Chapter 15 : Minced Topping
Chapter 15: Minced Topping
“Within one month, I do not wish to eat the same dish twice.”
Lilia froze completely in place.
Her mind went blank.
What?
What was she saying?
What did she just say?
One month… not wanting to eat… the same dish… a second time?
Lilia’s mouth hung slightly open. Her kneeling body swayed gently from extreme shock.
Had she misheard?
There must be some mistake.
However, there was not the slightest hint of a joke in Hera’s golden eyes.
The color drained from Lilia’s face at a visible rate.
One month! One month was thirty days!
If it was three meals a day… that meant ninety meals!
Ninety completely different dishes!
What kind of absurd joke was this?!
Even a Michelin three-star chef, locked in a kitchen full of Demon Realm ingredients, couldn’t accomplish something like this!
She had only just obtained a D-rank 【Culinary Mastery】!
D-rank!
Just as Lilia’s sanity was on the verge of collapse, almost about to scream—
That familiar and damned System notification rang out once again in her mind.
【Ding!】
【Long-Term Main Mission Issuance: The Queen’s Personal Chef】
【Mission Description: For the next thirty days, you will serve as the personal chef of Demon Queen Hera. Ensure three meals per day, and no dish may be repeated.】
【Mission Requirement: Every meal must receive a rating of “Satisfied” or above from the master.】
【Mission Reward: 1. Maid rank upgraded to “Official Maid.” 2. B-Rank Exclusive Skill · Absolute Control.】
【Mission Failure Penalty: For every “Unsatisfied” rating or repeated dish, you and your master will together taste a special private dish from “gourmet” Lao Ba.】
Lilia’s pupils contracted sharply upon seeing the rewards.
Official Maid!
A B-rank skill!
【Absolute Control】!
The reward… was so generous that her heart trembled.
She had already deeply experienced how lowly the status of an Apprentice Maid was. If she could be promoted to Official Maid, would that mean she could finally live somewhat like a human in this Demon King’s Castle?
And that B-rank skill! Her strongest talent right now was only S-rank, and her highest skill was only D-rank—she couldn’t even imagine how powerful a B-rank skill would be!
But…
When her gaze shifted to that blood-red failure penalty—
“…together with your master…”
She suddenly raised her head and looked at Hera on the throne.
Hera seemed to notice her gaze, lowering her eyes slightly to meet hers.
Those golden eyes remained cold, devoid of any emotion.
Making Hera… eat bugs with her?
Lilia didn’t even dare imagine that scene.
With Hera’s extreme cleanliness obsession and perfectionism, if she found out that the food Lilia prepared would result in her having to eat that… that kind of thing—
Hera would tear her into particles herself!
There would be no need for the System’s erasure at all!
“Do you understand?”
Hera’s cold voice pulled Lilia back from the abyss of fear.
“Y-Yes… understood!”
Lilia answered reflexively, her voice trembling.
Hera seemed relatively satisfied with her response.
She withdrew her gaze, turned, and strode toward the inner chamber.
“Everything in the kitchen is at your disposal.”
“Do not disappoint me.”
Her cold words echoed through the vast hall.
Hera’s tall figure disappeared behind the door.
Only when that heavy door slowly closed, sealing away the pressure—
Did Lilia collapse onto the ground with a “thud,” as if all the bones had been pulled from her body.
The silver tray and cutlery clattered onto the obsidian floor, producing a series of sharp, crisp sounds.
But she no longer cared.
She gasped heavily, her chest rising and falling violently.
Cold sweat had already soaked through her Maid outfit.
“Haa… haa…”
It’s over.
This time, it’s really over.
Lilia buried her face against the cold floor, using the chill to try to calm her chaotic mind.
Ninety dishes…
She rummaged through every recipe she had ever eaten or seen in her previous life.
The eight great cuisines of Chinese cooking, Western cuisine, Japanese, Korean, Southeast Asian…
Even if she combined all of them and adapted them using Demon Realm ingredients, reaching ninety dishes didn’t seem completely impossible.
But!
That was only if… the Demon King’s Castle kitchen actually had enough usable ingredients!
And the biggest problem—
Hera’s taste!
Today’s breakfast got an S-rank purely because of its “novelty.”
But how long could that novelty last?
Once? Twice?
After Hera got used to this “Earth-style flavor,” would she still give a “Satisfied” rating?
Lilia didn’t dare gamble.
Every single meal from now on had to be flawless.
This was not just a test of cooking—it was an extreme test of her intelligence, creativity, and adaptability.
“I… can’t give up…”
Lilia muttered.
She slowly pushed herself up from the ground, her knees aching from prolonged kneeling.
She couldn’t give up.
For the status of “Official Maid,” for that B-rank skill 【Absolute Control】, and even more so to avoid making Hera taste Lao Ba’s cursed dishes—
She had to succeed!
A fierce determination born from survival instinct surged up from within her.
She was not someone who gave up easily!
In her previous life, as a sports school student, intense training had already forged her resilience.
Ninety dishes?
Bring it on!
Lilia’s eyes regained their determination.
She quickly cleaned up the tray and utensils from the floor and returned them to their place.
Then, without hesitation, she turned and rushed back into the small kitchen.
The first step—inventory all her “ammunition”!
Standing in the center of the kitchen, Lilia took a deep breath.
【Absolute Senses】, activated!
【Culinary Mastery】, activated!
In an instant, the entire room changed in her perception.
Previously, those jars and containers held only strange, incomprehensible things.
Now, every container, every ingredient’s information appeared clearly in her mind.
Her gaze became like a precision scanner, systematically cataloging the entire kitchen.
【Name: White Bone Root Powder】
【Culinary Mastery Notes: Excellent starch source. Can be used for noodles, dumpling wrappers, bread, biscuits, cake base… can derive at least twenty different staple forms.】
【Name: Shadow Crow Egg】
【Culinary Mastery Notes: High-quality protein. Can be steamed, scrambled, fried, made into soup, omelets, tea eggs… versatile, suitable for both savory and sweet.】
【Name: Unicorn Goat Milk】
【Culinary Mastery Notes: High-fat dairy. Can be made into yogurt, cheese, cream, pudding, double-skin milk… ideal for desserts and rich soups.】
Lilia’s eyes grew brighter and brighter.
So that’s how it was!
【Culinary Mastery】 didn’t just grant cooking techniques—it gave her a kind of creative thinking, the ability to draw inferences and expand possibilities!
The same ingredient held countless possibilities!
Her confidence began to recover.
Her inventory continued.
【Name: Abyss Moss】
【Culinary Mastery Notes: Rich in trace magical elements. Slimy texture, earthy taste. Not recommended raw. Best processed by drying and grinding into powder, usable as a natural green seasoning and thickener for soups or sauces.】
That thing that almost made her vomit earlier… could actually be used like this?
【Name: Burrow Worm Dried】
【Culinary Mastery Notes: High-protein source with unique flavor. Can be fried, grilled, or ground into powder. When fried, it becomes crispy like nuts. When powdered, it can be mixed into flour to enhance texture and flavor.】
Lilia looked at the large sack of dried worms in the corner. Her stomach still churned slightly, but her eyes were now filled with analytical interest.
The more she examined, the more excited she became.
Lilia even picked up a small notebook (grabbed casually) and a charcoal pen, rapidly jotting things down.
This was a habit from her previous life—memory was never as reliable as writing.
She categorized all ingredients: staples, meats, vegetables, eggs and dairy, seasonings… (for lack of better terms).
Then, for each ingredient, she annotated all possible cooking methods and combinations based on 【Culinary Mastery】.
One hour later.
Looking at the three full pages of her “Demon Realm Ingredient Encyclopedia,” Lilia let out a long breath.
Ninety dishes…
…didn’t seem so impossible anymore.
She shifted her focus to her next target—lunch.
Less than three hours remained.
Looking at her list of ingredients, she began planning.
White Bone Root Powder could be made into noodles.
The air-dried meat could be diced into minced topping.
Use Shadow Crow Eggs to make an egg sheet, then slice it into strips. Add Abyss Moss powder to create a vibrant green broth…
An otherworldly version of “minced topping noodles” was already taking shape in her mind.
Just as Lilia was about to begin—
Her gaze was drawn to a massive vat in the deepest corner of the kitchen, covered with a black cloth.
She walked over and curiously lifted it.
A strong smell of blood mixed with a strange sweetness rushed toward her.
Inside the vat was half a container of thick, dark red liquid, like coagulated blood.
And in the center of that “blood curd”—
A massive black heart, still faintly pulsing up and down.