Another world, Celeste

Chapter Twenty Five, pt 2

We walk back inside the room after waving goodbye to the child spirit. The red panda and I munch on the brittles like a couple of chipmunks since it is just too good. The morning sunlight shines on the room; the position of the bed faces the balcony so anyone could've woken to a magnificent view every morning, and the floorings and ceiling are made of dark brown wood but the atmosphere doesn't give off a cramped and stuffy feeling since it's an open-air bedroom. This place feels like I'm staying in an exotic resort for a relaxing retreat. What luck!

Now then, to appease my rumbling stomach, I move the table from the corner wall to the balcony and swiftly set up a griddle personally made by me, on the table. The material for the flat top is made from the fiery hail coal I got from the mining town and its powered by a fire mana stone. Never thought I get to make a griddle with my own hands when I'd been so indecisive about buying an electric griddle ever since I started working. If my past self could see me now, hahaha. The red panda sits on Auntie El's lap as they patiently wait. While the griddle is heating, I look through the emergency ingredients stored within my dimensional space; bread, meat, vegetables and whatnot. Stefan was the one who advised me to do so.

He says, "Dry meats can only last you for so long until you eventually become tired of them. It won't satisfy your hunger. Depending on the capacity of how much you can store, please consider putting aside ingredients that you can cook to ensure a balanced meal."

Despite the stiff formality he exudes, Stefan sometimes gives useful tips on how to live on the road while Roy's travelling tips lean more towards survival in the wild.

"It's been a while since I prepare breakfast myself. What should the menu be?"

Auntie El raises her hand eagerly, "I would like stir-fried vegetables, please and fresh salad for the little one."

"Okay, order received."

The vegetables and mushrooms are cleaned beforehand, so all I need to do is cut them to pieces. Once the griddle is heated, add a bit of oil, toss the vegetables and mushroom in until they're almost tender. For the seasoning, salt, peppers along with the herbs I have for flavour. Once it's cooked, place a plate of stir-fried vegetables in front of Auntie El and shredded cabbages for the red panda. Next, wipe the griddle clean and prepare the main dish; grilled fish. The fish is already filleted in half and seasoned to reduce the cooking process. The sizzling flesh of two filleted fishes on the griddle is making me salivate. When one side is cooked, turn it over on the skin side and cook them to a crisp. I inhale the drifting smell of grilled fish in the morning air while smacking my lips in anticipation.

"Smell so good already!"

I turn off the heat of the griddle when the fishes are cooked through. Forget plating, take a piece of the juicy fish with the crispy skin directly from the griddle and put it in my mouth.

"So good!" I squeal.

A second bite and another. A bowl of warm rice would be perfect right now. My hand stops moving when I remember something important. I forgot to squeeze lemon juice onto the grilled fish. This is terrible! Checking to see if there are any lemons in my storage and there is none. The voice in my head wails in dilemma. When I recover from the shock, I made a mental note to stock on bottles of freshly squeezed lemon and lime juice, if there are any in Maya's garden or the market. After that, I continue gobbling down the grilled fish.