Chapter 149 Girls' Food is Their Life
"Eriri, don't worry about disturbing her. When it's time, just wake her up and have her work with you. From today on, you're officially promoted to a mid-level maid. As her instructor, start by teaching her to clean the toilets!" Artoria instructed.
"Eh?! I'm supposed to teach this kid?" Eriri exclaimed in shock.
"What! Mid-level maid! This is my first obstacle to overcome!" Mor-chan glared at Eriri even more fiercely.
"Eek~! I'm going to be killed! Save me, Shirou!" Eriri trembled in fear, looking to the boy for help.
Shirou smiled and gave her a thumbs-up in encouragement: "You can do it!"
"That's right, Eriri, you're also from Japan like Shirou. Let's start by having her clean the toilets to a drinkable level of cleanliness," Artoria instructed.
Eriri shook her head vigorously, her twin tails whipping around as she said, "Head Maid, no! Absolutely not! Are you talking about those toilets deliberately designed to be used as drinking water sources, disinfected daily with boiling water, then flowed through distilled water with lemon juice? Or is this like those black-hearted companies that force interns to clean toilets and drink from them to 'tame' employees, otherwise they don't get hired?!"
"Mordred, stop dawdling and go change your clothes. Apply the spirit of knightly training to your maid training!" Artoria ordered.
"Oh! I'll go change now," Mordred replied.
Since this was a rare outfit gifted by her father, she was worried about wrinkling it. She hadn't worn it much, and the night before, she carefully folded it and wrapped it in several layers of cloth.
"Shirou, come with me," Artoria said, looking at him.
"Hmm, Artoria, do you have a good plan?" Shirou asked.
"Head Maid, what's going on here? Did you bring a man back here?" The dorm supervisor, having rushed over at the noise, asked in the hallway.
"That's a girl!" Artoria said, expressionless.
"No, that's definitely a boy," the supervisor muttered, cold sweat forming.
"I said that's a girl! What you see is a girl! Do I need to say it again?" Artoria repeated, questioning the supervisor.
"Uh… well, if the Head Maid says so, then it must be a girl," the supervisor reluctantly agreed.
"Ahaha, sorry for the trouble," Shirou said awkwardly, greeting the supervisor.
The Head Maid nodded in satisfaction and continued walking.
"Artoria, aren't you doing maid training here? Why does everyone seem so in awe of you?" Shirou asked, puzzled.
"Shirou, the Head Maid is supposed to be powerful, dignified, graceful, able to solve all problems, and always ready to pull a machine gun or rocket launcher from her skirt to annihilate any trash that dares violate her authority!" Artoria said matter-of-factly.
"Honestly, Artoria, don't you have the wrong impression of maids? From what I remember, they're usually light and airy, saying stuff like 'moe moe chu~!'" Shirou asked, curious.
"Shirou, the kind of maid you're thinking of is wrong. A true maid is frugal, handles all household chores properly. Those who constantly try to please men with cuteness are just servers in cosplay outfits," Artoria explained.
Artoria brought Shirou to the kitchen in the dining hall, where the chef, a plump lady, provided nutritious breakfasts to the students daily. Seeing Artoria, she dashed forward with surprising agility for her size and asked respectfully, smiling:
"Head Maid, any orders? Breakfast is ready: American-style beef burgers, British-style fried cod, and Italian-style pizza. Is that okay?"
"Leave the burgers and pizza, give the fried cod to the students, and you can rest this morning," Artoria waved dismissively.
"Ah, yes! But the remaining breakfast hasn't been prepared yet," the chef asked.
"There's a chef here. Leave the rest to him," Artoria said.
The plump chef eyed the foreign boy next to Artoria warily.
The rumor that the Head Maid had brought a man had spread across the dorm, and she didn't expect it to be a fellow chef—was he here to steal her job?!
"If there's no problem, you may leave. We're just borrowing the kitchen for today. He'll leave afterward," Artoria instructed.
"Yes, Head Maid," the chef replied cheerfully. Even if her job was at risk, she wouldn't go against the Head Maid.
She took off her apron and hurried out the back door, her movements surprisingly nimble thanks to a week of Spartan-style training imposed by Artoria to improve her mobility.
"Shirou, I want tempura, tonkatsu, and croquettes!" Artoria ordered directly.
"Oh, okay, let me see what ingredients are here," Shirou responded instinctively. As he took shrimp and pork from the freezer, he realized and looked at Artoria: "Wait, Artoria, shouldn't we be doing something more urgent than cooking now?"
"No, this is the perfect time to show the women your skills and dispel the bad rumors! And most importantly, I want to eat! So cook it for me!" Artoria said.
"Y-yes…" Shirou laughed, amused. Her reason was so straightforward that he couldn't refuse, and he still needed some time before confronting the dragon, so making breakfast wouldn't hurt.
Nearby, some students from the japanese branch peeked out cautiously.
"Eh? I thought it was some scary pervert, but it's him? Second-year kouhai," a third-year senpai said, slightly disappointed.
"He went to such lengths because he wanted to see Eriri! Shirou really is brave!" a second-year girl exclaimed.
"So touching! Willingly defying love is pretty romantic," another girl fantasized, imagining a Romeo-and-Juliet-style romance.
"Eh? Shirou sneaked in and got caught? Will he be sent back?"
"So this is the last meal he'll eat outside, thanks to the Head Maid? Poor guy, he's so good…"
"No, he's the man the Head Maid brought here, so it's fine, right?" one girl said uncertainly.
"Ah, so he's with the Head Maid. Nice! Even forbidden teacher-student romances like this are possible," another girl with thick eyebrows murmured dreamily.
"Eh! That's allowed too?"
"Well, the Head Maid looks younger than us, even though she's more imposing than adults," the girls shrugged.
"That kind of gaze makes your legs weak, like they hold all the power over your life," one girl said.
"Since there's no problem, I'll go order. Shirou, make me a sweet rolled omelet! Azusa, you want a banana cake? Ritsu, Mio, Tsumugi, any requests?" the girls moved forward to greet. (the girls are from K-on)
"Yui~! Come back! Do you want to get killed by the Head Maid's glare?" the other girls pulled the airheaded girl back.
"I don't mind, I just think the maid uniform is cute, even if I have to work," Yui said.
"Yui, get a clue! Atmosphere!" a small cat-eared girl warned.
"Atmosphere? Ah… yes, then we shouldn't disturb them," Yui replied, looking toward the kitchen. There, Shirou was chopping ingredients while chatting cheerfully with the Head Maid, a warm scene.
"Although it's a bit unfair to Eriri, let's observe quietly for now," the girls hid nearby, watching.
Indeed, the British students thought the same way.
A petite, cute Head Maid, even if stern, is like a fairy-tale princess—charming even in her cold, imposing state.
For certain girls with special interests, daily scolding by the Head Maid was like a mandatory lesson. Those who dared defy her authority were on the level of heroes.
The girls' eyes toward Eriri reflected approval, even respect.
"That new assertive little maid is great too." "She wall-pinned Eriri!" "No wonder Eriri is skilled." "They're so close, they'll fight again soon."
"Eriri! Explain things properly! If I'm taught like this, I have no idea how to do it best! Swinging the mop a thousand times a day—does that make me stronger?" Mor-chan yelled in her gray maid uniform.
"The mop will break! Someone save me!" Eriri cried, near collapse while teaching Mor-chan to clean.
"Don't cry! If I swing the rag ten thousand times a day, how long until I become a Round Table Maid?!" Mor-chan wailed.
"I don't know! I just want to go home and draw," Eriri shouted, covering her ears.
Mor-chan gained popularity with the girls, but their perception of Shirou was extremely negative—they were rivals that needed elimination.
"No! Gross! Even the Head Maid can't bring a disgusting man here!" Some girls voiced strong opposition.
"That boy is in the kitchen, serving as a temporary chef!"
"Trying to cover it up like that? No way! Let's gather everyone and chase him out!"
The girls marched toward the kitchen. The dining hall and kitchen were separated by a transparent glass window, allowing them to observe the cooking process.
Shirou, standing at the counter, was clearly visible from the dining hall.
"Ah! That's the boy! And the Head Maid's there! What should we do? Complain?" one girl asked.
In the kitchen, Shirou focused entirely on cooking, reaching a state of complete absorption.
When someone concentrates fully on a task, their aura is different, making them especially attractive.
The girls, seeing Shirou, couldn't look away. One whispered: "Ah… he's my type. If he moves in, it's fine."
"Eh? But you like girls?" another asked.
"Ah… I did before, but now… maybe I'm okay with either," she replied casually.
"Eh? Then fine," the other girl said in surprise.
"Yes… he just looks so delicious," several girls remarked appreciatively.
Shirou peeled shrimp, drained them with paper towels, dipped them in batter, and deep-fried them. The red tails became coated in a thin, golden crust in thirty seconds—crispy, sweet, and perfect.
Besides shrimp, small silver fish, okra, and pumpkin were fried sequentially.
Dipped in grated daikon and soy sauce, it was a different delight.
Using local white sesame oil, Shirou worked in two pans—one for tempura, the other for croquettes.
Rinsing the knife under water, droplets splashed as onions were chopped into uniform purple-red pieces.
He innovatively added a small potato, combining it with meatballs into patties, coated in batter, egg, and breadcrumbs, and fried to golden perfection.
Croquettes were drained on paper towels. Everything proceeded with calm precision, displaying elegance in skill.
The girls outside the glass window watched Shirou's cooking performance, mesmerized, repeatedly praising him.
"Oh wow, so beautiful! Is he really a skilled chef?!" "A samurai! He's a samurai! Okita Souji~!" "No, Okita Souji is a girl!"
"I guess I better go order!" Yui couldn't resist running forward.
Read ahead (60 chapters) by supporting me on buymeacoffee com/varietl or ko-fi edwriting