Magical Seasonings (Please Vote!)

The sun set behind the Manchester Mountains in the west.

Night fell.

A wonderful aroma drifted out from the kitchen.

Ron pan-fried two steaks, grilled several pairs of chicken wings, fried two bowls of popcorn chicken, and brought the food out one by one to the dining table in the living room.

Back when he had rented an apartment with his university classmates, they had researched all sorts of foods and seasonings together, so he had a certain theoretical foundation in these things.

Generally speaking, Ron had only been responsible for watching from the side, saying, "Awesome," and then eating, so his knowledge in this area had remained purely theoretical.

But after his efforts over the past few days, he had managed to make the food look fairly decent.

Ron untied his apron and followed the sound to the study.

Lyle was looking around the study, flipping through a book in his hands. He seemed engrossed in it.

The books in the study were all about theory, history, and plants. Logically speaking, Lyle should not have been interested in them, right?

Curious, Ron walked over and peeked inside, his face instantly darkening.

On the pages, a young elf woman in ragged clothes lay beneath the sunlight on a beach, like an alluring piece of fruit.

It was the uncensored Elf Illustration Album the bookstore owner had given him...

Ron covered his face and sighed. Why had he not hidden it away...

Hearing movement behind him, Lyle blushed slightly and coughed twice. Then he casually closed the Elf Illustration Album in his hands and put it back on the shelf.

"Ron, you have pretty good taste." Lyle gave Ron a smile that all men understood and patted him on the shoulder.

Ron gave an awkward yet polite smile. "Dinner's ready. Try my cooking."

The two left the study and sat down at the dining table in the living room.

"Wait!" Ron immediately called out when he saw Lyle beginning to cut his steak.

"What is it?" Lyle paused, looking puzzled.

"Before you eat, pour this over the steak first." Ron picked up a small bowl beside Lyle's right hand and evenly poured the black sauce inside over Lyle's steak.

The sauce sizzled the moment it hit the surface of the steak.

Lyle's eyes widened as he leaned back. A rich aroma rushed into his nose, leaving him astonished. "What is this?"

"This is black pepper sauce." Ron set the bowl aside, picked up his own black pepper sauce, and explained, "It's a seasoning I specially made. It works somewhat like salt."

Since Lyle's shop only had salt as a seasoning, Ron could only explain it that way so Lyle could understand more easily.

Curious, Lyle cut off a piece of steak covered in black pepper sauce and stuffed it into his mouth.

The rich fragrance of beef combined with the black pepper sauce, creating tiny explosions across Lyle's taste buds.

"This is so delicious!"

"Oh my god!"

"How did you do it?"

Lyle marveled as he ate the steak, feeling that he had never tasted anything so delicious before.

Ron had not expected Lyle's reaction to be so exaggerated. He merely smiled. "It's only because this is your first time trying black pepper sauce, so it feels fresh. Once you eat it more often, it's really nothing special."

After all, the steak itself was ordinary, and both his technique and control of the heat were average. It certainly could not compare to the authentic barbecue from Lyle's shop.

"This is ten thousand times better than salt!" Lyle swept through the steak and gave his final verdict.

"You can also try the chicken wings and popcorn chicken. I prepared special sauces for both." Ron pointed at the other two dishes on the table. "One is salad dressing, and the other is ketchup."

Lyle's eyes lit up, and he immediately began tasting them.

"Mmm..."

"This is incredible!"

Lyle cried out in amazement.

Ten minutes later.

After finishing Ron's dinner, Lyle sat on the sofa, still wanting more.

These seasonings were simply too magical.

Before tasting them, he had never imagined that such flavors could exist in this world.

After tidying up, Ron sat on the sofa and thanked Lyle again. "Thank you so much for the past few afternoons. Starting tomorrow, I don't plan to go out anymore, so I won't have to trouble you."

"It's fine. Being able to eat this meal already makes it worthwhile." Lyle waved his hand, then a hesitant expression appeared on his face. "Ron, can I ask you for something?"

"Of course." Ron nodded.

"Can you tell me how these seasonings are made?" Seeing Ron's puzzled expression, Lyle hurriedly added, "I know these are very valuable, so I won't ask for them for free. I can pay for them!"

Ron only thought for a moment before understanding Lyle's meaning. "You want to use these seasonings in your Barbecue Shop?"

"Yes, I think these seasonings will definitely be very popular!" Lyle said excitedly. Then he calmed down slightly and looked at Ron. "You don't have to tell me how they're made. I can simply buy the finished seasonings directly from you. What do you think?"

"Uh... that won't be necessary." Ron shook his head and smiled. "If you want them, I can just give them to you. They aren't anything important to me."

To Lyle, sauces like black pepper sauce, salad dressing, and ketchup were incredibly magical, but to Ron, they were not particularly extraordinary.

It was only because people in this world were accustomed to using salt as seasoning and had not done much research into food flavorings that Lyle considered such sauces so precious.

In truth, making a batch of these seasonings might not even cost ten copper coins.

If they were made in large quantities, the cost would be even lower.

"No, no, no! How could I take something this important for free?" Lyle hurriedly shook his head. "Ten gold coins! I'll pay ten gold coins for your seasoning recipes. How about it?"

Ron looked at Lyle. From his earnest tone, Ron could hear his sincerity.

Ten gold coins was already a rather extravagant price for the recipes for these seasonings.

Ron might have sold a single Nether Orchid for twenty gold coins, but that was because his customers were mages, people from an entirely different social class than ordinary people.

Their wealth and purchasing power were not even on the same level.

For a Barbecue Shop like Lyle's, earning more than a dozen silver coins a day was already quite good.

So Lyle's offer of ten gold coins was more than generous.

However, Ron was not someone who would let money cloud his judgment, and ten gold coins was not much to him. The converted Wealth Points would only be enough to lift an elf girl's skirt once.

On the contrary, maintaining a friendly relationship with his neighbor was more meaningful.

So Ron suggested, "Ten gold coins is too expensive. How about this? One gold coin. For one gold coin, I'll tell you every seasoning recipe I know."

"This..." Lyle looked hesitant. He was tempted, but also felt a little embarrassed.

Ron could tell by now that dwarves truly were a prideful race, so he added with a smile, "I do have another condition. If I come to your shop for barbecue in the future and you use seasonings I invented, I won't pay for it."

After hearing Ron's words, Lyle immediately nodded vigorously. "No problem! My Barbecue Shop will always be open to you for free! Ron, I'm definitely making you my friend!"

Give me a recommendation vote, and I'll have the motivation to keep writing!