"Well what did you expect?" Azel asked as Sybil floated away, even though she had already cleaned the blood from his finger. "I just cut onions so of course they taste like that."

"You tricked me," she said with a small harrumph, crossing her arms as if he had committed a personal crime.

He wiped his fingertip against his apron before turning back toward the counter filled with ingredients.

His hand reached for another bowl, and he picked up the Cloud Sage.

"The Cloud Sage is meant to be cut, my lord," Bella said as she stepped slightly forward. "So that the oils and the body will—"

He crushed the herb right above the bowl without hesitation, crimson oil dripping through his fingers as he pulled his hand back.

The soft herb collapsed in his palm like spun wool, releasing its sweet aromatic oil in a concentrated burst.

To complete it, he crushed two more Cloud Sage stalks, letting the fragrant oil pool beneath them before discarding the leftover husks.

They weren't necessary for the process… only the oil mattered, he had learned that the hard way.

'I'm using a lot of bowls,' Azel thought as he glanced at the growing collection beside him.

His old self would have been ecstatic… he had spent years cooking for Steven with barely enough utensils to fill a backpack.

He pulled another forward and placed a lump of Hearth-butter inside it, then reached for the Stonehorn bone marrow.

The enchanted container was frosted, but with a brief pulse of Holy energy, the enchantment cracked and dissolved and he warmed it.

Layla watched with a blink, recognizing that he was doing something far beyond amateur-level kitchen work.

"Alright, I'll need a pan now," Azel said casually, wiping his hands on the cloth beside him.

Bella quickly gestured toward one of the polished cabinets. "Those are the pots and pans, my lord… please choose whichever size suits your recipe."

Azel pulled out a moderate-sized pan, testing its weight before nodding in approval.

Then he noticed the strange stove beneath the counter… there was sleek metal, glowing dials, and several circular heat points.

It resembled a gas cooker from his past world, but far more complicated.

"That's the Empire's new cooker," Bella explained proudly. "It uses engraved enchantments to cook depending on what heat you set the controller below to."

Azel washed the pan thoroughly under the tap before setting it on the cooker.

It ignited instantly with a brilliant blue glow, the enchantments reacting to the pressure of the pan.

As the leftover water evaporated, the pan began to heat evenly, ready for the first step.

The crackling began the moment he dropped four generous spoons of melted Hearth-butter onto the hot pan.

It sizzled and spread, coating the bottom with a golden layer of fat.

Azel stepped over to the Mountain Beast meat and with the flour he had placed earlier, he began coating each piece in a thin, even layer.

'I can't believe I forgot about this crucial thing,' he thought as the flour clung to his fingers. 'Steven would call me a disgrace if he saw that.'

He walked back to the pan where the butter now crackled aggressively, the heat rising in waves against his face.

Carefully, he placed each flour-coated meat cube into the pan one by one, lowering the heat slightly with the control valve to keep the butter from burning.

The sound was a satisfying sizzling as the cubes began to brown.

As the minutes passed, Azel watched the meat like a hawk with his eyes focused.

He used the spoon to lift and rotate several cubes, judging their progress with his eyes.

The Astra family stood in mesmerized silence, watching him evaluate each cube with a level of concentration most men reserved for life-or-death battles.

He flipped the meat, revealing perfectly seared golden-brown sides.

A wave of aroma filled the kitchen.

It was the kind of smell that demanded attention, and Layla felt her lips part with genuine admiration.

'Even if this meal ends up in a disaster… which I doubt would happen,' she thought, 'I must allow this young man to become my son-in-law… My daughter would fare better with the son of the Sword Saint rather than that Reinhardt punk. I hate him with my soul.'

Azel pressed several cubes against the side of the pan with the back of his spoon, shaking off excess oil.

Then he scooped them into a clean bowl, the golden-brown pieces gleaming beautifully.

Without warning, he flicked one toward Sybil. She caught it and immediately dropped it into her other palm, juggling it with a squeal.

"Hot! Hot! Hot!" Sybil yelped as she blew a gust of wind magic at the cube before finally eating it.

She chewed slowly at first, then faster, then let out a delighted hum. "Mmh~ It tastes amazing!"

"Give me another!" she demanded, leaning forward eagerly.

"No," Azel said, shaking his head. "You'll eat the rest when I'm done."

Sybil pouted hard enough to deflate a balloon, but she obeyed… mostly because he looked ridiculously handsome while cooking.

Azel turned to Layla. "Mother-in-law, is it okay if she helps me make the rice?"

Layla nodded, amused. "Of course."

Bella instantly stepped forward. "Thank you, my lord… I won't disappoint!"

'Over rice?' Azel thought helplessly. 'She's acting like I asked her to forge an SSS-Rank item.'

He lowered the heat to medium again and dropped another spoonful of Hearth-butter into the pan.

The softened fat melted quickly, bubbling across the browned residue left behind by the meat.

Then came the sliced Heart-onions… the thin, heart-shaped pieces that sizzled wildly before settling into a fragrant golden layer.

Next he added the Ember-carrots and Frost-potatoes.

They hit the hot butter with a heavy thump, immediately softening around the edges while keeping their shape. As the vegetables cooked, a deep fragrance filled the kitchen once again.

It was different from the meat's aroma, but equally intoxicating.

The scent was strong enough that footsteps echoed down the staircase.

Haji Astra stepped into the kitchen. His expression was as sharp as ever but his eyes widened slightly.

The smell was powerful, irresistible, and completely unlike anything he had eaten before.

Azel didn't turn toward him. He simply sprinkled a pinch of Sun-salt and Blackrock pepper into the vegetables and poured in the bone-marrow stock until everything was halfway submerged.

Then he scraped the bottom of the pan with deliberate motions, releasing every caramelized bit into the broth.

The stew base thickened and darkened.

Shortly after, he returned the perfectly seared Mountain-beast cubes into the pan.

They sizzled between the vegetables, absorbing the stew's richness. He added Bronze bay leaves and drizzled the extracted Cloud Sage oil across the surface.

The aroma deepened instantly.

With a final sweep, Azel poured more stock into the pan until everything was fully covered.

He lowered the heat, letting the mixture slip into a gentle simmer. The bubbles rose slowly and they looked thick which meant he was doing good.

He extended his hand toward Bella without looking.

"Cover."

She placed the pan lid into his palm instantly, and he closed the pot with a soft clink.

Azel turned to the Astra family, wiping his hands clean.

"Now we let it cook."

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