[SP-F1]《Earning a Living》�COMPLETE】

[Shiro 0]

Hours. Shiro had been wandering through the streets of《Starting City》for hours trying to find some way to repay the kindness she had received from Seldentar. She had set out from her cozy little room in her cozy little inn this morning in a daze, flitting from shop to shop. Nothing here was good enough. She knew that there was nothing in a city on the first floor of Aincrad that would be of use or interest to someone as strong as he was. At the very least, he had already seen everything here. Her best and only hope would be to find something that was made. Or possibly... make something herself.

Her mission for the day had changed once she got it in her head that she could craft something for the man who had broken her free of her shackles. She would have to figure out what to make, and, more importantly, how to make it. But first... she would have to do something about the rumbling in her stomach. Her footsteps had taken her pretty far from the streets of the city that she was used to, so she ducked into the first NPC restaurant she could find.

"Oh good! Come back this way, love!"

A voice had called to her from the back of the restaurant.

[Shiro 0]

"Oh good! Come back this way, love."

A new player had arrived in the shop, a rapier at her side and a contemplative look on her face. Moire didn't (and couldn't) know why she was here, but she called for the player to come back into the kitchens. This was no ordinary NPC restaurant. This was a fabulous little restaurant in the far reaches of《Starting City》simply called "Moire's". While it was possible to actually get food here, the purpose of this place was to teach players the cooking profession.

Moire waved her hand at Shiro, beckoning her to follow.

[Shiro 0]

Shiro heard the voice, and seen the beckoning woman with fiery red hear calling out. She quickly looked around to confirm that it was her this person was calling out to. Seeing that the cozy little café was empty, it was apparent that Shiro was the one she wanted. Following her into the back of the building, she was suddenly surrounded by a somewhat magnificent kitchen.

"I'm sorry, what's going on exactly?"

[Shiro 0]

A big smile flashed across Moire's face.

"You've come to Moire's, dear! This is the premier spot in all of Aincrad for those wanting to learn how to cook. Would you like me to show you how?"

She looked at Shiro, calmly awaiting a reply with that wide, charming smile plastered on her face. She was a cheery NPC, it seemed.

[Shiro 0]

Shiro had started to say that this was all a mistake and that she had just come in to get a bite to eat. She remembered, however, that her entire goal for the day was to find some way she could repay Seldentar. Some way that she could find or make him something that would show him how appreciative she was. This seemed like a better idea than any she had come up with so far. She could cook him a meal! The food sold in NPC shops wasn't particularly great, so maybe this would be a great gift, if not a welcomed change of pace.

She bowed before the NPC, "Yes, please!"

[Shiro 0]

Moire let out a hardy laugh.

"There's no need to be so formal, dear. Just go in the back there and find me some flour. We'll start simply."

Shiro nodded and scurried off into a large walk-in pantry in the back of the kitchen. She found a big jar labeled "flour" and grabbed it, bringing it into the main kitchen where Moire was retrieving various cooking implements from different places.

[Shiro 0]

Bowls, pots, baking sheets, and a few ingredients were laid out on the counter. Moire turned to look at Shiro.

"Alright! So cooking... Well, to be honest, it's really not all that difficult. I think you'll find that, with a little practice, you'll be making delicious meals for yourself and your friends in no time at all! First things first, love. Grab that big mixing bowl and put a cup of flour inside."

Shiro nodded and did as she was told.

[Shiro 0]

A few more ingredients were added, and when all was said and done, Moire looked at the contents of the bowl with approval.

"Alright then, love, now just set it to knead for sixty seconds."

She was a bit surprised, but she tapped her finger on the bowl and the system context menu for cooking appliances opened. There was a small drop-down menu for actions, a timer, and confirmation and cancellation buttons. She changed the action to "Knead" and set the timer for sixty seconds as she had been instructed. After confirming, the window disappeared and a small timer floated above the bowl.

[Shiro 0]

Shiro watched the timer count down patiently, and when it reached zero there was a gentle "Ding!"

"Alright, love, just grab that dough and slap in this baking pan!"

Silently following along with Moire's instruction, she reached into the bowl and grabbed the soft dough with both hands. It seemed very consistent, and she transferred it to the pan with no trouble. Moire continued her instructions from there.

"To be quite frank, there's not much more to it, dear. Just take that pan over to the oven on the wall there, pop 'er in, and set it to bake for five minutes."

Shiro was in a mindless daze, simply following instructions to the letter. She grabbed the pan, placed it in the oven, and opened the context menu. Bake. Five minutes. Confirm.

[Shiro 0]

"Expertly done! What do you say we work on something a little more complicated while we wait on our bread? Some seared meats and perhaps some vegetables? Oh my, a sauce!"

Moire's incessant cheeriness knew no bounds. She smiled as she pointed at the next batch of ingredients and implements.

"Okay, my dear, now grab that knife there and cut this flank into thin slices."

Knife. Knife. Oh, there. Shiro grabbed the knife and got ready to gently slice the deep red beef into thin slices, but as soon as the blade made contact, the ingredient glowed briefly and was immediately cut. The work was done for her.

"And now the lettuce and onion!"

Shiro tapped the head of lettuce and an onion with the blade and each became beautifully and consistently chopped.

[Shiro 0]

"I hope that's not all..."

"That's not all! Now you're gonna wanna fry up that tasty meat! But not before adding a bit of my secret seasoning from that jar there. Go ahead and put the meat in the pan on the stove and combine it with my spices."

Shiro picked up a few slices of the beef and laid them in the pan on the stove behind her. She returned for the jar and placed it on the counter next to the stove. Tapping the jar to bring up the context menu, she pressed the button to use the item and selected the pan on the stove as the target. Bits of seasonings could be seen on the meat now, and Moire spoke up again to continue the lesson.

"Now just set that stove to fry the meat for a good ninety seconds and it should be good to go!"

Shiro did as she was told, setting the stove to fry for ninety seconds.

[Shiro 0]

"I hope you're ready to make a delicious sauce!"

Moire smiled wide at Shiro whose head was dizzying awash in cooking. She wasn't confused, per say. The instructions were all very simple and easy to follow, but being taught by an NPC like this was... surreal.

"I want you to take a look at that rack on the wall over there, dear. Every one of those jars contains a different basic ingredient. You can combine them up to three at a time in these handy mixing jars to create all sorts of sauces and spices! Neat, huh? Go ahead and grab some Ora Root, Mirage Weed, and Terrapin Ichor and combine them in this jar here."

She set an empty jar in front of Shiro, motioning for her to proceed.

[Shiro 0]

Shiro made her way over to the wall and looked around at the various ingredients. There wasn't too much here, maybe fifteen different reagents. It was enough, though, that the timer for the meat on the stove gave off a pleasant "Ding!" by the time she had found all three containers. She returned to the counter and added all three ingredients to the mixing jar. She pressed the button to combine them in the jar, and after a short period during which the jar glowed subtly, the contents because a deep, brown, viscous fluid.

[Shiro 0]

"Well done! Now we've just got to wait for our bread to finish!"

No sooner had she finished her sentence than did the oven's timer "Ding!" sounding its completion. Moire toddled over and pulled the pan from the oven, the scent of freshly baked bread wafting throughout the entire kitchen. She set the pan down next to the other ingredients on the counter. She retrieved the meat and set it down next to that.

"Why don't you go ahead and slice that bread for me, dear?"

[Shiro 0]

Shiro nodded and up-ended the pan, emptying the bread onto the counter. She reached for the knife and tapped the loaf of bread. It fell into neat, even slices.

"I'm sure by now you've guessed that we're going to be making sandwiches! Go ahead and grab a few sheets of that wax paper and bring them over here and we'll begin."

Shiro turned around and found the container of wax paper. Grabbing two sheets, she placed them on the counter delicately.

[Shiro 0]

Shiro hadn't guessed that, in fact. In all actuality, she was operating entirely on auto-pilot at this point, following directions given to her by Moire.

"Alrighty, let's give you a little test! Go ahead and make a sandwich for me, but I'm not going to give you any instruction."

Shiro blinked a few times and snapped out of her auto-pilot. Thinking about it for a moment, she tapped the wax paper. A small context window popped up displaying the words "Select ingredients." She tapped the bread and two slices appeared on the paper. She continued the pattern with all of the ingredients until only one thing remained.

[Shiro 0]

She tapped the top of the jar containing that brown sauce, and her finger began to glow. Confused for a moment, she figured she'd just give her first hunch a shot. Shiro began to make a "spreading" motion on the empty slice of bread, and the sauce appeared in a thick wave behind her finger. Once she finished, she pressed the confirm button in the context menu. The ingredients glowed softly, and when all was said and done, a beautiful sandwich sat on the counter, neatly wrapped in wax paper.

[Shiro 0]

"Well done!" Moire called out as she began clapping. "It certainly seems like you've got a handle on this whole cooking thing. Why don't you finish up that other sandwich while I clean up here? Once we're done I'll congratulate you properly."

Shiro nodded once again and set to work finishing up the second sandwich. Moire, meanwhile, flit her way around the kitchen, returning the various implements used to their appropriate locations in the kitchen.

[Shiro 0]

Combining the ingredients on the second sheet of wax paper, Shiro worked her way through the completion of the second sandwich. She tapped her finger on the jar of sauce and her finger began to glow once more. She spread the thick sauce on the bread and the jar shattered and vanished. Confirming the completion of the sandwich, she looked on and marveled at her creations sitting there on the counter before her. They looked delicious. Five minutes of work and she had completely made these gorgeous meals from scratch. About that time, Moire had finished tidying up the kitchen and return to the counter, slapping her hands down on its surface and causing Shiro to jump slightly.

"Well then! Let's talk about your reward for a job well done."

[Shiro 0]

Shiro looked on curiously. It seems there would be a reward beyond just knowing how to cook from this little adventure.

"Of course you'll be able to keep the sandwiches. That much is a given. But it also happens that I've got a little gift for you."

Moire opened her own menu, similar to those that players had, and appeared to be manipulating a trade. After a few button presses, a menu appeared in front of Shiro. "Congratulations!" it read. Below this, a list of what appeared to be cooking appliances, utensils, and reagents was listed as quest rewards. Shiro's eyes opened wide and she quickly hit the confirm button.

"I certainly hope you had as much fun as I did today! Good luck and happy cooking!"

Moire smiled that great big cheery smile and bowed. Even though she knew it was an NPC, Shiro returned the bow, grabbed the sandwiches from the counter, and walked out of the café smiling. She headed for the teleport plaza so she could make her way to the second floor. Hopefully Seldentar would like the meal she made to share with him.