Chapter 28: Lua’s Kitty Omelet Rice and a Sharp Encounter

After finishing the perfect hot chocolate, I stepped out of the kitchen and headed to Room 105, where Lua was staying.

‘Hope I’m not late…’

There was no clock in the kitchen, so I couldn’t check the exact time.

The manual said to deliver by 4:10 a.m., so I hurried to Room 105.

Arriving at the door.

‘Oh, she told me to call her name.’

About to knock, I remembered Lua’s request to call her name.

So I called out in front of the room.

“Lua?”

Creak…

The moment I called the cute little guest’s name, Lua.

The door opened, and Lua toddled out, waiting for her hot chocolate.

“You’re late.”

“Oh.”

“Do you know what time it is? I asked for it by 4:10, and you’re already two minutes late!”

“S-Sorry…”

“Sigh… I knew you were a clueless, pathetic manager, but I didn’t expect you to be this slow.”

Flipping her swaying twin tails, Lua scolded me in a sulky tone.

“Well, you brought it, so I’ll let it slide this time. Hurry up and hand over the hot chocolate.”

“Here…”

At Lua’s demand, I handed her the cutely decorated cup of hot chocolate.

“…!”

The moment she took it, Lua’s eyes sparkled.

Clutching the adorable children’s cup in her small hands, she stared at the whipped cream dusted like snow and the cute chocolate cookie on top.

“Wow… It’s so pretty…!!”

Like a child, she couldn’t contain her excitement and let out a small gasp.

“What do you think? Like it?”

Watching her adorable reaction, I asked with a warm smile.

“Hot…!?”

Quickly composing herself, Lua reverted to her refined, medieval-lady demeanor.

“It’s… not bad! For a pathetic manager, you clearly put in some effort. I’ll give you that.”

Her attempt to hide her excitement and act mature was so feeble and cute.

“Hehe…!!”

“What’s with that laugh…!? How cheeky for a mere manager!!”

“No, it’s just… you’re kinda cute…”

“Grrr…!!!”

Caught up in her harmless, adorable demeanor, I let out a fond smile.

Teasing her subtly about being cute.

The cute little guest Lua, perhaps a bit miffed, puffed out her soft cheeks and turned her head sharply.

“That’s enough!! I’m going back inside!!”

“Oh, no, sorry, sorry… I’ll stop…!!”

Afraid I’d teased her too much and she was really upset, I quickly tried to stop her.

“Lua, before you go, can you tell me what you’d like for your main dish today?”

“…Hmph!! Let’s see how you like being teased!!”

Still sulky about being teased, Lua didn’t go back inside but refused to answer my question.

‘You teased her too much…’

To soothe the genuinely upset little guest—no, little ‘lady’—I quickly changed my approach.

“I was rude, my lady. Please forgive me.”

“…!”

“As an apology, I’ll prepare the perfect meal you desire. Could you please tell me what you’d like to eat today?”

Switching from a teasing uncle to a refined, gentlemanly butler.

Lua’s eyes widened in an instant.

“Y-You… called me ‘my lady’…!!”

Clearly pleased with the title ‘my lady,’ her sulky expression melted into a giddy smile.

“Hmph…!! Looks like you’ve finally come to your senses!!”

“Yes… I’ve… finally come to my senses, my lady… Urk…”

Why was I stuttering? Simple.

Lua, puffed up with pride at being called ‘my lady,’ was even cuter than before.

But if I patted her head or laughed now, it’d be a disaster.

So I bit my lower lip, desperately holding back my laughter.

‘Hold it… You have to hold it to survive…!!’

“Fine! Since you’re so sincere, I have no choice but to forgive you! I’ll tell you what I want to eat!”

“Please… tell me… Urk…!!”

“What I want for today’s meal is—!!”

Finally, the order from the cute little guest—no, the refined noble lady Lua—began.

Now, I had to focus and remember every detail of her order.

Even though I teased her for being cute, someone who schedules everything so precisely must have a picky and exhausting order.

There are enough ingredients to make most things, but the issue is my cooking skills.

If she asks for something beyond my ‘apartment chef’ expertise, it could be trouble.

‘Lobster, butter steak, or even beef Wellington—I can handle those… But if she orders something more complex…!!’

Hoping she wouldn’t request anything too extravagant.

I prepared to focus solely on Lua’s order.

She slowly opened her mouth.

“—A kitty omelet rice!”

“…Huh?”

“Bring me an omelet rice with a cute kitty drawn in ketchup on top of a round egg. You can manage that, right?”

“….”

“Oh, and no carrots in the omelet rice. Such… inelegant ingredients shouldn’t enter my mouth.”

Lua looked at me with a smug ‘try it if you dare’ expression, as if she’d given me an incredibly difficult order.

Seeing her like that, I was in agony.

‘Hold it… You have to hold it…!!’

Holding back laughter was too hard, and not patting her head was pure torture.

It’s now 4:23 a.m.

“A light snack before your meal, Lady Lua.”

“Wow…!! Cute gummy bears…!!”

“Urk…!!”

Having delivered the gummy bears right on time at 4:23, I returned to the kitchen to prepare Lua’s order: ‘omelet rice with a kitty drawn on it.’

‘Alright, let’s see. Instant rice or regular rice… where is it…?’

Since I couldn’t find regular rice, I started rummaging through the ceiling cabinet for instant rice.

Clatter…

“Huh…? What’s that?”

A sudden clattering sound.

“Huh…?”

A heavy metal object fell from above my head.

Clang!!

“What’s this?”

Inspecting the metal object that hit my head, it wasn’t a frying pan or pot.

It looked very much like a wok, typically used for Chinese cooking.

“Oh, this is nice. Could be useful.”

It seemed perfect for frying rice like in an omelet rice, so I set it beside the sink.

Clank!

Clank!!

“Hm? Why’s it dented?”

Either from hitting my head or already damaged, part of the wok’s bottom was deeply dented.

“If it’s dented, it’ll be hard to use… Guess I’ll have to fix it.”

Obviously, a dented wok would make cooking difficult.

So I.

“Hup!”

Gently applied force to the dent, restoring the wok’s round shape.

Creak…

Creak…

With the sound of bending metal, the wok returned to its original form under my careful touch.

“This should do it, right?”

Placing the now-smooth wok on the gas range.

I rummaged through the shelf, found instant rice, and opened the fridge for omelet rice ingredients.

After washing my hands thoroughly.

I began preparing to chop the ingredients.

‘Alright, today’s cooking class: we’re making a cute, kid-friendly kitty omelet rice.’

The ingredients needed are onions, green onions, beef, Vienna sausages.

Cooking oil for frying the rice, butter for seasoning, and ketchup.

Carrots would normally go in, but per the picky little guest Lua’s order, no carrots.

‘Now, using this kitchen knife, let’s start chopping the ingredients…’

Thud!!

Thud!!

“…Huh?”

Trying to chop the beef and onions with the prepared knife.

The blade was so dull it just mashed and crushed the fresh ingredients.

No other knives were available, and continuing with this one would ruin the dish’s flavor.

“Gotta sharpen this blade…”

No sharpening tools were around, but I couldn’t make a perfect omelet rice without a sharp knife.

So I grabbed the blade with two fingers.

And started sharpening it with my fingertips.

The feeling of metal scraping my nails and fingers was unpleasant, something I avoided even at my apartment.

But that’s not important now.

Making a perfect dish to satisfy the little guest is what matters.

Scrape…

Scrape…

‘This should be sharp enough…?’

Testing the blade on an onion again.

Slice…*

The onion, which had been mashed before, now sliced cleanly.

“Nice, this’ll do. Now…!”

With the sharpened knife in hand, I focused on making the omelet rice.