The Possession-Spoon Chef Feeds the Empire - Chapter 57

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 57
He couldn’t believe that the source of this aroma he was experiencing now was none other than the very pan he’d found so repugnant mere moments ago.
It was an indescribably delicious smell—the kind that made your mouth water.
The scent created by those ingredients he’d thought should be discarded surpassed anything he’d ever smelled before.
Pour.
Luciel drizzled the sauce over the meat, then placed herbs on the Incense Burner.
“Heat. And barrier.”
As Bael switched the lever to the heating position and channeled Magical Power through it, the herbs ignited and dense smoke curled upward.
Simultaneously, he spread his other palm—the one wearing the Magical Gloves—above the plate.
The gloves’ circuitry activated, and a barrier membrane formed along the plate’s edge.
A transparent dome, hardened into a hemisphere, covered the meat.
“……Spatial Boundary?”
Serion murmured softly, watching.
To eyes trained in Magical Studies, the flow of Magical Power extending from Bael’s gloves was vivid and distinct.
A structure that partitioned space and maintained it independently within.
It was a bizarre technique he’d never even heard of.
Whether he watched or not, Luciel’s cooking continued.
She threaded a thin tube beneath the barrier membrane, guiding the smoke to flow inside, and once the dome was filled with smoke, she withdrew the tube.
The barrier sealed shut, trapping the smoke completely.
An odd tableau unfolded.
Inside the transparent barrier membrane, the food was invisible.
Only dense, white smoke was visible.
“Smoke……trapped?”
Serion murmured, dazed.
Was smoke something that could even be trapped?
He’d thought it would dissipate soon inside the transparent dome, but the smoke remained, confined and motionless.
Serion’s pupils trembled visibly.
“Trapped it…… Something you can’t hold in your hands…… trapped it.”
As if enchanted by something, he continued to mutter endlessly.
Tap.
Luciel pushed the two plates aside and moved on to the final dish.
Dessert.
She melted chocolate in a double boiler and dropped a single drop of vanilla oil into it.
After confirming the fragrance had sufficiently changed, Luciel thinly coated two small Hemisphere Molds with the melted chocolate and spread it evenly.
“Cool.”
Pop.
This time, Bael switched the lever to the cooling position and channeled Magical Power through it.
Simultaneously, he spread his palm above the molds.
The gloves’ circuitry activated, and a different kind of barrier membrane formed around the molds.
The temperature inside the barrier plummeted in an instant.
Serion’s gaze turned to the gloves once more.
Moments ago, the barrier had trapped smoke; now it was lowering the temperature inside it independently.
The same tool was exerting two entirely different forms of control.
A Dual Circuit Structure—simultaneously activating Barrier Creation and Temperature Control.
“……Whose concept was that, anyway.”
He murmured lowly.
It wasn’t just the design that was unconventional. The person wielding it was the real problem.
Operating those gloves didn’t end with simply channeling Magical Power.
To generate a barrier while simultaneously controlling the temperature within it required maintaining two separate flows of Magical Power independently.
Moreover, Bael was switching between cooling and heating instantaneously at Luciel’s instruction while keeping the barrier itself constant.
By Mana Control precision alone, he was at a level that would make the Magic Tower—always hunting for talent—pop their eyes out of their heads.
What kind of madmen were these, using such bizarre techniques.
For him, it was nothing but incomprehensible things.
Pop.
The chocolate hardened in an instant, and a thin shell was complete.
Luciel caramelized sugar directly by heating, pouring heavy cream into it at precisely the right moment.
While it cooled, she added just a pinch of salt—enough to cut sharply through the caramel’s sweetness.
“Heat.”
At her word, Bael switched the lever the other way.
Luciel brought Bael’s hand to the seam where the two hemispheres met.
The temperature inside the barrier spiked instantly, and the seam melted smoothly together.
When joined, they formed a perfectly smooth sphere without a trace.
Serion’s eyebrows lifted again.
No mold. No adhesive.
It was that tool again.
The Empire’s technology allowed heating without direct flame.
But precise control was another matter entirely. The Flame Magic Stone had too wide a range and was too coarse to handle only the desired area.
Cooling was the same.
Methods relying on ice or cold water took too long and made uniform cooling impossible.
Yet those gloves were different.
When solidifying chocolate, they acted in an instant; when sealing seams, they raised the temperature only at the contact points.
Not only was time shortened, but the exact desired state could be achieved—no over-hardening or melting elsewhere.
The uniform thickness of the shell and the seamless seam were proof of that.
Luciel melted the remaining chocolate, poured it into a small pitcher, and set it beside the sphere.
“It’s complete.”
Three plates sat in a row on the counter.
A transparent Consommé Sphere.
The meat beneath the dome that trapped smoke.
And a Chocolate Sphere with a pitcher.
As the three arranged themselves side by side, each’s color and form made the others shine.
The transparent sphere glimmered like a jewel, catching light; the smoke trapped within the barrier was white and dreamlike; the smooth Chocolate Sphere gleamed with deep, solid luster.
It seemed less like cuisine and more like an exhibition piece.
A long silence filled the Special Chamber.
The Emperor moved first.
He gazed at the Consommé Sphere for a moment.
At the touch of a spoon, the sphere trembled.
As if alive.
He hesitated briefly, then placed it whole into his mouth.
“……!”
In the next instant, the Emperor’s eyes widened.
As if enchanted, struck by great shock, he couldn’t form words—only his mouth moved.
The Empress, seeing his expression, picked up her own spoon.
Gulp.
Her hand stilled—no, her entire body froze.
Like the Emperor, the only thing moving was her mouth.
Serion observed the two of them.
It was rare for the Emperor and Empress to make that expression simultaneously.
Beside them, Arnen too was moving his mouth with a blank look on his face.
Serion slowly lifted his spoon.
Pop.
The instant the sphere entered his mouth, he felt the membrane burst before his teeth even touched it.
He’d anticipated a strange, crackling texture if it had been flash-frozen, but there was none of that.
Rich broth burst forth all at once, coating his tongue.
The fragrances of shiitake mushroom and herb intertwined, creating a depth that defied calling it simple broth.
The membrane had almost no texture.
It felt as though liquid had simply burst inside his mouth.
Serion went rigid for a moment.
That the membrane trapping liquid could be so thin, that the broth inside could captivate the palate so completely—both exceeded his expectations.
Next came the meat.
The Emperor and Empress simultaneously reached for the barrier membrane.
The moment it lifted, herb smoke billowed forth in a rush.
Serion didn’t wait for their reactions any longer and reached out himself.
The instant his fingers touched the barrier, it lifted. The smoke trapped inside burst forth in one great gush.
Rather than dissipating, what had been confined was suddenly released all at once. His vision blurred from the intensity.
And then came the aroma.
“……!”
Wasn’t smoke originally something unpleasant—something that irritated your eyes and pricked your nose?
But what filled his nose now was different.
The fresh, slightly bitter fragrance from burning herbs flowed out, mingling with the deep, weighty aroma created by grilled meat and butter.
The kind of scent that made saliva flow before you even tasted anything.
Serion waited for the smoke to settle, then cut into the meat.
The moment he bit into it, the aroma of thyme and butter exploded forth, followed by the deep, complex flavor of sauce born from the drippings on the pan.
That was the smell from before.
The sauce made from what should have been discarded had completed this meat.
Serion found it oddly unpleasant to acknowledge this fact.
At the same time, he felt the urge to taste this meat again.
One bite, then another.
“Hah……!”
In an instant, the meat that had been before him vanished. Yet Serion’s hunger was not wholly satisfied.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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