Section 3: Let's Make a Delicious Salad!

There, it's done baking!

Okay, next, we spread butter over the top while it's still nice and hot...

Then we sprinkle powdered sugar over the whole thing once it cools. I'll use magecraft to cool it down quickly.

Now for the sugar.

No sense being stingy during the holidays! Hup!

O-oh my gosh! Th-that's so much sugar!

But I like the way you think! By all means, let's really pile it on! Gosh, modern standards AND cooking appliances are amazing!

Indeed. The more you spend on cookware, the crazier things get. And kitchen appliances are only getting more and more advanced!

This has been a Cat-PSA to keep a close eye on the latest developments in cookware for those in charge of their household's kitchen.

Money can't buy you time, but it can save you some. And the less time you have to spend in the kitchen, the more time you have to enjoy your life outside of it.

(My gosh. I don't think I realized how smart this kitty actually is until now.)

But never mind that. Okay, I think...

This takes care of the first dish!

What beautiful stollen. I'm amazed at how well it turned out considering this was your first time making it, even if you did have Lord Emiya helping you.

Ehehe.

I owe it all to my great teacher! Thanks, Mr. Emiya!

Ah, it was nothing. You're practically a professional chef already, so a little advice was all you needed.

Hehehe. I see you're as skilled with compliments as you are at teaching, Mr. Emiya.

I don't know what you're talking about.

？！

Welp, now that the stollen turned out great, what do we do next?

Good question. I think it's time we decide on the main courses.

The only question is, what kind of ingredients do we have to work with...?

What kind of meat do you have here? How easy is it to get fresh vegetables?

Don't worry about ingredients. Just assume you can find whatever you might need here.

Hehehe. Hold on to your oven mitts, 'cause we've got everything under the sun, woof!

Really? Everything!?

That's right. Thanks to a combination of modern science and magecraft, we have all sorts of veggies here, and they're all as fresh as if they'd been harvested today!

We have leafy greens, root vegetables... Oh, and we have lots of tomatoes, too.

Tomatoes...

Oh, I know about those, even though I've never seen them before! They're red and juicy and have just a little bit of a tang to them!

And of course, we have plenty of potatoes and carrots, too!

This is wonderful. Just wonderful. If we have so many fresh vegetables, I should be able to make a lovely salad.

Okay, let's go get ingredients to make salad!

Are there any foods you don't like, Master?

？！

That's great, Master! Come here.

Look at you, not being a picky eater.

I'm so proud of you!

(There we go. I knew this suited me better.)

(Sure, it's nice to have someone else give me head pats now and then...)

(But I'm the big sister here, so I should be the one giving them out!)

(Not to mention)

That's our Master for you! Nothing would make us happier than for you to grow up big and strong.

I guess when you've survived on tree roots, grass, and insects out in the Singularities, a plate of regular veggies is no trouble at all!

Tree roots, grass, and...insects...?

I-is that true, Master?

？！

Really? So you're absolutely sure there are no foods you dislike?

If there's anything you developed a distaste for on your travels, make sure to tell me, okay?

？！

No, but I'll stick with you for as long as it takes to get you to like it again!

Oh, unless we're talking about allergies, of course. That's different.

Hmm, I see. So you still know about allergies.

I'm a little surprised myself.

But I think anyone who plans to cook nowadays would need to know about that.

All right, it sounds like our next task is to stock up on veggies then. Are we all good with that?

Yes, sir!

Then let's get going.

But first! Scáthach-Skadi!

Yes? Do you have a question for me?

You better believe we do.

Gareth told us that the ingredients you had us search for weren't supposed to attack us...

But that's exactly what they did. What's going on here?

Indeed. What IS going on?

I assure you, I am not being snarky. On the contrary, I was genuinely curious as to why things turned out this way. That is all.

Please believe me when I say I didn't expect matters to escalate to violence.

O-of course not!

I was genuinely curious as to why things turned out this way. That is all.

I thought animating them would be more fun than simply sending you on an ordinary trip to the basement.

I am as surprised as you must have been to hear that the ingredients are not only roaming around on their own, but have also turned violent.

What could have happened...?

？！

Could your Primordial Runes have done something more than what you intended?

I would like to say that isn't possible, but the situation itself leaves me uncertain.

Then I'll try and see if I can get to the bottom of this mystery. Can I count on your assistance, Scáthach-Skadi?

Yes, of course.

Thank you.

All right, while we could stay here and wait for the Command Room's report...

...we could also go get more ingredients now, as long as we're prepared for things to get a little rough.

How is that even a question!? Of course we'll go get more ingredients now!

We don't have any time to waste if we're going to make this party a success. Now come on!

？！

Let's go, everyone!

Yes, ma'am!

Annnd just like last time...

Hahahaha, now we have frozen enemies blocking our way!

I fought a number of different monsters when I was alive, but I've never seen ice beasts before. This should make for a good battle.

I have to say, these modern-day storehouses are much more exciting than the ones from my time!

Just to be clear, modern storehouses don't USUALLY have stuff like this in them!

Oh, for goodness' sake! If these things are going to try and stop us, then we'll just have to cut our way through them! Besides, this is much more ice than we could possibly need for cooking!

Oh? How do you use ice in cooking?

Well, shaved ice makes a great dessert. And you can also use it to dilute strong alcohol.

Hmm, I see...

O-okay, I'll keep cooking as much as I can, too! Tarasque!

(You rang!?)

(Do I get dizzy from that, you ask? Nope, I don't!)

(Just call me Super-Tarasque!)

？！

You know, now that I think about it, eating all this food after every battle is

Oh, yeah, good point. We might be consuming a few more calories than we should be, huh!?

Oh well, good thing we're Heroic Spirits!

Yeah, we'll be fine! Nothing to worry about here, woof!

Wild beasts are always growing, after all. So if Martha's gonna cook lots of food for us...

...we'll just have to eat it all!

？！

Exactly! The more you cook, the more you eat.

And don't forget, Master, you've got to pig out with the rest of us, too! Now...let's eat!

？！

Okay, let's do this!

...It's ready!

Another battle in the can. (Munch, munch)

This is really good. (Munch, munch)

(Munch, munch)

There's another distortion. Looks like we'll be changing areas again, just like last time.

Indeed. The runes are guiding you to your next destination.

They are? I'm surprised you can say that with a straight face, since you clearly only barely understand them.

It is precisely because I don't understand them that I would like to think they provide guidance now.

...I'm sorry.

Ah, it's okay. All right then, on to the second ingredient area!

？！

Agreed!

See you later, Senpai!

Well, whatever it may look like, don't forget that we're in the basement storehouse, so of course it'll be cold.

Not only is the storehouse basically a giant fridge to begin with, but right now the runes are making things even colder than usual.

Cat!?

So coooooold!

Gosh, look at her go!

She must have been overcome by the urge to run around again... Oh, Cat.

Kanra kara kara! I like that energy! You've got to make the most of winter whenever it rolls around!

That's right, it's me!

You got it! I knew there was a reason I chose you to be my eventual adopted child or bride.

I'm sorry, your what?

？！

Oookay, that's enough. You should settle down before you slip and hurt yourself.

(Purr, purr...)

Nice catch, Lady Kiichi. And welcome, everyone!

I'm Bradamante, and I'll be your guide for the vegetable area.

Me too. You get two guides here.

Understood. Though I have to say, I'm a little surprised to see you two teaming up.

Oh, it's not as surprising as you might think.

Bradamante here is a spear-wielder, right?

And I happen to know my way around a spear, myself. I've even given her a few pointers in the simulator.

Lady Kiichi's just being modest! Her spearwork is magnificent to behold!

In fact, she just spent about half a day with me in the simulator to help me work on my form.

We had just finished our session when the queen of Scandinavia came up to us and asked for our help.

I never would have thought it'd involve vegetables, though. But hey, I'm a tengu. Of course I love wild plants and such.

Well, I love vegetables!

I-I see.

Really, there are no foods I dislike. But anyway, vegetables are all about quantity!

Whether you put them in a salad or roast them in a pan, it's not a proper veggie dish without quantity and variety.

Of course, veggies aren't usually served as entrees, unless you're a vegetarian. Those are generally meat or fish. And for carbohydrates, you can of course serve root veggies like potatoes, but grains like barley and rice are very popular, too.

So while veggies may tend to be relegated to side dishes, they're still an essential source of valuable nutrients we need to live healthy lives!

So, um... My point is, veggies are all about quantity and variety!

Especially since they shrink when you cook them!

Lady Bradamante!

Yes?

That was magnificent! I couldn't agree more! Quantity is indeed the defining quality of a meal!

Exactly!

(Firm, passionate handshake)

(Nodding along in assent)

So Percival's a quantity man too, huh? Especially when it comes to roots and tubers.

That must be why he got what Bradamante was talking about on a deep, personal level.

As much as any of this does.

I...guess?

？！

All right, all right. I can see how passionate you are about veggies.

Okay then, let's go find some good ones to pick!

(Shrill whistle)

Aah! What are those!?

Hahaha. See that? A little whistle's all it takes to draw out the local bloodthirsty enemies.

Hey, that's great! That'll save us a lot of time!

Here they come, everyone! Get ready to fight!

Are you sure those are veggies!? Because they really look more like trees!

Kanra kara kara! That's because they are!

Once you've beaten them into submission, wonder of wonders, they become vegetables, brimming with vitamins and minerals!

Man, these rune things are pretty impressive!

I agree. Talk about reckless.

That's definitely possible. Especially since she and Scáthach-Skadi are fairly good friends.

Come to think of it, Scáthach was also the one who started the whole swimsuit Spirit Origin thing, wasn't she...

？！

Cat Flash! That's what you get for throwing pearls before felines!

Hm? Huh, I just pulled off some fancy defrosting, if I do say so myself. And check out all these sweet veggies, woof!

Um, that's great, but we still need more! Chaldea has both human staff and Servants, after all...

So we should get some more vegetables to make sure we have enough salad for everyone!

All right then, let's keep this battle going!

Montjoie!

Phew!

Well, Lady Martha? Will this be enough!?

Yes, I think so... Well, actually, I might want a little more.

We might be able to use the extra veggies in other dishes... But, this should at least be enough for the salad.

Then I'll go get some more right now! ...Wait, hang on.

It looks like we're all out of enemies to harvest around here. That's too bad.

Then this is a perfect time for a break. We can get back to ingredient hunting after.

That aside, it's all been the same type of enemy, hasn't it? It was like that with the gingerbread golems, too.

At least they turn into different kinds of vegetables when we defeat them, but it's still strange.

The runes must have turned the various ingredients that were being kept here into a single conceptual type of enemy.

And like you and Kiichi Hogen said, defeating these enemies turns them into all sorts of different ingredients.

So it looks like the runes are influencing the whole place, not the individual food items.

Hmm. I guess that's just how these things work.

So same as last time then, woof.

Yup. (Sigh) This might not be surprising anymore, but that doesn't mean I'm used to it either.

Huh?

So, this isn't normal for Chaldea?

(Expression that clearly says she thought this was all par for the course)

No, this definitely isn't normal!

...!

Be careful, my fair ladies. It looks like we have a new foe to deal with.

And a big one, at that.

Wh-what the? Is the ground...shaking?

So, it's here. I thought we had a little more time before it showed up, but oh well.

The Vegetable King!

It's the largest enemy in this entire area! It either noticed our battle, or is simply drawn to the strongest fighters in its territory!

？！

A big one, huh? Interesting! Very well then, I, Sir Percival, shall be your opponent!

There! It's down for the count!

Piece of cake!

This is great! Now we should have plenty of vegetables for other dishes, too!

Well, that last enemy didn't really look it...but it WAS a veggie, right?

That's my understanding. Anyway, well done, everyone.

This is as far as I go, but I wish you luck on the rest of your quest for ingredients.

My work here is done too, but I'm rooting for you all!

All right, let's take a careful look around before we head back. We don't want to leave any ingredients behind after all the work we did to collect them.

？！

I can't wait to get back and start making this salad! I just know it's going to turn out great!