Chapter 64: Mashed Potatoes (2/2)
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Fertiliser recipe. It was something that Fronzo might find more useful than Rino. Yet, RIno wasn't going to complain. He didn't lift a single finger to complete this quest even though he was incredibly busy for the last week.
Accepting the reward, Rino was expecting some delay before his system updated the new quest.
Ping!
There was hardly any time to blink before RIno received another system notification.
Ping!
Two notifications. Rino wondered if the Gods were now eager to push more work on him now that they understood his abilities. It was usually what happened to talented and capable individuals who did not know how to lie low. The higher-ups will turn into assholes and milk their workers dry. It was the reason why he destroyed the previous world.
From above, Ark shivered. Rino had the ability to kill a God after assimilating with the hexa-elemental tree. It was no joke, and Ark quickly told Ace to pacify and distract the lich from dark thoughts.
”I'm hungry,” Noir yawned before Rino could check his quest screen.
Effectively distracted, Rino apologised for not having much in his kitchen.
The black cat flicked its tail, unimpressed. ”Is your farm for decoration?”
Speechless, Rino wondered if cats usually ate potatoes. Then again, Noir was a special kind of cat who knew magic. Perhaps he would eat ground beans.
”How do you want them cooked?” he asked, and Ace had to think. He never ate as a God. He didn't need to eat in an incarnation's body either, even if he could.
”I don't know,” Noir confessed. ”I just wanted to try it. Make it soft.”
Rino grinned. There were potatoes sitting in the storage room that had not sprouted 'eyes' yet so he could take one to cook. Thankfully, he already had all the cooking utensils he needed to prepare a meal over a stove with an affixed fire rune.
Ark heaved a sigh at the effective distraction. Ace was turning out to be a very good Rino tamer. He made the right decision to send the God of Prayers down to the small world. It took a genius to understand another genius.
Rino chose the smallest potato from the potato hut and started peeling. He was clumsy with the clay kitchen knife, and thankfully, he had no flesh on his fingers, or they would be bleeding profusely by now.
The inexperienced cook stumbled around, trying to determine if the potato pieces were cut small enough for boiling. Eventually, he decided to cube them into cat bite sizes for Noir's easier consumption.
Then, the clumsy clay pot was filled with water to the brim and set on the stove. The fire rune was activated to the maximum output, just enough to cover the whole base of the clay pot but not enough to burn anything else.
Rino added the diced potatoes into the pot and watched the water overflow onto the fire, drenching everything. If it was a gas stove, there would be a gas leak or an explosion. Thankfully, Rino's stove was controlled by magic.
From his cat basket, Ace cringed. It was painfully obvious from how Rino held the knife that he never cooked before. Sure, the ex-court magician might have a humble upbringing. However, he must have survived his days by eating things that did not need cooking, such as bread and fruits. The mess in the kitchen was so bad that he wanted to take his request back.
”Do you need help?” the black cat asked, but Rino stubbornly declined. A pet should just sit there and be loved. He could handle this. It's just boiled ground beans. If he failed, he could turn it into mashed ground beans. As long as it was soft enough, it would be cooked.
This shouldn't be too difficult.
From the reflecting pond, Stephanie could not bear to look. Even though she was no culinary expert, her job required her to spy on humans and their families. She saw enough ladies cook to know that Rino was doing it all wrong.
”Is it too late to stop him?” the Goddess asked, and Ace nodded.
For someone like Rino, the more daunting the task, the more fired up he will become. Failure did not deter geniuses. It only motivated them to try harder.