Chapter 2: The Tohtsuki Elite Ten's Shock! Clothes-Bursting Kobayashi and a Baffled Aya!
Carrying Kobayashi Rindo, who lacked strength from hunger, into the restaurant, Luke placed the young woman on the sofa against the west wall.
Shameimaru Aya, who had also followed inside, took out her camera and pressed the shutter towards the two of them.
Click.
Aya recorded everything happening before her eyes.
Satisfied with this, she put away her camera, then skillfully sat down on a stool directly facing the counter.
And above her right side, the parrot still perched on the steel shelf let out another cry:
"Woman! Hehe! Woman!"
"Luke-san, has your parrot been learning bad things lately?"
Aya glared at the parrot, her expression somewhat peculiar.
Luke, who had already started walking into the kitchen, chuckled.
"Who knows? Because it occasionally flies off to wander around the 'Human Village', it might have overheard someone quarreling; so yeah... I'm already considering whether to send it over to Keine-sensei's private school, let this fellow receive some intellectual training."
Before Luke's words had even finished, perhaps understanding his meaning, the parrot hurriedly flapped its wings and flew towards the second floor.
Not paying it any mind, Luke opened a water bottle and poured out hot water from inside.
"What are we doing next, Luke-san?"
"Let's first let Kobayashi-san fill her stomach."
"What about me?! I actually haven't eaten breakfast either!"
"We'll talk about you later."
"How could you...!"
Shameimaru Aya waved her fists, expressing her dissatisfaction, but it had little effect.
Ignoring the complaints of Gensokyo's 'reporter', Luke poured a cup of warm water, then added two spoonfuls of honey, and at the same time put in a slice of fresh lemon.
"Take this to that young lady."
Having prepared a cup of honey lemon water, Luke gave Shameimaru Aya a task.
"I'm not an employee here, you know."
"Do you want me to add you to the blacklist?"
"No, no, no!"
Hearing this, Aya quickly got moving.
"Speaking of which, if someone's hungry, shouldn't they get something delicious right away? Why drink water first?"
"Warm honey water is precisely for rapidly replenishing energy, plus the vitamin C provided by the lemon, it's already enough."
"Ohh, I don't really get it..."
Aya said this, then carried the water over.
Kobayashi Rindo, lying on the sofa, didn't refuse either, drinking the honey water down in one go.
The warm, sweet honey paired with the refreshing slice of lemon, Kobayashi Rindo felt her spirits lift and she gradually came around.
She sat up, gently fiddling with her smooth red hair.
After thanking Aya, Kobayashi Rindo looked around her surroundings, then turned her gaze to Luke.
"It really is a restaurant... Is there anything good to eat here?"
Luke, wiping his hands with a towel, asked in return:
"That depends on what Kobayashi-san wants to eat. A simple egg fried rice can be made very quickly. Besides that... there are also the ingredients prepared for today's special dish, it just requires some time."
"No need for egg fried rice! I want to eat the 'special dish'!"
"You seem quite energetic. If you're willing to wait, I'll make it right now."
"Okay!"
With a cup of honey water in her stomach, Kobayashi Rindo, feeling much better, nodded, deciding to wait for the owner to prepare today's 'special dish'.
Since a customer had placed an order, Luke didn't waste time and immediately got to work.
He took out 200 grams of shelled shrimp and eggs from the refrigerator, then retrieved the Longjing tea leaves from the cabinet.
And while Luke was busy, the intensely curious Shameimaru Aya took out her notebook, looking expectantly at Kobayashi Rindo.
"Miss, miss, can I ask you a few questions?"
Kobayashi Rindo, who had been sizing up the surroundings, retracted her gaze and looked at Aya beside her.
"Before that, I'd like to ask you something first."
"Sure thing, this reporter answers all questions! Truth is my main focus!"
"Then... where is this place? I only remember practicing constantly these past few days, which led to having no time to eat, and ended up getting here all dizzy..."
"This place is called 'Gensokyo', a boundary land where youkai and humans coexist! That's probably the best and most straightforward explanation for outsiders."
"Gensokyo? Youkai? Feels like I'm dreaming..."
Kobayashi Rindo pinched her own cheek.
There was pain, indicating this wasn't a dream.
Having answered the question, Shameimaru Aya started asking her own:
"So what about you? Where did you come from? Those clothes look strange."
"These clothes? They're the uniform for Tohtsuki Academy."
"Tohtsuki Academy?"
"It's a prestigious culinary academy."
"Ohh, that's great! Speaking of cooking, Luke-san is incredibly skilled, you know."
"Is that so? I hold a seat in Tohtsuki Academy's 'Elite Ten', and I also love cooking. Perhaps coming here wasn't accidental, but inevitable? Haha!"
Kobayashi Rindo immediately accepted the current situation, completely relaxing.
Starting from this point, the two began chatting happily.
Meanwhile, Luke in the kitchen was still 'working'.
He first used kitchen paper to pat dry the shrimp he had taken out earlier, then added a little salt and egg white, stirring evenly.
He then sprinkled on a small amount of starch, mixed well, and let it marinate for 15 minutes.
On the other side, the Longjing tea leaves were steeped in warm water, and the tea liquid was filtered out to be set aside for later use.
Once that was done, he immediately started the next step.
First, add a small amount of oil to the wok and heat it up.
Quickly stir-fry the marinated shrimp, and as soon as they change color, scoop them out.
Next, using a clean wok, pour in a small amount of the tea liquid and the shrimp, stir-fry a few times to let the shrimp absorb the tea fragrance, then directly plate them.
Not stopping there, Luke turned to the other side.
After preheating the oven, he washed the large prawns, trimmed off their whiskers and legs, cut them open along the back to remove the vein, but didn't cut them completely through.
The reason was simple: to maintain a portion for later plating.
Having completed all the above steps, Luke lightly sprinkled salt and black pepper onto the prawn meat for seasoning, placed them in the preheated oven, and baked for about 5 minutes to let the prawns initially set.
At the same time, he melted butter in a small pot, added chopped fresh herbs and minced garlic, squeezed in lemon juice, and mixed it into a flavored herb butter.
"Almost done."
Luke murmured softly as he took out the initially baked prawns, brushed them with the seasoned herb butter, and placed them back into the oven to continue baking until the prawn meat was fully cooked and the surface showed a golden-brown luster.
Simultaneously, smelling the aroma, both Kobayashi Rindo and Shameimaru Aya fixed their gazes on Luke in the kitchen.
"What a fragrant smell... Luke-san, what exactly are you making?"
"Today's special dish."
Luke carried two plates over to the dining table in the sofa area.
"Longjing Shrimp with Herb-Lemon Butter Baked Prawns."
"Quite luxurious."
Kobayashi Rindo looked at the dish, perfect in color, aroma, and taste, and quickly picked up her chopsticks.
"Itadakimasu."
After saying so politely, Kobayashi Rindo picked up a piece of shrimp and put it in her mouth.
Then...
"Ahhh!!!"
The young woman's body began to tremble, and a blush spread across her originally pale cheeks.
She, who had never experienced 'clothes-bursting' before, suddenly felt her body and mind liberated.
The stimulation exploding on her taste buds made her involuntarily cry out.
"E-Eh? Luke-san, what did you put in the food! It looks... so, so strange!"
The usually knowledgeable Shameimaru Aya looked completely baffled, not knowing what had just happened.
Luke, however, raised his right hand, signaling the reporter to be calm.
"Don't worry, it's a 'feature'."
The 'clothes-bursting' Kobayashi Rindo had received an unprecedented shock!