Editing Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume16 Chapter4 (section)

===Part 4===

Stepping into the galley, Ellis and Rinslet swiftly put on their aprons and started preparing dinner efficiently.

Nothing more needed to be said about Rinslet, whose culinary skills rivaled a professional chef's. Ellis was similarly talented at cooking. Even though the stock of ingredients in the food storage was not very plentiful, the two of them still worked together with tacit coordination to pick out usable ingredients one after another.

"This reminds me of cooking practicals at the Academy."

"Yes, indeed..."

Rinslet murmured nostalgically.

Right now, they had become traitors who had raised the banner of rebellion against Ordesia. They were unlikely to have the chance to return to Areishia Spirit Academy as students again&mdash;

"Let me be responsible for the soup and the appetizers, as well as a meat dish. What are you planning to make?"

"I would like to try my hand at a bean curd dish I recently learned."

"...Bean curd huh? I recall that it is food from Kamito's homeland."

"Yes, it is extremely healthy and rich in nutrition."

Rinslet snapped her fingers and summoned Fenrir, her contracted spirit.

When Fenrir opened his jaws wide, many ingredients and cooking utensils stored in Astral Zero appeared.

Bean curd and other ingredients not native to Ordesia were inside too.

"This is handmade bean curd prepared at Laurenfrost."

Rinslet puffed out her chest in pride. However, Ellis looked a bit troubled.

"Bean curd is definitely delicious, but as a main course, would its flavor not be too bland?"

She raised this question.

"Oh, worry not. I will be making a legendary bean curd dish popular in the Quina Empire. Its name is 'mapo doufu'."

"Mapo doufu...?"

"Yes, it is dish where abundant chili peppers and spices are used to make a paste that perfectly blends savoriness and spiciness together. According to ancient literature, the taste is addictive."

"...I see. That is certainly something to look forward to."

Ellis gulped.

"Then I shall make some Quina-style appetizers to go along with your dish."

"Oh my, Captain, when did you start learning Quina cuisine?"

"I-I cannot allow myself to keep losing..."

Blushing, Ellis coughed lightly a few times.

At that moment&mdash;

"What are you doing? Snack person and tail person."

Rubbing her sleepy eyes while making an unsteady entrance, it was the sword spirit Est.

Supposed to be sleeping in sword form inside Kamito's room, it looked like she had woken up because dinner time was fast approaching.

"T-Tail person, is that me?"

Ellis touched her ponytail, a little offended.

"Dinner..."

Est murmured blankly then jumped up to peer at the kitchen counter.

"...Bean curd."

Without any facial expression, Est's violet eyes instantly glimmered brightly.

"Yes, Miss Sword Spirit. We will be making a dish with your favorite bean curd today."

"Bean curd, bean curd♪"

Est sang in a transparent voice then...

"In that case, I shall contribute a little too&mdash;"

She turned herself into a kitchen knife, manifesting in Rinslet's hand.

"Much appreciated, Miss Sword Spirit."

"What on earth is going on!?"

Ellis exclaimed in shock.

"Fufu, Miss Sword Spirit's kitchen knife is very amazing, you know?"

Saying that, Rinslet took a spring onion and sliced rapidly with the kitchen knife a few times. Tracing out a beautiful parabola, slices of spring onion flew into the bowl one after another.

"...T-Truly amazing, but is it alright to use the legendary sacred sword like this?"

With a complicated expression, Ellis asked in confusion.

"Fufu, as long as I create a new legend."

Making no sense in her words, Rinslet sprayed oil into a round iron pot taken from Fenrir's mouth and lit the stove.

"The fire is a bit lacking..."

"No helping it. This is equipment on a military ship, after all."

Although a small salamander spirit was sealed inside the stove's spirit crystal, it was not a powerful spirit to begin with. Added to the fact that the ground's blessings were absent when high up in the atmosphere, the spirit seemed quite lethargic.

"...Hmm, it would be impossible to recreate authentic mapo doufu using this weak a fire!"

Just as Rinslet fumed with an annoyed expression...

"Meow..."

She saw a hellcat clad in flames, passing through the corridor outside the galley.

While her master Claire had gone off with Kamito to do research, she was apparently strolling freely inside the ship.

"Miss Hellcat, perfect timing!"

Rinslet waved to Scarlet.

"Meow?"

Cocking her head in puzzlement, Scarlet still walked over.

Normally speaking, contracted spirits were not supposed to pay any attention to anyone except for their master. But because Rinslet frequently provided tasty snacks, Scarlet was quite close with her.

"Please start a strong fire&mdash;"

When Rinslet said that, Scarlet nimbly made her way under the iron pot and produced an intense flame from her tail. Compared to the fire from the salamander sealed in the spirit crystal, the difference in power was like heaven and earth.

"Fufu, as expected of Claire's contracted spirit!"

Pouring the bright red paste with bean curd into the iron pot, Rinslet started to stir fry vigorously. The spewing flames looked like they were going to burn all the way to the ceiling any moment.

"A-Are you sure about using such high heat? It could cause a kitchen fire!"

"Ohohoho, no need to worry. Just leave everything to me, the one who bears the name of Hellfire Rinslet!"

"...Wait a sec, is your nickname not Rinslet the Ice Demon?"

...Did some kind of weird switch get turned on? Seeing Rinslet getting more and more fired up, Ellis watched with worried eyes.