Though not the greatest chef in the world, I could still boast about my cooking wherever I went. The endless part-time jobs I did when I was younger included multiple restaurants, so at some point I became accustomed to handling ingredients better than most.
Ever since I had entered this world all I had was nothing short of Five-star cuisine fit for royalty, so I never had to enter the kitchen myself, and while it was exhilarating at first even that later on became boring.
Burgers, pizzas, chips and many other foods filled my mind despite everything I had going on at the moment, and well laziness overcame me in the end as I didn't even bother telling my chefs about the recipe.
' Here I am cooking, though '
The endless stares I was getting from the restaurant staff was proof alone of how odd it is for someone of my position to be doing such a thing, still I continued while humming a song from my previous world.
The chefs had already prepared the ingredients for me as ordered so it didn't take much for me to finish the burgers, leaving it at the hands of the waiter I washed my hands and went back to my seat where I found Isabella fidgeting at her chair.
" I apologize for making you wait "
Sitting down in front of Isabella, I said so as I got a good look of her face.
" Ah, no need, you didn't take long "
" That's good then "
" Yes, I was rather excited to taste your cooking after all "
" Well, no need to wait any longer then "
As I said so the waiter came in with the tray, the rich aroma of the burger reaching us as I barely stopped myself from salivating, being presented to us like this I felt that all the trouble I went through in getting the ingredients ready was worth it.
' Explaining the bread buns alone was a headache '
Watching Isabella I could see her eyes shine slightly probably from anticipation and so excusing the waiter I was about to dig in, that was until I found Isabella awkwardly holding her utensils not knowing where to begin from.
" Um, Isabella... "
" Ah, yes "
" A burger is a type of sandwich, so there are no utensils involved "
As I explained that, for her own sake, I made sure to not look at her this time. The sound of clattering utensils was enough to tell me about her condition.
Still as always, she quickly tried to regain her baring's as she picked up the burger and bit into it, but as soon as she tasted it her eyes widened as she turned towards me eyes shining the same way it did in the plane.
' Is she always like this when excited, it's really cute '
" It's delicious, it really is I'm not joking, wouldn't you be able to open a restaurant based on this "
I thought it was an offhand remark and it would pass, but it soon became a 20-minute lecture about the impact of the food and the new trend that it would bring to the food market and that was how I was reminded about a fact about the Whiteheart family
' They are the ultimate food lovers '
Normally, I would have simply cut off the person speaking by now but for some reason everything she said seemed so sweet and so resting my head on my hand I spent the rest of the evening hearing her opinions on the food of the empire.
.....
Having finished our dinner, we set off to return to the arcane estate. Having spent the entire night agonizing on what to do, seeing Isabella smile so brightly made it feel trivial. Perhaps that was the reason I found myself thanking her, the things I experienced today alongside her was perhaps the best thing that happened to me since coming here.
" Thank you "
" What? "
" For everything
agreeing to come with me and indulging my whims "
Of course, Isabella who had no way of knowing that stood confused for a moment before hurriedly waving her hands in denial
" Eh?
No, it should be me who should be thanking you for this wonderful day, this has been the best dates I have ever gone on "
It was actually the only date she has went on but I decided to keep that to myself as she seemed to want to say something more, a shy blush spread across her cheeks
" And I hope we can do this again "
as she said these words, she hurriedly lowered her face to hide her presumably deep blush, I on the other hand had completely lost sense of reality for a good couple of seconds
' Did I just hear that right... should I pinch myself just in case '
I had planned to subtly allude to having another date when the time was right, but to have it told outright before I had the chance to stopped me in my tracks for a second.
" Um... eh yeah, of course I would be honoured "
and like the idiot that I am, I ended up replying in such an awkward way probably sporting a similarly stupid look. Thankfully though, the fact that she had her head lowered meant she couldn't see me clearly lessening the damage.
The rest of the ride would have continued in that awkward atmosphere if not for the timely call from Christine, who I had bought a private communication crystal instead of the one connected to her household in case of emergencies.
Realising my apparent distress Isabella straitened her back, immediately answering fearing for the worst, what I heard instead was the dumbfounded voice of Christine.
" Wait... Nicholos? "
" Yes, this is Nicholos did something happen? "
" No... Nothing... I didn't mean to call you "
As I got confirmation that everything was fine the tension in my body slipped away, still I decided to check with her one more time.
" So, you called by accident? "
" Yes...
I'm sorry I was trying to see how it works and it ended up like this "
Leaning back in my chair I breathed a sigh of relief as I made a mental note to teach Christine about such things and seeing me like this Isabella let out a small giggle.
" It is okay, just make sure to check albert next time "
With those final words I said goodbye and ended my call with Christine, yet as I was putting my communication crystal away, I felt a stare coming from my side.
Watching me with a look full of questions was Isabella who I decide to indulge with a bit
" We aren't related "
Saying so before she could ask Isabellas turned her head in confusion
" How did you... "
" It was written all over your face, it was rather obvious "
As I explained that Isabella subtly moved her hands towards her face before letting it go and asking a question
" Then what is your relationship with her? "
By the way she looked at me and her tone of voice it didn't seem to think badly of my relationship with Christine just curious and so I decided to tell her what I thought
" You could say I am her non-legal guardian "
Taking a second to mull over my words, Isabella simply nodded her head muttering words that I could only hear as " that seems about right "
Still after that not much talk was exchanged between us as we arrived at the estate, walking towards the teleportation gate we shared small stories to pass the time as we waited for it to connect.
15 minutes or so later and the portal was glowing and ready to go with Isabella standing in front of it.
Smiling lightly towards her I waved as she was about to enter, however just before she passed through, she suddenly turned around and flashed an utterly enchanting smile
" Today was wonderful
Next time it will be my turn to show you around "
Running inside with those final words, I was left alone with only the sound of my ever-increasing heartbeat as company for the rest of the day.