The Personal Chef of the Sorceress Who Can’t Eat Alone

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Catherine’s enlarged pupils were focused on Mary’s hand, which was tearing a jam doughnut in half.

The crisp tear of the doughnut was still hot, puffing out a white steam.

But thanks to that heat, the cold jam inside was stimulated, sending a sweet aroma that quickly cleared out the kitchen’s oily smell.

Freshly fried doughnuts in lard exuded an irresistible scent, like that of fresh-baked bread.

Mary, faced with that tempting fragrance, seemed to lose her strength, her pupils swirling like waves.

Gulp – Fortunately, it seemed she had managed to resist somehow.

She held out the halved doughnut close to Catherine.

First, a distinct white boundary cutting across the doughnut’s surface marked a subtle yellow hue.

One side was generously dusted with sugar powder, so white it rivaled snow, with sugar crystals gently falling even now.

The opposite side was beautifully golden brown and crispy, boasting about how well-fried it had turned out.

And then, the jam contained within.

The once fist-sized doughnut had expanded in the oil, now filled to bursting with jam in the new space created as it puffed up.

The jam, lavishly poured like it had been pumped into bread soaked in milk, filled the interior of the doughnut.

The fresh smell of jam warmed by the hot doughnut wafted through the air.

“This is marmalade. Now that I think of it, didn’t we eat all the jam before?”

“I brought a bunch this morning.”

“Hmm. That’s not the important part.”

Catherine swallowed hard.

It hadn’t even been two hours since breakfast had ended.

But since she had always taken light meals for breakfast and lunch, she had digested it long ago.

Her stomach, flooded with visual and olfactory information from her head, trembled impatiently as if urging her to move her mouth.

Catherine willingly complied with the expectations of her instincts.

The first intense sweetness felt on her tongue was the sugar powder.

Once the sweetness melted away like it was dissolving in water and she penetrated through the crunchy doughnut’s surface, the moist interior and the sweetness that had vanished reappeared.

A citrus scent tickled her nose, juxtaposed with the sweetness, refreshing the heavy dessert doughnut’s flavor in her mouth.

“What do you prefer: honey and cinnamon in hot milk, or mulled wine?”

“Um, I think I’d rather have milk right now.”

Since the moment Mary had started ripping the doughnut apart, she repeated this process and immediately tilted the kettle, filling the silver cup with care.

One of the tastiest ways to enjoy dessert bread was indeed with milk.

The gentle sweetness of honey mixed into the smooth milk and the strong scent of cinnamon washed away the citrus-laden interior in Catherine’s mouth.

Suddenly, Catherine turned her head.

Mary was struggling as if she were suffering through the trials of the world.

“If it’s that hard, you can eat some too, you know?”

“B-but as a brownie, I can’t just partake in the contractor’s snack time yet…!”

Mary was precariously resisting as if she were rolling dice of temptation at every moment.

As a house fairy brownie, she couldn’t eat until her master finished dining!

“I feel like I’m committing all the sins here, so just go ahead and eat.”

“Thank you.”

Of course, that didn’t mean she refused.

After all, all this was under the permission of a benevolent contractor, sharing a meal together.

With an incredulous look, Karem gazed at the swift turn of events.

However, even amidst all that, Mary was still attending to all of Catherine’s needs with one hand.

As a house fairy brownie, this much was a doable feat.

But just as the reins were loosened, the brownie grabbed the jam doughnut and shoved it into her mouth like a pelican swallowing a fish whole.

As soon as she closed her mouth, the jam inside the doughnut erupted like a dam that had reached its limits, flooding into Mary’s mouth.

The intense scent of grape, the crunchiness of the doughnut, and the moistness made her dizzy with sensations she had never experienced before.

“Okay, this time dip the halved doughnut into the milk, please.”

“Oh my! Contractor! You have certainly reached the realm of a sage!”

Mary exclaimed, as if completely taken aback by the thought.

Karem wondered, was it really so surprising?

After all, dipping bread in milk was a common thing.

For her, who was more earnest than anyone about bread, butter, and milk in Winterhome, it was indeed something to marvel at.

Mary quickly tore at the doughnut, being careful not to let the jam spill out.

The red plum jam shone beautifully, reflecting the clear sunlight.

And she plopped the halved jam doughnut right into Catherine’s cup.

Truth be told, changing things up was a surefire way to avoid getting bored with the same food.

And the moist doughnut soaked in milk was a wonderful change.

The exquisitely milk-soaked doughnut turned soft like a sponge.

The jam made from the strong-flavored plum only intensified its taste.

That strong-flavored jam was mellowed a bit when it met the milk and cinnamon.

The flavor of the plum, softened in essence, harmonized beautifully with the other ingredients.

“Oh my God. It’s not lacking compared to the milk-soaked castellan.”

“My goodness! Is it really that much?”

“Yeah, Mary. So, you should try it too.”

“If that’s the case… Uh, uh-huh!”

Mary’s exclamations were only natural.

She loved bread and milk and, of course, jam just as much.

Now, having all three sensations in her mouth at once…

Unless it tasted like an enemy bouncing around chaotically, it was impossible not to like it when their flavors complemented one another and amplified the taste.

“Karem junior, I admit it.”

“Huh? So suddenly?”

“It’s infuriating—but really, infuriating—it seems that you’ve taken one of my jobs.”

Though she acknowledged it, Karem felt a peculiar sensation.

If he were to sum it up in one sentence, it would be, “Of all times, now? With this?”

It’s not boasting, but Karem could confidently say he showcased various dishes before.

Though some of those might not have been very impressive by his standards, he had at least never slacked off in his efforts.

To see a reaction like this for a simple doughnut that had never been shown even during his best effort cooking porchetta, was unexpected. All he had done was refine the fat to make lard and fry it before filling it with jam.

In actuality, the “doughnut” part of the jam doughnut had been made by Mary.

Receiving praise for something he didn’t even do felt subtly odd.

‘This bread demon…’ he thought absentmindedly.

But who cared? She loved it that much.

Still, Karem felt a twinge of regret.

There was nothing wrong with the doughnut.

Since the flour had been roasted once before, the sugar powder was even smoother than before.

As a house fairy and with her expert baking skills, Mary’s doughnut was super fluffy and, having been fried under his guidance, was beautifully crisp on the outside.

And how about the jam? Its flavor was so rich, it couldn’t be compared to any supermarket jar jam.

“Strawberry jam is indeed the best for a jam doughnut.”

“Huh? Did you just say wild berry?”

“Oh, yes. I was just wondering how it would taste as a wild berry jam.”

“That would be wonderful, I think.”

“I’ll have to grab some when I go for more jam next time.”

Karem casually replied to Catherine’s comment.

Though it slipped out absentmindedly, there was no helping it.

For Karem, doughnuts meant jam doughnuts; and within that, strawberry jam was his absolute favorite. Or, perhaps, Krispy Kreme doughnuts.

As for wild berry jam, it might be a suitable substitute, but unfortunately, the jam Karem had brought this time did not include it.

Of course, wild berries were delicious enough.

But after all, they were merely substitutes; they could not replace strawberries.

He had never seen any strawberries in the food storage so far. Perhaps this world doesn’t have its version of strawberries, akin to how it had peppers.

In modern times, strawberries originated from South America, but if we went down that road, so did peppers—and the world’s version of it, Fire Witch Finger, grows in the cold northern regions including Iceland.

Once he began to think, the feeling of regret washed over him repeatedly.

This kind of regret was not easily brushed off, so he had to find other ways to dispel it.

“This feels a bit lacking, so I’ll grab something else. Please wait a moment.”

“Huh? Your tongue is already dancing with just this. What else could there be…?”

Mary stood agape, unable to even imagine what Karem would do next. Catherine scolded her for interrupting her snack, but her stance wasn’t that different either.

What Karem brought back was a pure white liquid cream and sugar.

The scene that followed was something Catherine and Mary had often witnessed.

As he poured the sugar and whipped it hard like making meringue, the bowl that had been sloshing made splashing sounds, slowly transforming into a fluffy cloud-like mass over time.

Having lived a long time, Catherine observed curiously the new phase of the ingredients she had known for ages.

“I had no idea the cream I usually just pour or freeze could be whipped into meringue.”

“It’s whipped cream. Do you want to guess what I’m going to do next?”

“…No way!”

At Karem’s next action, Mary was stunned.

He cut the jam doughnut in half.

At first, the two didn’t know what to make of it when a generous dollop of whipped cream was plopped right onto one half of the doughnut, covering the other half completely to create a doughnut-jam-whipped cream-jam-doughnut masterpiece. It sent shivers rushing down their spines as if lightning struck their brains.

Karem understood their feelings perfectly well.

He had once indulged in such a combination, only to be quickly overwhelmed with weight, leading to all the diet struggles.

The jam doughnut cream sandwich.

As it would be sure to stir up disputes, Karem accurately divided it into three pieces, handing one to everyone present in the kitchen.

Appearance? The previous jam doughnut was now filled with airy white whipped cream, resembling something made from actual clouds. It was even fluffier than meringue.

The cream oozing out, mixed with the jam, pressed outward under the hand’s force, made Catherine and Mary’s hearts race.

The small portions meant Mary easily shoved a piece into her mouth.

“Ugh, ah…!”

Before drinking milk, the initially thick sweetness from the jam, washed away first by the whipped cream and then by the savory doughnut, left only a hint of regret on her tongue.

Catherine felt the same lingering taste in her own mouth.

A girl with a sweet tooth for desserts paired with her brownie contractor, who adored bread, butter, and milk, were both engaged in a competitive tension with one another.

While the two were caught up in their mental warfare, Karem leisurely enjoyed his doughnut.

With no one to stop him, he cleansed his palate with sweet, tangy mulled wine before taking a big bite of the jam doughnut filled with grape jam, followed by another bite laden with whipped cream.

Then he dipped the remaining piece in warm honey milk with a hint of cinnamon and sent it down his throat.

Naturally, the jam doughnut disappeared in no time at all.

After all, it had initially been for a morning snack, so he hadn’t fried that many.

However, Catherine and Mary watched with glinting eyes as the sugary powder leftover on the empty plate, remnants of the jam doughnut, dripped with disappointment.

“It’s already all gone.”

“Indeed, it seems so, Contractor.”

“Thinking about it, can’t we have snacks for lunch? Something likeminded to that jam doughnut we just had?”

“Come to think of it, it’s been ages since we’ve truly become adults, hasn’t it? It shouldn’t matter much.”

But a snack was just a snack.

A meal was a meal.

“Does that even make sense?”

He had been all set to make seasoned fried chicken!

Karem strongly resisted the notion that they could use a snack to fill up a meal.

Nevertheless, he couldn’t help but succumb under the repeated persuasion of the great fire wizard and the experienced house fairy.

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