CHAPTER 35: COOKING FOR MY HUSBANDS

[Host, if you want the food to taste even better, you can also buy spices from the system shop!]

Roxanna slightly turned her head and glanced behind her, watching Calen as he continued cutting the rabbit meat with his stone axe. He looked fully focused and didn’t seem to notice her at all, even though she had been standing still for quite some time while staring at the floating panel.

Thankfully, she was holding a basket of mustard greens in her hands, so she could pretend that she was sorting the vegetables.

[What kind of spices? Let me see your shop first,] Roxanna finally replied to the system.

What she didn’t know was that Calen had actually been watching her the whole time, and he even listened to her talking to something he couldn’t see.

Even though there were many words he didn’t understand, at least Calen now knew more than the other husbands.

On the other side, Roxanna was now facing a clear hologram panel filled with many items from the system shop.

There were several categories on the screen, but without hesitation, Roxanna tapped the one with the picture of vegetables.

Before Roxanna could buy anything, the panel shifted on its own. The system suddenly displayed the recipes first, as if it wanted her to decide what she would cook before choosing the spices.

Two simple dishes appeared on the screen; Grilled rabbit meat with herbs, and stir-fried mustard greens with garlic.

Roxanna read both recipes carefully. They weren’t complicated, but they still looked much better than just cooking everything with plain salt.

Besides, after living in the shelter for two years, Roxanna really missed food that was rich with spices.

[So I need garlic, pepper, and a little oil...] she thought.

After she decided what she needed to buy, the system brought her back to the shop page and displayed her current balance.

[Spirit Point (SP): 5,500]

Roxanna clicked her tongue softly. The prices of the spices ranged from 100 SP to thousands of SP. With only 5,500 SP, it felt like she was being robbed in broad daylight.

[Oh, do not worry, Host! You can definitely get more SP once you complete more missions! And if you mate more often, you can also—]

[Oh, shut up!] Roxanna cut the system off. [Mating, mating, mating, why is that all you ever talk about? Listen, there are many things couples can do besides mating!]

The system quickly defended itself. [In a world with a low population like this, mating is a top priority, Host! Be thankful you got a mating system instead of a baby-making system!]

Roxanna twitched the corner of her eyes because she didn’t know what the difference was between a mating system and a baby-making system. Both of those systems sounded equally suspicious and perverted!

[Anyway, you can also get a lot of SP from side missions, so don’t worry, Host,] the system added.

Roxanna clicked her tongue again. [But you didn’t give me any SP for the mission about making Azul happy.]

[That’s because not every mission gives SP,] the system answered.

[Then what kind of side missions give SP?] Roxanna asked.

[That depends on the system.]

Roxanna clicked her tongue again because the system was trying to play god with her. Since she didn’t get a satisfying answer, she decided to buy the ingredients in very small amounts.

[Purchased: ×3 garlic (300 SP)]

[Purchased: ×1 10-gram pack of pepper (600 SP)]

[Purchased: ×1 250 mL oil (1,000 SP)]

[Total Purchased: 1,900 SP]

As soon as Roxanna pressed the buy button, her current balance appeared.

[Spirit Point (SP): 3,600]

Well, that wasn’t too bad. Besides, 5,500 SP still wouldn’t be enough to buy something good like a soft bed. And if she could get a magic refrigerator by spending 1,900 SP, that would be a very good deal.

Not long after that, the items appeared in the air like magic, and Roxanna quickly caught them. She was surprised to see that the packaging wasn’t plastic, but things from this world, like waterskin bags and small pouches made from animal skin.

But that wasn’t important. The most important thing to Roxanna was that she could finally use holy garlic and oil again!

"Calen, are you done cutting the meat?" Roxanna asked as she walked toward him.

He nodded confidently. "Yes! I cut it just like you told me!"

Roxanna looked to the side and smiled happily when she saw that the meat had been skinned and the insides had also been removed by Calen.

"What should I do next?" Calen asked. His eyes were drawn to the strange items in Roxanna’s hands, but he didn’t dare ask about them. He was afraid she might send him away if he asked too much.

"You can get some clean water for me," Roxanna said. "We need a lot of water to wash the blood off the meat."

Calen frowned, not understanding why Roxanna wanted to wash off the blood. All this time, they had always eaten meat with the blood still on it, and they liked it that way. Still, since his wife wanted it clean, he didn’t question it.

Calen carried two barrels made of wood and used them to fetch clean water from the river. The distance from the river to the settlement was quite far, but he didn’t seem to have any trouble walking that far while carrying two heavy barrels.

Even so, Roxanna thought that fetching water from the river every time would be troublesome in the long run. That was why she took note of this matter and planned to solve it later.

She then poured water over the meat again and again, washing it carefully until no blood was left.

"Wife, what are you doing?" Calen asked as Roxanna struck the fire-starter stone against the firewood. "I can light the fire for you."

Roxanna shook her head quickly. "No need! I can do it quickly!"

She struck the stone in her hand several times, and sparks immediately appeared. Little by little, the fire grew larger until she could use it as a stove.

"W-what is that?!" Calen asked in shock when Roxanna suddenly took out a cooking pot from the system inventory.

"This is a magic tool," Roxanna explained casually. "This thing can make any ingredients taste delicious!"

Grilling with a cooking pot was actually not recommended, but since there was nothing else she could use, Roxanna decided to just go with it.

First, she heated the empty cooking pot over the fire, then brushed a little oil on it before placing the rabbit meat on top. Since there was so much meat to grill, Roxanna grilled it in batches.

"Wife, the meat is burning!" Calen cried in panic when he saw the sizzling meat turn dark.

"Relax... this meat will taste good," Roxanna said as she sprinkled salt and pepper over the meat. It would be even better if she had some barbecue sauce, but... of course, she couldn’t hope for too much in this world.

As soon as the seasoning hit the hot pot, a gentle sizzling sound filled the air. A warm, rich smell slowly spread around them.

Calen’s nose twitched. "...It smells really good," he said honestly.

Roxanna smiled a little, feeling her heart warm. She carefully flipped the meat so it wouldn’t burn on one side for too long. The surface turned golden-brown, and the fat began to drip, making the fire crackle softly.

Before long, the smell drifted toward the front of the hut.

"Why does it suddenly smell so strange... but so good?" Luan muttered from afar.

Azul swallowed. "That smell... is our wife burning something?"

They all really wanted to peek and see what their wife was doing with Calen behind the hut. But Roxanna’s threat kept them frozen in place.

It would be better if they didn’t make their wife angry.

Meanwhile, behind the hut, Roxanna had grilled several batches of rabbit meat and placed them neatly on banana leaves to use as plates.

"Calen, say ah!" Roxanna picked up a piece of meat and held it in front of his mouth.

The dog beastman twitched his nose a few times, unsure about eating something that looked so different from what he was used to.

[I’ll be happy if he likes it,] Roxanna thought with a gentle smile. [But... I’m not a good cook, so even if he thinks it tastes bad, that’s fine too.]

Her fox ears drooped a little when she thought that Calen might throw up after eating the grilled meat she made.

Her sad expression looked so pitiful that Calen couldn’t help but immediately open his mouth and chomp down on the meat. His tongue even brushed against Roxanna’s fingers slightly, making her face turn red.

"H-how is it?" Roxanna asked nervously. "D-does the grilled meat taste good?"

Meanwhile, Calen froze in place, his eyes wide open in shock.

[D-did he hate it that much...?] she thought, her tail lowering little by little.

Just as she was about to apologize and pull her hand back, Calen suddenly grabbed her wrist.

His eyes were shining. "It’s... hot," he said stiffly.

Roxanna blinked. "...Huh?"