There was nothing left. Xiangling fell to her knees, her jaw hanging in horror.
Black ashes painted the Serenitea Pot. The acrid scent of burning meat permeated from the smoldering remains of the mansion.
How? How had it gone so wrong?
"I told you," said Ei. "I really can't cook."
The Electro Archon removed the apron and sighed. Ei exchanged her frying pan for a shovel. She got busy scooping the soot into a waste bin. One by one, the other members of the cooking class got busy with the cleanup.
Xiangling didn't speak once. Tubby sat in a corner, silently weeping in a fetal position. Luckily, the girls managed to clean up and rebuild everything exactly as it was. Of course, the burning smell lingered around the Realm Within for months to come.
Later on, UHA Senator Yae Miko proposed a constitutional amendment banning Ei from Xiangling's cooking lessons and from ever being allowed in the kitchen again. Everyone signed it, including Ei.
Tubby updated her notes on Ei:
Whoever becomes the next UHA president: Keep the Electro Archon away from the kitchen. Her raw power is already fearsome, but if you arm her with any cooking devices, she will become judgment day. In her hands, even a box of cereal is the Muso-No-Hitotachi. I cannot stress this enough. For the good of us all, never let the Electro Archon cook!