Chapter 156: Eating

"A strawberry cake." Ethan still had plenty of wild strawberry seeds he’d brought back from the north, and this time, Leon had brought him a few goats specifically raised for milking, making a strawberry cake shouldn’t be a problem.

He walked back to the cabin with a brisk step.

"What’s strawberry cake, meow?" Pearl asked.

"Huh? You don’t know what a cake is?"

"No, meow, is it something like a muffin, meow?"

"Well... hard to describe in words, you’ll know in a bit."

"I’m looking forward to it, meow~" Pearl, perched on Liora’s head, wagged its tail excitedly.

Zharok, however, sighed, he believed in Ethan’s abilities, but the Human Faced Spider’s personality made him uneasy. "What if she isn’t satisfied?"

"Then I’ll ask her what she wants, there has to be something that’ll work."

"I’m worried she’ll get angry."

"Then I’ll coax her, if it really comes down to it..." Ethan smiled wryly and patted the Holy Sword at his waist.

"We resort to force."

"Not a bad backup plan."

Hearing their exchange, Iris tensed up, she’d felt the Human-Faced Spider’s pressure firsthand — it was terrifying, how could they talk about fighting it so casually?

"...I’ll fight to the death as well."

"No need to be so tense, it shouldn’t come to that, and even if it does, we can handle it."

"Haha... are you guys really not afraid?"

"Of course not, in fact, I’m quite excited." As a beastman, Zharok’s blood was pumping.

Ethan, on the other hand, appeared completely calm, this only made Iris worry more. ’What if a fight actually breaks out? What should we do?’

While her thoughts ran wild, they arrived back at the cabin.

"Let’s get started, Zharok, fetch me some eggs." Ethan prepared the flour.

Zharok brought the eggs over, Ethan poured flour into a sieve and began sifting. "Liora, help me separate the yolks."

"Okay." Liora washed her hands and separated the yolks from the whites.

Ethan mixed the yolks with a bit of egg white, goat’s milk, and cooking oil, stirring it thoroughly before pouring it into the sifted flour.

"Pearl, can you stir this for me?"

"I can just use Shatter, meow~" Pearl looked at the batter in the bowl, it cast its magic, crushing and mixing the batter evenly.

Ethan poured the remaining egg whites into another bowl and began whipping them.

"The steps are quite complicated," Zharok noted.

"Yeah, making a cake takes a lot of effort." Ethan added granulated sugar while whipping the whites until they formed a smooth, fine meringue.

By then, Pearl had finished its task too.

Ethan combined the yolk batter and the meringue, folding them gently until blended, then poured the mixture into a mold lined with baking paper.

"Yummy." Liora dipped her finger into the batter and licked it, her eyes lighting up, Zharok took a taste as well and smiled in satisfaction, the flavor was good.

"Once it’s baked, the sponge cake will be ready," Ethan said.

"That’s it?"

"Of course not."

While the cake baked, Ethan had to plant the strawberries, he took the wild strawberry seeds and headed to the fields.

Iris followed, curious, seeing him stop at an empty patch of ground, she asked, "What are you going to do?"

"Plant strawberries."

"Plant strawberries? Wouldn’t that take a long time?"

"How much do you know about agriculture?"

"I’ve read a bit, it’s said only humans can receive this divine blessing..."

"Combined with my abilities, I can grow strawberries very quickly." Ethan scattered the wild strawberry seeds onto the ground, then cast Soil Fortification and Growth Acceleration.

The soil churned, seeds sprouted rapidly, growing stems and leaves, Iris watched in sheer astonishment, before she could process it, the strawberries blossomed.

Liora walked over. "Do you need help pollinating?"

"That’d be great, wild strawberries don’t strictly require it, but the fruit will be much prettier if they’re pollinated."

Liora waved her fingers, pollen drifted on the wind, landing on the flowers, the blossoms withered, and tiny fruits appeared, within minutes, plump, ripe wild strawberries hung from every stem.

Iris stared, dumbfounded.

Liora popped a strawberry into her mouth and nodded in satisfaction. "Sweet and sour, good taste, are you really not going to plant these on a large scale?"

"Maybe next time." Together, they harvested the ripe strawberries, the largest, most beautiful ones were set aside for the cake, the rest went into a basket and back to the cabin.

"Wow, wild strawberries, meow~"

"Don’t eat too many — we’re having cake for lunch."

"I know, meow~" Pearl popped a strawberry into its mouth and started humming, Zharok ate with relish too.

Seeing this, Iris picked one up and took a small bite, soft flesh burst in her mouth, and the sweet-and-sour juice spread across her palate.

While she was lost in the taste, Ethan had already pulled the baked sponge cake from the oven.

Pearl stared at it, wide-eyed. "So soft, meow~"

"Let me see..." Ethan sliced the sponge cake open and inspected the crumb.

He picked a few cream fruits from the Butter Tree and whipped them into sweet, fragrant cream, next, he spread a layer of strawberry jam over one half of the cake, arranged fresh strawberries on top, and covered them with cream, then he placed the other half on top, creating a two-tiered cake.

"Lastly, spread cream over the surface and it’s done." Using a spatula, Ethan coated the cake evenly and decorated the top with sliced strawberries.

Just like that, an exquisite strawberry cake was born.

[Crafting Complete: Delicious Strawberry Cake]

[The perfect combination of sponge cake, cream, and strawberries. Sweet, delectable, and melts in the mouth, leaving an endless aftertaste.]

[Effect: All attributes increased for 48 hours after consumption.]

[Effect: All skill levels increased for 48 hours after consumption.]

[Delicious Effect: Continuous stamina recovery for 48 hours after consumption.]

[Delicious Effect: Continuous mana recovery for 48 hours after consumption.]

[Delicious Effect: Heals injuries.]

[Delicious Effect: Cures poisoning.]

[Delicious Effect: Eliminates fatigue.]

[Crafting Difficulty: ★★★★★]

’A five-star dish.’ Looking at the cake before him, Ethan nodded in satisfaction and cut a slice.

"You’re cutting it already?"

"We have to taste-test it, of course." Ethan cut the cake into several slices and distributed them to everyone, he then took a few strawberries, blended them with Elven Yogurt to make strawberry milkshakes, and handed those out as well.

"Alright, everyone — give it a try."

"Time to eat, meow~"

"I wanna eat~"

"Thank you."

"T-thanks for the food."

Everyone grabbed their forks, scooped up a piece of cake, and put it in their mouths.

The next second, they all froze.

The soft sponge cake, the sweet strawberry jam, the sweet and sour wild strawberries, all combined with the rich, fragrant cream, the various flavors blended perfectly in their mouths, weaving together into a magnificent symphony of taste.

"Wow..." The first to gasp was Iris.

Born into nobility, she had eaten her fair share of delicacies, but this was her first time eating a cake as delicious as this, it was so good it literally made her tremble, she closed her eyes, savoring the exquisite taste, it wasn’t until the flavor faded from her mouth that she reluctantly opened her eyes.