For You, Chef Van Rouge! Part 3~ [SOLO]

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With the sorbet and the sushi complete, Ame was now going to prepare the Grain Isle Lobster. These little guys were though to catch, but she did her fair share in doing so. They had been a menace, and finding them had been amazingly tough. She had to keep farming and farming. She didn't know if it was just the place she had been looking, maybe they were rare in that area but they seemed to take forever to spawn. None the less, she had ten of the little guys ready to be made into a wonderful lobster dish! She shook out her shoulders and stretched her arms. She made a small moaning noise as she felt her shoulders loosen up. They were stiff from cooking all day, but she wasn't ready to stop, not yet! A little readjusting, that was all she needed! She washed the first little lobster, and placed it into a large pot. She took the next one, wash it and placed it in the pot too. Her pot was large, but she could only manage the fit three of the little buggers in. It would take a while, but she knew she would have these guys finished in no time. This portion would be much more repetitive than the sushi, but it should also be just as quick, minus the large shark at the end. That thought made her giggle softly but she continued to prep her station, now that three of the ten lobsters were cooking.

Words: 252
Progress: 41%
Note: 1 / 20

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While she waited for the little guys to boil, she put a few plates down. She needed ten of them but she could only do three at a time, so she laid out three round plates. On each plate she laid down some lettuce that she had washed previously and dabbled a little seafood sauce, a mixture of ketchup and horseradish, into a small bowl. She placed the bowl in the middle. These two items would be the garnish for the delicious lobster she was about to prepare, once it was cooked anyways. All she needed to do now was wait, and wait and wait. It seemed to be taking a long time, but it would anyways, lobsters had to boil to perfection. She sat down on a chair at the island counter and tapped her fingers. She lightly tapped her foot against the counter and randomly started humming. She would sit there until the timer went off or until she went insane from waiting, which ever came first really. She continued to make a beat with her fingers and foot while she hummed, until a familiar sound rang in the near distance. She stood from her seat and walked over to the timer, stopping it. She reset it, but didn't press start. She would have to remove the lobsters and then put new ones in before she did that. It wouldn't take too much time, but she didn't want to over cook them, or cook them less than they should be cooked, so she would wait, of course.

Words: 259
Progress: 42%
Note: 2/20

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Ame opened the lid to the boiling pot. It was hot and steam flew up in her face, making it burn slightly. Though sometimes, if she wasn't cautious, it would seriously hurt, but when the small sting of heat came about, it made her feel refreshed and the steam particles made her face tingle with a happy feeling. She smiled and then grabbed her tongs. She pulled out the first lobster. His coat was red as red could be and he smelled delicious! The second was just as red and delicious and the thrid matched them both! Good! She set them aside on a towel to dry a little and poured a little more water into the pot, letting it begin to boil once again. Once the added water was as hot as the rest, she tossed in the next three. She pressed start on the timer and picked up one of the cooked lobsters. Now was the fun part, cracking them open. She punctured the stomach of the plate and dug her fingers in, only after ripping off the tail and legs. She pulled the breast plate apart and continued to pull until the meat was completely exposed. From there, she removed the innards and veins and discarded them in the trash. She took out the meat and tossed the shell. She checked the meat for anything she had missed and when she was happy with the result, she set it aside too cool, reaching for one of the legs.

Words: 251
Progress: 53% (adding the chef's choice 10% now)
Note: 3/20

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She took the leg and punctured a hole in it, doing the same basically as with the stomach of the lobster. She did this with all of the legs until the meat was out and set aside. Once it had cooled off to her liking, Ame went to work, cutting the meat into bite sized pieces and laying them out on the plate on the lettuce and around the bowl of seafood sauce. So far, it was looking amazing! It was a pretty simple procedure, though the breaking of the skin was the hardest part of it. She remembered when she was a child, trying to break the shell. Even with the shell crackers, it had been nearly impossible for her to do so. Perhaps it was because she had never had it before she was adopted, but her parents ended up teaching her and she had loved it ever since. Paired with the seafood sauce, lobster was one of her favorites, thought really, she had a long list of favorites. She loved food in general, so really, who could say what her truly favorite food even was! She looked down at the tail once the rest of the meat had been laid out. She had originally thought of removing the meat, but she wanted to add a little color on top of the dark red of the sauce and the green of the lettuce, so at the bottom of the dish, she parted a bit of the meat and put the tail there, shell still on. She smiled happily and nodded, placing it in her inventory and moving to the next. One down, nine to go!

Words: 277
Progress: 54%
Note: 4/20 -- 1 of 10 complete

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The next one was the same. She cracked open the shell and cleaned out the innards, after removing the legs and the tail from it. She discarded the insides and went to chopping up the meat of the stomach and breast. She then cracked open the shell of each leg and chopped the meat in there. She plated it as she had before, placing the meat around the small bowl in the center, but on top of the lettuce. Once that was complete, she placed the tail carefully where she had on the last one and stared at her dish in amazement. She felt so hungry, looking at the lobster. How long had it been since she had eaten it she wondered. She shook her head and placed the plate in her inventory. She couldn't think about such things when she was cooking for others. If there was one thing she had, it was strong will power. She loved to eat delicious food, and staring down at the lobster made her want to eat an entire plate, or maybe two, but she held back. knowing that it was being made for other people. If, in fact, she was invited to this banquet, she could eat it then, but not before. Unless she chose to make a separate one for herself. It would be a good idea to have a snack, so that the temptation wasn't so overwhelming, but she had left overs in her inventory if she was that hungry to begin with.

Words: 253
Progress: 55%
Note: 5/20 -- 2 of 10 complete

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Now she was on to the last cooked lobster. She looked to the timer, noticing that she still had about twenty minutes left. She would have the next plate complete with a little time left over, though it wouldn't be much. She liked how smooth this operation was running, though she still wished she had an extra hand, even still, she knew herself. It wasn't that she would get angry, but she wasn't exactly easy going when it came to cooking, or her kitchen. She had become slightly obsessed with her deluxe kitchen since she had purchased it. She kept it clean, a reason she switched to the housekeeper class. She was very much the in game house wife except without being a wife. She giggled softly to herself, but somehow still yearned for it. When the hell did she start thinking about wanting to be a house wife?! Back in the other world, she hated men, couldn't stand to be around them, people in general actually, so then, why now, in this game world? She thought of the reasoning behind it as she cracked open the lobster, removed the legs and went about the whole process. Her mind couldn't wrap around the thought she had had.. What made her change her thinking, then again, what made her change when she came in to this world to begin with? She thought, perhaps it was too trivial a matter at this point and stuffed the finished plate into her inventory, just as the timer sang out to her.

Words: 257
Progress: 56%
Note: 6/20 -- 3 of 10 complete

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She took the lid off of the boiling pot and pulled out the three lobsters with her tongs. They were the same beautiful red as the last, which was why she chose to keep the tail shell intact. It added a certain aspect to the plate, some bright color, and perhaps a little showing off was in order. The lobsters were cooked perfectly after all. Damn she was good. She set the little guys on the towel as she had with the last three and filled the pot back up, letting the cooled water come to a boil again. She set her timer, but didn't start it and waited for the water to boil. Once the bubbles were forming and popping at a rapid pace, she took her tongs once again and used them to place the lobsters in the water. She licked her lips a little and took the last lobster. She didn't think it would fit, but she really wanted to try, if only to make her job a little easier. She stuffed in the fourth and last remaining uncooked lobster, and to her surprise, it just fit! She called out joyously, added a little more time to the timer and pressed start, putting the lid back on the pot. It was go time. Now that she had all of the little lobsters cooking away, she could relax. When the timer went off, she would be that much closer to completing what she wanted to achieve. She only had a few more days left, but if she kept her goal in focus, she would have it in no time!

Words: 271
Progress: 57%
Note: 7/20

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Now that the last remaining lobsters were cooking, she could focus with easy on completing the dishes from the already cooked ones. She took the first and repeated her process. Crack the shell, pull off the legs and tail, pull out the innards and discard them, take the meat out of it's shell, cut it, lay it on the plate appropriately, do the same with the legs and then place the shelled tail on the plate. Compared to the other dishes, she thought that perhaps this was the easiest, only because it was constantly repeating the order with the exact same ingredients, over and over. It was slightly dull, but with the look of the lobsters, she was having fun. She cherished her work to no end and loved doing it so much. She could make one hundred cupcakes in a row and decorate them all and not be bored! It was a gift, a true gift to be able to cook so well. Her skills had reached above and beyond what they used to be and she had already been good back there. Her family had loved it when she cooked for them. The familiar pang of sadness in her heart struck her after the thought of her parents. As she stuffed the finished late in her inventory, she thought about them. The same things she always thought about when they managed to sneak into her mind. How were they? Did they miss her? Did they even know what had happened to her?

Words: 254
Progress: 58%
Note: 8/20 -- 4 of 10 complete

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It had been a long while since she had thought about her family. Suddenly, she felt bad for pushing them from her mind more often than not, but what was she really supposed to do? She loved her life here, loved it more than anything, even her life in the other world, on Earth, if they were even gone from there. She didn't not want to think about them because they had made her life much more fun than when she had been in the orphanage, but even still, if she had to choose, she knew what she would. It was cruel to abandon your family, she knew more than nearly anyone, but even still, she would choose this place, this world, this was her home now. She didn't know what would happen to her if she was thrown back into that other world. She would probably go crazy or something, have to be put in a mental institution, or she would go on living her life as she had here, just not have as much fun either. Would her and Saber still be as they were? Would she ever see Lavi ever again? She shook her head as she began stuffing crab meat onto the plate. She hadn't even realized that she had cracked and cut the meat already. She double checked for any innards, but there were none, so she plated the tail and put the plate in her inventory. Cooking posed to bring up some touchy subjects for her apparently.

Words: 253
Progress: 59%
Note: 9/20 -- 5 of 10 complete

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Cooking made her mind relapse sometimes. She found it so relaxing and it put her in a happy mood, but it was also easy for other kinds of thoughts to sneak their way through and corrupt the at ease woman. Once the thoughts came, she sometimes found it hard to push them away. She knew it wasn't good to push away your feelings or not talk to anyone about them, but like her, most were now living their lives here and she wanted to do the same. If she was stuck here, what was the point of actually even thinking about that other world, the place that she may never return to. She cracked open the shell. What if her family just moved on anyways? They could always adopt another child like they had with her. She cracked the legs and tail off. To her, she was expendable. She pulled out the innards. They would find some other kid, someone better than her. She took out and cut the meat. They would be better off with someone who wasn't like her.. She was a problem child. She cracked the shell of the legs and pulled out the meat, cutting it and adding it to the plate. She could never be like them anyways.. She put the tail on the plate and put it in her inventory. No! No, she wasn't that same girl! She was a new person and if she did go back, she would show them how much she loved them. She loved this world, but perhaps she wouldn't choose to stay if she could, but who really knew..

Words: 271
Progress: 60%
Note: 10/20 -- 6 of 10 complete

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Her mind was probably playing tricks with her after cooking so much. It just kept on racing with thought after thought, of her family, of her old life, of this new life. It just didn't want to stop and the cracking of shells and cutting of meat and finishing plates, it was all becoming one big thought fest. She didn't hate it, but she disliked it. The repetition of the meal was driving her mind places she didn't necessarily want to go. Not right now anyways, but even still, she didn't fight it. She didn't push her memories away, or the feelings the memories gave her. No, as she cracked off the legs of the lobster, she embraced them and even let a few tears fall down her cheeks. She wiped them away before they could land in the food, but they were still there. As was her family, in that other place, the other place she thought of as home. She pulled out and discarded the innards. How long had it been since she thought of Japan, since she thought of it as home? She really didn't know, how long had she even been in the game? It was all a blur and she didn't know the time or date compared to back in Japan either, so there was really no telling. She cut up the lobster meat and plated it, placing the tail in the same spot as all of the others and put it away in her inventory.

Words: 251
Progress: 61%
Note: 11/20 -- 7 of 10 complete

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After her little cry and the thoughts she had been forced to deal with, her mood was ten times happier than it had been before, though it had still been happy. She didn't really understand it, but she felt relieved that she had kept the thoughts going, gave herself some time to process her feelings. Her body felt better after her tears had fallen and her mind felt more at ease. She smiled and sent a message to her family mentally, though they would never get it. She told them that she loved them, and thanked them for giving her a home and a family after her first family had left her to the orphanage. She told them that she was doing good and not to worry about her, she would be fine. She took a deep breath in and checked the timer. She had enough time to finish this last place. With her soul at ease, she continued on with her work. Cracking and disposing of innards and cutting up the meat and placing it nicely on the plate and adding the tail. She smiled to her finish product and thanked the lobster dish for being so repetitive. She never would have allowed those thoughts to corrupt her mind if it weren't for having to do the same thing over and over again. It was a true blessing to her, one that she would never forget. She wished her family could see how well she was doing in this world, her home. She wished they could meet all of the people who she had met and befriended. She knew they would love them all, as much as she did.

Words: 280
Progress: 62%
Note: 12/20 -- 8 of 10 complete

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All of that time thinking, and she hadn't realized that the timer had already gone off and she had removed the last of the lobsters from the pot. She shook her head and was wide eyed with herself. When had she done it? She didn't know, but she stared down at the last two lobsters, cooked and ready to go. Had she really completed eight lobster dishes already!? She should think more often, things get done much quicker than they should if she did apparently. She checked the timer. Yup, it was off. She shook her head and put her hands on the counter. She lowered her head a little and suddenly, out of nowhere, began to laugh. Her laugh rung out loudly, a crazy person's laughter. Any one passing by would probably think she was insane, but it wasn't that at all. She just felt so good! Her mind felt at peace with itself and her soul was dancing on clouds. She took a deep breath in and listened to the pitter patter of little feet, scurrying into the kitchen. She knew exactly who was coming, and she looked down at her two animals with a wide smile, kneeling and hugging them both hard. She loved this place, she truly did. Her animals, her friends, all of the work she had put into herself already. She had a shop, a home to call her own and people that she considered family, just like the rabbit and the Kitsune nestled closely in her arms.

Words: 254
Progress: 63%
Note: 13/20

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As she hugged her little creatures, listening to them asking her if she was alright. She nodded and smiled down at them. "I'm fine, I'm fine, go on and play you two!" Her voice was soft and sweet as she spoke to them. She loved those little guys so much! Before they left completely, she stopped them. "When I'm finished here, I want to take you both to get a treat! Would that be okay?" The two animals looked at each other and then looked back at Ame, both cheering on with a yes! She smiled and nodded. "Then, when I'm finished, I'll come get you alright?" They nodded and scurried off to play some more. She looked at the two remaining lobsters on the towel. She was still amazed that she had been so deep in thought that she had somehow taken them from the pot, even turning the heat off and left them to dry. She even went as far as to do extra plates without even noticing. She still couldn't wrap her head around it, but she sighed happily and smiled. She guessed it was a good thing, as now she only had two more of the lobster dishes to complete. It was turning out to be much, much easier than she had anticipated and after these were finished, she was almost at her goal! She was so close she could taste it, and if only she had meant that literally! Her stomach growled and she patted it.

Words: 251
Progress: 64%
Note: 14/20

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With all of that cooking, her stomach was growling louder and louder each time it did. She covered the two remaining lobsters to keep them semi warm and decided to have something to eat for herself. She was starving and couldn't hold back a moment longer. It was break time! She opened her interface and scrolled through the inventory screen. She had roasted beef sandwiches. She had made these before going on a farm with Lavinia and Balore, and someone else too, but she couldn't remember his name. She hadn't seen him since and they had only met once. She pursed her lips as she thought, but it wouldn't come to her. She shook it off and continued on. She had a steak burger. She bite her lip as she thought about why she had made this. Before she had met Saber, she had been dating Balore. They, with Lavinia, had talked about making a guild together. They did at first, but it was soon disbanded and the three of them joined another guild. She was no longer apart of that guild either, or any to be truthful. Going back on topic, this steak burger had been made for her first date, first and only with Balore, where she had gotten her first kiss. She blushed at the memory, but she still felt bad for hurting him. He had been kind, gentle and extremely handsome, but the past was the past, her only regret with that being that they couldn't remain friends.

Words: 252
Progress: 65%
Note: 15/20

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The next item on her list was smores, from the same date. She had so many of them. She would have one for dessert after she ate some less sugary foods. Next on her list was strawberry chicken salad. She smiled as she thought about when she had first invited Lavinia to have supper with her. She hadn't owned her own house at that time and was staying with a sweet elderly Lander. That woman taught her so many things, but she hadn't gone to see her in a while. She made a mental note to go and visit her, as her daughter, she remembered, had done so rarely. Next up was fish and chips. She had made this for Lavinia and her Lander friend, the man who owned to pharmacy shop that Lavinia had made her mana potions at. He was such a sweet man and taught Lavinia a lot as well. She thought about how some Landers were very nice and accepting, but there were still many that didn't like the presence of the adventurers. It was a shame really. She thought that they could all get along if they all knew each other, but sometimes they just couldn't bring themselves to get to know each other, both Lander and Adventurer a like. She stuffed that thought away and moved on. The only other foods were desserts, a puff pastry and a valentines cupcake that she had made as a prototype. She bit her lip and clicked on the screen, bringing out the strawberry and chicken salad. She nodded and grabbed a fork, putting a fork full in her mouth, her cheeks glowing with the delicious taste in her mouth. Ah yes, once she was finished, she would have no more problems completing her task!

Words: 297
Progress: 66%
Note: 16/20

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She ate the entire salad, shoving fork fulls into her mouth, filling her stomach quickly so that she could get back to work. She was almost there, but with every job, you were allowed breaks, so a small eating break after cooking so much food, it was necessary. She finished off the last bite and let out a satisfied sigh. She wouldn't eat the smore right now, she wanted to get back to work and the salad would hopefully tie her over until she was finished all of the dishes she had planned to prepare. She took her plate to the sink and washed it, along with the fork, putting it away in the cupboard. Now that she was full and ready to go, she uncovered the two remaining lobsters and took one from the towel. She placed it on the counter and cracked off each of it's legs and the tail. She cracked open the shell of the stomach and tore it open. From there, as she had eight other times now, she removed the insides from it and discarded them. It was strange that each of the lobsters had been male, as she didn't ask for a specific type, though she knew that they were males as they didn't have a sac, for holding babies in. She shrugged her shoulders at the random thought and went back to work. She pulled out the meat from the belly and cut it into bite sized pieces, just as she had before.

Words: 251
Progress: 67%
Note: 17/20

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She was coming to the end of her lobster dishes and feeling pretty good about it. She only had to finish the one that was currently working on and then do the last one. She was so close to completing her goals. With the meat of the belly cut, she cracked open each leg and pulled the meat from there. She cut it into pieces and then began placing the pieces on the lettuce around the seafood sauce. She was so close to the end now, so so close. With only a few days left to finish off her delicious food, she knew she had to put in a lot of work. She wondered how far the other adventurers who had taken on this quest were. How much did they still have left to do? She thought that her part might be the easiest, though she knew that it wasn't. If a lesser cook tried to pull off what she was pulling off, they would have probably fallen apart, perhaps. She supposed it was the same for all of the other crafting classes as well. Each had their own style and their own class to set themselves apart from the rest so it was unfair of her to think that hers was the easiest, though it was to her. It wasn't like she would be able to take on a woodcrafter job, or a blacksmiths. Those things, she thought, were too advanced for her. She would much rather cook and be merry. She shrugged the thought off and placed the finished lobster dish in her inventory.

Words: 266
Progress: 68%
Note: 18/20 -- 9 of 10 complete

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It was down to the last lobster. She took a deep breath and took the little guy in her hands. "Well, it's been fun, but it looks like your the last one now, little guy. I hope you will be happy to be eaten by lots of different people!" She smiled down at it, a pang of guilt ran threw her, but she knew the food chain, she knew that animals were creatures and what not, but she didn't have a choice. She loved meat and all kinds of food, though she sometimes felt bad for the animals being eaten. She always showed respect when cooking a living breathing thing, from the largest animal to the smallest plant. She hoped that they fared well in the afterlife, and didn't hate her too much for eating them. She shook of the thought and put the lobster on the counter. She cracked off the legs and tail and cracked open the shell of the stomach. She pulled out the meat and stared down at the poor creature. A single tear fell down her cheek. She looked down at a full sac, little baby lobsters, dead. She felt her lip quiver but she shook her head. "I'm so sorry.." She said as she took out the sac with the rest of the innards and discarded them. She let out a soft sigh and began cutting the meat. Of course the last lobster would be the female, and with a sac full of unborn babies. She felt her skin crawl, but she wouldn't stop now. It was the luck of things. She could have never known that this last lobster would be a pregnant female.. She could have never know..

Words: 286
Progress: 69%
Note: 19/20

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Ame sighed and shook off the feeling of guilt. She needed to focus. She cut the tender meat of the lobster and set it aside, grabbing the legs and cracking them open. She did as she had down nine times before then and cut the meat, then plated it and added the tail. She nodded at the plate and stuck it into her inventory. She was finished! Well, just about anyways.. Now all she had to do was clean. She turned towards the counter and her eyes widened. "When did it get so messy in here?!" She shuddered at the mess. There were plates she didn't need and an extra pot. She tilted her head to one side and then the other. She didn't understand it but she shrugged and went to cleaning. She washed the giant pot and the smaller on. She washed all of the plates and the cutting board. She washed the knives and utensil and wiped down all of the surface area. After washing her hands, she dried her dishes and put them away in their corresponding spots and wiped down the rest of the counter. She clapped her hands together once it was all finish and let out a long stretch. Now that that was done, she only had a couple more things to do. She was very, very close to completing her overall goal. She smiled to herself and began to once again, prepare her station for the next dish to come. Excitement filled her body!

Words: 252
Progress: 70%
Note: 20/20! ~ 10 of 10 complete!