Ezekiel woke up, realizing that there was something covering his face. He reached out to feel what it was, and his hand grabbed it, pulling it off of his face. He realized that it was his Book of Knowledge that was still open and covering his face while he slept. Did I pass out while reading the book, thought Ezekiel. The proof that he did was there, so he didn't think much of it and quietly got dressed. He looked over at the newly created soap batter that was made yesterday and saw that it still needed a bit of time to solidify. Ezekiel quickly grabbed a piece of paper and wrote down instructions for Luna and Layla on how and where to sell the soap once it was done solidifying, and quickly slid it under their door in their own room. Lucky for both him and the girls, the room the girls were using was right next door to Ezekiel's, so they wouldn't have to go far to see each other. Using the bar of soap that he had held onto since he made his very first batch of soap, he headed down to the public baths.
Not to his surprise, he found Suko waiting for him at the baths. Ezekiel was sort of expecting the normal routine: Suko asks Ezekiel if he wants to join him in peeping, and Ezekiel declines. Suko then goes to peep by himself by climbing on top of the fence and gets too into it, laughing in a perverted way with his nose bleeding furiously. The women shriek, someone blasts him with magic, and Suko falls into the bath, while Ezekiel pretends not to know Suko. Today, however, he seemed very different. He didn't seem drunk as far as Ezekiel could tell, and he seemed really lost in thought. He was simply staring at the water with a thousand-yard stare, not saying a word or even noticing that Ezekiel had joined him in the bath. Ezekiel asked, "Are you okay?" Suko seemed to snap out of his trance for a moment, then said, "Yeah, I'm fine, Ezekiel. I ran out of money for alcohol last night, so I've got nothing to drink and I don't really know what to do with myself, honestly." Suko let out a forced chuckle, making the air between him and Ezekiel one that felt a bit tense. Ezekiel was surprised at sober Suko, as he seemed to have a better grip on reality and seemed much less perverted. However, something seemed off with him, as if he was trying to forget something. Ezekiel then remembered Suko's words from when he first told his story: Realizing that my actions had brought about the Dragon War, I succumbed to alcoholism to forget about my actions, to convince myself that I wasn't one of the reasons why humans and dragons were at war at the time. Ezekiel couldn't help but wonder if Suko was remembering those times long ago, but he didn't dare ask, as he wasn't sure how a sober Suko would respond to that. Ezekiel then said, "I see. Maybe it's for the best you put down the alcohol for now." Suko scratched his head, then said, "Maybe so. I do get sort of tired of running away from reality and the past. I've also been told I'm a big pervert when I'm drunk, and that's gotten me into trouble more times than I can count." Well, now I understand why he's so perverted, thought Ezekiel. The two of them then sat there, sort of awkward with each other. They mostly kept to themselves, unsure of what to say to one another. Ezekiel then finished his bath quickly, remembering that he had to meet up with Kairi to show her around the town. He had a gut feeling that she would show up soon, so he dried himself off, put on his clothes, and headed back towards The Crimson Tankard Inn.
Ezekiel went to the front of The Crimson Tankard Inn, and his gut feeling from earlier told him he was right, as Kairi was standing outside, waiting for him. Ezekiel quickly apologized, saying, "I'm sorry! I hope you weren't waiting long, and I realized that we never agreed on a time! I should've asked before I left!" Kairi then said, "It's okay! I just got here anyway." Ezekiel looked relieved to hear that and asked, "So, where do you feel like starting first?" Kairi thought about it, but Ezekiel's empty stomach provided the answer, growling loudly, then Kairi's stomach followed suit. Both of them looked at each other in embarrassment, then Ezekiel said, "How about some breakfast? I can make something you've probably never had before." Kairi then said, "Is that a challenge, Ezekiel? Then, if you insist, try to impress the food critic once again, imbecile!" Ezekiel and Kairi then went back inside, and Kairi took a seat at one of the empty tables. "I'll be waiting here, man-servant," said Kairi, and Ezekiel was a tad bit irritated at that. However, he sighed and decided to make something rather simple: pancakes. Ezekiel personally loved pancakes, and he often made his own whenever they ran out of frozen pancakes that he could put in the toaster for a few minutes. Seeing as he couldn't enjoy the luxury of simply toasting pre-made pancakes, he knew that he had to start from scratch by making the actual pancake batter.
As he was washing his hands before beginning making pancakes, he quickly realized that baking powder was needed to make the pancakes that he would usually make for himself, and he thought about what he could possibly substitute with it. Baking powder wasn't something in this world that was invented yet, and he didn't have the time to make it, either. He suddenly remembered a recipe that he had used when his mother had forgotten to get baking powder from the grocery store. Instead of using a chemical leavener like baking powder to release carbon dioxide into the batter when cooked, I could use whipped egg whites since the air is beaten into the egg whites, and that performs the same kind of process as baking powder, leaving us with soufflé pancakes, thought Ezekiel. He immediately got to work, grabbing the necessary ingredients: 1 cup of flour, 1/4 cup of salt, 2/3 cup of milk, 3 large eggs, and 1/4 cup of sugar. Ezekiel quickly grabbed two bowls and an iron whisk, cracked the eggs open, and put the yolks in one bowl and the egg whites in another. To make the base of the batter, Ezekiel combined the flour, milk, and salt inside of the bowl containing the egg yolks. Ezekiel then used the iron whisk to whisk the egg whites, whisking until they start to hold a shape. Then, Ezekiel, while still beating the egg whites, slowly poured in the sugar and continued to beat the egg whites until they almost formed what looked like stiff peaks of whipped cream. Ezekiel then took about 1/4 of the whipped egg whites and stirred it in with the other ingredients sitting in the other bowl, then proceeded to add the rest of the whipped egg whites, making sure not to deflate the air out of the whipped egg whites. Ezekiel then quickly poured the batter into 6 small batter circles inside of the oven right after mixing so the air won't escape from the batter. Ezekiel then sat back and let the oven cook the pancakes he made. Ezekiel then thought about toppings and other stuff he could add, but he didn't have time to make maple syrup or chop up any fruits that would go good with it. Instead, he decided to go with a side of honey and a little bit of butter. Ezekiel, once deciding what to do with the toppings, carefully inspected the pancakes inside of the oven. After a couple of minutes, bubbles started to form, but Ezekiel was waiting until those bubbles actually popped before flipping the pancakes over. Suddenly, a few bubbles popped, and Ezekiel flipped the pancakes over and waited until the side was cooked a light brown. Ezekiel, realizing that the pancakes were done, quickly got them out of the oven and put three pancakes stacked up on each other on two plates. He then put a small slice of butter on top of both the stacks of pancakes and drizzled his stack with honey, while he filled a small bowl of honey as an optional side for Kairi. Ezekiel stepped back and let out a huge sigh of relief, realizing that it actually turned out quite well in terms of appearances. Let's just hope the taste of it meets the standards of the food critic now, thought Ezekiel, who nervously grabbed the plates and went to the table where Kairi was sitting.
Kairi saw Ezekiel coming out of the kitchen, saying, "Took you long enough!" Ezekiel grinned, saying, "Well, when you taste this, you'll know that it was worth the wait." Kairi smirked, saying, "What confidence! Surely they can't be THAT good, can they?" Ezekiel set down Kairi's plate and side of honey first, then set his plate down at the seat across from her. As he took a seat in his chair, Ezekiel carefully watched Kairi's reaction to his soufflé pancakes. Kairi first inspected the food before her, asking, "What is this?" Ezekiel proudly replied, "From where I'm from, they're called pancakes, but these are a special kind of pancakes called 'soufflé pancakes.' They're much softer and fluffier than your average pancake." Kairi nodded, then proceeded to cut into the pancake. She then used a bit of butter on the slice of pancake and ate it. Kairi's eyes lit up in surprise at how fluffy the pancake was, how well the butter went with the pancake and was overall amazed by it. Kairi cut into the pancake more, but this time, she dipped the pancake inside of the honey and took a bite, realizing that honey went really well with the pancake. Kairi enjoyed the pancakes so much, she forgot she was supposed to be critiquing them. Ezekiel was glad to see that she enjoyed the pancakes, and began to eat his. Both of them ate their pancakes, with Kairi squealing in delight at how good these pancakes were. Once finished, Kairi then said, "Those were great! I've never had anything like them!" Ezekiel laughed, then said, "Well, I'm just glad you liked them. If I had maple syrup, that would've gone better than the honey did, so I guess you could say I didn't properly make the pancakes." Kairi then said, "Cooking food for someone doesn't exactly work like that, Ezekiel. It doesn't really matter if you make it the right way or not. What it really comes down to is whether or not your feelings were put into the food you made." Ezekiel pondered that for a moment, then said, "Well, all in all, I'm just happy someone enjoys my pancakes as much as I do." Kairi set her fork down to the side, then said, "I'm done eating. Take my plate away, man-servant." Ezekiel sighed, but he was still smiling and took her plate and set it on top of his and went to wash them both off. To his surprise, Whiskey had snuck into the kitchen and was preparing things for the day. Whiskey then noticed Ezekiel, saying, "I'll take care of those, lad. Sounds like you made some new miracle food or something, huh?" Ezekiel laughed, then said, "They're good, but I'm not sure if I would call it a miracle food." Whiskey chuckled, then said, "Well, teach me once you get back and I might even consider putting it on the menu based on how good it is, lad." With that, Ezekiel left the kitchen, and Kairi and Ezekiel left The Crimson Tankard Inn together to head out into the town.
Both Ezekiel and Kairi walked around the town, looking at the shops the town had. This was also a good chance for Ezekiel to figure out what all this world had and doesn't have, just in case he could make advances to this world's society using science. Kairi, being the famous food critic that she was, was occasionally greeted by people who recognized her and gave her compliments, and some even asked for an autograph. I guess celebrities here aren't that much different from my world, huh, thought Ezekiel. Lunch came upon them faster than either of them could predict, and Kairi wanted to try a sit-in restaurant that was known for its top-quality meats. Ezekiel agreed to go since he was interested in what would be considered top-quality meat in this world. They both walked inside and were greeted by a maid, who directed them to an open table. The inside of the restaurant was rather fancy, or at least fancier than The Crimson Tankard Inn was. After waiting a couple of minutes, another maid came up to the table and took their orders. Out of nowhere, the maid looked at Kairi then asked, "Pardon me if I'm wrong, but you're Kairi, the famous food critic, right?" Kairi put on a boastful smile and said, "Of course! That would be me!" The maid looked over at Ezekiel and asked, "And I assume this is your boyfriend, correct?" Kairi and Ezekiel both immediately said, "Nope." The maid then scratched her head, saying, "Well, I apologize for assuming wrong! Anyways, what would you like today?" Kairi and Ezekiel both said their orders after looking at the menu briefly, and the maid walked away to put in their orders.
Soon, the maid brought out their orders, and the two of them began eating. Ezekiel was rather impressed by what he was served, as it tasted quite good. Kairi seemed to be inspecting her food a lot more closely, as she was simply doing her job as a food critic. Ezekiel chuckled, and Kairi asked, "What is it?" Ezekiel then said, "Well, I just didn't think you would be judging food right now. I thought maybe you could eat food without being a Gordon Ramsey about it." Kairi look at Ezekiel with a questioning look and asked, "Who's 'Gordon Ramsey?'" Ezekiel responded, "He's basically one of the most famous chefs in the world where I came from. He's sort of like you, with both of you being very harsh food critics, but you both know your stuff very well." Kairi nodded at the compliment, then said, "I see, but you must understand that all good cuisine comes from somewhere. Each time you eat something, you have to remember that someone else put their heart and soul into it, and not being able to appreciate the work that went into it is a sin of its own to me." Kairi then looked Ezekiel dead in the eyes, saying, "That's why I judge each dish harshly so that they can continue to improve on their work and make it the best it can possibly be." Kairi then smiled, saying, "My words may sting them, but knowing that something may never reach its full potential due to false feedback stings me even more." Ezekiel never saw it from that point of view, as his eyes were now open to this complicated world of food critiquing. Ezekiel then said, "That's pretty deep, actually. Goddamn." Kairi laughed, saying, "It is quite deep once you start getting more into it. That said, I want to try your shrimp tacos again, just in case I missed anything that I didn't notice before." Ezekiel then asked, "Are you sure you don't wanna try them simply because they tasted good?" Kairi then shot him a serious glance, saying, "Don't get cocky, Ezekiel." Ezekiel threw up his hands in defense, saying, "Alright, alright!" Wanting to change the subject, he asked, "Is there anywhere else you wanna go?" Kairi nodded, then said, "I want to keep looking around and seeing what all is here, then for dinner, it's shrimp tacos." Ezekiel smiled, then said, "Then that's what we're gonna do." Both of them finished eating and paid for their meals, then began looking around the town once again.
Time passed faster than either of them could've predicted, and after spending hours outside looking at shops, both of them were quite tired. Both Ezekiel and Kairi took a seat at a bench outside to take a small break from walking around all day. Ezekiel set down their sacks of items which consisted of various things that might be needed for their trip. such as potions and other miscellaneous items. Ezekiel saw a badass set of knight armor when he was looking around, but once he looked at the price of it, he immediately wandered off, quite disappointed at how expensive it was. I would've looked fucking cool if I fought something in that set of armor, thought Ezekiel, who was now caught up in a daydream. Kairi suddenly interrupted his daydream by saying, "You know, Ezekiel, I had a great time looking around the town." Ezekiel smiled and said, "I did, too. I wasn't really familiar with this town, but walking around with you today helped me to get a better feel for it." Kairi smiled and said, "Hey, Ezekiel. The day isn't done." Kairi then stared at Ezekiel, who had a blank face on himself, saying, "You didn't forget dinner, did you?" Ezekiel shook his head. "Of course not. Are you hungry?" Kairi nodded, then Ezekiel said, "Well, let's head back and I'll get started on those shrimp tacos." Ezekiel grabbed all the bags and helped Kairi up, then both of them headed back to The Crimson Tankard Inn.
Once back, Ezekiel said, "Go ahead and find a table. I'm gonna go put these up in my room really fast, then I'll come back down and get your tacos cooked." Kairi nodded silently, then she went to find an empty table among the busy crowd. Ezekiel quickly ran up to where his room was, dropped off the bags, and was about to leave until he realized that a good amount of the soap that he was letting solidify was gone. He didn't think too much about it, since he assumed that the girls were probably out selling the soap as he told them to. There was a pan left of solid soap for Ezekiel since he told the girls that he would sell some of the soap while on the road to get some money. Ezekiel then left his room and headed downstairs to start making the shrimp tacos. Whiskey and the other cooks were there in the kitchen, who all said their greetings to Ezekiel when he walked into the kitchen. Whiskey then asked, "You're quite the player, aren't you, lad? Going out with all these girls and all that. Well, I'd personally say that it's not a bad reason that you aren't workin'." Ezekiel blushed heavily, then said, "L-Look, man! It ain't like that! Plus I'm just here to make those shrimp tacos one more time!" Whiskey got close to Ezekiel, putting his arm around him and said, "Listen, lad. Women love a man who can cook some damn good things. Maybe your time here as a cook is garnerin' in some potential benefits for ya." Ezekiel, still blushing, tried his best to ignore Whiskey as he started cooking up the shrimp tacos. Whiskey laughed, took his arm off of Ezekiel and walked away, saying, "I'm just fuckin' with ya, lad. You do you." Ezekiel was still a little tense, but he proceeded to make the shrimp tacos.
Once finished making the shrimp tacos, Ezekiel brought them out to where Kairi was sitting. He placed her plate down in front of her first, then proceeded to put down his own plate where he was sitting. Ezekiel realized that he hadn't actually tried eating his own shrimp tacos yet, so he was about to dig in when he saw Kairi digging into the tacos with a smile on her face. Seems like she's enjoying herself, thought Ezekiel, smiling to himself in relief. Both of them ate in silence for a little bit. Kairi then looked as if she had a thought pop into her head, then asked, "Hey, Ezekiel. Do we have any kind of transportation?" Ezekiel realized he didn't and said, "No, and I honestly should've been looking. I'll look tomorrow to see if anyone is selling any." Kairi nodded, sort of listening, but she was really absorbed in the shrimp tacos. Out of nowhere, Luna and Layla popped behind Ezekiel, saying, "We sold all the soap as you told us to!" Ezekiel, surprised, swallowed his food in an irregular way and began coughing as the food went down the wrong pipe. Ezekiel got it under control after a bit then exclaimed, "Goddamn, don't sneak up on me like that! Fuck!" Luna smiled, and Layla just giggled. "But anyway, good work, girls. I knew I could count on you both," said Ezekiel, and both girls were happy to be praised. Luna then realized that Kairi was sitting with Ezekiel, then asked, "Oh, sorry, Ezekiel. Are we interrupting something?" Layla then said, "Ezekiel, is that pretty lady your girlfriend?" Kairi's eyes widened in surprise and she immediately said, "No!" However, the "pretty lady" comment from Layla made Kairi giggle and smile a little bit. Layla stared in confusion, then said, "I see." Ezekiel, wanting to make it less awkward of a conversation, quickly said, "Again, good job, both of you!" Ezekiel then remembered that he needed to find a carriage or some kind of cart and asked, "Hey, Luna, Layla. Can you see if there's anyone selling a horse-drawn carriage? We'll need one by tomorrow, and you can take this money here to buy one." Ezekiel gave Luna a bag of money and said, "If that's not enough, come back and let me know." Luna and Layla nodded, then left to find someone selling a horse-drawn carriage. Ezekiel sighed, relieved that he was finally out of that rather awkward situation. Kairi then suddenly asked, "Who were those girls?" Ezekiel simply said, "They're my, uh, 'science assistants.'" Kairi then asked, "Science assistants? What's science?" Ezekiel looked at her with a face full of confidence, then said, "It's hard to put into words, but trust me, I'll show you all the wonders of science. Just stick with me and you'll see just what science can really do." Kairi then said, "That doesn't explain much, but alright. Besides, I never said I'd be joining you or anything. We're simply traveling together to go reunite me with my mother and father." Ezekiel smiled, then said, "Fair enough. However! You could say those shrimp tacos that you like so much were a product of science after experimenting with many ingredients and figuring out how to make corn tortillas. You're already witnessing the slow development of my nation of science, whether you realize it or not." Kairi didn't know what to say to that. Ezekiel chuckled, then said, "I'm only scratching the surface of this science shit. What I can show you with science will make you more amazed than some good food. Food is only a tiny slice of the science pie that I'm planning on whipping up in this world." Ezekiel looked at Kairi in a serious manner, then said, "It's your choice whether or not you wanna stick around with me once we get to that kingdom. I'm offering you a spot in the slowly growing nation of science, and I'd hate for someone like you to turn it down." Kairi knew the answer she wanted to tell him deep down, but couldn't bring herself to say it just now. Not until she had at least seen her family, and then she would make her decision. Due to that, Kairi simply said, "I'll think on it." Ezekiel laughed, smiled brightly, then said, "No pressure." Ezekiel was about to leave when Kairi quickly said, "I had fun today! Thank you for showing me around the town." Ezekiel smiled and said, "No problem. I had fun as well." With that, Ezekiel went up to his room.
Ezekiel collapsed on his bed once he got inside his room. He read his Book of Knowledge for a while, reading up on the kingdom that they were headed to. He realized that he had been reading for a long time now, and it felt rather late. He wanted to get enough rest for his trip tomorrow, so he was about to go to bed until he heard a knock on his door. Thinking that it might be the girls, he opened the door to find the front desk girl standing there. The front desk girl asked, "So, I hear you're headed out tomorrow?" Ezekiel replied, "Yeah, I'm leaving tomorrow with everyone so we can get Kairi to her family. Why do you ask?" The front desk girl shifted around nervously, then asked, "Well, you'll come back. Right?" Ezekiel nodded, smiled, then said, "Of course." The front desk girl stared at him intensely, then said, "That's not good enough. Please promise me that you'll come back." Ezekiel laughed, then said, "I promise I'll come back. Don't be so worried about me!" The front desk girl then pulled something out of her pocket, and it looked like a small handmade handkerchief. "Here. When you come back, give that back to me, okay? It'll be our little promise that you'll come back safe," said the front desk girl. She then outstretched her arm, expecting Ezekiel to take it from her. Ezekiel then took the handkerchief, smiled, and said, "Thank you. It'll be our little promise, then. I'll come back safe and return this to you." The front desk girl blushed, smiled, then said, "Have a good night, Ezekiel. I pray for a safe journey." With that, the front desk girl walked back to the front desk. Ezekiel closed the door, and he felt a wave of exhaustion pass over him. He suddenly found himself face first in his pillow on his bed and slowly began to drift to sleep, holding the handkerchief in his hand.114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcUVWjMvDn7
