Agreement

The next morning, Kerron and Yuzuki met up again in the kitchen.

Instead of letting her work alone in the large room, the Lord of Death rolled up his sleeves and helped her clean it up for proper use so breakfast could be prepared in better conditions. Despite never using it, the man made sure to help her clean every nook and cranny, not leaving a single speck of dust anywhere in any crevice they found. It was a little surreal for Yuzuki, watching such a handsome man work beside her, unafraid of looking unsightly or of being emasculated, with a handkerchief holding back his hair and covering his face while he wielded a broom. He simply got to it, even taking instructions well. He was very amenable, if quiet.

Watching Kerron clean, his face had a pensive expression the whole time, as if he had something terribly important on his mind.

Then again, for a guy who is basically in charge of the afterlife of a whole world, it’s not hard to imagine he has a lot to think about. But…should a guy called the ‘Lord of Death’ really be doing chores like this?

“I have come to a decision,” Kerron said after some time.

Yuzuki looked at him curiously, having started preparing for breakfast. After seeing how well the Lord of Death had responded to his late night meal, the cook decided she could keep it up – at any rate, she herself refused to eat raw ingredients, so it just so happened to work out she could cook for more. There were no eggs or anything like that, so she had to make due with some grains she found and a few leftover apples she hadn’t used for the curry the other day. There were two pots: one cooking the grains in some water, while the other were simmering slices of apple. Together they would make a satisfying apple oatmeal sort of dish.

“And what would that be, Lord Kerron?” the cook asked.

“You are in need of a place to stay while you attempt to find your way home, yes?”

It was true, she wanted to find her way home. More than anything, her heart yearned to get back to Japan, to that restaurant in Shibuya full of a million memories spanning three generations within her family. The longer she stayed away, the more likely the restaurant would be sold off without her being able to get a say.

“Then you should stay here long term. Use this castle as your base of operations,” came the suggestion, or rather formal invitation. While Kerron had allowed her to stay the other night on a whim, he did not make it clear for how long. This was a verifiable confirmation she could stay.

“I sense a ‘but’ coming,” Yuzuki replied in turn, knowing there had to be strings attached.

Kerron nodded. “You are astute in your assumption. In exchange for staying here, I request that you become the castle cook while you are here with us.”

That was a surprising request and an easy one to agree to as well. “Is that it? Seriously?”

It seemed too good to be true. Something she would have done anyways in order to keep herself fed. There had to be something else. “Don’t mind me Lord Kerron, but I pretty much heard you can just live off of raw onions.”

“Ah, I suppose Azura told you that…” There was a moment of a frown reaching his mauve eyes, but he simply shook his head. “I could, but it is important that the food I eat is made by your hands. In fact, I don’t think I could eat anything made by anyone other than you at this point.”

The way he put it made Yuzuki blush a little. A chef’s dream was to hear that their food was great and that people couldn’t live without it, because it was so good. But hearing it for herself had her feeling pretty flustered.

“It has to do with your Holy affinity,” came Kerron’s earth shattering answer.

So, in the end it wasn’t the taste, or anything like that, but…my affinity?

Unaware of the devastating blow he’d dealt to Yuzuki’s pride as a cook, the Lord continued speaking, giving his proper explanation behind his reasoning.

“In short, I think your affinity has manifested in replenishing magic in other beings through your cooking.”

It happened first with the Lapluna who ate the flower garnishes she made for them out of carrot slices. Their bodies replenished after eating them, just because they were prepared by Yuzuki’s hands. The same happened for Kerron as well, feeling his night bottomless reserves fill right back up after having a meal she made. In theory it should work for anything she made with her own two hands, like a potion for instance, but Kerron figured that it would come out the best in cooking because that is where her passions lied and intent had an effect on magic in this world. The only way to verify this would be to have her test this theory by crafting a variety of consumables or items.

“Azura and Crim I could also check with a magical device,” Yuzuki pointed out, not liking the idea of needing to make things in order to test out a theory. It seemed like a waste of time.

“Oh, that. I suppose there’s one in one of the storage rooms, but it’s for measuring capacity and confirming your affinity. And I can already tell from standing next to you that you have the Holy affinity that only otherworlders can have.”

“You really sound assured.”

“I am an expert, I assure you.”

Even though the man was confident in his ability to know, it would just make Yuzuki feel better if she could check it for herself. Plus, being able to quantify her capacity for magic would only help her in her quest to get home. It had sounded like a lot of magic was expended in bringing her to Vestia, so it was likely it would take just as much or more to send her back. Thinking on the proposal seriously, there really was no downsides to staying.

“Crim and Azura have already told you that you can go anywhere in the castle, except the west wing, right?”

Yuzuki nodded, recalling the warning.

“In that case, there is a large library with many tomes collected by many of my predecessors located here in the central area. Two floors above us you should find some interesting information. That might be your best first step in your journey home. That is, if you choose to stay…”

A chuckle left the cook’s mouth and she placed her hands on her hips, shaking her head at where she had wound up.

Twist my arm, why don’t you?

Reaching out, she held her hand in offering to seal the deal. Her eyes met Kerron’s unwaveringly and he, in turn, looked back at her impassively. His eyes trailed down to her hand, then up to her face and he then nodded. Clasping her hand, they shook on it, sealing the deal.

That done, you couldn’t start your day on an empty stomach. Yuzuki didn’t know if Kerron had anything else to do during the day, but whether he would be lazing around or doing something else in that west wing of his, she had agreed to make all the meals in the castle, so it was time to hold up her end of the bargain.

Their meals were served, one scoop of the grainy gruel and then one scoop of the cooked apples. An easy to eat meal that even the most sleepy of people could eat without the danger of choking on large chunky pieces of food that needed chewing. Enough time had passed for the apple slices to become crumbly once chewed, the juices spreading a tart, but sweet flavor throughout the plain gruel. That morning was cool, so this warming meal worked well with the colder weather.

Kerron had eaten alone the other day, as Yuzuki basically fed herself little by little as she tasted the curry through the evening. But this morning, she joined him at one of the kitchen counters. There was most likely a dining hall, but considering it was just the two of them, it would seem silly to eat in such a big place.

Plus, if it’s anything like the kitchen was before our big clean, there probably wasn’t any places for us to actually sit down and eat without also eating dust and dirt.

There was a bit of surprise when she sat down with him. Honestly, she felt a bit awkward about it as well, but there was something her grandfather once said to her when he was alive that she felt would be good to pass onto the Lord of Death.

“You know, my grandpa always says, ‘if you don’t have seasonings, the best seasoning for your food is other people’s company’. I don’t have all the ingredients I need, so please accept my company as the extra sweetness needed for this meal.”

The blank expression Kerron wore said it all to Yuzuki; what she said could be seen as corny, but honestly eating meals together with someone else, even a stranger, could be fun and nice. So she did not go anywhere else and simply started eating and enjoying her breakfast.

After smiling to himself, Kerron got started on his food, too.

Honestly, though, it really wouldn’t hurt to have some sugar… Yuzuki thought after her sixth taste of apple gruel. The apples really saved the dish, but a little sugar or honey could go a long way.

But even though it wasn’t the best meal, at least neither of them were eating alone and that made the taste just a little more bearable.