“Thank you,” Arek said, inclining his head respectfully as he started cleaning up the workspace. “We’ll be out of your hair now. I appreciate you letting us use your kitchen.”

“It’s no pro – ah, don’t get used to it,” Voulier said, stuttering over his words. “If word gets out that I’m running a charity case, the guild will be overrun with entitled fools. I’ve only allowed you to cook here because of your extraneous circumstances.”

“Whatever the reason, we still appreciate it,” Malissa said, smiling at the mustached chef.

Arek finished up washing the bowls and set everything out to dry. He slung his pack over his shoulder and picked up the bowl of rice. Malissa grabbed several bowls and utensils. As the two of them started towards the door, Voulier cleared his throat.

They paused as Voulier shuffled over to them and thrust a paper package into Malissa’s hands.

“It was lying around the kitchen picking up dust,” Voulier said gruffly. “I would have just thrown it out, but maybe you can make some use out of it.”

“Thank you,” Malissa said, surprised.

“Now get out!” Voulier snapped. “You are distracting my cooks.”

He waved a hand threateningly at them as the two scurried out the door while hiding their grins.

The other two Happy Sunflowers members were still at the same table. Both of them had their noses buried in the books that Magus had given them. As they approached, Belmont’s stern gaze snapped up to meet them.

He relaxed slightly when he realized who was walking over to the table, setting his book down and wrapping it back up in a black cloth. Ming was oblivious to their presence until they were within sniffing distance.

Her nose twitched and she glanced up, casting a predatory grin in the direction of the bowl of fried rice.

“What did you make?” Ming asked.

“Manners, Ming,” Belmont reminded. “It’s ‘thank you for cooking for us’. You’re going to anger someone important if you keep that up.”

“Thank you for cooking for us,” Ming said, making a face at Belmont. “What did you make?”

“Fried rice,” Arek said. He set the bowl down on the table. Belmont grabbed Ming’s shoulder before she could dive forward.

“No hands in the bowl,” Belmont warned. “I don’t want to get sick, and I know all to well where those grubby little hands of yours have been. Use a utensil. Even Arek uses a utensil, and he was raised in the wild. I think.”

“You’d be correct,” Arek said. “Although the first thing I was taught how to do was use a utensil. It was quite important in my tribe.”

“Really?” Malissa asked. It wasn’t often that Arek talked about his past, but the orc had lived quite the interesting life, so every scrap he dropped was like buried gold.

“Yep,” Arek said. He lifted his meat cleaver a few inches out of his travel pack and smirked at the party. “They taught us how to use a knife pretty early on. I’ll admit we didn’t get around to spoons and forks, though.”

“Oh, get stuffed,” Malissa said. She rolled her eyes and set the bowls out in front of everybody. She served everyone a portion and then sat down, setting the package Voulier had given her on the table.

Arek chuckled. He noticed a flicker of a smile cross Belmont’s face, but it vanished before it took hold. The armored man wouldn’t be caught dead laughing at a joke.

Ming brought her bowl closer. She curled her lip up at the spoon and glanced at Malissa. The tall woman was looking down at her bowl of rice. Ming’s eyes gleamed as she snatched her bowl and tipped it back into her mouth, devouring the entire portion in three rapid bites.

“This is really good! Thanks, guys!” Ming mumbled through a mouthful of food.

Arek used the comically small spoon in his hand to get a taste of the rice himself. He was tempted to take a page out of Ming’s book, but after seeing the look Malissa was shooting the small mage, he decided against it.

The fried rice was as good as he remembered it. The grains were just crisp enough to give the bite texture, while the egg was soft and flavorful. The sauce gave the entire dish a slightly smokey flavor with just a hint of salt that was like a beacon in his mind to take another bite.

He obliged, this time getting a shrimp in the spoonful as well. It was firm, with the slightest hint of what could almost be described as fresh sweetness. The rice wasn’t oily, but it still coated the inside of his mouth.

“It turned out quite well,” Arek agreed. “I’ll admit that I’ve had better, but I think we’ve done a pretty good job.”

“It’s amazing! I don’t think I’ve ever had rice with this much flavor,” Malissa said after swallowing. “I’ve had fried rice before, but it’s never tasted like this. What did you do that was so different? I saw you cooking, and it didn’t seem like you changed that much.”

“What do you think it was?” Arek challenged her. “You’re right, fried rice is a very common recipe. Nearly every recipe has the same basic ingredients. The toppings can be changed however you desire, though.”

“The toppings? No. That’s not the difference I’m tasting,” Malissa said. She started out slowly, but her words grew more confident as she continued. “The toppings would absolutely effect the dish, but not like this. It’s like everything just has more… flavor. The meat tastes meatier, the dish seems more like a single conglomerate of flavor rather than a bunch of different ingredients that ended up in the same location.”

“So what do you think it is?” Arek pressed.

Malissa’s lips thinned and she crossed her arms, thinking.

“One of the last two things you added,” she said after several moments. “Nothing else was that unique. You did say that the White Gold was a key to fried rice, but I didn’t think it would actually have this much of an effect.”

“Correct,” Arek said. “Just a tiny amount is enough to completely change a dish.”

Malissa nodded slowly, taking the information to heart as everyone continued to eat. She was the first to finish. She pushed her bowl away and pulled the package Voulier had given her closer.

She carefully tore open the packaging. White cloth peeked out at her from underneath it. Malissa pulled it out of the package, revealing a pure white apron. It had several pockets on the front and was completely unmarred.

“Collecting dust, huh?” Arek asked with a chuckle. “That looks like quite a nice apron.”

“I can tell,” Malissa said, running a hand along the smooth fabric. “I should thank him.”

“I don’t think he’d appreciate it if you walked in there and said, ‘thank you’. I think we know enough about Voulier to understand that,” Arek said. “You’re much better off showing him his gift went to good use. Make a dish that you’re proud of and let him taste it.”

Malissa nodded slowly. She folded the apron up and carefully placed it in her extradimensional bag, sending a glance at the kitchen before turning back to the table.

“I’m looking forward to it,” she said.

“So long as we don’t have to pay both of you for cooking,” Belmont said, his lip curling in what might have been a small smile.

“There’s no ‘we’! I’m paying all of Arek’s salary,” Ming grumbled, stuffing some more fried rice into her mouth. “You’re just a moocher.”

Belmont shrugged, not denying it.

“You made the deal, not me. I’m more than happy to profit off it, though,” Belmont said. “It’s not like ten gold is going to break anyone’s bank, though. Especially not anymore. We can earn a respectable amount of money in the F rank dungeons.”

“Speaking of money, why don’t we check out the auction house? Now that we’ve eaten, I don’t think anything is holding us back.”