(Card Story) Fickle Cooking

[schoenheit]

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Card: [SR] (Sticking His Tongue Out at the Guard Dog) Owen
Event: Fantasia of the Silver-dwelling Egg Shop
Characters: Akira, Nero, Owen

Chapter One ✧ Chapter Two
Training Episode ✧ Bonus

Chapter One

Location: Manor Kitchen (Day)

Nero: Mm. That's a good color for the yolk. Nothin' beats fresh eggs.

Owen: (Appears) Look what we have here. Hello, Nero.

Nero: (Tense) Huh—!? Owen... Did you need somethin' from the kitchen?

Owen: Not at all, but I do want something from you.

I'm in the mood for something sweet, so make me something. It has to have lots of sugar and milk in it.

Nero: Ahh, gotcha... Then you're right on time. I was just making a little something for the kids.^[1]

I was making them some chiffon cake. How's that sound?

Owen: Fine by me. Is there any jam left? And, of course, my share needs to be drenched in cream.

Nero: Sure thing. Come to think of it, we have so many eggs I could probably make some custard, while I'm at it...

Owen: (Still smiling) Whatever you make is fine. Just hurry up.

Nero: I get it, I get it! Just gimme a minute, all right?

(Tapping sounds)

Nero: ......

Owen: ......

What are you doing?

Nero: Huh? I'm cracking the eggs...?

Owen: I can see that. Why aren't you using magic to do it faster?

You're a wizard, so you don't have to do these annoying, menial tasks yourself. You can just make them happen.

Nero: Maybe you're right, but it ain't really my style to use magic to cook.

Feels to me the more time 'n' effort you put into cookin', the better it tastes when it's done.

Owen: Really?

Nero: ... I mean, that's how I feel, at least. Might be different for other people.

Owen: Still, can't you crack them any faster? Give me that. I'll show you how it's done.

Nero: (Startled) Huh...? You want the egg...?

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Chapter Two

(Tapping sound)

Owen: ......

Nero: Oh, wow... Oh, man... He's a natural...

Owen: What. You're making the weirdest sounds.

Nero: It's nothin'— I was just thinkin' at how you're real good at this. Most people who don't cook all that much have a bit a' trouble with crackin' eggs nice 'n' clean.

Like, when Shino an' Riquet try'n help me, they have trouble with gettin' a dent in the egg when they do it gentle— then they crack it too hard 'n' smash the whole thing.

Owen: (Smiling) That's just because they're amateurs who don't even know how to break an egg.

You don't have to know how to cook to do something this simple.

But forget about that. How many more moves to finish?^[2] There's still dozens of eggs left.

Nero: Ah, hmmm... Let's see...

... Um, just to check in, you weren't thinkin' of helpin' out, were you?

Owen: Me? Why would I? Cooking is your job, not mine.

Really, you ought to be grateful I cracked one entire egg for you.

Nero: (Tense) Ah, yes, I sure am, yessir...

Owen: But now that you mention it...

If you want me to help you that badly, why don't you grind your forehead to the floor and beg? You might just get lucky and make a miracle happen.

Nero: (Smiling) Haha... I think I'm good. Feel like I already saw one miracle today, anyway.

(Nervously looking to the side) (Dunno if he really gets how long this kinda thing takes... He's as scary 'n' as fickle as they come, huh...)

Owen: Fufu, how fun. All these unborn chickens, their lives stolen from them too soon... I wonder how many I can stuff in my belly.

The cake you're making better be massive with this many eggs.

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Training Episode: His Favorite Egg Dish

Location: Manor Courtyard (Day)

Akira: Hello, Owen. Are you out on a walk?

Owen: ......

Akira: (The cold shoulder, huh... He seems like he's in a pretty bad mood. Let's see...)

That's right— Nero was talking about how he brought back quite a few fresh eggs from the market!

Do you have any egg dish favorites, Owen? Like, something that you eat fairly often?

Owen: You just keep going on and on, don't you. What are you bothering me for?

Akira: Oh, no, I was just thinking that maybe you're in a bad mood because you're hungry...

Owen: ... Are you making fun of me?

Akira: Of course not! I wouldn't dream of it...!

Owen: ......

(Sighs) I'm not hungry. And I've never thought about my favorite egg-anythings, either. Happy?

Akira: T-Thank you very much for indulging me. I suppose it's true enough that I don't really see you eat dishes with eggs in th...

Owen: Don't ask if you already know. What a stupid question.

Akira: But, now that I think about it... Your favorite recipes tend to use a lot of eggs, don't they?

Cakes, cookies... Things like that.

Owen: ... What about cream?

Akira: I'm fairly certain custard cream uses plenty of eggs!

If we think about it like that, it turns out you do like quite a few egg-based dishes, huh?

Owen: (Smiling) ... Hmmm. So you're saying that I should go threaten Nero and get him to make me buckets of cream.

Akira: Huh!?!?

Owen: I'll threaten him every time I see eggs in the kitchen. Because I am, in your words, someone who loves egg-based dishes.

He won't fight back, either, since these are technically your orders. Haha, you have some good ideas every now and then.

Akira: W-Wait, please...! Don't use me to intimidate other people!

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Bonus

Voiceline (Homescreen)
Owen: (Smiling) I heard Bradley's bandit gang was pretty big, but I can't recall a thing about anyone other than him. Why would I remember anything about a gaggle of weaklings whose only skill was huddling together around him?

Voiceline (Skill Activation)
Owen: If you find any powerful mana stones, you better share them with me, Boss.

Card Skills
Skill 1. Silverwork Befitting of You
Skill 2. A Sneer as Sharp as a Whip

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Translation Notes
1. A note because I think it's cute: Nero calls the kids お子ちゃま (o ko-chama), which is kind of a cutesy/slang way to refer to kids. (Like "kiddos," if "kiddos" sounded more natural in third person.) ↑
2. Owen uses 何手, "move," a chess term. ↑

Thank you to my friend for the raws!