"My laboratory and personal bedroom are situated here," the high elf explained bluntly, her expression stern. "There are tis I handle dangerous research. Volatile experints. Materials that could be hazardous for all of you without proper training or magical resistance."
She fixed each of them with a look that promised unpleasant consequences.
"Unstable transmutation reactions. Dinsional rifts that could tear soone apart. Alchemical compounds that would lt your organs if you breathed them... Do not enter without my explicit permission. The consequences could be severe and I won’t be responsible for your stupidity if you ignore this warning."
Then, quietly enough that most might have missed it, she muttered:
"Not that it matters. I’ve already cast multi-layered barrier systems specifically designed to reject unauthorized entry. Even if you tried, you’d bounce off the wards before reaching the door handle..."
As the explanation dwindled, a sudden sound erupted.
*Groowwwl~*
An enemy!
"!!!"
The six girls manifested their respective abilities.
Combat instincts activated across the board.
*Growwl...*
Then another roar followed.
... Wait.
Was it really an enemy...?
"..."
Everyone looked at where the sound ca from... and then,
"...!"
Aurelia’s face went bright red as she realized the sound had co from her own stomach.
Her usual stoic expression broke completely as embarrassnt flooded through.
... It looks like the divine warrior’s composure had finally shattered completely in the face of biological necessity.
"I...! that is...! We haven’t eaten since breakfast and the exploration was quite lengthy...!"
"Pfft...!"
Luna’s barely contained amusent was obvious, her lips twitching as she fought back laughter.
"So much for the prestigious angel and her stoic personality, but...!"
*Grrrowwwl~!*
"..."
The exact sa growling sound erupted from Luna’s own stomach with even more volu.
"!!!"
Her prideful smug expression spectacularly froze and was replaced by mortified shock that made her heterochromic eyes go wide.
"T-That wasn’t ...! I an...! the dinsional travel requires significant energy expenditure and the mana synchronization process naturally depletes my energy reserves which necessitates imdiate nutritional replenishnt through standard food consumption and...!"
Both of them were desperately trying to explain away their embarrassing stomach growls with increasingly technical language.
"Heh."
Nero’s light chuckle completely cut through both their explanations and made them even more embarrassed.
"Looks like it’s ti for lunch."
***
As Nero arrived in the kitchen already looking for the available ingredients, the two... "prestigious" won stood near the dining table with matching mortification on their faces.
"What are you girls doing? Just sit down, okay?"
"..."
The two obediently followed as ordered.
anwhile, Nero...
"Mm..."
Cabinets were opened to reveal surprisingly well-stocked supplies.
Various vegetables, spices, what looked like rice and other grains, preserved ats, fresh ingredients that shouldn’t last this long without magical preservation...
’I can work with this.’
His mind imdiately jumped to the staple food for isekais...
’What more could it be that the fail-proof dish that everyone loves? It’s curry.’
That’s right, it’s curry.
Comfort food, filling, relatively simple to make in large quantities, and sothing he knew how to prepare properly.
It’s perfect for feeding a group this size.
But just as he was about to start,
"You don’t need to cook yourself," Luna said with lazy dismissal, her dignity slowly reasserting itself.
"The all-purpose mini-puppets that maintain the villa can handle al preparation. Just tell them what you want and they’ll prepare it according to programd recipes stored in their enchantnt matrices..."
As if to demonstrate, a small construct about the size of a cat erged from a cabinet.
The puppet was crafted from what looked like porcelain and brass, moving with smooth chanical precision.
’Can that thing really cook...?’ He thought to himself before saying,
"... Nah, I’ll cook."
Nero’s tone carried finality that left no room for argunt.
"I prefer making my own food when possible. Plus, I enjoy it. There’s sothing satisfying about creating a al from scratch rather than just ordering sothing prepared by magic or machines."
"... Alright then." Luna shrugged as the mini-doll saluted towards Nero before returning back to the cabinet it ca from.
The man then turned to Celis, Frila, and Zara nearby.
"You three want to help with prep work?"
"Of course, Savior," Celis agreed imdiately, her gentle smile widening at the opportunity.
"Sure!" Frila nodded enthusiastically, already rolling up her sleeves.
"I can handle vegetables," Zara offered, her bone manipulation abilities making her uniquely suited for precise cutting.
The other four forr wives settled in the dining area along with Luna and Aurelia, watching the cooking process with varying degrees of interest.
Carn and Nell claid the comfortable chairs.
Isabell and Dia took the ones positioned for optimal viewing of the kitchen.
"..."
Nero began the familiar process of curry preparation, falling into the rhythm he’d developed over years of cooking for himself.
First, the base.
He heated oil in a large pot, one of Luna’s enhanced cookware pieces that distributed heat more evenly than mundane tal.
The magical heating elents responded more precisely than any stove he’d used before, maintaining exact temperature without fluctuation.
"Frila, can you dice these onions?" He handed her three large yellow onions and a knife with a comfortable handle. "Fine pieces, about this size."
He demonstrated with quick cuts, showing the size and uniformity he wanted.
"Got it!"
She set to work with careful attention, her enhanced dexterity from combat training making the task easier than it would be for most people.
The rhythmic sound of the knife hitting the cutting board filled the kitchen.
The onions went into the hot oil once properly prepared, releasing their sharp aroma imdiately.
*Sizzle...*
The familiar sizzle and aroma imdiately filled the kitchen, spreading through the villa with mouth-watering promise.
"Stir these until they’re translucent," he instructed, handing Frila a wooden spoon. "Not burnt, just softened. Keep them moving so they cook evenly. Should take about 5-7 minutes."
While Frila handled that, he moved to the protein.
Chicken, already cleaned and portioned by Luna’s preservation magic into convenient pieces.
He cut it into bite-sized chunks, each piece roughly the sa size for even cooking.
Salt and pepper went on generously, his hands working with practiced efficiency.
The seasoned at went into a separate pan, searing over high heat.
The at browned nicely, developing that crucial Maillard reaction that sealed in juices while creating complex flavors.
"Zara, think you can handle the vegetables? Carrots, potatoes, bell peppers. Uniform size if possible, about an inch cubed."
"On it."
Her bone manipulation abilities gave her surprisingly precise knife control, treating the blade as an extension of her own body.
Each piece cut to exact specifications without any of the usual variation from hand-cutting.
Carrots transford into perfect orange cubes.
Potatoes beca uniform white chunks.
Bell peppers sliced into precise squares.
"That’s actually amazing," Nero comnted genuinely. "That kind of precision would make professional chefs jealous... Most people can’t maintain that kind of consistency without years of practice."
"I had my own share of cooking experience too before," she replied modestly, though a small smile played on her lips.
"And controlling the bones made my control a lot better... Knowing exactly where each piece needs to be, how much force to apply, maintaining consistent movent patterns."
She demonstrated and indeed the guts were all precisely perfect.
"Celis, can you get the–"
"Here."
"..."
"Ms. Celis, the–!"
"Here."
"..."
anwhile, Celis moved between them with graceful efficiency, handing ingredients as needed and cleaning up prep waste without being asked.
She seed to anticipate what each of them would need next, materials appearing at everyone’s elbow exactly when required.
Her gentle presence sohow made the entire process smoother, like having an additional set of hands that knew what to do without instruction.
*Sizzle...*
Once the onions reached proper translucency, soft and sweet rather than crisp and sharp, Nero added minced garlic and ginger.
The aromatics hit the hot oil, releasing their pungent fragrance imdiately.
"!!!"
The sll intensified dramatically, making several people in the living area sit up straighter.
"30 seconds," he counted aloud, watching the garlic carefully. "Just until fragrant, then we add the curry base. Garlic burns easily and turns bitter if you’re not careful."
Celis handed him the curry powder at exactly the right mont, as if she’d been counting alongside him.
The pre-mixed blend contained turric, coriander, cumin, and other spices Luna apparently kept well-stocked.
He added it to the pot, stirring constantly to prevent burning while the spices blood in the oil.
"This is when the flavor really develops," he explained to his assistants, the teacher in him coming out naturally.
"The heat activates compounds in the spices, making them more potent and complex. If you add spices to cold liquid, you don’t get the sa depth of flavor."
The kitchen filled with rich, complex aromas that made everyone’s mouths water involuntarily.
The seared chicken went in next, each piece coating thoroughly in the spiced oil mixture.
Then ca Zara’s perfectly cut vegetables, stirred to ensure even distribution throughout the curry base.
"Now the liquid."
He added broth, actual chicken stock that Luna apparently maintained through preservation magic rather than using bouillon cubes or powder.
The rich stock added depth that water couldn’t match.
Then ca a can of coconut milk for richness and to balance the spices’ heat with creamy sweetness.
The mixture bubbled as it reached temperature, all the ingredients beginning to ld together into sothing greater than the sum of their parts.
"This needs to simr," Nero announced, reducing the heat to maintain a gentle bubble. "20 minutes minimum. The vegetables need to soften and the flavors have to integrate properly, let all those different elents marry together. I’m making enough for both lunch and dinner, so we won’t have to cook again later."
While the curry bubbled away, filling the villa with increasingly delicious slls, he turned attention to rice.
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