Bella: So Delicious!

"Bella!☆"

"Mei!" ×2

Just as the two were about to continue their culinary discussion, several calls from the doorway interrupted them.

"Her Majesty the Queen!" Bella pounced on Sirin the moment she saw her.

Sirin nearly stumbled to the ground from Bella's impact.

"Hey, hey, hey~ Bella, careful!☆"

Sirin steadied herself and said to Bella.

Realizing she'd almost knocked over her queen, Bella quickly jumped down from Sirin's arms.

"I'm sorry, Your Majesty!" Bella said, flustered. "I just got too excited seeing you!"

Seeing Bella like this, Sirin couldn't bring herself to scold her. She pulled Bella into a hug.

"Forget it, forget it. I'm magnanimous, so I forgive you."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Heheh~ Her Majesty smells so good... I want to be with Her Majesty... hehehe...

At that moment, Sirin had no idea what her loyal subject was thinking; she just assumed Bella was being clingy.

Sigh~ This is the downside of being too charming! Also, Bella's horns are a bit prickly...☆

Mei was a little surprised to see Sirin arriving with Theresa and the others.

"Principal, Teacher Himeko, how did you..."

"Mei, here's the situation..."

Theresa explained the current state of affairs to Mei, along with Sirin's intentions.

Mei: "So... she really doesn't plan to take over Kiana's body?"

Himeko: "That's how it looks for now."

Mei looked at Sirin, who was using Kiana's body to hold Bella while stroking Bella's ears, and found it all a bit strange.

In a daze, she seemed to see a golden-haired figure placing something on her head...

Mei quickly shook her head, snapping back to reality.

Reassured that her Bug Bug was safe, Mei turned her gaze to someone—or rather, a ball—who was muttering nonstop.

Mei looked at Wendy, who had curled herself into a ball and was squatting by the door, and asked, "Teacher Himeko, what's wrong with Wendy?" [?_??]

She'd been so confident when she went out just now—how did she end up like this when she came back?

Himeko didn't know how to explain it to Mei, so she just brushed it off. "Wendy's fine, she's just exhausted."

Seeing that Himeko didn't want to elaborate, Mei dropped the subject.

But then Theresa's curiosity kicked in.

"Mei, what's going on between you and Bella?" [?_??]

"Principal, it's like this..."

Not long ago...

"Is this the kitchen?" Sirin looked at the room, which had all kinds of cooking utensils but no ingredients except for seasonings, and felt a bit puzzled.

"Why isn't there even a fridge?" (′｀;)?

Mei casually pressed a switch on the door, and the room's walls slowly opened, revealing a cold storage room stocked with ingredients.

"Since this hospital mostly serves Valkyries, the daily consumption of ingredients is high, so they set up a separate cold storage." (?￣︶￣?)y

Sirin didn't hear what Mei said. The moment she saw the ingredients, she rushed in and started shopping.

Soon, she came out carrying chicken wings, scallions, garlic, and chili peppers.

Mei looked at the ingredients and asked Bella.

"Are you planning to make grilled chicken wings?"

"That's right! Her Majesty's favorite is my grilled wings!" (○'ω'○)

Bella said this with great pride. For her, being able to serve Sirin was the greatest honor.

"Need any help?" Mei felt a bit awkward just standing there.

"Then you can help wash these ingredients." (｀?ω?′)

Bella handed the seasonings to Mei as she spoke. Then, using her ability, she began to thaw the chicken wings. Soon, the ice on the wings melted.

By then, Mei had finished washing the seasonings.

Bella tossed the seasonings and chicken wings into the air. To Mei's astonishment, before they could fall, Bella pulled out two cleavers from who knows where and started swinging.

The scallions, garlic, and chili peppers were instantly chopped, while the chicken wings were scored perfectly without a single extra cut, landing straight into the basin that had been placed below.

Mei gasped at the sight.

"Amazing!"

Even though her own cooking was good, when it came to knife skills, she couldn't match Bella—especially scoring the meat mid-air. One wrong move and the cut would be too deep, ruining the ingredient's appearance.

"It's nothing." Bella's tone was perfectly calm. "After all, I'm Her Majesty the Queen's personal maid. If I couldn't even do this, I'd be a disgrace to her."

Seeing Bella marinate the chicken wings, Mei felt a bit eager herself. She grabbed some ingredients from the freezer and started cooking.

Half an hour later...

Bella judged that the wings were well-marinated. She scraped off the seasoning, threaded them onto skewers (did the hospital really have those?), and prepared to roast them with her own flames.

Just as Bella was about to breathe fire, Mei handed her a jar of mysterious brown liquid.

"Here, teriyaki sauce. Brush some on the wings—they'll taste even better!"

Bella glanced at the sauce dismissively.

"No need..."

But before she could finish, Mei opened the jar. Instantly, a rich aroma burst forth.

Bella swallowed hard at the scent, dipped a finger in, and tasted it...

So good!

Bella was instantly won over by the sauce.

"Where did this teriyaki sauce come from? I didn't see it just now."

She had checked the condiments earlier and was sure this jar hadn't been there.

Mei smiled softly. "I just made it."

"What? You made this?" Bella couldn't believe it. "You Valkyries can make sauce this good?"

"We're human too, you know. I usually cook for my friends, so over time, my skills naturally got a bit better than most."

"This is way beyond 'a bit better'..." Bella felt the sauce would easily double the deliciousness of her wings.

Just then, another aroma caught her attention. Before she could ask, Mei turned and lifted the lid off a pot of something simmering.

"Oh! Looks like it's done."

Bella leaned in, looked at the curry bubbling in the pot, took a spoon, and carefully tasted it.

"This flavor... How is this possible?!"

She stared at Mei in astonishment.

Mei mysteriously pulled out an apple and handed it to Bella.

"This is the secret!"

"An apple?"

"That's right, an apple. Adding apple to curry balances the spiciness and richness, making the texture smoother and more layered, while also enhancing the overall flavor..."

Listening to Mei's explanation, Bella silently made a decision in her heart...