the rest of the ingredients on the table excitedly. It was reminiscent of a small child discovering something she liked.
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When Shirou returned to his cell for the night, he was greeted with Nearl standing at the door of her cell.
"Err…hi?"
Shirou could see her tail swishing behind her, but the girl seemed distracted by the food he brought.
"You cooked something else aside from soup?" Nearl stared at the beef dish in his hand.
"Nearl…you're drooling."
Margaret Nearl seized up before wiping the small bit of saliva that escaped her mouth.
"F-forgive me. The food today was bland."
The blonde pegasi had actually been looking forward to dinner the entire day.
"Can I ask what you cooked?"
"Beef with mushroom sauce. I managed to get a few extra ingredients from dinner." Well, Shirou assumed the few ingredients available from the kitchen FrostNova prepared were meant for them to use anyway. Shirou handed over the plate to Nearl, who carefully received it like a precious relic.
The poor guards standing watch at the end of the hall were left in shambles. Stories had started spreading that the Fuyuki Clinic Doctor was cooking in the camps. The few lucky Reunion members who were assigned to guarding the prison camps found their positions assaulted by volunteers.
Unlucky for the Yeti soldiers who were tasked with securing more important locations over some measly prisoners.
The doctor was right in front of them.
So close, yet so far.
The world really was evil.
Worst of all, the Yeti guard escorting Shirou to his cell felt his stomach cry at the delicious but heartbreaking sight of the girl eating the meal.
Gone. It was all gone.
…
Shirou stared at the ceiling of his cell.
Now that Talulah was out of Chernobog, that only left 2 of Reunion's commanders holding down the city. As much as he didn't want to hurt FrostNova, each day spent in Chernobog was a day where Rin and Sakura worried about him.
The last two days have been spent scouting and preparing. Now, it was time for him to make his move.
For that…he needed an ally.
Shirou glanced at the sleeping pegasi on the cell across from him. The guards standing beside their cells kept them from making any conversation to plot an escape. So, Shirou changed his objective.
Weaken the Reunion from within.
Shirou would never tamper with food- but that didn't mean he couldn't use it to further his goals.
If he could change the minds of the Reunion and gain the support of the civilians, then he'd be able to weaken the rebel movement. Many of the Reunion were lost souls who had given up on having a normal life. That was the reason they turned to joining the rebellion.
Tomorrow, he was going to poke around and see how much he could do.
Author's Note
Surprise! The Laterano Church of guns and explosions is now after Shirou's hea- I mean miracle! Hope the Mostima and Fiammetta fans out there enjoy the new plot addition.
Big thanks to Gwwyn and Dovar. This chapter was posted early because of their support!
Each little donation helps me out and motivates me to finish chapters earlier, so it would mean a lot to me to have your support!
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