[Matthew's POV]
From the tension I could see on the Pretty Lions' faces, it had been a much harder battle than they were used to. So I decided to do something to reward them for their effort.
"Rose, would you mind helping me in the kitchen?"
Her hands were still shaking. She clearly needed something to distract her mind. I won't lie, I also needed to cool my head a bit.
The message the system sent after Zahira offered me a position as an informant for the kingdom still dominated my thoughts.
The Side Quest that had been unlocked made it clear what the likely reward was: there was a chance I could officially become a Noble of the Kingdom.
But of course, the risk would be high. They weren't handing out noble titles in exchange for simple information.
I was sure the Side Quest would involve the other part of the job: field agent. I didn't need the details to know that part of the job would require my direct action in the kingdom's politics.
That was a snake pit I didn't want to step into.
I still had time to give my answer. Zahira had given me until we reached the city of Barcelia to respond.
I didn't know how our trip would go now that we had separated from the caravan, but if we spent more or less the same time, that gave me three weeks to think.
I didn't want to deal with it now, so I'd distract my mind by cooking.
My request seemed to cheer Rose up. Now that she was in the kitchen helping me, her hands didn't shake anymore.
"What are you making today?" she asked.
"Lollipop," I replied.
She made a weird face, This was yet another thing that didn't exist in this world. Sugar was a luxury item, so no one here had ever thought of making a sugar bomb stuck on a stick.
I didn't want to use that much sugar either. First, because it would make the lollipops extremely expensive and hard to sell later.
Second, I only had brown sugar. Without modern products like corn syrup, a lollipop made solely from brown sugar would become rock hard and difficult to eat.
So the idea was to make something like a filled candy, a soft center with a crunchy caramel shell. Stuck on the end of a stick, of course.
Okay, it wasn't exactly a lollipop, but no one in this world knew what a lollipop was, so who cares?
"We need to start by peeling and grating these Bacuris."
I think there was a fruit like that back in my old world. Here, it was the closest thing to a coconut the old Matthew knew.
After we removed its shell, we got a kind of nut that tasted very similar to coconut.
Rose was much faster at peeling the Bacuris. She was much stronger; that was a common trait of anyone with a combat class in this world.
"You're really good at this."
She blushed like a tomato at my compliment. Perfect, this was a strategy that would help me bring Rose into the harem with ease.
After peeling, cleaning, and grating all the Bacuris, the next step was grinding them to make nut milk.
That was another physical task Rose could do much more easily than I could, so I left her with the job of crushing all the nuts. After straining the milk, we had all the ingredients ready.
It was a simple recipe. I just needed sugar, nut milk, and the nut shavings left over after straining the milk.
The first step was to make the soft center, since it took the longest. So I started by adding the milk and sugar into a pot, and then it was just a matter of stirring until it thickened.
Naturally, I delegated the task of stirring the candy to Rose.
Her breasts bounced with each movement of the spoon. That image was hypnotizing. I couldn't wait to bury my face in those melons whenever I wanted.
While she stirred the candy and I stayed hypnotized by her bouncing, we started hearing sounds from the bathroom.
Moans? Luna and Felicia had gone to take a bath together. Were they… You know?
The moans from the bathroom were getting louder and louder. It was impossible for me not to imagine what was happening in there.
Those two naughty girls didn't even invite me.
All of that, combined with Rose's huge bouncing boobs right in front of me, was too much. Without me realizing it, a massive bulge had formed in my pants. Yes, it was massive, not just my ego.
Rose was already about to explode from embarrassment just from hearing the moans coming from the bathroom. But things got critical when she looked over and noticed my "state."
I thought she was going to faint. She even held her breath for a moment, but then turned back to the pot and kept stirring.
The moans from those two shameless girls went on for almost an hour.
I was more awake than ever. Lilian and Leona were going to have a hard time putting me to sleep tonight.
In the end, the two came out of the bathroom with the most innocent faces, as if nothing had happened.
"What are you…" Luna was about to ask something, but then she noticed the situation below and froze.
This is your fault, you should take responsibility for the monster you created.
"What happened…" Felicia arrived a moment later and had the same reaction as Luna.
Then Rose looked down once more.
The three of them staring at me like that only made me rise even higher, if you know what I mean.
Felicia looked at me in a way that made it seem like she'd kneel down right then and there and do, you know what.
I had always intended to seduce the three of them, so I just stood there, back straight and chin up, proud to show off my assets.
"I'm making lollipops. It's a candy I invented."
My words finally snapped them out of their trance. The candy filling was almost ready. I just needed to add the nut shavings and let it cool.
"Can't you use magic to cool the filling faster?" Felicia asked Rose, using magic to cook, Why hadn't I thought of that?
"Can I, Mr. Matthew?" Rose asked. She was so cute.
"Of course, please," I replied a bit shyly.
She used a spell on the filling, and in seconds, it was at room temperature.
"Great job, Rose. Now we need to shape them into balls." She blushed again at the compliment.
All three started helping, shaping the filling into little spheres.
Meanwhile, I started preparing the caramel. When the caramel was almost ready, Lilian showed up with Leona.
"Matthy, why didn't you ask me to help you?" Lilian asked.
"I didn't know you liked helping in the kitchen," I replied, though I knew she wasn't talking about that kind of help.
"God forbid, I meant help with… that other issue." Yeah, the bulge was still there.
When Lilian spoke, the others all looked where she was pointing.
Dude, all five of them staring at that thing was driving me insane.
"Now that you've made the balls and the caramel is ready, we just need to do this."
My words pulled them out of their little moment of contemplation.
Then I demonstrated how to assemble the lollipops. I stuck one of the coconut balls onto a stick I had prepared, then dipped it into the caramel until the whole surface was coated.
They copied what I did, and soon we had finished making all the lollipops. Rose used magic again to cool them faster, and our lollipops were finally ready.
"How do you eat this?" Lilian asked with a mischievous smile.
So I demonstrated how to suck on a lollipop.
"You can put the whole thing in your mouth like this and slowly lick the caramel shell."
The looks on their faces as I sucked on the lollipop were priceless.
"You can also lick it like this."
I took the lollipop out of my mouth, stuck out my tongue, and started licking it like a little kitten.
Rose looked like she was going to explode. Luna and Felicia were staring at me like they never had before.
Leona looked like she was going to grab me, throw me over her shoulder, and carry me to bed right there.
Lilian just gave me one of her boldest looks.
"So… who wants to suck my lollipop?"
In an instant, they all had a lollipop in their mouths.
Needless to say, that was a divine sight.