Chapter 52: The Chef

After a while Xiangling stopped her instruction and was a bit embarrassed she was in her own world

“Hee-hee, I just can't help myself when there's a chance to try something new. But I can't exactly bring my whole kitchen with me every time I leave the house either.”

“It’s fine, it is nice to see how passionate you are about cooking.”

“Hee-hee thank you. Give me a second while I get everything ready.”

As she was about to prepare for cooking. A hunter shouted in the distance and came running.

“Hey! What do you think you're doing?”

He came here to give us a warning. “This is the boars' natural habitat, you can't hunt them here! You'll send them all running. We hunters know better than to kill the chicken to get at the egg.”

Xiangling was a bit ashamed. “Oh! I get it. The freshest, best-quality meat comes from free-range boars that grow up in the environment nature intended for them! If they all ran off… It would be a major blow to gastronomy— no, to all mankind!”

“That's, uh, one way of understanding it 💧.” said Lumine

“I'm sorry. I got excited and didn't think of the impact we'd have.” Xiangling apologizes

*sigh* “ You should apologize to Draff. As our leader, he always stresses the importance of respecting the rules of the hunt. I'm afraid he is very upset right now.” said the hunter

“I think the hunter is right.” said Lumine

“I made a mistake, and I should go and apologize.” said Xiangling

“Let us come with you. We were also at fault.” I said

“Hee-hee, thanks guys. I'll cook up some more tasty snacks for you once this is over.”

“Okay. Don't worry, Paimon'll remember even if you forget.” said Paimon

We headed back to Springvale to find Draff. Draff was in front of his house waiting for us.

“You must be Xiangling.” he said

“Sorry Mr. Draff, this was all my fault.” said Xianglinf putting her hands together.

“I heard the whole story. And now that you're here in person…”

“Ooh, he's gonna let her have it!” said Paimon

“Violence is not the answer!” said Lumine

I just stood there silently since I know what would happen

Draff put his hands together and said. “...Please help me promote my meat!”

“...Eh?” Xiangling stood in place confused, while Paimon and Lumine facepalmed. I just chuckled a bit

“Sorry if I was a little brash. Let me explain. Springvale has built its reputation on top-quality meat products, but this reputation is so far limited to Mondstadt. When I heard that the great maestro Xiangling herself was in Mondstadt, I asked Allan to send you over.”

“Maestro?” said Paimon

“Haven't you heard? She's the one behind Wanmin Restaurant, that one-of-a-kind folk cuisine restaurant in Liyue Harbor. Her unique take on cooking ingredients is behind some of the best-loved dishes in all of Liyue. They are very highly rated by travelers, too.” said Draff

Xiangling was embarrassed by his praise. “Hee-hee, you're too kind. I just try to cook things that are cheap and cheerful.”

“With a top-notch chef cooking top-notch cuisine with top-notch meat from Springvale... Our reputation would spread far and wide.”

“Hmm... I don't know… I only ever think about how to make tasty dishes... I never limit myself to specific ingredients, and I don't know the first thing about promoting anything.” said Xiangling lacking confidence

“You use boar meat all the time anyway, surely? I can't see what the issue is.” said Draff

“The issue is... What would you think if I added a bit of Slime Condensate?”

“That's... I mean, couldn't you add something a bit more normal?”

“There's no such thing as "normal" ingredients to me! You can turn anything into a delicacy if you cook it in the right way.” said Xiangling with passion

“I will not stand for having my creativity shackled by what ingredients I can and can't use! Food cooked like that is destined to be boring, period!”

“That escalated quickly…” said Lumine

“She likes to go above and beyond.” I said

*sigh* “Well, since you feel so strongly about it, forget it. But it really is a pity…” said Draff giving up

We all walked away leaving Draff. Once we were a good distance away, Paimon spoke up. “You know, we did come to apologize... Couldn't you be a little more flexible?”

“It's one thing to apologize, but it's another thing entirely to change the way I approach cooking.” said Xiangling being adamant with her style

We then smelled a delicious fragrance in the air. Xiangling was the most interested in it. “Mmm, what's that smell? It's gorgeous!”

We followed the scent and saw a lady named Brook cooking. Xiangling came up to her to ask if she could have a taste. “Hello, may I have a taste of your delicious cooking?”

“Sorry, I've taken all the orders I can for the next few days. The earliest I could put you down for is seven days from now, is that okay?” said Brook

“Wow, it must be delicious if it's that popular.” said Paimon salivating

“Odd... This woman is clearly a very popular chef…” said Lumine

“Yeah, good point. Why does Draff want Xiangling to help when Springvale already has this lady?” said Paimon

“Hmm... Maybe he feels that Mondstadt cuisine can't compete with that of Teyvat's biggest business hub, Liyue Harbor. But I disagree! I don't think my cooking is at all inferior to anyone else's.” said Brook

“Well then... Show me what you got! Maybe I can give you some feedback.” said Xiangling

“Sorry, but customer feedback like "Oh, that tasted good" is no use to me. If I wanted feedback I would ask a professional chef— Hang on, are you... Xiangling!?”

“That's me!”

“It's really you! Well, I guess you do know what you're doing when it comes to cooking meat then. As it happens, I have one of today's prime cuts remaining. So tell me, how would you cook this?”

“That depends on the ratio of fat to meat. With this cut, I would probably roast it over a hot stone with a little salt, some Jueyun Chili, and Qingxin flower.”

Brook was skeptical. “Qingxin flower!? But the melted fat would make the flavor of the flowers ten times stronger than when eaten raw... It would overpower everything!”

“I know, that's why it's a garnish — I would never marinate the meat in it! I've tried it before. If you baste the petals in oil and then cook them with the right heat and duration, it gets rid of the bitterness completely and leaves you with a lovely crispy topping. Then throw in some Jueyun Chilis grown at a high altitude, where the low humidity and varying temperature lends them a unique dry heat. The petals absorb the saltiness from the sea salt, the chili spice, and the umami of the tender, freshly grilled steak, while also adding a floral aftertaste.”

“That's pure overkill! You're going all out on the trimmings and doing no justice to the meat whatsoever. Who wants to eat a roast when you can taste everything except the roast?” Brook was infuriated

Paimon stepped in to calm them down. “Whoa whoa whoa, stop arguing!”

“I guess this is a sort of culinary clash of the titans.” said Lumine

“Hmph. Well, there's only one sure-fire way out of a cooking dispute… I declare a cook-off!” said Xiangling

“Suits me! If you can't beat my cooking, it'll show that Draff was clearly wrong about you.” said Brook rising up to Xiangling’s challenge

“Alright — but if I win, you have to use my winning dish to promote Springvale!”

“And if you lose, you have to add my winning dish to the Wanmin menu! With a caption saying "This special addition to the Wanmin menu is generously provided by Chef Brook of Springvale, meat expert." Hmph!”

“You have a deal! I'm off to get ingredients — I will see you all in Liyue!” Xiangling ran off leaving us behind.

“Wait! Waaait! Lumine, Jun, let's try and catch up.” said Paimon

…

Somewhere deep within the forest

“Hmm… the Rider seems to be much more difficult than I thought. More measures need to be taken…” The man takes out a device, It looks like a remote but has a black gem embedded in it. He points the device to an open space and a laser shoots out of the remote. The laser stopped mid-air and an unbelievable scene was happening. The space distorted and a zipper appeared. The zipper then opened revealing a lush forest in the opening. Strange noises can be heard behind the opening.

*Guack*

Out from the opening came weird-looking creatures. They looked like large insects standing on two legs and had two arms with sharp claws. The skin was ashen-gray and had a large carapace on their back. They are Inves from Kamen Rider Gaim.

“These should do well. Letting them grow will yield better results. I can’t wait, Kamen Rider…”

*Guack!*

Back to Xiangling and Co.

Xiangling went off a fair distance and we managed to catch up to her. “I think we're getting close…” she said

“Have you decided what you're looking for yet?” said Paimon

“Of course not!’

“Then how are you so sure of yourself?”

“That's just my style. If I decided in advance exactly how I was going to cook something, there'd be no element of surprise to the dish. In the same way, if I knew what I was looking for before I found it, it wouldn't be a surprise.”

Paimon was worried. ”But that's so risky…”

“Relax, this is how I came up with all the signature dishes at Wanmin Restaurant. Let's look around here, I'll let you know when I find something I like.”

We continued ahead and Xiangling found ingredients she wanted to use. Some Lotus Heads and Jueyun Chilis. “I still feel like we're lacking something…”

“What do you mean?” said Lumine

“It's missing a little boom shaka-laka!”

“Yeah, now that you mention it, it is a little boom shaka-laka-lacking.” said Paimon

“A shaka-laka-loada what now?” said Lumine

“She is saying nonsense.” I said

“Hehehe…” Paimon chuckled

“Brook may be a stickler for convention, but she is a talented chef nonetheless. There's no doubt she will source the fanciest-quality ingredients. To win this will take a truly mind-blowing dish… Something like sea-serpent salad, stir-fried Qingxin flower, or wild mushrooms in a rich slime jus.” said Xiangling

“Urgh... a slime jus!?” Paimon felt nauseous

“Haha, I know how weird it sounds but I guarantee you it tastes incredible. I'll make some for you next time!”

“Eh... No need..” said Lumine

“I don't get it, what's not to love...? Never mind that, I've just remembered there's somewhere I never checked out last time. My gut tells me that's where we'll hit the jackpot. Let's take a look!”

We continued to find the last ingredient to make Xiangling’s dish until we saw something in the distance. “Wh—What's that!? Somebody's injured!” said Paimon

We saw a hunter near a waterfall shivering. “Brr... So, so c—cold…” said the hunter named Olaf.

“He's shivering! We need to warm him up, quick!” said Xiangling

“Make a fire!” said Paimon

“Hot soup would be even better.

“Lumine, Jun, how about I look after him while you make him a nice warm bowl of soup?”

“We will back right away.” I said

Lumine and I rushed to find a nearby campfire. We passed by a hilichurl camp nearby with a campfire so we headed there. After reaching the camp Lumine and I cooked the soup quickly. We headed back and gave Olaf the soup.

“Mmm... That is better... That is better… Thank you. That soup really did the trick.”

“What happened, did you get frozen?” asked Lumine

“Yes. I was chasing a boar, and after chasing him all this way he slipped into those underground ruins over there. I followed him inside but ran into a Cryo Regisvine. It froze me instantly. When I woke up I ran straight outside, but... I only made it this far before my strength failed me.”

“Cryo Regisvine? Vines... attack people?” Xiangling was surprised

“They do now! I'd heard of them before from others, but this was the first time seeing one with my own eyes.”

“Yikes, we should definitely keep our distance from the ruins... It sounds dangerous.” said Paimon

“It sounds delicious!” said Xiangling

“...Seriously?” said Lumine

“Haha… 💧” Lumine and I were disbelieved

Xiangling was excited “That's it! The missing ingredient! The icing on the cake!”

“Calm down. Can we really eat a tree that's that aggressive?” said Paimon

“Only one way to find out — let's go!” Xiangling ran off on her own again

*sigh* “Off she goes again…” said Paimon tired