Chapter 277 – Pizza preparations

Sophia and Ari were finally back from their shopping trip to get the ingredients for homemade pizza, and the two had to explain why it had taken so long. Anna didn't take it well when she heard that the blonde had run into her mother, the queen. They found out that it was even worse than the new couple had thought as they had gotten busy when the entire castle also was, well, busy. As a result of that, even more people had heard them. Not being able to deal with that, the two got serious about running away.

Sophia, being the voice of reason she always is, barely managed to talk them out of it, though. As they were getting nowhere, the group decided to put the topic on hold for the time being and concentrated on something that was much more important. For some of them, at least. Making pizza, that is.

“It sure is great that we have such a big kitchen.” All five girls had decided to join in on the pizza fun in the kitchen, and Maya just had to make a comment.

“It’s great, isn’t it?!” Sophia was having a good time. She was a big fan of their mansion being so lively right now.

“I think so, too!” Chloe’s mood was just as good.

“Can you cook?” Anna glanced at the cheerful fox-girl.

“I specialize in eating!” She almost sounded smug. “My cooking skills are classified as a disaster, according to Feyfey."

“Seriously, why are you two so similar?!” The princess then stared at the blonde.

“Hey!” Sophia got loud. “While eating is also my specialty, I DO have an interest in cooking! I also think that I’m not a complete disaster anymore!”

“She has gotten somewhat decent when it comes to preparing ingredients," Maya added her own assessment of the situation. "Also, as long as you like spicy food, she does know how to season a meal.”

“See?!” Sophia looked back at the princess with a proud expression.

“Consistency, especially concerning cooking time, isn't her strong suit, though."

"A-Ah…” Her cheeks turned ever so slightly pink. “T-There was no need to mention that bit…”

“Heh.” Anna liked that reply a lot.

“What are you getting so smug for?” Ari just stared at her girl. “You are a proper disaster, after all.”

"A-Ah.” She immediately turned her head away.

“Soo…" Maya collectively looked at everyone. "We have two that know what they're doing, Ari and I. Then, there are the catastrophes, Anna and Chloe. At last, there's someone in between and eager to learn, my very own almost-idiot.”

“Yay, I leveled up!” Sophia was happy with her current assessment.

"A-Ari, can I get a lesson once everything has cooled down a little…?” The princess didn’t want to lose against her fellow tiger.

“S-Seriously?!” The jaguar’s face lit up. “Absolutely! That sounds like a lot of fun! Teaching Sophia a bit already was a great time, so this will be even better!”

“I’m hurt!” The blonde in question started pouting in return.

“You know what I mean!”

“Still hurt!”

“Shut up!”

“Ehehe~.”

"Wow, they sure get along great." Chloe seemed to enjoy their bickering.

“Hmm…” The cat-girl and the princess didn't entirely share her feelings on the matter. "Well, they are cute, so it’s fine…" Surprisingly, they could see something good in how the two were acting.

"Wow, that's some serious syncing. Almost creepy." This time, the fox-girl's reply sounded a lot more mixed.

"A-Ah.”

“Alright! Let’s get to the pizza!” Sophia, out of everyone, was the one who tried to get them back on track. “I think it’s best to group up here… Chloe, cooking skills aside, do you know how to make pizza?”

“Not at all!” Though she sounded super motivated, she was just shaking her head. “I do know the rough ingredients and how it’s supposed to taste!”

“Good enough! Maya, do you still remember how it tastes? Especially the base dough or crust?”

“Yup.” She just nodded.

“Perfect. It’s a basic yeast dough. Water, flour, yeast, salt, sugar, and a bit of oil. Grab Anna for kneading it.”

“Why me and Maya?! I want to be with Ari!” The princess already wasn’t a fan of the groupings.”

“I’m hurt!” The cat-girl decided to do the same as Sophia earlier.

“S-Sorry…”

“Ahaha.” The blonde had to chuckle at that. “Our dear jaguar and cat here are the only ones we can really count on the produce quality food… Neither Ari nor you know how pizza tastes, so the two of you in the same group might not be the best idea. The sauce is also more complex, so it might need two who know how it’s supposed to taste…” She glanced at the fox-girl during the last part.

“F-Fine…” The princess could understand the logic behind that.

“I will try to assist Ari with the sauce while Chloe helps me to get the taste right.”

“Sounds like a plan!” The two in question nodded a couple of times in return.

“Let’s get started!” Sophia then energetically raised her fist.

“Yes!” The fox-girl followed right after her.

"Sure." Not entirely as enthusiastic, the other three girls also raised their arms.

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While Maya and Anna got ready to start on the dough, Chloe and Sophia gathered around Ari in front of the kitchen counter while looking at her with expectant eyes.

“You two do know that while I know how to cook, I have no idea what we’re actually doing, right…?”

“Ah, right…” Hearing that, the tiger scratched her cheek. “I forgot about that. We want a tomato sauce with some very distinct spices. Oh, and a ton of garlic and onion because you can never have enough of that.”

“Don’t make me fall for you for real now…” Apparently, the fox-girl was a big fan of the idea of adding a lot of those ingredients. “Oh, and it must be a thick sauce.” She hadn’t been entirely serious about her claim. “Pizza with a watery sauce is the worst!”

“Good point!” Sophia was too excited to get embarrassed. “It definitely has to be on the thicker side!”

“Okay…” Ari paused for a moment. "A thick tomato-based sauce is actually quite complicated as tomatoes are basically all water… Wait, is that why we got the puree and the already processed tomatoes? You ended up chatting with the seller for a good twenty minutes before he sold you a jar with cooked, peeled, and condensed tomatoes he normally uses for pasta sauces.”

"Yup." The blonde just nodded. "It's not thaaat far off from pasta sauce in one way or another."

“I see… That way, there will be way less watery juice. The onions will also thicken it a bit. If we let everything simmer while the dough rises later, the sauce should become thick enough.”

“I like the sound of that!”

“I’m glad we have someone who knows what they’re doing!” The two had a lot of praise for the jaguar in store.

“Thanks… So, I guess we start with preparing all the ingredients? Does anyone want to volunteer to cut the onions and garlic…? I like their taste, but I'm not the biggest fan of how your hands smell after you're done preparing them… Not to mention what else onions do to you..."

“Oh, I can do that!” Chloe energetically raised her hand.

“Didn’t you say that you can’t cook?” Sophia looked ever so slightly dubious when she glanced at her.

“Yup!” She just nodded. “I’m good at preparing things for Feyfey, though! It only becomes a catastrophe once I try to cook a meal, so I leave that part to her as she’s a good cook despite being a full fox!”

“I have many questions…” The tiger had no idea how a full would be able to actually cook. She knew that Fen could grill meat and stuff like that, but that was about the limits of his skill. Only having paws didn't help with that, either. "I definitely want to see her cook once I get to know her."

“Sure!”

“Hmm… Most of the spices we need are dried and ready to also, so… all I can do for now is to chop the fresh basil, I guess…?” Sophia tried to find out what she could do to help.

"You also need to help me with the processed tomatoes and the puree to guide me about the quantity and consistency.” After all, Ari still had no idea how the finished product had to look.

“Gladly!”

“Alright, I’m done with the onions and garlic!” The fox-girl suddenly interrupted the duo.

“Eh?!” As only a few moments had passed since she had volunteered for those, the two were shocked to hear that.

“How?!” Ari looked at the counter in front of the fox-girl and noticed that there was indeed a small mountain of finely chopped onions and a generous helping of minced garlic.

“Magic?” Chloe just tilted her head. “What else?”

“Again, how?!” The jaguar just got louder.

“Well…” She grabbed another onion, placed it on a cutting board, and a second later, it almost seemed like it had peeled itself. Afterward, the fox-girl put her hand on it before letting go of it a few seconds later again. Immediately after, the onion just crumbled into perfectly sized pieces. "Air magic's amazing~. I still don't understand why knives are a thing…”

“Because people usually aren’t that skilled with magic.” The blonde answered her. "I did use air blades to cut meat during our travels before, but even I haven't thought of using it for such delicate works, either. I'll try that out as soon as I can!"

“Sophia, can you teach me air magic next?!” Ari instantly had taken quite a liking to it.

“Ahaha, sure~.” She was a big fan of the easily excited side of the jaguar.

Afterward, once Ari finished marveling over Chloe’s technique when it came to preparing ingredients, everyone focused on their tasks again to get everyone ready for their homemade version of a pizza.

Teanam

A big thank you to

- Andrew Adamson -

for supporting the story on Patreon to make more art possible! Enjoy the extra stuff there!