Chapter 37: A Crash Course In Cooking & A Huge Serving Of Competition (Part FINAL)
These textbooks Manako supplied me with are really informative for getting a pretty good understanding of each species but I swear the super helpful stuff I should know about ahead of time doesn't seem to stand out until after the issue I run into has passed. Hopefully, reading slowly and carefully will prevent that sort of thing from happening again.
"Ryuta, dinner's ready!" Polt, Lilith, and Draco loudly announce from downstairs. Well, that's my cue before they charge up here again. Getting off the bed, I stretch my arms and legs first before heading down. By the time I reach the stairs, Polt is already halfway up them.
"Oh good. You actually heard us this time," Polt smiles.
"It hasn't even been that long compared to the prior time, not to mention I wasn't absorbed in my distractions either," I point out as she continues walking up to me.
"Hey, better safe than sorry so the food doesn't get cold. C'mon, Sweetheart," she grabs my hand and leads me down the steps to the dining room table.
"What? You didn't have to drag him back down here? I can't believe it," Draco's words ooze with sarcasm.
"As if he could waste time when it's his first piping hot dinner made by his lovely girlfriends!" Lilith adds.
"We made sure we put our best foot forward with this final meal. I don't think you will be able to even come up with a bad thing to say this time!" Polt wagers.
"So sure of yourselves, I see. Let's not waste time then," I say, taking a seat as Polt heads into the kitchen.
"We've been making a buncha different things today so we decided for dinner that we make the same meal," Draco explains.
"And on top of that, we're not gonna tell you which is which," Lilith adds.
"Ooh, interesting gimmicks. I wonder what you three decided on," I stroke my chin.
"Won't have to wonder long! Here it is!" Polt announces, coming back to the dining room table with a metal dome covering the food's identity. Placing it down in front of me, she grabs the dome handle.
"We made…," they dramatically pause as Polt slowly unveils it. "Curry!" They exclaim. Before me are three separate plates of hot curry beautifully tucking the rice into bed.
"Oh wow! I didn't even think about that. A very popular household staple and quite simple also," I say, impressed with them throwing me off.
"Exactly. I'd say it's pretty hard to screw up curry," Polt nods.
"Which is why we won't tell you which is which because you wouldn't believe who made which one," Lilith says.
"So go ahead and take a bite to see if you can figure it out," Draco taunts.
"Very well," I take a spoon and get as much curry and rice on it as possible. "Curry number one. Here goes nothing." The second it hits my tongue a circus of spices performs a routine on my tastebuds. It's been a bit since I last had curry so I wasn't really prepared for that level of flavor. "Quite a few spices tossed in with a little bit of a mildly spicy undertone. Curry's a little on the thin and runny side," I mutter comments. Hmm, I would say it's Draco's curry based on the breakfast she made but I'm sure it's not.
"It's not mine," Draco confirms, probably noticing that my eyes were staring her way.
"Yeah, I figured as much since you three wanna throw a curveball at me," I say. It'd have to be Polt's then because the spicy part would point to Lilith. "Then this one is yours, Polt?" I inquire.
"Who knows?" Polt shrugs, acting dumb.
"You mean I don't get to find out right now?" I ask, confused.
"Nope!" she grins.
"Kihihi!" Lilith giggles. "Not sure where you got the idea that we would tell you right away. You must've not been listening all the way. Just try them all and pick the one you like the most." I guess I figured they would say something after letting me make a guess. Does that mean Draco just told a straight up lie to me?
"I see. Whoever made this one is really good nonetheless," I compliment. None of them react in a way that exposes them. Talk about hard mode! Moving onto the second curry, I take a spoonful out of it. "Curry number two is going down the hatch." A warm decadence rushes over my tongue alongside a very meaty taste from the beef chunks in it with a few vegetables here and there. Also pretty great! "Oooh, this one's very sweet and savory which pairs really well with how thick the curry is. Another really great one." I can't even begin to figure out which one of them made this one. Perhaps Lilith? Draco? I don't know. Maybe the third curry will help me build a really good guess at least? Taking a scoop out of the final one and tasting it, it's chock full of vegetables with barely any meat as opposed to the last one. This one screams Polt's doing but I guess I'll find out soon enough. "Someone really went hard on the healthy approach. Curry's not too thin and not too thick but right in the middle. I'm impressed with whoever managed to pull it off."
"Have you reached a conclusion yet?" Polt asks, her tail wags ever so slightly despite trying to hide her excitement. If only her tail wagged when I was tasting each curry. I think I know which one wins but I sure as hell can't tell who made what still!
"You were right. I don't really have any negatives. All three are amazing so it's a bit tough to choose but when it comes to curry I've got a big preference. I'd say…," I pause for dramatic effect. Their eyes widen, clearly waiting with bated breath for the result. "The second curry is the best one," I declare.
"Are you serious?!" Polt and Lilith immediately yell, slamming their hands on the table.
"Hahaha! I knew I'd take it easily! Go me!" Draco cheers, rushing to my side to give me a big hug.
"So you didn't actually lie to me like I had initially thought. I was pretty fifty fifty that the second one was either you or Lilith. Congrats on winning, Draco!" I hug her back and briefly kiss her lips.
"Thank you, Sweetheart! I made it exactly like my love for you!" She presses her cheek against mine.
"Clearly, I should've not held back on my curry of all things," Polt sighs.
"You actually made that first one, Polt?!" I ask, taken aback.
"Indeed, I did. I wanted to go all the way but figured it would've been a dead giveaway. I'm honestly more shocked you didn't fall for Lilith's. She tried really hard to replicate something I'd do for you," she answers. My brain lags for a second after hearing that.
"… So that third curry… is Lilith's?!" The realization hits me hard. I know curry is pretty easy to make but she did that on a first try?!
"I don't know how I didn't win! You were so impressed!" Lilith pouts with her arms crossed.
"W-Well, you still did a killer job at making it and blew way past my expectations so that's still a big positive, right?" I offer her the bright side. Getting out of my chair and Draco's embrace, I go over to Lilith and kneel down.
"I guess you're right," she says, lightening up.
"Don't forget you showed Polt and Draco that you're one helluva cook today, not to mention flexing that you're definitely future mommy material. You're gonna totally rock that milf status," I whisper in her ear, buttering her up.
"Damn it, Sweetheart. I can't stay mad when you make good points and say stuff like that," she blushes and gives me a quick peck on the lips.
"That's what I'm for," I chuckle, standing back up. "So you three had some sort of bet, right? What did Draco win?"
"I get to serve you my dessert before they serve theirs," Draco answers.
"Oh, you three made dessert? Now you're just spoiling your boyfriend slash host. What do you have in store for me?" I inquire curiously.
"That's a surprise!" They immediately respond.
"You three sure like surprises," I say.
"You tossed surprises our way first, Sweetheart," Polt reminds me.
"So it's only fair that we get to throw surprises back at you," Lilith chimes in.
"Well, you got me there," I sheepishly rub the back of my head.
"Trust us. You'll be over the moon that we're keeping it secret," Draco assures. "It does need a little more time before it's ready first."
"I'm sure it'll be awesome when it is. Until then, I'll be back in the living room while I wait," I inform.
"Perfect for us!" They say.