Chapter 105 – Cake Cake Cake! (1/2)
As I couldn't just keep feeding the fluffballs. Once my MP tank started running low, I moved on.
With the help of Claret, I at least got them to spread out enough to make moving around without interrupting everything feasible.
”Scarlet! You've come at a good time!”
Weaving between the fluffballs, a lone fairy approached me.
”Aurae! Did someone tell you I was coming?”
Usually if she had business with me, she would have waited until I was inside the village rather than at the entrance of the dungeon. Most likely because word of my arrival didn't reach her until then though.
”Well, with the way the spirits were acting, I didn't really need someone to say anything.”
”Ahaha...”
It really made me wonder if there was a single fairy in the area who didn't notice, considering the way the fluffballs were acting.
It would be nice if it only happened this one time and they wouldn't do such things from here on, but the future looked pretty bleak.
”Anyways! More importantly! Are you going to make more flans for us? It's been two weeks, and the others are all arriving!”
”Are flans the only thing on you fairies minds?”
”YES!”
(At least make an attempt to deny it. Geez.)
”Fine, I'll make a treat for you guys. In fact, it'll be even better than a flan, but I need a bunch of fairies to help me. I can't make it all alone if I need to make enough for all of you.”
”Alright! I'll help! What should I do?”
”Erm, you're the elder. Isn't this the point where you delegate?”
”But if I did that, then someone else is going to get the first one, right? It's even better than the flan, right?”
”...”
(These fairies really don't make any attempt at hiding their greed, do they?)
It wasn't like I couldn't understand, but such bare-faced greed and excitement was off putting in its own way.
(Well, being true to their desires is still better than being two faced.)
”Okay, fine. You can help, and I'll let you have one of the first pieces. But I still need more than just you to help.”
”Alright! I did it! And I'll go find a bunch others to help too!”
And with that, the pink winged fairy raced off to find other volunteers.
”Claret, can you help me get things ready?”
”Alright Master!”
Once I found a good place to start working, I made a set of tools I needed to make the new treat, then had Claret make copies of them. It was mostly just measuring cups, bowls, pans, special stone ovens to bake the dessert, and stone boxes to cool the dessert in some of the steps. The pans were a little different from usual, as they were of the steel quick release variety. Since the steel needed to be spring steel, it took a few attempts to come up with an alloy which worked well enough. The alternative, baking sheets, was much more difficult to get my hands on, especially the quantity we needed.
Since I was going to make them slightly differently thanks to the inclusion of magic, not all the tools normally needed would be used.
I had been growing better at taking magic into consideration when it came to cooking, so I wanted to push that a bit further since I had people who wouldn't be able to use normal tools in the first place.
”Hey! I brought help!”
As we were finishing up with making all the tools, Aurae showed up with her reinforcements.
Reinforcements. Not helpers, assistants, nor cooking buddies, but reinforcements. Her use of the word 'help' felt incredibly misleading.
The reason for being particular on that word, was because rather than bring a handful of fairies to help out, there was an army of them. Most likely they counted over a hundred.
”What's this?”
”What does it look like? Help!”
”This many?”
”When I asked for people to help make your treat, these were the people who came!”
Rather than get volunteers after asking, it looked more like she just yelled as loud as she could and everyone within earshot rushed over.
”Did you just yell or something?”
”Yup! Look how many came when they heard the were going to help make treats with you! Isn't my charisma simply amazing?”
Rather than this elder's charisma, it looked like it was entirely the work of my previous flans.
”Yahoo! We're gonna get tons of tasty treats!”
From another direction, Orphne showed up with even more fairies. Fortunately it was only a few dozen, but I still had no idea what to do with so many extra hands.
”Just what am I going to do with so many fairies?”
”Oh! We'll stand guard then! Can't let anything eeeevil spoil any of the delicious treats! C'mon everyone! Make sure nobody comes near! We'll be the first to get the new treats!”
”””Yea!!!”””
”W, wait!”
But before I could say anymore, the fairies lead by Orphne raised their spears and scattered around creating a perimeter.
(Why did they bring their spears when they were originally supposed to be cooking anyways?)
But putting in any energy to actually solving almost any question related to the fairies was only a quick way to exhaust yourself. At least that's the lesson I had started to learn. Especially with how Magni splendidly failed to learn it.
”Alright! The rest of you! Form up into groups! I want twenty teams! Try to make the groups equal in numbers as well!”
And with that, the remaining fairies sought each other out and formed groups of five or six.
That was, aside from one.
”What are you doing Aurae?”
”Forming a group with you!”
Wait, seriously?
”Huh?!”
”That's cheating!”
”That's not fair!”
But almost immediately there were complaints being thrown out from the others.
”I am the elder, so if I say I want to team up with Scarlet, then that's how it'll go!”
There were more complaints, but for the most part they died down. Despite her appearance and actions, this fairy really did have the power over the rest one would expect when being titled the elder. Respect on the other hand, not quite so much.
But that said...
”I don't need someone with me. I'm just showing everyone how to do each step, so it'll be better if you join one of the other groups.”
”But, but...!”
The little child-like fairy looked at me all teary-eyed, like I had completely devastated her heart. So much for the dignity of an elder.
”I mean, really, I can do my part on my own. It's better to learn from the other side.”
I turned my head away from the dignityless elder as I responded.
”But, I want to learn from YOUR side...”
But as quick as their appearances suggested, Aurae fluttered back in front of my face, this time the water works on full blast.
”Yea, but...”
”Pleeeeeeease!”
”Ummm...”
”Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease!”
”...”
”Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease!”
”...Fine.”
”Yay! I get to work with Scarlet!”
(Just what's with that insanely fast switch?)
[I see. So she's weak to that sort of thing...]
(Hey! My future daughter! What are you doing taking notes like that?!)
From the most unlikely of places, I started to worry about my own future.
But that said, this was hardly the time nor place for me to lament about what was going to come in at least a year's time.
If I didn't start the cooking lesson, there was likely going to be riots. And with faeries being the centre of the riots, I had no way to predict if it would involve burning down half the forest or covering everything in a thick layer of confetti.
I wasn't really sure which was worse.
”Alright, we're starting then! First is this!”