The day after Fire Dragon-sama gave me the challenge of making a noteworthy dish that would meet his standards, I was brought to the kitchen as usual to provide my nectar.


But that wasn’t all today.
No matter what, I have to get permission to visit the botanical garden.
And to do that, I was going to win Fire Dragon-sama over through his stomach.
Time to show off my cooking!


“You’re kidding, right? Alraune is going to cook?”


The one who called out to me was Ms. Scylla, one of the cooks working in the kitchen of the Demon King’s castle.


Ms. Scylla’s upper body looked no different from that of a human woman. Her lower body, however, was something else entirely.
She had twelve octopus-like tentacles, along with six canine heads like a Cerberus.

The fact that her upper body was indistinguishable from a human’s while her lower body was made up of octopus tentacles and canine heads reminded me of myself in a way.
I looked human from the waist up too, but below that, I had a bulb and countless vines instead of legs.

At a glance, our silhouettes were surprisingly similar.
More than anything, the fact that we both had more than ten limbs made me feel a sense of kinship with her.
Because of that, Ms. Scylla and I started chatting every so often.


“Are you sure you meant cooking? Wouldn’t it be more accurate to say you’re getting cooked?”


Ms. Scylla, how rude!
I might not look like it, but I cooked together with the little witch back in the forest, so I’ll be fine.

Still, Ms. Scylla was a professional chef.
So after explaining the situation, I asked her to watch me cook.


“Just… watch. Don’t… be surprised… now.”


I grew all sorts of vegetables, such as broad beans, turnips, and onions, from my vines.
Then I used eucalyptus to start a fire.
After all, I wasn’t just a cook—I could be the cooking equipment too.


“Alraune! You’re on fire!”

“……Could you… put it out… please?”


The fire was put out shortly later.


────It’s not what you think!

I could’ve solved the problem myself by molting, but since we were in the kitchen, I figured it would’ve made less of a scene if I’d asked Ms. Scylla to put out the flames.

Besides, I wanted to prepare a homemade meal for Fire Dragon-sama, so I wanted to cook the vegetables on my own.
But just as I thought, there was a limit to what I could do on my own.


“Ahahaha! I never thought you would actually surprise me!”


Ms. Scylla’s laughter stung my ears.

Yeah, I knew it.
My signature Alraune-style vegetable cuisine still needed a lot of work.
But it was the only idea I could come up with, so what else am I supposed to do?!

At this point, I have no choice but to swallow my pride and ask Ms. Scylla for help.


“Sorry to say this after you went to the effort of cooking with your own body, but this is just roasted vegetables. And burnt ones at that. Lord Grüsch isn’t going to think this is delicious or unusual.”

“I figured… as much.”


Completely dejected, I was carried out of the kitchen by one of the maids.

It was time for my afternoon duties in Fire Dragon-sama’s office.


“I heard you tried your hand at cooking in the kitchen.”


Fire Dragon-sama spoke to me the moment I arrived.
He already knew? Word sure travels fast.


“So, did it go well?”

“I’m… not very good… at cooking.”

“If a plant monster was an excellent cook, that would surprise me. Don’t be discouraged and take your time with it.”

“But… if I don’t… make delicious food… I won’t earn… my reward… anytime soon.”

“I’m not asking for something delicious. Despite how I look, I’ve lived a very long time. My palate is quite refined. All I ask is that you make something novel and surprise me.”

“That’s… enough?”

“It is. As a matter of fact, if you can offer me something unusual besides your nectar, that alone would be enough.”


──Something unusual.


What vegetables can I grow right now?
I’ve actually gained quite a few new ones after secretly eating some of the plants in the botanical garden.

Apples, broad beans, turnips, onions, chili peppers, cassava… ah, that’s it!


Cassava is the raw ingredient used to make tapioca.
It doesn’t seem like tapioca has been invented in this world yet, so Fire Dragon-sama is bound to find it unusual!

Back when I was a high school girl in my past life, I got a little curious and looked up how tapioca was made from cassava.
I don’t remember the exact method anymore, but I’m sure I’ll figure it out somehow.


Now that I’ve decided, it’s time to try making tapioca!



The next day.

After being carried to the kitchen as usual, I asked Ms. Scylla if she would be willing to help me again.

She agreed immediately, saying, “Of course. I’d be happy to help.”
Ms. Scylla really is a nice person!


“I wanted to help you anyway, but more importantly, I was told by my higher-ups to look after you.”

“…Higher-ups?”

“Lord Grüsch’s butler passed along a message instructing me to lend you a hand.”


So Fire Dragon-sama had asked someone to help me?
I’m surprised. Fire Dragon-sama and Uncle Teddy had been quietly looking out for me behind the scenes.
To show my gratitude, I’ll give it my all cooking.


And so, armed with half-forgotten memories, my attempt at making tapioca began.


First, I grew some cassava roots.
I’d already detoxified them by selectively breeding them, so they were perfectly safe.

Working together with Ms. Scylla, we grated the cassava into a pulp and mixed it thoroughly.
A blender would have made things much easier, but no such luxury existed here, so we had to do everything by hand.

Ms. Scylla’s twelve octopus tentacles made her cooking speed incredibly fast.
Not wanting to be outdone, I tried to keep up by using twice as many of my vines, twenty-four in total, but I still lost.
A professional chef was simply on another level.


Next, we squeezed the grated cassava to extract the starch, collecting a milky white liquid.
Then we left it to sit for a few days.


Three days later.

The starch had settled at the bottom of the liquid into tapioca starch.

By adding water and sugar to the tapioca starch and stirring it, we formed the dough that would become tapioca pearls.

Then we pinched off little pieces one by one, rolling each into a ball. We repeated this over and over until—there! They’re finally starting to look like tapioca pearls!


After boiling them and cooling them in water, they were finished.
We had a whole batch of tiny, round tapioca pearls!


Yeah, not bad for a first attempt.
They might only be an imitation of tapioca, but they certainly looked like the real thing.
There were a few steps I couldn’t quite remember, but Ms. Scylla and I experimented until we got something that worked. I’ll skip over the finer details.


Ms. Scylla picked up one of the pearls and popped it into her mouth.


“Hmm… it’s not exactly delicious.”


Well, tapioca by itself isn’t all that tasty.
But once you turn those tapioca pearls into a drink, that’s when it becomes something truly special.


“What are we going to do next?”

“I… want to make… bubble milk tea.”

“If you need milk, I can go milk one of the cows at the farm.”


Getting milk from a cow would be easy enough.

But after coming this far, I want to provide every ingredient myself.
Since Ms. Scylla helped me with the cooking, I can’t really say I earned the credit unless I was the one who supplied all the ingredients.

If I could just produce milk, there would be no problem, but… oh, I got an idea!


“I… might be… able to produce milk!”

“……Huh?”


Ms. Scylla’s voice, shrill from shock, echoed through the kitchen.


Cassava wasn’t the only thing I ate at the botanical garden
Among the dozens of plants I secretly ate, there was one that was just right.


If I use that, I can produce my own milk.


Alright, to get to the botanical garden, I’ll do my best and produce a whole lot!
And then I’ll have Fire Dragon-sama drink it!

***

Author’s Note:

Tapioca: A starch extracted from the storage root of the cassava plant, a member of the Euphorbiaceae family. The name is believed to come from the Tupi word “tipi’óka,” used by the indigenous peoples of Brazil.

Next Time: Making Milk