Chapter 3
The process of making homemade chocolates with Enkidu and his former Master was truly a spectacle to behold. Enkidu muttured.
"Chocolate is dark in color, so it's hard to tell when it's burnt."
"I really don't understand how it ended up this way."
Enkidu was neatly dressed for baking—a white apron with a ribbon tied prettily at the back, long green hair tucked completely into a round hygiene cap, and shirt sleeves rolled up tidily above the elbows.
Despite they explaining the situation in a voice as smooth and gentle as well-melted milk chocolate, Tate's kitchen was undeniably filled with acrid smoke. As Tate coughed and opened the windows to turn on the ventilation, Enkidu carefully reread the recipe displayed on her tablet.
"Hey, Tate."
"Yes, Enkidu?"
"What does °F mean after the numbers?"
"...Ahh!! I confused Celsius and Fahrenheit!!"
Tate's usual neat and decisive smile crumbled helplessly between an old recipe and modern measurement units. After briefly holding her head in frustration, she quickly returned to her composed demeanor and calmly announced their next attempt. Enkidu also decided to continue pursuing the goal of completing the chocolate, but during their second tempering attempt, both were so enthusiastic about stirring the chocolate that they ended up with a creation full of bubbles.
Enkidu put a piece of the bubbly chocolate in their mouth to taste.
"This... might be good in its own way. The texture is unique and soft."
"Hmm... but it still looks too amateurish..."
So they set aside the bubble chocolate and began a third attempt, during which Tate accidentally poured the chocolate while the silicone mold was upside down, causing it to spill all over the table. On the fourth try, they got too caught up chatting and forgot to keep stirring, resulting in a strangely cloudy and bumpy chocolate. They quickly popped these failed creations into each other's mouths to hide the evidence before starting a fifth attempt. Just as they were about to pour the well-melted chocolate into the mold, Enkidu suddenly made an unexpected suggestion.
"I want to add wine."
"Suddenly?"
"Gil likes wine."
"At this stage? But how should we do it?"
"Can't we just pour it in directly?"
Of course, things couldn't be that simple, and they ended up with a pasty reddish-brown mush.
The former Master and Servant collapsed into chairs, wiping away cold sweat and sighing as they faced the kitchen chaos. Their hair, aprons, forearms, and cheeks were all covered in stains left by sugar, powder, and chocolate.
"Enkidu."
"Yes, Tate."
"Should we just buy something from a store?"
Enkidu looked at Tate with a bright, clear smile, as if there was no helping it.
"You give up quickly."
"Not quickly at all, I'd say? We've already spent enough on ingredients to buy ten boxes."
Tate pointed to the bubble chocolate set aside in the corner, and the rough chocolate that remained even after they had stuffed some into their mouths.
"It's important to recognize our limitations. That's the extent of our capabilities."
"You're quite pragmatic."
"I'm trying to protect both our hearts from further disappointment."
Looking at the failures Tate was pointing to, Enkidu turned back to her with an unwavering, cheerful smile.
"I don't really experience disappointment... what about you, Tate?"
"I am quite disappointed, actually."
"I see..."
Leaving the exhausted-looking Tate beside him, Enkidu reached out with messy hands to pick up the two types of odd chocolate from the counter and observed them one by one. Tate watched, resting her chin on both hands, and suggested:
"Let's just call that one 'aerated chocolate' and the other 'rustic chocolate.' We can pretend these are legitimate styles that fancy chocolatiers make on purpose."
"You can just name them like that?"
"Well, it's completely made up, but Your Majesty will probably accept anything if you tell him Enkidu made it."
Enkidu put a piece of the rustic chocolate in their mouth. The amateurish chocolate indeed didn't melt well.
"Gil isn't that easy. He'll laugh boisterously and be quite smug about it."
"Is that so?"
"What do you think Sanla would do?"
Tate froze at Enkidu's casually thrown question. After a few seconds, she sighed again. She covered her forehead with her palm, messing up the silver hair that Enkidu had firmly braided for her.
"Want to go to a chocolate shop together?"
"Yes, and I have a suggestion too."
When Tate looked up at Enkidu with a tired expression, Enkidu responded with an ever-sparkling smile.
"Would you come with me to a bath products store? There's something I'm looking for."