Chapter 48: Chapter 48 – How to Pamper a [Lady] part 2

Fayette almost danced as she packed up her portable table setup. She took off a leg piece from the table, twirled it in her hands, then tucked it into her apron. Two rhythmic steps to the right, a bow down, then onto the next piece.

She wasn’t dancing to any tune per se—if anything, it was still that rhythmic clanging of a [Blacksmith’s] working that rang out in her mind. She hummed along quietly to the beat, internally celebrating her success.

Yes! Good job Mireille! A tea party with scandalous gossip, sage life advice, and most importantly: proper tea! And of course…

[Level up: You have reached Maid level 16! Congratulations!]

[1 Skill point gained!]

[Progress towards next level: 25%]

She tucked the next table leg into her apron, spun around on one foot, holding her arms to the sides, then took two steps to the right. 1 skill point, but the next levelup will have two! Two whole skill points! Hurray for Uncommon classes! One and a half points per level, how did I live without this before?

She bobbed up and down as she separated the main table board into the four long planks it was made of, piled them up together, then carefully put the whole bundle into her [Apron of Holding]. It was a bit difficult to balance the planks and slowly lower them in, so she finally had to stop dancing about. I wonder what I should put those skill points in? No hurry yet, I guess. Now, on to the next step…

She took a look at her audience.

Of course, a [Maid] cheerfully dancing about as she packed up a tea setup wasn’t something one might see every day, and the energetic twirls of her black dress and white apron were very appealing to a certain sort. A few of the caravan drivers and guards had stopped by to watch, and even the [Lady] was discreetly following her with one eye as she wrote in her notebook.

Fayette clapped her hands twice. “Hey! The show’s over! Shoo, shoo, back to work with all of you!”

The watchers instantly began walking off, as if they had only paused from their work for a second to catch a breath. Fayette followed them with her gaze until she found the group she was looking for.

“Hey, you two over there! Stop!” She shouted as she rushed to catch them before they could leave the clearing.

The two men she was indicating looked back, confused for a second. “You mean us?”

Fayette caught up and stopped next to them, breathing just a bit heavily from all her activity. “Yes, you two are [Wagon Drivers], right? Do you know what the route for today will be like?”

They looked at each other, then back to Fayette, and nodded. The leftmost one, a man with a wide hat and grey coat spoke first. “That we are. It’s a pretty established trek, so I should be able to mark out the day on a map if I had one here.”

“I’ve got one right here,” The other man said, patting his shoulder bag. He opened it up, took out the map, and started unrolling it. “What kind of information do you need, miss?”

“I would like to know the spots where we will be stopping by for lunch and to rest.”

The two men consulted together for a moment, then indicated two spots on the map: a crossroads a ways ahead and a more distant segment where the road ran along a lake. “These two are the usual spots. We’ll be stopping there unless anything unusual happens. What do you need this for?”

“Oh, I’m just planning on heading out ahead for a bit and preparing some things—no more than that. Thanks, you were a great help!”

Fayette mentally marked the two spots in her mind and began walking off. First, she found Mireille and told her she would be heading out ahead, then she set off on the road at a brisk jog.

She had thought about her options for the day, and come to the conclusion that her time would be spent most efficiently by focusing on lunch and the evening. It was a bit too cold for her to fan the [Lady] as they traveled, and she hadn’t come up with many good ideas that could be done while traveling. She was also a bit doubtful she could get good results if she had to rush about during a quick lunch break—a proper lunch needed time to prepare.

She kept to the side of the road to be just a bit hidden from any dangers and kept her pace careful and measured. At her pace, Fayette estimated that she could get about one hour ahead of the wagon, which would give her just enough time to prepare a proper meal.

Is my [Maid Martial Arts] quickening my pace? Jogging shouldn't be this easy in a dress... I guess this skill is useful enough..

[Skill up: Maid Martial Arts has reached rank 2!]

She felt her pace increase noticeably. It wasn't a strength or speed boost per se, at least not directly. It seemed to be more of an enhancement in her coordination; every step was laid out just a bit better, and her muscles coordinated slightly better than before. I think that was worth it. No point in holding onto too many of those

A few travelers looked oddly at her, a lone maid speedwalking at the edge of the road, but she managed to get to her destination without any mishaps. It was a meeting of two roads, with a cleared-out space to the side. No others were present at the moment, so Fayette had free reign in the area.

First, she set up a fire and started heating a pan on it, then she built up her table and stool setup again. No dancing about this time. By the time she was done, the pan was hot enough to start up the cooking.

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Fayette didn’t have that much experience with cooking, but she did remember many of the recipes the [Cooks] at the manor had made. She had been in charge of shopping a few times and was quite familiar with the ingredients, which luckily didn’t decay inside her [Apron of Holding].

It was a bit of a rush job, so she decided to focus on what she knew best: Her special spicy chicken curry. She used [Cutlery Control] and her array of knives to quickly dice up some onions and apples for the stew, then added in some pre-diced chicken. She let the meat get a nice golden look to it, then added water from a nearby stream and her mix of curry spices and other vegetables. She let the mix boil for a moment then sat down to think.

I wonder how much I should push [Spicy Cooking] here? The nobility generally have developed palettes, right? They should be able to handle a good bit?

She shut her eyes and held out her hand, focusing the whole of her perception on the skill. This is a skill for cooking, so it should help me make good food first and foremost. Now, come on skill, just how spicy should I make this?

As she ran that thought through her mind, she felt the skill responding. She fed it her mental image of the miss and began to get a general sense of the spice level she could tolerate.

“Yes! As I thought, this skill can do something like this too. Maybe I was using it subconsciously before?”

She had mostly used it in fights before this, and her goal there had always been to completely overwhelm her opponents. This time, she focused on making a slightly more mellow mix. She closed the lid on her pot, visualized the ingredients within, then activated the skill.

“[Spicy Cooking] go! Enhance!”

 

---

 

As the caravan rounded a bend, a clearing by a crossroads came into view. On the clearing, a table was set for four, a pot in the middle and a [Maid] diligently waiting by the side.

Mireille was the first to approach. She took one look at the pot, then turned a skeptical gaze to her friend. “So this is what you were up to, cooking? Are you sure this is going to be alright?”

Fayette crossed her arms and nodded confidently. “I’ve leveled up, Mireille—this is not the same food I’ve fed you before. Check it out yourself if you don’t believe me.”

“Well, I guess there’s no harm in it.” Mireille stepped forward, still skeptical, and leaned forward towards the pot. She lifted off the lid, then bent down to examine the food.

As she lifted the lid, a dense cloud of steam laced with spice spilled out, getting all over her face. The [Seamstress] instantly dropped the lid and fell back, screaming. “Agh! My eyes! Fayette, what the hell!”

Olivia caught Mireille, stopping her from flailing about, and quickly started rubbing an ointment in her eyes, which calmed the [Seamstress]. “Sorry Fayette, but I think I’ll be eating with the Salted Knives—they offered to share their rations with me in exchange for a medical check-up.”

Fayette frowned, she had really been looking forward to getting her friends to eat her cooking. She turned away haughtily. “Hmph, I guess your palates are still a bit too immature for this kind of quality food.”

The [Doctor] shook her head and led Mireille away, leaving the [Lady] as the only one left. She had taken a few steps back after seeing Mireille’s fate but slowly crept back, lured by the scent.

“My, is this that one colonial dish—curry? I think I’ve only tried it a few times.”

Fayette nodded. “Exactly so—please sit down, it’s best served hot.”

“Thank you then, is your friend going to be alright?”

“Ah, don’t worry, Olivia’s a [Doctor]. I’m sure she’s got things handled just fine.”

“A common mistake for those unfamiliar with such foods.” The miss said as she sat down. Fayette filled her plate from the plot, took one look at her friends who were approaching the Salted Forks, then sat down too.

Well, at least I finally have someone to eat with. She began filling out her own plate, and took a mouthful of the food, slowly enjoying it. I guess the company really does make food taste better.

[Good work! Progress towards next level: 60%]

Or it was just that.