Age 14 Part 5
I woke up to Clew's nudging and chose a dress from Annette's clothes in the dresser to change into. Unlike the clothes I had been wearing, this one felt rough against my skin.
But I guess this is the new normal. What should I do with the clothes I used to wear? I won't need to wear them anymore, right? After all, it would be troublesome if I were kidnapped.
"That outfit suits you."
Clew complimented me as he flew around.
"Really? It feels less bulky, so it seems easier to move in. I guess I can even help out wearing this."
"Yeah, I'm sure it'll be fine. Anna's cooking is delicious, so you'll probably enjoy it."
Encouraged by Clew's cheers, I braced myself and left the room.
No one seemed to be awake yet, so it was quiet.
I can prepare breakfast here. The kitchen is also the room where tea was prepared yesterday, with a door connecting it to the outside.
It surprised me that the kitchen and dining area were together, with a door leading outside, as someone who lived in a noble's house. Maybe that's why it feels dusty.
Eating in a place like this feels like it might not be good for health. I should clean before preparing food. I used a cleaning spell to instantly tidy up the room.
"Now then, let's cook... but I don't know where anything is."
I've been thinking this since yesterday, but there's something different about this kitchen. Now I know what it is.
There are no magic stones. Without them, adjusting the temperature will be difficult. I searched around for the magic stones, but they were nowhere to be found. How do I even light the fire?
"Hey, what are you doing?"
I was startled and turned around at the sudden voice.
My younger brother, Mal, was staring at me with his arms crossed.
"S-Sorry. I was thinking of preparing breakfast, but I can't find the magic stones."
"Magic stones?"
"Yes, the ones used to light or extinguish the fire."
Mal widened his eyes at my words. He seemed surprised. Then he let out a heavy sigh.
"Listen, this isn't like the kitchen in a noble's house. There wouldn't be a magic stone oven here."
"Magic stone oven?"
"I've only heard of magic stone ovens in stories. We have a wood-fired oven. You just need to light the fire."
A wood-fired oven? Come to think of it, Sarah mentioned something like "It's easy to light a fire here." That's what she meant. I should have asked for more details.
"Um... do you not know how to light a fire?"
Mal's incredulous look was intimidating.
"Uh... sorry."
"Mal, don't tease Anna. Nobody can do everything perfectly from the start."
Mother appeared from somewhere and scolded Mal. She then taught me how to light the fire. It was a very cumbersome process. It would have been instantaneous with a magic stone oven... Can't I manage with some advanced household magic?
It seems adjusting the fire is done by moving the wood, and experience matters.
"How about using magic to control the fire?"
"That's a good idea. You'd be better at it that way."
I felt relieved at Clew's words. It's beyond my ability to adjust the fire with wood.
"Let's warm up yesterday's soup for breakfast."
It seemed there was some soup left from yesterday's dinner. But is it normal to eat leftovers for breakfast? Nobody reacted to that, so maybe it's usual here.
"Where's the bread?"
"We finished yesterday's bread, so it's just soup for breakfast today."
She said apologetically. Maybe they don't usually eat bread for breakfast? But won't just soup leave us hungry? Clew mentioned that commoners eat two meals a day, so having just soup means not eating anything until dinner.
"Um, Bella-san. Can I put udon noodles in this soup?"
"Udon noodles?"
"Yes. I think they would go well with this soup."
"Is udon a cooking ingredient? Do you have it?"
"Yes. I'll get it."
I went back to the room and had Clew fetch it for me. It was a good decision to make a lot and store them.
"Is this udon?"
"Yes. Just put it directly into the soup."
Mother dropped the udon into the soup with a curious expression.
The udon spread in the pot. Yeah, this should make it more filling.
It's difficult to ladle udon with just a large wooden spoon, so I used a large fork meant for spaghetti. The fact that this house has such a fork means they eat spaghetti, right? If that's the case, maybe they'll like udon too.
Mal and Fritz ate the udon with gusto using the fork, but Annie ate slowly, in a completely different manner.
"Yeah, this is delicious. It's my first time eating udon, but it's good."
Mal and Fritz said as they ate eagerly.
"Indeed. I like it too."
Mother also seemed to enjoy it. I felt like I had finally contributed something useful.
"You even cleaned early in the morning. The room looks very tidy."
I blushed at Mother's praise. It felt really nice to be praised like this.
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