kscans

Chapter 436 - The Hestia Festival

AFO had a large-scale update, and its contents were released on the same day.

The main new feature was the ability to create original dishes.

While it required real-world cooking techniques, players could now make dishes that were not in the recipe book. It wasn't possible to add ingredients to pre-existing items like chocolate parfaits, but it was now possible to create an original parfait from scratch.

Cooking Skill was irrelevant for original dishes, and players could try their hand using only their real-world cooking abilities. However, these dishes had no buff effects whatsoever, making it a system purely for enjoying the taste. To get buff effects, one had to use the existing cooking system.

For some players, this was a completely meaningless update, but since ingredients were often cheap, even those who had never cooked before were trying various things.

The "Hestia Festival" event that started at the same time was a competition where players registered their original dishes and competed for rankings. The rankings would be decided a month later based on player votes.

By the time Parfait and her friends logged in that evening, hundreds of dishes had already been registered, and it had turned into a festive frenzy.

Parfait, Natsu, and Chris wanted to head to Azuma right away, but for now, they were waiting for Rick and talking about the event.

"It's amazing that we can make original dishes! But what's Hestia, the event name?"

"From what I have heard, it is the name of a goddess. The goddess of the hearth and furnace. Since it is a cooking event, that is likely the name. Be that as it may, I tried it for a moment, and I could cut a cucumber normally with a knife. It is far too realistic. Are we sure we are not logging into another world under the pretense of logging into a game...?"

"I understand what Natsu means, but we were able to chew food from the beginning, so that much was probably possible. However, how much programming would it take to be able to cook just like in reality? I am more surprised by that."

Actions that were simple in reality were a different story when it came to programming them. It was an act that could be compared to programming the universe, but the one making it possible was Diite, whom Parfait called her big sister.

"Diite-oneechan must have worked really hard. It would be rude not to enjoy this to the fullest."

"Indeed. I think it would be best to make something with the large quantity of cucumbers we have."

"Please try making rice bran pickles. By the way, about the money-making strategy Rick mentioned yesterday, what happened with the cow and chicken? I logged out first after we disbanded after the dungeon crawl."

"I went to the Tamer Guild yesterday after that and made a contract. I set them to be placed at the base, so they should be here, but where?"

"Surely they are not in my room... no, I do not believe they were there when I logged in."

"Then they might be outside. I would like to build a fence or a stable for them if possible... Rick is not here yet, so could you show me first?"

Parfait nodded and they all left the base's dining hall and headed outside.

The cow and chicken were right outside, but they were ravaging the fields.

"A cow and a chicken eating strawberries. I am a little surprised."

"That's not good! Those are for selling!"

"Parfait, I do not know much about tamers, but should you not specify what they are allowed to eat? Discipline is important, you know."

"I did set that properly... It's all gone!"

There was nothing left in the dishes for the cow and chicken. As of yesterday, she had put a large amount of barley and corn in them, but it was all completely gone.

Parfait hurriedly added more barley and corn to the dishes, and the cow and chicken stopped eating the strawberries and went back to their food. But they were eating with incredible vigor.

"Good, the damage was minimal... I'll just harvest the strawberries now."

"I think to myself. A pet resembles its owner...!"

"Natsu, I think there are some things that you shouldn't say even if you think them."

Parfait was a little concerned by Natsu's words. According to the explanation at the Tamer Guild, the pet AI had its own personality and behavioral tendencies. However, it could also be influenced by its owner.

If strength was influenced, that would be one thing, but if a big appetite was influenced, it was a little embarrassing. Even if the feed was relatively cheap, if it was consumed in large quantities, it would increase the necessary expenses. That was a matter that Rick would be angry about.

However, once she had made them her pets, she had to take responsibility for them until the end. That was a lesson from Maris, Siegfried's owner.

"W, well, they say the more trouble they are, the cuter they are, right? Even if the food costs a lot, I'll take care of them to the end!"

"I am still human, so I understand what you mean, but... hm? Have you already named them? Let's see... Michelangelo?"

"The chicken is Leonardo... I take it these are figures you recently learned about in art or history?"

"Ah, you got it? Napoleon would have been fine too, but I tried to go with an art theme!"

It was unclear why she went with that theme, but Parfait must have had some thought, as she named the cow Michelangelo and the chicken Leonardo.

Parfait petted the cow, Michelangelo, and then the chicken, Leonardo. The two of them mooed and clucked respectively. That alone made Parfait think they were so cute she could faint.

"Still, I'm glad this was before the event. The price of ingredients is probably going to soar, so there was a chance the price of cows and chickens would have gone up too."

Chris nodded at her words.

"They will undoubtedly soar for a while. The ingredients for making original dishes are specified. It would not be strange for their prices to rise."

"It might be a so-so event for people who can't cook, so a lot of people will probably just treat it as a period for making money."

"There will be players like that, but it seems it is not so so-so. Since the number of votes is limited, players are apparently advertising all over the place. And they are introducing their dishes in videos too. Because of that, it has now become a festive occasion that could be called a festival of food."

"Are there food stalls? Should we go eat our way through them?"

"What are you saying? The three of you will be participating in the original dish category."

As a voice came from the base's building, Rick in his butler uniform stood at the entrance.

"Ah, Rick-kun."

"I was late because I was investigating various things. From the looks of it, you've managed to secure the cow and chicken."

"Yeah, I bought them at the Tamer Guild yesterday."

"It may be a small amount, but we need a source of revenue."

"Ah, um, but you know, they seem to be big eaters like me... The feed costs a lot, but it's not their fault!"

"Why would a cow or chicken be at fault? You don't have to defend them like that, I'm not going to tell you to exchange them, so don't worry."

Parfait let out a sigh of relief, saying, "Thank goodness.". However, it was conversely scary that the efficiency-focused Rick said nothing about the increased feed costs.

"But are you sure? The profit will decrease, you know...?"

"I am not an expert, but I heard that pets have various traits. But basically, they are not only demerit. My research indicates that a trait like a big appetite also comes with a trait that increases production efficiency."

"Increases production efficiency...?"

"Compared to normal cows and chickens, the output of milk and eggs increases. From my perspective, both are winners. I want to praise you for a job well done."

Parfait exclaimed, "Ooh!" and hugged Michelangelo and Leonardo. The two of them looked at Parfait with a "What?" expression, but they soon resumed eating.

"And they should be able to eat cucumbers too. You said you had a surplus that you couldn't get rid of, but this will solve that."

"What! Then the rare item I obtained that increases cucumbers will have a use after all!?"

"More than a use, it is essential for us right now. Make sure to get cucumbers every day. Well, they apparently get into a bad mood if they eat only the same feed. By the way, how are the Skeletons?"

Natsu looked puzzled for a moment, then clapped her hands.

"The Chaos Soldiers, you mean. I created them with Create Undead as you said. I also set them to the base and to procure lumber, but... it seems they have not returned yet."

"Not back yet...? Then they might have been defeated. Could you check the status of the Skeletons?"

Natsu did as she was told and checked their status from the system menu.

"Hm? It seems they are still logging. It takes surprisingly long. Kukuku, so they will not let us earn money so easily...!"

"Still logging? Even though you had them doing it since yesterday?"

"Since there is no lumber at the base, I think that is the case, but could it be that my Chaos Soldiers are too weak...?"

Rick put a hand to his chin and thought. Then he adjusted his glasses with a flick.

"Did you give them axes?"

"Axes? To the Chaos Soldiers?"

"It takes a long time, or rather, it's impossible to cut down trees with bare hands. You should recall them and give them axes."

"Mumumu! So that is it! Then I shall give them my logging axe, 'Crescent of Condemnation'!"

"It's just a 'Woodcutter's Axe,' right? Well, lumber isn't that expensive right now, so it's not a problem. Let's try again."

As Rick said that, Natsu immediately started fiddling with the system menu to recall the Skeletons.

While Parfait was hugging the pets and Natsu was operating the Skeletons, Chris looked at Rick.

"By the way, you were talking about cooking earlier, are we going to make an original dish?"

"Of course. Even if we can't get first place, there's a participation prize. And if we can rank high, we can get in-game currency. There's nothing to lose, so we should do it."

"Something that can rank high?"

"It's divided into categories, so I think there's a chance to rank."

"Categories?"

"Like a sweets category and a meat dish category. The top hundred in each category get prize money, so I want you to be prepared to enter all categories."

"Surely not a protein category? If so, I can prepare a supremely easy-to-drink concoction..."

"There's no such thing... Don't lose your motivation so openly. Besides, you're planning to run a cafe here, right? If you make a name for yourself with original sweets and dishes, you can use it to attract customers later."

"Rick-kun, you should become the manager of our real shop!"

Parfait, who had been playing with her pets until just now, cut into Rick's conversation. She wasn't just playing around, she had been listening properly.

Rick shook his head at Parfait's request.

"I'm going to start my own company, so that's impossible. Well, I'll give you advice. For a price."

"Please apply a friend discount... Anyway, registering a dish as a cafe menu item is a good idea!"

"That's right. With this update, a lot of new ingredients have been added. If we can serve delicious original dishes, it should become a selling point for the cafe."

"Good, good! But in reality, I can only make things like parfaits..."

She was quite confident in her parfait-making, taught by her mother, Esha. It was possible that her mother just wanted to eat the failed creations she made, but she had been taught since she was a small child and had improved to the point where it wouldn't be a problem to serve them in a shop.

She could make other dishes, but it was difficult to make them as deliciously as her father, Hayato. It was unclear how realistic the current system was, but even if it was impossible in reality, it wouldn't result in something super delicious in virtual reality.

"Sweets aside, there's someone who's good at cooking, so it should be fine."

Parfait tilted her head at Rick's words.

It was rude to say, but Natsu and Chris were out. Natsu, whose cooking was said to turn everything into dark matter, and Chris, a protein supremacist, would not be called good at cooking.

"Um, who are you talking about?"

"In five days, Ginny will be able to log in. I heard Ginny is good at cooking?"

"Oh, right, Ginny-chan. She celebrates someone's birthday almost every week."

"I don't really get it, but I heard she got good at cooking because she was making her favorite characters' favorite foods to celebrate their birthdays. Can you explain what that means specifically?"

"Um, characters in manga, games, and other fictional works also have birthdays, you know, and on that day, you make that character's favorite food to celebrate. Her recent favorite was 'Heart-Pounding Pandemonium,' I think? By the way, there's a heart mark between 'Heart-Pounding' and 'Pandemonium'."

"...What is that?"

"It's a shojo manga written by the twin manga artists 'Shirokuro.' The main character is a girl who gets doted on by handsome student demons. Ginny-chan emphasized that this 'doted on' part is the key. She said it makes her nose bleed."

"She says things like her nose bleeds with that face of hers... and Shirokuro...? Those two are from Foundation Pisces..."

"There are rumors like that. They sometimes come to the shop with Parsha-san, but they say their names are Blanc and Noir, so it's not them. I got their autographs, but pretending not to know is the mature thing to do, Rick-kun."

Getting their autographs and then pretending not to know was one thing, but Rick seemed to be convinced.

"I understand about the author. So, you're saying she celebrates a manga character's birthday in real life?"

"That's right. It seems to be quite a big thing online. Ginny-chan says 'doing it one-on-one is proper etiquette and justice,' so she seems to shut off the internet on those days."

"I understand the situation. In that case, she must be good at making her favorite character's favorite food. Then we can expect good things."

Rick said, nodding.

Looking at Rick, Parfait remembered something.

She had read the manga "Heart-Pounding Pandemonium" at Ginny's recommendation. There was a demon with glasses, a cunning personality, silver hair, and a butler uniform. Her memory was a little hazy, but she thought he resembled the Rick in front of her.

She had a feeling there might be some trouble, but she decided to stop thinking about it. More importantly, she had to enjoy the update and the event, so she invited everyone to head to Azuma.