Ch. 106 The Witch and the Black Knight (17)
by Afuhfuihgs
Witch – Chapter 106 – The Witch and the Black Knight (17)
The onion’s curse was more potent than expected.
Whether intentional or not, seeing Estelle reduced to tears like some weakling filled Edel with a strange sense of satisfaction.
After the onion incident was resolved, Edel’s cooking lessons continued.
Sure, he ended up with a big lump on his head from Estelle’s knuckle sandwich… but what was done was done. He wouldn’t dwell on it.
As Estelle had said, cooking was a series of trial and error. And he vowed never again to rub his eyes with onion-coated hands.
But onions were just the beginning.
Just as becoming stronger meant overcoming greater challenges, cooking was no different.
“Hmm…”
Standing before the frying pan, surrounded by thin-sliced carrots, onions, zucchini, and scallions, Edel fell deep into thought.
The dish he had decided to make was vegetable fried rice.
It was the same meal Sion and Aria had eaten in Venetia when they were short on money. Plus… it was perfect for someone who didn’t eat meat at all.
“Ugh… Sniff. Just wait a sec.”
While Estelle stepped away, still sniffling from the onions, an idea flashed through Edel’s mind.
Him, successfully cooking alone and serving Estelle. Her taking a bite, declaring it the most delicious thing in the world, and rewarding him with five praise sigils.
“Heh… I’ll make it happen.”
With a sinister grin, Edel recalled Estelle’s instructions for vegetable fried rice.
‘Medium heat, coat the pan with oil, start with the potatoes.’
Definitely something about potatoes first…
Then add the other vegetables, and so on.
The Edel of the past—the Black Knight—would’ve scoffed at such instructions. But that weak version of himself was dead.
The current Edel was learning pure love to grow even stronger. He could absolutely follow a simple recipe.
…Except for a few things that didn’t make sense.
What exactly is “medium heat”? Why potatoes first? And how much oil is “enough”?
The universal struggle of beginner cooks, vague recipe instructions, was one even the mighty Black Knight couldn’t escape.
‘Bigger flames are better, right?’
Edel cranked the heat to maximum.
Fire roared under the pan, hot enough to melt metal. Just like strength, the more intense, the better. Satisfied, Edel smirked.
Same with oil.
More is better.
He poured generously from the oil container, drowning the pan.
Now, time to stir-fry.
If he followed Estelle’s advice and cooked the potatoes first, it’d take too long. Who knew when she’d be back?
Ignoring her instructions, he dumped all the vegetables in at once.
“Hmm…”
He picked up the salt shaker, staring at the tiny white crystals glittering in the sunlight.
‘This is seasoning—like magic powder that makes food tastier.’
Estelle’s words echoed in his mind.
Among the seasonings laid out—salt, soy sauce, sesame oil—she’d mentioned something about “a few spoonfuls”.
‘So… just dump it all in?’
‘More means tastier, right?’
With meticulous care (unlike the oil), he heaped spoonfuls of each seasoning into the pan before finally adding the rice.
The vegetables screamed as they burned, filling the air with a charred stench—but to Edel, making his first solo dish, it was oddly sweet.
“Look forward to it, Estelle. I’ll make you the most delicious meal in the world.”
As the blackened vegetables popped in the scorching oil, Edel smiled—innocent, yet devilish enough to give Estelle chills.
“So… what is this supposed to be?”
Estelle, eyes still red from the onions, pointed at the charred monstrosity on the table.
She’d rushed into the kitchen, alarmed by the burning smell, thinking Edel had started a fire—only to find this was the source.
“Isn’t it obvious? Vegetable fried rice. I made it. All by myself. Cooking’s nothing special. Go on, eat.”
Puffing with pride, Edel grinned arrogantly at the blackened mess. Estelle’s eyebrow twitched.
‘This was fried rice?’
‘Those charcoal-like lumps were supposed to be vegetables?’
‘And how much oil had he used?!’ As she hesitantly scooped a spoonful, grease dripped like a leaky faucet.
‘How did the pan not catch fire?!’
“Edel… be honest. Are you actually an assassin sent by the Demon King?”
“An assassin? I prefer to face challenges head-on, rather than using such cowardice methods.”
“…Let’s just not talk.”
Estelle sighed deeply, eyeing the spoon with dread.
‘Sure, everyone messed up their first try, but this is beyond failure.’
“Go on, try it. I’m sure it’s the most delicious thing in the world.”
“……”
‘More like the most inedible.’
Holding her breath, Estelle brought the spoon to her nose.
Beneath the burnt stench, the overpowering scents of sesame oil and soy sauce assaulted her senses.
This isn’t food—it’s a biohazard.
She really didn’t want to eat it.
But Edel was staring at her like a kid showing off their first drawing. After seeing how hard he’d tried, she couldn’t just reject him outright.
One bite. Just one.
Gulping, she squeezed her eyes shut and opened her mouth.
“Haaah…”
Chew, chew.
The apocalyptic flavors matched the smell—salty, sweet, greasy—BLEGH!!!!
Her teeth revolted. Her tongue fled in terror.
Slamming her head on the table, she convulsed as Edel watched, satisfied.
“Too delicious to handle, huh?”
“…How did you even make this?”
Gagging, Estelle lifted her head to glare at him.
“I followed your instructions.”
“MY instructions would never make something taste like this!! Why is everything burnt?! I said medium heat!!”
She mentally retraced the steps she’d taught him:
Oil in the pan, medium heat, potatoes first, then other veggies, push them aside, season with soy sauce—whatever!
“It’s too salty!! How much salt did you add?! And the sugar?! And why is there so much oil?! The sesame oil is overkill too!!”
“…Does it taste bad?”
She’d tried to be nice, but her betrayed taste buds refused to lie.
Edel’s face stiffened under her rapid-fire scolding.
“Here. You try it.”
She shoveled a massive spoonful into his mouth. Only this could quell her rage.
“……”
Chew, chew.
Though he didn’t spasm like Estelle, his once-proud shoulders slumped as he stared at the table in grave silence.
“Well? Similar to my cooking?”
“This is dire. I’ve created garbage.”
“I’m proud you tried alone. But… taste-wise? Zero stars.”
Generous rating, considering it barely qualified as food.
“How did you do this?”
“I just…”
Like a scolded child, Edel confessed in a small voice:
He didn’t know how much oil to use, so he drowned the pan.
He turned the heat up to maximum.
He dumped all the veggies in at once to save time.
He figured more seasoning = more flavor.
He’d treated it like strength training.
“…I just wanted to make you the best meal in the world.”
“Edel…”
Classic beginner mistakes.
‘That’s why I told you to wait.’
She’d planned to guide him step by step—but then the onion fiasco happened.
No use dwelling on spilled oil. He’d tried his best. Berating him further would just be cruel.
“Listen, Edel. Cooking is like love. Too much ruins it. There’s a balance to everything—greed leads to failure. Like this… thing.”
Seasoning enhances flavor, but overdo it, and it becomes poison. A lesson Edel had to learn the hard way.
Besides, hadn’t she said cooking was trial and error? This was just part of the process.
“Come on. I’ll teach you how to make real ‘best-in-the-world’ fried rice.”
Grabbing his slumped shoulders, she led him back to the smoke-stained kitchen.
Lucent
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