[Yahallo~ Akarin here!
Just a quick update: daily uploads for Gourt: Cooking for the Multiverse are officially bumping up to 2 chapters a day!
Also, regarding the confusion about Azazel (Helltaker) in chapter 205... yeah, that was totally my bad. I've gone back and fixed it, so you can check the end of chapter 205 again.]
Seeing the genuinely surprised expressions washing over the faces of Lucifer and the others, Azazel felt a familiar, smug sense of satisfaction bubbling up in his chest.
He leaned back slightly in his chair, casually adjusting the crisp collar of his dark trench coat.
After all, the person sitting directly across from him was very likely the Devil King Lucifer of Another World.
To be able to effortlessly awe a queen of her terrifying stature with his re presence... it seed the Azazel of this world was also a highly successful, influential figure.
He allowed a confident, charismatic smirk to grace his lips.
"What is wrong, Queen Lucifer?" Azazel asked smoothly, resting his elbows on the wooden tabletop. "Does my existence also appear in this world?"
Lucifer stopped tapping on her smartphone screen and slowly looked up.
She nodded with absolute seriousness, her glowing crimson eyes staring right through the Fallen Angel Governor.
"Yes, but she is an angel," Lucifer replied, her tone completely flat and unimpressed. "And a female."
Azazel blinked, his charismatic smirk instantly faltering.
"And most importantly, she is a student," Lucifer added casually, returning her gaze to her ga. "She should be diligently collecting research materials in Hell right now."
"Re... research materials..."
Azazel's mouth twitched uncontrollably.
The image of a nerdy, highly-strung female angel version of himself scurrying around the fiery pits of Hell with a clipboard completely shattered his inflated ego.
Ren chuckled softly from the side, wiping down the polished wooden counter with a clean, damp cloth.
"It seems Mr. Azazel has fully accepted this setting now," Ren said with a warm, welcoming smile.
He set the cloth down and gave the flabbergasted Fallen Angel his full attention.
"So, would you like to rest for a while or eat sothing?"
Azazel looked at Ren with a renewed sense of intense curiosity.
The young man possessed an aura that was completely ordinary, completely devoid of magic, yet he casually commanded the space around the fearso Queen of Hell.
"More than that, I am far more concerned about exactly how I get back," Azazel admitted, sighing softly as he rubbed the back of his neck.
"After all, I am not a student with infinite free ti to loiter."
Ren simply raised a hand and pointed toward the front doorway of the restaurant.
"You just need to open the door and walk back," Ren explained gently. "It is not as troubleso as you imagine."
Azazel stood up, his heavy boots clicking softly against the pristine hardwood floor of the dining area.
He walked slowly toward the entrance, his sharp eyes scanning the intricate woodwork of the doorfra and the polished brass handle for any hidden runes.
He reached out, half-expecting a lethal magical trap to trigger, and slowly turned the knob.
As the heavy wooden door swung outward, a gentle, swirling expanse of white light greeted his eyes.
He narrowed his gaze, carefully extending his supernatural senses to examine the luminous gateway.
It was remarkably similar to the holy light of the Lord he once served, but this light was far gentler, lacking any coercive, judgntal weight.
Most importantly, he could not detect a single trace of spatial magic or teleportation arrays present within the threshold.
It was a purely conceptual gateway, defying all magical logic established in his universe.
Azazel nodded slowly, trusting his own rigorous analysis, and pulled the door shut with a soft click.
He walked back to his seat, a newfound sense of genuine ease washing over his tense shoulders.
"So, young man, exactly who are you?" Azazel asked, tilting his head as he sat back down. "You look like a simple shop owner... yet you are so exceptionally close to the Queen of Hell."
Upon hearing the question, Lucifer let out a haughty, aristocratic snort.
She imdiately shifted her weight, leaning intimately against Ren's side.
Without a single word of explanation, she wrapped her slender, pale arms around Ren's arm, pressing her soft curves against him in a blatant display of possessive ownership.
She pulled her phone back out and continued playing her puzzle ga, completely ignoring the Fallen Angel Governor.
This silent, devastatingly clear answer was overwhelmingly effective.
Azazel rubbed his temples, feeling a dull ache forming behind his eyes.
"These are truly all sorts of incomprehensible things," Azazel muttered, shaking his head in defeat.
He looked around the cozy restaurant, finally taking in the warm amber lighting and the faint, mouth-watering aromas lingering in the air.
"Well, it would be a terrible sha not to eat a al in such an incredibly interesting place," he concluded, a relaxed smile returning to his face.
Ren smiled and nodded.
"Okay. So, what would you like to eat?"
Azazel looked around the empty table for a laminated sheet.
"Is there no nu?"
"With the ingredients we currently have in stock, almost anything you want can be made," Ren replied confidently.
Azazel raised an eyebrow, genuinely impressed by the young chef's sheer culinary audacity.
"Oh? Impressive!" Azazel leaned back, crossing his arms over his chest. "Let think..."
He recalled his highly unsuccessful afternoon hobby just before arriving here.
"I did not catch any fish today, so how about a fish dish?" he suggested. "The specific dish is entirely up to you, and then pair it with 1 glass of red wine."
Ren nodded, his dark eyes sparkling with imdiate culinary inspiration.
"Then please wait a mont, the dish will be ready soon," Ren said softly. "As for the red wine, are you absolutely sure you only want 1 glass?"
Azazel thought for a mont, stroking his goatee as he evaluated the relaxed atmosphere of the room.
"Just 1 glass of wine," Azazel confird.
"But add 1 bottle of whiskey to the order. I have a very strong feeling this will be a magnificent dish."
Ren smiled warmly. "Mhm. Your feeling will not be wrong."
"Then please wait a mont."
After speaking, Ren turned and pushed through the swinging wooden doors into the pristine domain of his kitchen.
The mont he tied his crisp white apron around his waist, his entire deanor shifted from a polite host to an absolute master of his craft.
He approached the massive comrcial refrigerator and pulled out a stunningly fresh, silver-scaled sea bass that had been delivered just hours ago.
The fish's eyes were crystal clear, and its gills were a vibrant red, a true testant to its flawless quality.
Ren placed the fish onto his heavy wooden cutting board, retrieving his gleaming, razor-sharp Yanagiba knife from its sheath.
With a fluid, almost hypnotic motion, the steel blade sliced seamlessly through the delicate flesh.
He separated the pristine fillets from the bone in a matter of seconds, leaving not a single ounce of at to waste.
His hands moved like a blur, ticulously plucking out the tiny pin bones with a pair of stainless steel culinary tweezers.
Next, he grabbed a heavy cast-iron skillet, placing it over the roaring blue flas of the industrial stove.
He drizzled a generous splash of high-quality olive oil into the pan, waiting just until the oil began to shimr and smoke slightly.
Ren seasoned the sea bass fillets generously with coarse sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper, pressing the spices gently into the flesh.
Carefully, he laid the fillets skin-side down into the scorching skillet.
Sizzle!
A violent, magnificent crackling sound echoed throughout the kitchen as the moisture in the fish skin instantly reacted with the blazing hot oil.
The rich, savory aroma of searing fish erupted into the air, riding the thermal currents directly out into the dining area.
Ren tossed in 2 crushed cloves of garlic and a thick pat of golden, unsalted butter.
The butter instantly foad, turning a nutty brown hue as it mingled with the natural, oceanic juices of the sea bass.
He grabbed a sprig of fresh thy, tossing it into the foaming butter, which released an intoxicating, earthy fragrance.
Using a large silver spoon, Ren began to expertly baste the top of the fish, cascading the hot, aromatic butter over the raw flesh to cook it perfectly from the top down.
Simultaneously, he grabbed a smaller copper saucepan to prepare a delicate beurre blanc.
He reduced a splash of dry white wine with finely minced shallots, then whisked in heavy cream and cold butter until it ford a luxurious, glossy sauce.
The sheer sensory overload of the sizzling butter, the sweet garlic, the acidic tang of the wine reduction, and the rich scent of the ocean was utterly divine.
Out in the dining room, Azazel's nose twitched wildly as the heavenly aroma hit him like a physical blow.
His stomach let out an undignified, rumbling growl.
He swallowed hard, his eyes widening as he suddenly realized just how ravenously hungry he truly was.
Lucifer simply smiled, looking highly amused by the Fallen Angel's visceral reaction to her beloved's cooking.
She elegantly crossed her legs, resting her chin on her hand.
"The Lucifer of your world really is utterly useless," she stated bluntly, shattering the comfortable silence. "To actually die."
Azazel was startled, imdiately snapping out of his deep culinary trance.
He looked at her in absolute confusion. "Eh? Queen Lu..."
He caught himself before the title fully slipped out.
"...never mind, Lord Lucifer then. Lord Lucifer, why do you have such a harsh opinion?"
Lucifer tilted her head, her pristine white hair swaying gently.
"Is the title 'Queen' really that strange to you?"
"No..." Azazel hesitated, trying to find the right words to explain his universe's history. "It is just because the Lucifer of our world is a man."
He leaned forward, his expression turning serious.
"He was called the Progenitor Devil King, his wife was the Mother of Devils, Lilith, and it seems he even had a child before his demise..."
"A child..."
The mont those words left Azazel's mouth, Lucifer's breath hitched ever so slightly.
Hearing this, she felt a sudden, inexplicable sense of burning envy gnawing at her cold heart.
The Lucifer of Another World, as pathetically weak as he sounded, actually possessed offspring?
She bit her lower lip, her crimson eyes involuntarily darting toward the swinging kitchen doors where Ren was currently basting the fish.
How impressive... she thought to herself, a faint pink dusting her usually pale cheeks as her imagination briefly ran wild.
Suddenly, a flurry of chaotic movent broke her train of thought.
After the 3 identical demon dog girls known as Cerberus rged back into 1 single entity, she bounded over to the table.
[Akarin's Note:
Enjoying the story? Dropping a quick review, comnt, or Power Stone ans the world to and keeps these daily updates flowing!
Want to read 50 chapters ahead or just want to help keep a shaless translator alive? (My livelihood actually depends on this, haha 😭). You can support directly here:
(P.S. Just remove the brackets and replace the [.] with a regular dot . to use the links!)
✨ Patreon (50 Advanced Chapters): patreon[.]com/AkarinTL
☕ Ko-fi (Support / Sponsor): ko-fi[.]com/AkarinTL
🔗 All My Links: linktr[.]ee/AkarinTL
Thank you so much for reading and keeping this project alive!]
User Comments
0 comments from readers