Chapter 60: The Key

“Little sister, did you not find the salt?”

“Oh, oh, I found it!”

Rosasys put down the Key with excitement, picked up the salt bottle, and ran toward Vellandelle.

“Big sister, salt.”

“Okay.”

Vellandelle took the salt bottle, set it aside, and glanced over the various seasonings.

Although it wasn’t as fully stocked as before she transmigrated, it was enough.

The first dish would be tomato and scrambled eggs, the second dish would be braised pork, and since they’d bought pork, the third dish would be mapo tofu.

“Kelosha, watch closely, this is how you make rice.”

“Mm, I’m watching carefully!”

Kelosha focused intently, her wolf tail unconsciously tense.

Vellandelle didn’t expect her to actually learn to cook, as long as she didn’t create another disaster dish, that was enough.

Vellandelle tied her long hair behind her head.

She picked up a plump red tomato, then a few eggs—the eggshells glimmered with a faint golden sheen under the light.

“First, prepare the ingredients.”

She washed the tomato in clean water and skillfully sliced it into even pieces.

Rosasys watched without blinking, while Kelosha’s wolf ears stood up as if observing a complex combat technique.

The motion of beating the eggs was even more fluid.

The egg liquid swirled into a fine foam in the bowl.

When the eggs slid into the hot oil, a “sizzle” sounded, and the golden eggs puffed up, filling the kitchen with a delicious aroma.

“So fragrant!”

Kelosha’s tail started to sway, her nose twitching.

Vellandelle chuckled, then poured the tomatoes into the pan.

The red and yellow mingled, tumbling together, the sweet and sour scent blending perfectly with the aroma of eggs.

She seasoned with practiced hands, then finally sprinkled on a handful of fresh green scallions.

Next, when handling the pork, Vellandelle slowed her movements deliberately so Kelosha could see how to blanch the meat and remove the gamey smell.

“This step is important, or it’ll taste strange.”

She explained, and looking at Kelosha nodding earnestly, couldn’t help but find the wolf-girl rather cute when she was serious.

The braised pork simmered in the pot, deep red sauce bubbling.

The tempting meat aroma made mouths water.

When making mapo tofu, Vellandelle carefully adjusted the spice.

The chili peppers in this world seemed particularly potent; even with just a little, Kelosha still sneezed.

“Big sister, this flavor is really unique!”

Rosasys stared at the tofu rolling in the red oil, pink eyes full of anticipation.

When the three dishes finally sat on the table, their vibrant colors and scents left the two girls stunned.

Kelosha’s tail wagged like a windmill, and Rosasys couldn’t wait to pick up her utensils.

“Try it first.”

Vellandelle smiled, serving them some food.

Seeing their surprised and delighted expressions after tasting it, a rare sense of satisfaction welled up inside her.

For Kelosha and Rosasys, just being able to eat Vellandelle’s cooking was already a joy.

Not to mention, Vellandelle’s dishes were also truly delicious.

“Delicious!”

Kelosha struggled to stab at the braised pork with her fork.

Rosasys scooped up a mouthful of tomato scrambled eggs, looking especially amazed.

She hadn’t expected big sister’s cooking to taste so good…

“Big sister’s food is really tasty.”

“Ahem, it’s nothing, I just made it normally.”

After being praised by the two of them, Vellandelle seemed a bit embarrassed.

“Hurry up and eat!”

“Okay.”

Noticing that the two were using forks and spoons, Vellandelle suddenly realized that chopsticks were actually more convenient for eating Chinese Cuisine.

However, these two would probably struggle quite a bit with chopsticks.

Vellandelle’s gaze lingered on Rosasys.

Rosasys thought Vellandelle was watching her fumble with the spoon and tofu, so her face turned red, and she tried to divert Vellandelle’s attention.

“Big sister, by the way, what’s the Key in your drawer for?”

“Key?”

Rosasys’s words made Vellandelle pause.

Key, drawer…

It seemed she had put a Key in there.

How did that Key end up there again?

Thinking further, Vellandelle suddenly remembered the origin of the Key.

“That Key, now that I think about it, is strange—it was given to me by a weirdo.”

“Weirdo?”

“Yeah, a guy in a black cloak. Very suspicious. Back at the Inn, he stared at me for a long time and then suddenly threw a Key at me before running away.”

“That weird? Didn’t you check what kind of Key it was?”

“A friend told me it’s a Key from the Ancient Falen Era, but nothing more specific. I guess so—it’s just a Key, after all, can’t tell much from it, so I just left it as an antique.”

The origin of the Key made Vellandelle recall that back when she was still Vilan, she’d followed Selesste off the carriage and gotten it at the Inn.

Come to think of it, she had been a bit careless, just tossing it aside after arriving at the Academy.

“Big sister, since you said the person who gave you this Key was a creepy Black Robe Man, you shouldn’t be so careless. My Grandmother told me a lot of stories about sorcerers—they always curse things.”

“Even if it’s not a sorcerer, you really should be careful with mysterious items.”

“Little sister has a point.”

Vellandelle nodded, recognizing the truth in Rosasys’s words.

That Black Robe Man was strange enough, let alone the mysterious origin.

With items like that, they could indeed be something dangerous.

“I’ll try to find someone trustworthy to check if this Key might be hiding any danger.”

Naturally, the person to verify it had to be reliable and close.

Those who met the conditions were few, but not none.

Miss Vivilian could probably help.

She’d ask Miss Vivilian when she had the chance.

“Um… Why aren’t you two eating? I’m almost finished…”

At that moment, Kelosha looked at them with a blank expression, breaking Vellandelle’s train of thought.

“Hmm? You started eating on your own while we were talking—Kelosha, that’s too much!”

Rosasys immediately got angry, scolding Kelosha.

“Uh…”

Looking at her plate, more than half gone, she realized instantly.

Kelosha, while the two talked, had simply picked up the plate and eaten straight from it for convenience.

“I want to eat too! Kelosha, don’t hog it!”

Rosasys clumsily ate her food.

Vellandelle watched the two eat lunch and couldn’t help but smile.

It seemed they really liked Chinese Cuisine.

It was just a shame she hadn’t steamed rice—these dishes tasted even better with rice.

Vellandelle watched the two with a smile, but in the next moment, a sharp pain stabbed through her head.

“Ugh…”

In that instant, she seemed to see a figure, both familiar and strange, sitting at the dining table with her, sharing a meal.

“What’s this?”

Before she could react, the image vanished.