"...So you're here to make fun of me, right?"
In the hotel kitchen, Durandal's face was dark as he looked at the chaotic kitchen, experiencing for the first time what it felt like to have his scalp tingle.
Today, the Raiden Shogun came over again... No, to be precise, Ei came over. Before Durandal could say anything, she said she wanted to cook for Durandal.
In short, he completely couldn't understand her actions. What she actually wanted to do, perhaps only the Raiden Shogun herself knew.
At first, it was nothing; it was just cooking. Even if it was just the simplest egg fried rice, it didn't matter. He didn't ask her to make the food glow, but at least it had to be edible.
As a thank you for his care during this period, it was quite nice to have the supreme ruler of a nation cook him a meal.
Initially, he thought so, but after seeing her almost blow up the kitchen, Durandal was certain she wasn't there to thank him, but to mess with his mind.
She must have come to get revenge for his unhesitating refusal of the Raiden Shogun's invitation last time. He had to admit, she succeeded; he was indeed driven to the point of his scalp tingling.
"Wait... wait a minute, this is so strange. I followed the book exactly, so why did it end up like this?"
Ei was very flustered. She originally wanted to start with the simplest dishes. Although she knew she wasn't good at it, she couldn't possibly fail to make the simplest things, right?
With this confidence, Ei found that she really couldn't make a dish.
At that time, the kitchen was on the verge of exploding. If Durandal hadn't come to stabilize the situation, this hotel would probably have exploded like Klee's jumpy dumpty (bomb) and Yoimiya's fireworks.
Durandal had been reading a light novel outside and hadn't noticed the situation in the kitchen, nor did he understand what Ei was up to.
Seeing her current expression, he couldn't bring himself to scold her harshly. He could only first see how she had done it to cause such a commotion.
"Although my cooking skills aren't very good, I can still guide you. Let me see how you did it just now, and I'll see if I can guide you."
"Mm."
Outside the kitchen door, Lumine, Shenhe, Paimon, and Raiden Makoto, who had followed, were hiding there, peeking their heads in, watching Durandal and Ei busily working.
Hearing Durandal's words, Lumine raised an eyebrow. Cooking skills aren't very good? She remembered that Durandal's cooking skills had been praised by Xiangling.
During the Liyue 'Chef Showdown' at that time, his score was very close to Xiangling's. For this person, whose cooking skills were so highly affirmed, to say that his cooking skills weren't very good? That was too modest.
However, all these would be Make complaints later. For now, she was more concerned about Ei's behavior. If she hadn't seen wrong, Ei was trying to narrow the distance between herself and Durandal through this teaching method?
"Sister Makoto, what exactly is going on? As a party involved, you must know what happened, right?"
"What happened? Something very interesting is about to happen. Hehe~ I didn't expect Ei to start with cooking. Miss Delezie is going to have a tough time."
She knew Ei too well. Ei, who said "I can do anything," was completely hopeless at cooking, the kind that made Yae Miko lose her smile just by looking.
However, this was Ei's most clumsy aspect, and it was precisely this clumsiness that she needed most, and that could best create interaction between her and Durandal.
See? Ei's clumsiness in cooking had already led Durandal to personally help guide her. With the previous experience of guiding state affairs, this part of the guidance work became much more familiar.
It's just... how to put it? State affairs could be learned slowly, but cooking couldn't.
People with ordinary Talents would be fine, but Ei's situation was not ordinary Talents. She was a complete 'hell' contestant, the kind that made people's scalps tingle directly.
"You haven't explained what happened yet, Sister Makoto. Could it be... Ei is really targeting Durandal?"
"...What do you all think Ei's view of Durandal is?"
Raiden Makoto thought for a moment, not answering immediately, but instead asked a perplexing question.
"Her view of Durandal? An outsider who ran into her country and completely disrespected her?"
"A powerful fighting force she wants to win over, the greatest helper for eternity?"
"The chef she wants most; with him, she'll never have to worry about what to eat again."
Hmm~ These are truly evaluations she doesn't want to deal with. Why does the last one feel a bit odd in style? Of course, she's not in a position to say anything; perhaps Ei really does have such an idea.
"At first, Ei's evaluation of him was definitely very poor. Because he disrupted the eternity she had always pursued, he was undoubtedly her enemy."
Well, that's true. The first meeting was an Duel Before the Throne, so it was understandable to have a bad impression.
But it was this person, initially disliked by her, who later did many things for Inazuma, which she cared about. Although these things were mainly because he couldn't stand it anymore and couldn't help but intervene, there was definitely gratitude.
Not to mention, he brought Raiden Makoto back to her side. Although Raiden Makoto has not fully revived, according to the current progress, Raiden Makoto's complete revival is only a matter of time.
With so many favors intertwined, coupled with her excellent cooking skills and her ability to eliminate erode, it's safe to say she was as tempting as dessert to Raiden Ei. Our Electro Archon simply couldn't refuse her.
"This is the first time Ei has been so dedicated to something other than martial arts. I know you all might be displeased, but I hope you can give Ei a chance. After all, Ei's failure rate is quite high, isn't it? At least I don't think she can succeed."
Well, while it sounded quite cruel, Raiden Makoto, as her elder sister, truly didn't believe Raiden Ei could successfully win over Miss Delezie.
Raiden Ei's actions might ultimately be fruitless, but the process of striving is what matters most, isn't it?
Even if she fails in the end, this experience will be a very valuable one in Raiden Ei's life, serving as crucial nourishment for her growth.
So... even if it ends in a painful fall, Raiden Makoto still supported Raiden Ei in pursuing this feeling.
Lumine thought for a moment and felt that this indeed made sense. Miss Delezie wasn't that easy to win over, and Miss Delezie didn't have much affection for Raiden Ei, so the chances of success were indeed very small.
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