"By the way, Haruhi, aren't you supposed to wear the uniform here?", Emiya asked.
"Mm, at the beginning, I tried it, but Mama Mia said that kimono suits better..."
Amid their conversation, they unknowingly arrived upstairs.
The rooms of Emiya and Haruhi were next to each other. He walked to his door, intending to bid Haruhi farewell.
However, at that mont, he saw Haruhi naturally open the door to his room.
"Master, please co in."
"Uh, ah, oh...", Emiya felt that sothing was off.
"Next, please allow to serve you...", Haruhi closed the door and spoke softly.
"Wait a mont... Haruhi, what do you an by 'serve'?", Emiya's expression beca sowhat puzzled.
"I am now Master's maid," Blushing, Haruhi said, "F-First, let's start with a bath, Master. Let help you undress..."
Before he could stop her, the fox-girl leaned forward, gently pressing against Emiya's side. She reached out and unbuttoned the boy's shirt, then—
'Master's collarbone and muscles, oh... ohh...', Steam burst from Haruhi's head as she spun around dizzily and fainted.
At the very least, the goddess's blessing wouldn't take effect imdiately today.
———
"Good morning, Shirou."
"Good morning, Ryuu, Lunoire, and Goddess Deter."
At dawn, Emiya woke up to the faint sunlight and the chirping of birds. After a simple wash, he went downstairs.
He heard the sound of the girls' morning training, so he headed to the courtyard behind the tavern.
As usual, Ryuu and Lunoire had started their morning exercises early. Under Ryuu's influence, Lunoire, who was initially a bit lazy, had developed the habit of getting up early to practice boxing.
Lunoire was seen moving lightly around a training dummy, hopping and bouncing while continuously throwing punches. As a dual-wielding fighter, both of her fists were deadly weapons.
Her body was as light as a feather, and her fists stung like a bee's sting. The gauntlets repeatedly struck the orichalcum dummy, producing dull thudding sounds.
Sweat glistened on her fair skin, and her chestnut-colored hair swayed with the rhythm of her breathing. Compared to Ryuu, Lunoire's training intensity was much higher. It was clear that, as soone striving to catch up, she believed she had to work even harder.
'Once I level up to the sa as that useless elf, Lv.5, I'm going to slack off completely...', That was Lunoire's current thought.
Ryuu, on the other hand, maintained her usual training pace, steadily swinging her wooden sword over and over again. After obtaining Higanbana and Tsubake Gaeshi, Wooden Sword – Alf's Lumina had beco her dedicated training weapon.
The old-era weapon and the magic Luminous Wind had begun their long retirent.
Ryuu and Lunoire were doing their usual morning practice, but today's courtyard had one more difference. A goddess was present.
Goddess Deter was holding a blue watering can, watering the plants in the courtyard.
Behind The Hostess of Fertility was a flower shop. Emiya had only learned yesterday that the shop was actually an asset of the Deter Familia.
The main business of the Deter Familia was crop cultivation. Besides wheat, vegetables, and fruits, they also specialized in cash crops like silk, flowers, and tobacco. Key pillars of their industry.
With the guidance of Deter, the Goddess of Harvest, the Deter Familia's agricultural techniques were among the best in the world.
Their agricultural products mostly supplied the city, while other goods were exported overseas, making them a significant source of trade surplus for the Labyrinth City.
Unlike typical combat or production-based familias, the Deter Familia's main god and mbers didn't always live together.
Their so-called headquarters was the Grain Hall on the northern side of Orario, but their primary bases were outside the city. Many of their businesses operated independently within Orario.
Because Gale refused to leave The Hostess of Fertility (and the Guild staff didn't dare ask Mama Mia to make her leave), Deter had voluntarily moved to the area for convenience.
Coincidentally, it was harvest season, so most of the Deter Familia mbers were busy in the fields outside the city. With the Grain Hall nearly empty, the tavern actually felt livelier.
The tavern and flower shop courtyards were adjacent, so after watering her garden, Deter naturally ca over.
Besides Ryuu, another of Deter's important friends in The Hostess of Fertility was present.
"Shirou, did you know? Lunoire is one of 'my' children," Deter watched the human girl sweat as she trained, speaking with a hint of pride.
Lunoire's movents paused for a mont. She responded with a mix of dissatisfaction and a tone resembling a spoiled child, "I'm just affiliated, that's all."
Emiya was a little surprised, and Ryuu's ears twitched.
Although Deter was technically Lunoire's goddess, Lunoire was not a true mber of the Deter Familia.
Lunoire had only ford a contract with Deter due to circumstances. To work as a bounty hunter in Orario, she needed to regularly update her Status. While searching for a suitable familia, she happened to et Deter on the road and took the initiative to introduce herself.
The gentle and easygoing Deter was obviously a proper goddess, and even Lunoire could tell she was kind-hearted.
Deter agreed to Lunoire's request and imprinted her divine blood on her back, but their relationship was solely for Status updates—Lunoire could switch familias at any ti.
Even though Lunoire intended to follow any requests from Deter as repaynt, the Goddess of Harvest always treated her with a warm smile and had never made a single demand.
But today, Lunoire saw a mischievous side of Deter.
"Not long ago, I formally invited Lunoire to join the Deter Familia," The goddess continued, "And Lunoire said—"
Lunoire's internal alarms blared as she froze. "W-Wait! Lady Deter?"
"'I'm engaged in an unpeaceful job, constantly fighting and drenched in blood...'", The goddess repeated Lunoire's past words.
"Ugh," The girl instantly let out a groan.
Mimicking Lunoire's expression at the ti, Deter put on a resolute look, "'My hands are already completely stained with blood.'"
"Uwaaah...", Lunoire crouched down, clutching her head, overwheld by embarrassnt.
At the ti, saying such words in front of the peaceful, serene Deter hadn't felt wrong.
But now, Gale was present.
Compared to her, Lunoire's kill count, battle experiences, and encounters with darkness were utterly insignificant.
It was like a rookie thug showing off in front of a legendary yakuza boss.
Lunoire: "I've killed twenty people. My hands are already soaked in blood."
Ryuu: "Oh, twenty? Yesterday?"
Worse than embarrassnt was the fact that the once bloodstained, hardened Lunoire was now peacefully washing dishes in the tavern...
Seeing Lunoire utterly defeated, Deter mischievously stuck out her tongue, "A little payback~ I was really hurt when she rejected back then, you know?"
Today was a rest day, aning the tavern was even busier than usual. Even Mama Mia was helping in the kitchen.
The only idle ones were Emiya and Deter.
"Shirou, I heard from Lunoire that you're skilled in cooking," Deter said, "Would you like to have a cooking exchange with ? My familia has many unique recipes..."
———
Regarding the invitation from Goddess Deter, Emiya had no intention of refusing at all.
Deter's proposal for a "cooking exchange eting" struck right at his heart. Emiya didn't have many personal hobbies, but cooking was one of them.
Because of this, at the [Hostess of Fertility] tavern, aside from Ryuu, Syr, Anya, Lunoire, and Chloe, the person Emiya was closest to was the cat-person chef, Miss May.
Emiya had taught her various Eastern cooking techniques and also learned so of the unique dishes of the cat-person race.
And Deter was the Goddess of Harvest. One could say that in the current Orario, she was the goddess most closely associated with the concept of "cooking."
After all, the [Goddess of Hearth] Hestia had yet to descend. Though, of course, Emiya wasn't sure whether the Goddess of Hearth was actually good at cooking.
However, Goddess Deter was indeed skilled in cooking. This was sothing Emiya quickly confird.
"These are vegetable pie and biscuits as an appetizer. The only pity is that they're leftovers from last night."
Even if they didn't exercise much, goddesses wouldn't gain weight from eating sweets before dinner. This was sothing that mortal won deeply envied.
The two desserts were a tomato pie, where vegetables replaced apples, and biscuits made from wheat.
The tomatoes in the sweet pie tasted as sweet as strawberries, while the wheat biscuits were mixed with finely chopped herbs, enhancing their fragrance.
"It's delicious," Emiya said, "It's excellent 'ho cooking.'"
Hearing the boy's evaluation, Goddess Deter's eyes lit up slightly, "Shirou, you really can tell."
Goddess Deter had a particular pursuit in cooking. She didn't deliberately make dishes as refined, visually appealing, or precisely standardized as those in taverns and restaurants. Instead, she loved the more "ordinary" nature of ho cooking.
"Because I live in a tavern, I'm more sensitive to these things," Emiya said.
"Even with the exact sa recipe, food made in a tavern, a food shop, or at ho often tastes different."
"For example, if we were to sell the biscuits that Goddess Deter made, we would have to bake them drier so they could last longer; we'd need to reduce the herbs and directly add sugar, making the process simpler and lowering costs; the biscuits would have to be rougher in texture, so the nutritious whole wheat grains would need to be removed; their shape would have to be standardized using molds..."
"If we did that, we could still bake delicious biscuits, but they would be completely different from what they are now."
"Most importantly, cooking as a product and cooking for your own family. Those are entirely different feelings, aren't they?"
Deter, smiling, poured a cup of black tea. Receiving the tea, Emiya also relaxed in the warmth of the mont.
"Shirou, you really understand . Do you feel the sa way when you cook?", Deter smiled gently, "Oh, right."
With a light clap of her hands, Deter thought of that lovely elven girl. Looking at Emiya, she blinked playfully.
"Let teach you a dish that elves love the most~"
Under the guidance and assistance of Goddess Deter, Emiya completed the making of "Forest Cake."
Instead of using regular bread, the cake base was made from glutinous rice, with reduced white sugar and the addition of Deter's homade sweet osmanthus wine. Only a thin layer of cream was spread, followed by an abundance of fruit.
Finally, a special jam with a fresh herbal fragrance was applied, and so sweet herb crumbs were sprinkled on top.
This was the 'Forest Cake' beloved by elves. Deter's recipe ca from a dessert-loving elven girl in her Familia.
"Everyone has different tastes. Even among elves, there are those who like high-calorie at dishes, fried foods, or even spicy flavors. But overall, elves tend to prefer lighter als, especially 'subtly sweet' flavors," Goddess Deter explained.
Emiya took a bite of the cake, "For my taste, it's a bit mild."
As a dessert, the "Forest Cake" seed to have very little sugar. Its main flavors ca from the subtle fragrance of glutinous rice, the mild sweetness of osmanthus wine, and the gentle fruitiness of the special jam.
For Emiya, this level of sweetness felt sowhat too reserved. However, for those who appreciated such delicate flavors. Especially most elves—this "Forest Cake" was a rare delicacy.
"Take this half back to the tavern and let Ryuu-chan try it. She'll definitely be happy," Deter said.
"Hmm... Speaking of which, elves really do love the color green."
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