A New Chef-rif’s in Town

A few more days passed, and Mel began to interact increasingly with the other members of the crew. She even joined them in their mischievous ventures.

During the day, the girls would take turns to wander off to do ‘secret things’ without me. I had no idea what they were getting up to during the day, but it seemed like they were getting closer to one another, so I didn’t push to find out.

When nighttime rolled around, I would join Elora on the deck to train. She told me I needed to increase my stamina, and truth be told, she was right. I spent most of the evening running laps of the Ravager.

Although I was finally building up some strength, I still paled in comparison to Elora and the others. Without skills, I was like an ant to them. It was honestly amazing how I managed to survive this long.

Without quick points to allocate, the only thing I could do was work hard. Although it didn’t alleviate the insecurity I felt about being so weak.

I was not the only one feeling this way.

With the newly acquired medical supplies, Túta managed to treat Melody gradually. With more strength, she wanted to help out more, but found most of the tasks far beyond her capabilities. She never complained, but I could tell it was weighing on the young girl.

I had one idea to help her, which I had been thinking about for some time.

“Melody, can I speak with you?”

I waved at her to come over. She came walking over at a brisk pace. I imagine she would’ve run over, if her health allowed.

“What is it, Mister Pirate?”

“You wanted to learn how you could be useful, didn’t you?”

She looked nervous and nodded.

“Then, how would you like to learn to cook?”

Her eyes lit up, and a large grin crept up her face.

“Please, can you teach me, Mister Pirate?” she meekly asked.

Before I could respond to her, Pippa came swinging over on a rope. She let go and landed right next to us.

“Did I hear you were going to cook?” She asked.

“That’s right,” I was a little worried where this was going.

“Without Chef Pippa?” she asked, genuinely looking hurt.

“I thought you were the great and powerful Pippa.”

She paused as if actively thinking about it.

“The great and mighty Pippa can be multiple things. That’s how great and powerful she is.”

After commenting, she turned and held out her hand. Her poses were becoming increasingly bizarre. I had put up with them for now, but I feared her actions were going to begin to cause me secondhand embarrassment soon.

Melody laughed, and I placed my hand on Pippa’s head. I gently rested my hook hand on Melody’s.

“Alright, you both can help.”

We wandered over to the ship's kitchen, and as we opened the door, a frantic Viola came rushing over.

“Melody! What are you doing?”

Melody looked to the ground and didn’t say anything.

“I said she could learn to cook.”

“Cook?! But that’s dangerous, her health isn’t well enough to do that.”

She reached out and grabbed Melody’s hand.

“I’m sorry, sister,” Melody mumbled as she began to be forcibly dragged away.

“Hold up.”

Viola paused. She turned her head to look at me, but didn’t say anything.

“Melody’s health has significantly improved. So she should be more than capable of helping cook.”

I had expected my reassurance to ease Viola’s concerns, but instead she maintained a dark expression.

“She is still recovering, and the kitchen is full of dangerous equipment. What if she faints while holding a knife?”

“I promise you, I won’t let anything happen to her.”

“You can’t promise that! You don’t know how hard it’s…” She trailed off by herself. She had unknowingly begun to cry, which seemed to surprise her.

I took a step forward, ready to offer words of comfort. I could only imagine how hard it must have been for her older sister to act like a mother figure.

Before I could even open my mouth, a small hand reached up and grabbed at Viola’s shirt.

“I want to do this,” Melody pleaded.

Viola looked down, tears still falling from her face.

“Very well, I’ll allow you to have one, and only one, cooking session with our Foolish Captain. But after you see how hard it is, you’ll rest up before trying anything else.”

Melody agreed, and Viola wandered off.

“I’m sorry, Mister Pirate, my sister says I am not allowed to cook more than once.”

A smile crept up my face.

“Don’t worry, we will make something so delicious she won’t be able to deny your skill. I know you can do it.”

We went through our supplies and gathered some beef tenderloins. I showed her how to cut the meat, and she gave it a good go, but she couldn’t cut it by herself. Pippa created a small flame for us, and we sizzled the meat. I pointed out the different temperatures of the meat as it changed colour. Once it was done, I had her season it with salt and squirt a lemon over it.

“I’m going to try one,” I informed her as I picked up one of the tenderloins.

She looked nervous. Her complexion turned slightly paler than it already was. I placed the sliced tenderloin in my mouth.

I thought it was odd that Viola had cried without realising it before. Now I'd gotten a taste of my own medicine. Tears rolled down my face as I smiled one of the largest smiles since coming to this world.

“Is it bad, Mister Pirate?”

I shook my head.

“Not at all, it is delicious. The best I have ever had. Melody. You have a real talent for this!”

She gazed up into my eyes. For the first time, the glazing was completely gone, only to be replaced by her gorgeous sparkling eyes.

“Really?!”

I placed my hand on her head.

“Really!”

With the confirmation of her talent, we brought the food out to the rest of the crew. Although I knew they all would enjoy it, there was only one critic I knew we needed to impress.

Melody nervously brought over the tenderloins to Viola.

Viola cautiously took a bite. The moment she did, she gulped down the rest.

“What did you think?” I asked her.

“It was delicious.”

“Melody completely prepared that meal.”

She glanced over at her younger sister, who was shuffling her feet, avoiding eye contact.

“Is that true, Melody? Did you do this?”

Melody stepped forward, still avoiding eye contact and nodded.

Viola softly rustled her hair.

“It was the most delicious meal I have ever eaten. I was wrong, you are so talented.”

Melody looked up at her older sister, and her eyes were sparkling with brilliance once more.

As they were having their moment, Mel quietly approached me from behind.

“We’re nearing land,” Mel whispered to me.

I had a look, but there was nothing but the vastness of the sea.

“I don’t see…”

“Don’t worry,” she replied with a wink, once again standing. “You’ll see it soon. I just wanted to give you a heads up before your dear lookout spots it.”

She signalled over to Pippa, who very quickly had gotten tired of cooking and had taken over lookout duty.

“Why would you…” she placed her finger to my lips.

“I can’t lead my Cap'n on by making him think anyone has sharper eyes than me.”

I wandered over to her and grabbed her by the hand, spun her around and caught her in my arms.

“You should never hide your skills from others. You should take pride in your own skills.”

Her cheeks pinkened.

“I can see why ya quite the ladies' man.”

I let go of her. I hadn’t meant to come across as flirting. I only wanted to offer her encouragement. She waved as she wandered off below deck. A few moments later, Pippa called out excitedly.

“Land ahoy!”

▪──── X ────▪

End of chapter 34