Reincarnated With Zero Aptitude For Magic

Chapter 17: Ice Witch

Things weren't bad as it is, the smartest human who hails from the world known as earth whose IQ is over 200 and knowledge that surpassed other inventors, Arion seems to have realized something after he got reincarnated in a magical world.

"This can't be true. I remembered the recipe and procedures of recreating my favorite food that was cooked always by my parent, and created my own ingredients to cook mushroom gratin... so why this happen?!" Even a genius such as himself was beating his head at the edge of the table as the food he prepared was literally burnt to coal; nothing edible came out of it.

Back in the earth, the media and everyone around the world knew the favorite dish Arion loved is none other than mushroom gratin and not even the world-famous chefs around the surface can recreate the perfect gratin he would relish. Sadly, one of his bad sides is that he's a picky eater despite his age and achievements.

However, despite becoming the smartest human alive, he can't deny he's the worst when it comes to cooking. No matter how many times he tries practicing and exerting hard work, his dish will end up becoming burnt into a crisp.

Disappointed from the abomination he cooked, he kind of threw it aside in a container that kinda looked similar to a trash bin beside the shelves of different spices and fruits preserved with an amazing magic orb that can trap the cold temperature in a single spatial square diameter just like a refrigerator could do.

"I never actually cooked this kind of dish, but I followed the recipe you instructed me." Adriel was also cooking the exact same dish when he was remembering the recipe needed.

Both Arion and Lilith caught a whiff of the scent as Adriel served them the tray of mushroom gratin on the table for their lunch. She also went and got a plate for them including herself as well as a wooden spoon.

"Impossible... you've done this perfect mushroom gratin when I followed the instruction and recipe 100% getting a failure, and yours way much better?! Truly impermissible." Arion still couldn't accept the fact he's bad at cooking even after being reincarnated.

Tired of putting up with his tantrum, Adriel gave a spoon to Lilith and smacked his head with the other. "What was that for?!" He was literally fuming and he's also bitter to the fact his head isn't protected by his Mechanical Exoskeleton making him vulnerable to skull injuries if it comes to it.

"Stupid! Cooking isn't followed by some kind of written instruction, it is blended along with the emotions of whom the person wanted it to give. Just like in alchemy, in order to produce high-quality materials and a good chance of a result, one must accept his or her weakness." Adriel instilled senses about reality directly in his twisted concept.

The good thing about him is that he's independent and he'll accept any kind of human fault he had so he can thrive to be better than his past. Yet, he's still worst in the art of culinary no matter what. He began thinking maybe he's cursed by the Goddess of the good harvest. The only thing he could probably cook was rice and other than that lies nothing.

"Well, it can't be helped. Just eat plentiful today, Lilith." Arion took the liberty of serving her plate with the mushroom gratin while Adriel was cleaning up the kitchen.

"Can... I?" Lilith's so hesitant. She's holding the spoon upside-down like she forgot how to properly eat. Hesitant and reserved while trembling in place, he helped her flip her spoon and forced her to push it in her mouth.

"Just eat and eat no matter what." The sympathy and pity he had in his heart were replaced by an unexplainable sense of satisfaction when he glimpses her long ears swivels out of her long green hair after she tasted the gratin. Her usual eyes that were fixated in oblivion were now sparklingly gleaming as she shoves more of the mushroom gratin in her mouth on her own.

She apprehends what she's doing and suddenly switched back on her reserved and quiet side slowly eating plenty.

"Th-Thank you..." Lilith's tears rolled on her cheeks. Even though Arion and Adriel wanted to wipe her tears dry, they have no rights or whatsoever, and rather they were glad that she expressed what's troubling her.

"Good. Let me sate my hunger as well before we get out–" Suddenly, Arion halted the moment he tasted the mushroom gratin he just cooked.

"What? You don't like it?" Adriel wears a troubled, sweating face.

"No... it's perfect. I'm stunned." He simply said and began ravaging the entire tray while also making sure there were enough for them.

"Heh. I guess I'll take that as a compliment." She's grinning secretly while facing the spice shelf on a corner.

However, little did she know that it means a lot to him more than she thought. The mushroom gratin dish she made had mildness every bite and the sweetness was elevated to a certain degree of perfection. For Arion, it even surpassed the gratin his parents or his girlfriend cooked for him back in the days.

"I can do better than that!" Yuna immediately closed her mouth when she just slipped out what's in her mind. She was kind of jealous that Arion complimented someone just easily considering only a world-renown chef can actually sate her appetite.

"Did you say something, Lilith?" Adriel asked her 'cause she heard Yuna's voice from somewhere around the room.

"N-No... I thought you called for me too." She responded which made Adriel wonder if someone was hiding in the room, Arion didn't notice it since he's just raking up the entire plate onto his mouth.

Nevertheless, she remembered something important she had to say. "Anyways, our party master will arrive later. Be sure you prepare yourself and never show your rudeness. Is that okay?" Adriel wants him to behave as normally as possible.

"Party master? Who is that? I will be a gentleman of course." Both of them were dealt with a compromise.

"She will be the one who approves our quest and acts as a defender if the one who posted the quest didn't give the rewards. Pretty much they do all tasks that were not part of the battle." She explained to him further increasing his wisdom.

"You mean, a party master is a lawyer?" Arion asked a dumb question.

"Lawyer?" Adriel never heard such a word in her entire life.

"No. Forget what I said, just let me see your workshop now." Right after Arion stood up to return his plate, someone burst open the kitchen door.

What welcomed them was a lady who was wearing a loose traditional mage garment that has the combination hue of pink rose and lavender, she had blonde hair and on top of it is a piece of the shawl over her shoulder with the embroidery of various flowers, and a pair of hand gloves that were glossily gleaming with her precise gesticulations.

"Oh, I'm sorry the place is a mess." Adriel together with Lilith bowed down at her presence.

"Who the hell are you?" It seems Arion forgot their compromise earlier concerning his behavior. Adriel was sweating non-stop from what he has done.

"Who am I? I am the party master, Marget, or known as the Ice Witch." She introduced herself.

Another lady appeared before him, Arion grinned unconsciously while keeping his misgivings for later, and just discerned he was disrespectful so he decided to bow down as well.