Chapter 215 - Pudding

Today, after finishing up magic practice with Zanoba and Julie, we started another experiment.

Well, "experiment" isn't quite the right word. We were just trying to make pudding.

Mainly because Nanahoshi wanted some.

I thought it over, and pudding isn't actually that hard. Eggs, milk, sugar, that's basically all you need. The tricky part would be the heat, which we'd probably have to work out through trial and error.

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"Master... low heat for 5 minutes didn't work..."

"Master, medium heat for 5 minutes didn't work either!"

I listened to Julie and Zanoba's reports and nodded.

"Keep steaming on low heat. Add one minute at a time."

After the two of them went back to it, I walked over and sat down next to Nanahoshi.

She was watching their pudding experiment, frowning slightly.

"Hmm... is it really made this way?"

"Should be. That's how I remember it."

"By steaming? Are you sure this won't just turn into steamed egg custard?"

"Isn't that basically what pudding is? The sweet kind."

"Is it?"

"It is."

"You've completely shattered my image of pudding, Rudeus."

"To be fair, Asura Kingdom nobles probably have plenty of desserts similar to pudding. They'd just be called something else."

"Forget it. I want the one you make."

"You're incredibly spoiled, you know that."

Nanahoshi rested her chin on her hand and went back to watching Julie and Zanoba, expression distant, lost in whatever she was thinking.

After a long stretch of silence, she murmured,

"There'll be a lot more requests like this. Just so you know."

"Is that so?"

"Mm. There are still a lot of foods from my past life I want to taste again. You'll have to recreate all of them for me."

"I'll do my best."

Anyway. After that pointless exchange, we sat around and waited for Julie and Zanoba to finish.

Half an hour later, Julie came out beaming, holding a pudding that did, in fact, look a lot like steamed egg custard.

"Master! Look!"

I took the bowl and tapped it with a spoon.

Oh. Actually pretty convincing.

I cast Ice Magic on it, cooling it down the way a refrigerator would have in my past life, and held it out.

"Nanahoshi, give it a try."

"Oh!"

She took the bowl and spoon, scooped up a bite, and put it in her mouth.

"Mmm~"

She nodded.

"That's it! Try it, Rudeus!"

She scooped another spoonful and held it out directly in front of my mouth.

Hmm. That's the spoon she just used.

But Nanahoshi definitely wasn't thinking about that. If I pulled back now, it would seem like I was the weird one.

So I ate it.

Nanahoshi tilted her head.

"Well?"

"Not bad. Maybe just a little too sweet?"

"Then use less sugar next time."

She turned to Julie and Zanoba.

"Excellent work, Julie!"

Zanoba nodded along and added his own praise.

Julie lit up with the goofiest smile.

These past few days had made it obvious that Nanahoshi had a soft spot for her. Not hard to understand, Julie was hardworking and genuinely adorable. I didn't dislike her either.

Julie turned toward me, chin dipped, and asked in a small voice,

"Master... how did I do...?"

"Very good."

"Hehe..."

Yeah. Really cute.

Though still a step below my daughters, if I'm being honest.

I found myself wishing Lucy and Windsor would act like this sometimes. Lucy was always trying to seem tough. Windsor just... didn't do the spoiling thing at all.

Sigh. Only Lara ever came to this old father of hers for that kind of thing.

While I was busy brooding over the spoiled-daughter situation, Nanahoshi spoke up.

"Make more, using the same ratio as just now. I'm taking some back to the dorm~"

"Yes, Miss Nanahoshi!"

Julie snapped off a scout salute and threw herself back into pudding production. Zanoba scrambled to help.

I cleared my throat.

"A few portions for me too?"

Both of them answered at once.

"How many does Master need?"

"How many does Master need?"

I thought about it.

"Eight... actually, nine."

Tina was already two. A little taste wouldn't hurt, right?

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I got home that evening to find Roxy waiting at the door with Tina in her arms.

"Welcome back~"

Tina craned forward and did her best to copy her.

"Wel... welcome... back! Papa!"

Lara came sprinting out right behind them.

"Welcome back, Papa!"

"I'm home. Where are Windsor and Lucy?"

"Windsor went with Red Mama and Aunt Ghislaine to take a commission and hunt magical beasts~ Lucy went out shopping with Green Mama and Summer Mama! It's just me and Mama and Tina here — oh, and the maids~"

"A commission...?"

Roxy filled in the details.

"Windsor has really been wanting to experience what it's like to be an adventurer. So Eris and Ghislaine decided to take a commission, find some weak magical beasts, and let Windsor get a feel for real combat."

"Fair enough."

I handed the bag of pudding to Roxy and took Tina from her arms. The moment Tina landed against my chest, she rubbed her cheek against my face.

Goodness. The other three were never this openly affectionate at her age.

Roxy peered into the bag.

"Rudy~ what's this?"

"Pudding. Something Nanahoshi and I figured out together."

"Pudding? To eat?"

"It's a dessert."

The word "dessert" was barely out of my mouth before Lara started craning her neck, trying to see inside the bag.

Roxy gave a quiet, helpless smile and steered Lara toward the dining table. I followed with Tina still in my arms.

At the table, Roxy and Lara took their first bites, and both of them lit up at the same moment.

This mother-daughter pair was terrifyingly adorable.

"Rudy! This is so good — how do you make it?"

"Papa! Teach the maids to make this! We can have it for dessert after dinner from now on!"

I fed Tina a small spoonful first, then smiled and answered.

"I have the recipe and the steaming times written down. I'll bring it home tomorrow — forgot to grab it today."

"Okay!"

"Yes!"

After the rest of the family got home, I introduced the pudding around the table.

Aisha and Eris tried it and agreed it was pretty good. Sylphie thought it was slightly too sweet. Lucy and Windsor loved it, and so did Tina.

Windsor proved herself a good big sister. The moment she caught Tina staring at her bowl, eyes wide, she immediately offered a bite.

By then, Lara and Roxy had already eaten their fill when we arrived, and yet somehow, they were giving my bowl the exact same look.

This mother-daughter pair really were identical when it came to food.

I fed the rest of my portion to them, spoonful by spoonful.

"Love you~ Rudy~"

"Thank you, Papa! I love you!"

Such cheap love.

But today, as a father and a husband both, I was completely content.

➤ Next: A Little Storm