CHAPTER 4: THE SOVEREIGN'S COOKING FORMULA AND THE "CHARRED" ENDING

CHAPTER 4: THE SOVEREIGN'S COOKING FORMULA AND THE "CHARRED" ENDING

Akane calmly flipped another page of her book.

But beneath the grass—

her fingers lightly brushed against an almost invisible fishing line.

SWISH!

Ren had just activated Borrowing the Future. Crimson energy burst around his body—

—but before it could fully erupt—

SNAP!

A perfectly calculated snare tightened around his ankle.

In one clean motion—

Ren was yanked into the air, hanging upside down like a giant cocoon.

"H-Hey! Akane! That's cheating!" Ren shouted, face turning red as he dangled helplessly.

⸻

Akane closed her book.

Her expression remained flawlessly calm.

She walked over—

and delivered a graceful spinning kick into the "cocoon."

WHOOSH!

Ren flew in a perfect arc—

straight into the middle of the lake.

SPLASH!

⸻

Underwater—

Ren was about to resurface and complain—

when suddenly—

he saw it.

A massive shadow.

A giant catfish.

At least three times the size of an adult human.

⸻

Fueled by rage—

Ren grabbed its tail.

With brute strength enhanced by his future self—

he dragged the monster fish all the way to shore.

⸻

When Ren emerged—

completely soaked—

carrying the enormous fish—

Akane tilted her head with an innocent expression.

"Oh?"

"You like swimming that much, Takeda-kun?"

"And you even brought back... a 'gift from the water deity'?"

⸻

Ren's head almost started smoking.

He was about to charge at her—

but Akane raised a hand to stop him.

"Enough."

"I'm hungry."

"We'll cook this."

"You gather firewood. I'll handle the grilling."

⸻

THE 100x MISCALCULATION BANQUET

Two children of noble families—

who had always been served—

were now facing survival.

Akane opened her knowledge book, adjusted her glasses, and spoke with authority:

"Don't worry."

"Everything in this world follows a formula."

"As long as we follow the correct process—the result will be absolute."

⸻

She recalled basic cooking and thermodynamics:

A normal 500g fish requires 15 minutes over medium heat.

She looked at the giant monster fish.

Her genius mind began calculating.

"This fish is approximately 100 times larger."

"So logically—"

"We increase the firepower by 100 times."

"And extend the cooking time by 100 times."

⸻

Ren nodded.

"That... actually makes sense."

He activated Borrowing the Future—

and turned the fire into something resembling a forging furnace.

The heat was so intense—

the surrounding forest began to dry out.

Meanwhile—

Akane calmly observed the time—

like a scientist running an experiment.

⸻

Result?

After 1500 minutes—

according to Akane's perfect theory—

the fire finally died down.

⸻

What remained...

was not grilled fish.

But a completely blackened mass.

Harder than steel.

⸻

Akane stared at it.

Then at her book.

She muttered quietly:

"It seems..."

"variables such as surface area and heat distribution..."

"...were not included in the basic formula."

⸻

Ren sighed.

His stomach growled loudly across the lakeside.

The two of them—

walked back slowly under the sunset.

Hungry.

But still maintaining their noble composure.

⸻

"Hey, Akane..."

"Next time... can I just go buy sandwiches?"

"Be quiet, Ren."

"That's because your firewood quality was substandard."