Chapter 20: Zombie Chef

Chapter 20: The Zombie Chef

"How is this possible! It's super delicious! It's even better than yesterday's feast!"

Vasida took a bite of meat and a mouthful of rice, her eyes narrowing in bliss. "Something this delicious must be savored slowly!"

Moran shook her head with an amused smile.

"You! You were so hungry last night that I doubt you even tasted anything. Ms. Amisha's feast wasn't just for show!"

"But it really is better than anything I've eaten since I was a child! Especially this egg fried rice—I've never seen it prepared this way before!"

Vasida said, "Oh, right, Moran! I'll teach the recipe for this egg fried rice to my family's zombie chef! I promise I won't let it leak out!"

"???" Moran felt as if she had just heard something extraordinary. "Whether it leaks or not isn't the important part, it's just... a zombie?"

Vasida rubbed her head sheepishly. "I don't know if you've heard of the Corpse Race? When an immortal corpse develops sentience after passing through long ages of time, they become the Corpse Race. They are quite rare.

My father was a Zombie King raised by my mother, and later developed sentience to become part of the Corpse Race.

The zombies he trained are quite agile.

I've been a big eater since I was little, and my mother wasn't very good at cooking magic, so it was the zombie chef trained by my father who raised me.

My father was so worried about me living alone in the future that he spent all day, every day, cooking, until he eventually starved himself to death.

He even said that when I graduated, he would pack the family chef into a coffin and send him to me.

Before I came to school, I even specifically learned the techniques for maintaining zombies from him!

Fortunately, I inherited a bit of my father's talent in that regard..."

Moran didn't quite understand, but she was profoundly shocked.

Who said witches had weak reproductive capabilities? She could even produce a healthy little witch with a member of the Corpse Race!

She called them corpses that had developed sentience, but fundamentally, wasn't the physical body still dead?

"...But a zombie is still a zombie. Even after being trained by the Corpse Race, their learning ability is still very weak; they can only make simple, large-batch meals.

I can only say they aren't quite capable of 'killing a witch with food,' and they certainly don't cook anything delicious.

I saw that the recipe for this egg fried rice you taught me has very detailed steps. It could be turned into commands to be given to the zombie chef, so I wanted him to try learning it..."

Poor Vasida had grown up eating the bland, large-batch meals of a zombie chef. Last night, she was so famished during the feast that she couldn't taste properly, so today's dishes truly felt like delicacies from another world to her.

"Are you saying that if the steps are detailed enough, your zombie chef can learn them?" Moran asked.

"I think so! My father's cooking wasn't great, so the zombies he trained have cooking skills as bad as his. But indeed, as long as fixed commands can be issued, they can learn through repetitive practice. They are probably a bit more flexible than puppets."

Vasida added, "Luckily, I also inherited some of my father's ability to train zombies, so it should be fine."

"Alright! If you want to teach him, go ahead! I have some recipes that are quite rigid and fixed in their steps, but the taste is decent. I can organize them for you later!"

Moran thought of the automatic cooking machines on Blue Star.

Even those machines required you to chop the ingredients and put them in yourself, but Vasida's zombie could handle everything.

"Really? Thank you so much, Moran!" Vasida was overjoyed, looking at Moran as if she were her benefactor.

"To me, it's just a small favor. No need to thank me. I suppose I want the culture of Blue Star to spread as well!"

Perhaps because Vasida had shared stories about her family today, Moran also opened up and spoke of things she had never mentioned to others.

"Blue Star?" Vasida asked in confusion. "What is that?"

"I am a soul from another world. Blue Star was my home planet in my previous life, and egg fried rice is a delicacy from Blue Star," Moran said.

"A soul from another world?" Vasida exclaimed. "So you really are a soul from another world, Moran! No wonder I always felt you were much more composed and knowledgeable than everyone else!"

Moran felt embarrassed by the praise. Although she carried the memories of Blue Star, to Valen, she was essentially a newborn; she didn't actually know much more than other little witches.

"Moran, what is Blue Star like? Are there witches there?" Vasida asked curiously.

This was the first soul from another world she had ever met!

"Blue Star..." Moran's eyes filled with reminiscence as she briefly described her home.

Vasida listened, mesmerized. "What a gentle planet!"

"Yes," Moran said, unable to hide her worry when thinking of Blue Star.

Noticing her low mood, Vasida said, "Moran! You are a witch! A witch with no upper limit to her growth! As long as you keep growing step by step, one day you will possess the power to save the world!

Besides! If you can't do it, there's me, there's Sylph, and there's Senior Lilith!

Lady Tracy and the other three witches were able to fight the various races of Valen into submission. Can the four of us combined not save a tiny little world that doesn't even have magic?

Even though we value independence and freedom, helping our kin is absolutely our responsibility!"

Looking at Vasida's confident expression, the fog in Moran's heart seemed to clear, revealing sunlight. She said firmly, "I will definitely go back!"

"Go for it!" Vasida pumped her little fist.

"Mm!"

They talked and ate with such enthusiasm that Moran accidentally overate.

By her calculation, she had eaten a steak, a bowl of egg fried rice, and a small side of salad.

It had far exceeded her usual capacity; she couldn't eat any more.

Rubbing her stomach, she leaned back against the chair. "I'm full. Classmate Vasida, I'll leave the rest to you!"

Vasida glanced at Moran's rounded belly, confirmed she was truly full, and suddenly increased her eating speed several times over.

Though fast, it was very different from the ravenous way she had eaten at the entrance banquet yesterday.

It was clear she was still chewing thoroughly to savor the taste.

Moran realized that Vasida's "slow savoring" was actually many times faster than she had imagined.

The reason she had been so slow before was likely because she was afraid Moran wouldn't get enough to eat!

As soon as Vasida finished, she stood up to clear the dishes.

Moran tried to help, but Vasida pressed her back down into the chair. "I'm practically your chef apprentice now! An apprentice shouldn't make their mentor clean up!"

Moran wouldn't fall for it. "I only promised to write a recipe for you to teach your zombie; I never said I'd personally teach you the whole recipe. How are you my mentor?"

"Passing on recipes counts! Surely, if there's something in the recipe I don't understand, you wouldn't have the heart to withhold your guidance, would you?" Vasida said righteously.

"You!" Moran gave in. "Just go wash the dishes! How did I not realize before that you're so good at twisting words to your advantage?"

Taking this as a silent agreement that she would be taught, Vasida hummed a tuneless song and happily went to tidy up the table.