lina decided to take things easy in her first class. She wouldn't check on anyone or reprimand them. She would allow them all to do their own thing, taste their own dishes, and co to their own conclusions.
In the anti, she would make enough sparkle ringue pie for everyone to have a slice to sample and compare with their own work. She showed everyone the pantry and explained how to use the magitech ovens. So of the commoners had never used one before, although using an old-style oven was still an option if they preferred that. lina got the oven going in a few minutes using her fire magic, so it wasn't an issue.
It was interesting to see what the so-called professional bakers would do with their task. So ssed up the task almost instantly by either mixing the sparkleaf into the batter or the filling. So were a bit more careful and tried to figure out what the sparkleaf did first. But only a rare few had the patience to actually try to understand the ingredient.
lina took note of those few people, but ultimately paid attention to her own task. She made several tart shells first, flash-baking them in the oven. While that was happening, she made the citrusy curd for the pie's filling and mixed the eggwhites with sparkleaves, being careful not to ruin the fragile ingredient.
After that, she cooked the pies and was done with her dish way before anyone else. This gave her ample ti to inspect what her students were doing. So were clearly trying to gloat and make so incredibly complex dishes. She saw an attempted croissant on one table and macarons on another. The chances of these dishes succeeding were slim.
"Excuse ," a man with bright red hair raised his hand, bringing lina's attention to him.
"Yes?" lina walked up to him. She noted that he was incredibly tall and had rather feminine features for a man. Most would definitely consider him very handso, albeit his expression was rather cold.
"Is there a refrigerator?" He asked.
"Yes. Are you trying to cool down the pastry cream?" She asked, not quite understanding what he was trying to make from the setup on his bench.
"I'm trying to make an ice cream," he said.
There were a lot of curious glances in his direction. lina smiled. This man was bold, but she believed he might be on the right track. If he did things in the right order.
"You ask Mango to assist you. She's wonderful at cooling things down at a steady temperature. She has helped make many ice-creams and gelatos alike," lina said, pointing to the icy fox.
Mango gave an affirmative yip and wiggled her two tails excitedly.
"Very well. If you could help out, Mango, I'd really appreciate it," the man said to Mango kindly.
"What is your na?" lina asked curiously.
"I'm Philip. I ca from the Bakers Guild in Fenrora," he replied.
"I look forward to your dish, Philip," lina said and continued her rounds around the kitchen. Her curiosity was piqued now. She really hoped that the man would get it right.
lina allowed her students to cook for two hours. So finished earlier than that, so she tested those dishes first. She didn't say anything about them, instead offering the students to taste their creations themselves and then also taste the sparkle ringue pie that she made.
So made sour expressions after tasting her pie, likely realizing that they had done things wrong. So were rather delighted to try her dessert, expressing eagerness to learn how to make it. So spent every last minute she provided cooking their dish. One of the cooks had gone for a full cake.
Regardless of the complexity of the dish they chose, most were completely off the mark. So couldn't even get the base dish right, clearly having overshot by choosing an overly complex dish. Naly, it was the croissant and macarons. They just weren't ready properly.
The problem with most dishes, however, was the fact that it was impossible to taste the sparkleaf. Most after having tasted lina's pie realized it. So more stubborn cases denied it, saying that they had faulty ingredients.
But there was one standout. Philip, the tall, red-haired cook, had made a beautiful sparkleaf ice cream. He'd done it completely right, too, as he added sparkleaf only in the very late stages of the churning process. That way, the sparkleaf didn't lose any of its flavor, resulting in a very unique and very tasty ice cream.
"This is wonderful. I believe it's better than my pie," lina praised, not at all ashad that one of the students had managed to beat her on day one.
"No, I believe I don't quite fit the requirents. This is a class for baking, yet I have produced an ice cream," Philip said humbly.
"I never said that you had to bake during this exercise, so you pass with flying colors. Besides, it can easily be incorporated in an ice-cream cake, if you wish to make it into a baked good," lina said.
"Ice-cream cake…" The man sounded intrigued. "Will you be teaching how to make that?"
"Yes, it's a recipe I learned from a drow chef. I'll be teaching you all the recipes that I've learned in my rather short ti as a baker. Most importantly, I'll be teaching how to use Monster Realm ingredients safely," lina smiled, then went to the front of the class to address everyone.
"As you saw today, Monster Realm ingredients are rather temperantal and difficult to work with. Sparkleaf, which I made you work with today, is actually an easy ingredient to work with, because the worst consequence you can have is losing the flavor. However, other ingredients are more dangerous. So may poison a person if not processed correctly. So may cause hallucinations in excessive quantities. So have too much mana in them for the human body to handle."
"If you wish to work with Monster Realm ingredients and secure a deal with Count Speziale to order them for yourself, you have to learn about them and understand. Only once you have my approval will the Count be willing to sell the ingredients to your household, business, or guild," lina cautioned.
"Who are you to determine that? You're just so girl barely into her adulthood. Why do you get to decide anything?" One of the cooks called from the back. It was the one who had failed at making macarons.
"I am lina Dufour, fiancée of Alistair Sinclair and the first [Archpatissier] in the Human Realm. If you do not trust my accomplishnts, then you are welco to leave my class. I'm not holding anyone here. You're welco to forge your own path if you so wish," lina said firmly.
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So people did actually leave. They were the more experienced-looking cooks who looked incapable of taking direction. Good. lina didn't want to deal with them anyway. She wanted to work with people who could follow directions.
"To those of you who remain, are you ready to follow my instructions?" lina asked.
"Yes," most replied. She noticed that Philip, in particular, was focused on her intently. He wanted nothing more than to learn about the Monster Realm ingredients, although it was likely that he needed her guidance the least.
"Wonderful, then let us begin the first lesson!"
Several more people left lina's class by the end of the week, leaving her with twenty-four students in total. She would be lying if she said that she wasn't disappointed. However, the people who were left were more than eager to learn her technique.
The cooks working for nobles' houses were excited to see how Monster Realm ingredients could elevate cakes and other baked goods to completely new heights, while the guild cooks were eager to learn how to make healing waffles and cream puffs.
lina ended up splitting the class into two. Half of the class focused on more decorative effects and desserts like shimrtart and opera cake, while the other half was more focused on the actual effects provided by the Monster Realm ingredients.
There were, however, a few oddballs among her students. Philip was one of them. Frankly, she believed he didn't even need her classes. The man was incredibly talented when it ca to cooking. Any recipe she showed him, he picked up almost instantly.
He also understood the effects of the Monster Realm ingredients and was quick to apply them correctly in dishes. In fact, he created several new dishes on the fly, beating all of lina's expectations. This man would undoubtedly go far.
"I'm ashad to admit it, but I don't think there's much left I can teach you," lina said after two weeks of her lessons.
Everyone else was still polishing their skills and trying to figure out perfect ways of working with each of the ingredients lina had presented to them: feyfruit, sparkleaf, scorchvine pepper, and leafshade cacao. Thankfully, after lina discovered the right processing technique, Count Speziale took it upon himself to do the processing.
"Don't sell yourself short, young lady. I'm nearly twice your age and have been working in the kitchen since before I turned eighteen. There are so things only experience can show you. The fact that you could teach sothing new already shows great potential in your future," Philip said patiently.
"Would you perhaps teach sothing you know? I feel like there's so much I could learn from you," lina admitted.
"Of course. I believe it is only fair," the red-haired man smiled, his features softening ever so softly. He then looked around for a mont, as if to make sure that nobody else was listening in on their conversation. "I had a question for you. Unrelated to cooking."
"Please, ask away. If there's anything I can do to help," lina said.
"Your fiancé is Duke Sinclair's youngest son, is that correct?" Philip asked sowhat uncomfortably.
"Yes…" lina replied, wondering where this topic was going.
"And the Duke approves of your marriage, correct?"
"That's correct."
"H-How did you… acquire the Duke's permission? While you're a talented young woman and every baker in the country has heard of your grandfather, you're still a commoner, isn't that right?"
"Yes. Both of my parents were commoners," lina confird. There was a mont of pause as lina wondered how best to answer the question. Many things had co into play for lina's and Alistair's marriage to be approved.
His unwavering loyalty and love for her. Her being a System user and one of the best magic users in the country. Her monster familiars and knowledge of the monster realm. She had many strengths that managed to overpower the fact that she was a commoner.
But why would Philip be interested in that? She didn't get it at first, but as the man rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably, lina realized. He must have fallen in love with a noblewoman.
"I'm… not sure if I can give you sound advice regarding the matter. I'm sowhat of a unique case. An oddity, if you will," lina replied sheepishly.
Philip deflated. "I see… It was a silly question to ask. Let's return to the lesson."
lina wished there was sothing she could do to help Philip, but unfortunately, she didn't know. Perhaps, she could consult with Alistair to figure out so kind of answer for him.
But that would have to wait for another day. Once the class was finished, lina had an improved task to do. Sothing she was putting away for weeks now.
But the first frost had graced the earth this morning, creating a thin layer of ice on fallen leaves. Trees were completely barren, and lina couldn't head outside without a proper thick coat and a shawl anymore. It also ant that the weather was too cold for Sienna to remain in Sunglow anymore.
With a heavy heart, she returned ho, where the wyvern was huddled under the cover near the hearth. That was all she did these days.
Alistair was crouched down next to Sienna and only looked up when lina ca up next to them. They shared a sad glance, and Mango whimpered sadly at Sienna.
The wyvern did lift her head. lina scratched under her chin, watching Sienna chitter with delight.
"I think it's ti for you to go to a warr place," lina said sadly.
Sienna looked sad, too, but they all knew that this couldn't go on. She couldn't handle the cold at all. What would the wyvern do during the cold months when a thick layer of snow covered everything and subzero temperatures were a daily occurrence?
"Let's get going. I got Knight ready," Alistair said.
lina nodded and picked up the wyvern, keeping her huddled in the covers. "I'm going to keep you warm on the way with magic, so don't worry."
Sienna pressed herself against lina's body, enjoying the warmth she exuded. lina conjured a protective warm barrier around the wyvern, and they set out.
While the barrier was able to protect Sienna from the cold, it wasn't sothing lina could keep up for long. Not to a degree that Sienna needed at least. The wyvern required warm temperatures to be comfortable, so lina had to use quite a bit of mana to keep the air around Sienna constantly warm.
Thankfully, atop Knight's back, getting to the Monster Realm proved to be a quick and easy task. lina wished it had taken longer.
As they stepped into the Monster Realm, she could finally release the heat magic she had been emitting and release Sienna. The wyvern seed hesitant at first, only poking out her head. But once it was clear that the temperature in the Monster Realm was still pleasantly warm, Sienna leapt down onto the ground and took her large form.
The wyvern stretched her wings pleasantly and whipped her tail around. Like she was finally able to erge from a prison.
lina watched the scene with mixed feelings. She was happy to see Sienna comfortable again. But she wouldn't be able to spend all her ti with her familiar anymore. Ever since the day lina tad Sienna, they had never been apart for long.
Of course, lina knew that she would still be able to visit her wyvern friend. But it wouldn't be sothing she could do every day.
"I'm going to miss you, Sienna," lina said, patting Sienna's neck.
Sienna let out a soft coo and nuzzled against lina, indicating that she would miss her too.
"We'll co visit," Alistair added, and Mango jumped up and down in agreent.
Sienna let out an approving roar and then, after throwing a last longing look at lina, took to the skies. lina watched her familiar retreat into the distance, tears forming in the corners of her eyes.
"What's the big deal? You can visit the lizard anyti, and once it's warm, you can take the beast back," an annoyingly familiar voice suddenly interrupted the tender mont.
lina looked to the source and saw Aeriganta standing not too far away from where they were.
"What are you doing here?" Alistair asked cautiously, narrowing his eyes at the siren.
"? I'm going back to Sunglow!"
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