Chapter Twenty-Eight: The True Everyday Life

"Mmm..." In the early hours before dawn, Zhao Tianhe was already up.

Although he’d gone to bed late last night because time passed faster in the Slime Cavern, now he had to get up.

After all, breakfast for his king, Artoria, still wasn’t ready!

“All I’ve got are basic, unprocessed ingredients... I guess I’ll just stick to good old stir-frying.” Zhao Tianhe chopped away, while the oven and rice cooker were already working.

‘Speaking of which, what about real daily life...’ Zhao Tianhe suddenly remembered Elle’s daily tasks. ‘Could I teach her to cook?’

To be honest, the description of this daily task was a little vague. As long as Elle didn’t dislike him, it counted—what did that even mean?

‘Still, if it works out, I’ll have an extra hand in the kitchen!’ Zhao Tianhe decided to take a chance. He clicked on the daily task and selected “Start.”

In the next moment, Elle appeared out of nowhere, dressed in a white camisole and short skirt, her hair cascading freely.

“Hey, hey~~ You just summoned me like this? In this state...” Elle’s cheeks flushed, and she waved her fists awkwardly, clearly embarrassed.

She obviously wished she’d had a little warning before being summoned.

“Right, there’s supposed to be some sort of ritual for summoning a goddess, isn’t there?” Zhao Tianhe, feeling awkward and a bit flustered, tried to laugh it off. “Could you teach me what preparations are necessary?”

“Ugh, sigh~~” Elle pressed her hand to her forehead and sighed. “Didn’t I tell you before? I’m no longer the goddess of the underworld. I’m not joking—right now, I only have the most basic divinity, like a newborn deity. I don’t need to be bound by rituals anymore, which is why I... oh, never mind. Still, some preparation is needed. Next time, give me ten—no, twenty minutes notice before summoning me! And there’s no going out shopping this time, really...”

“Understood!” Zhao Tianhe nodded solemnly, then said, “But since you’re here, we shouldn’t waste the opportunity. Would you like to try learning how to cook?”

“Cooking? Hmm...” Elle looked around at the ingredients in the kitchen, thought for a moment, and nodded. “That strange ahoge girl is always going on about these things—beef offal and such...”

She clearly didn’t know much about modern food culture; as a mythological goddess from before the Common Era, her culinary world was a universe apart from that of a nation whose cuisine once led the world for a thousand years.

Of course, Zhao Tianhe wasn’t a master chef, but he was confident he could represent the common folk.

As a single guy, apart from gaming, his greatest joy was eating. Not only did he love going out to try new places, he often followed recipes to cook at home. Since coming to this boring otherworld, he’d spent more than a year honing his culinary skills, convinced that his abilities rivaled most ordinary restaurant chefs.

“Here, try this—beef sausage.” Zhao Tianhe took a freshly steamed homemade sausage from the bamboo steamer.

“Mmm, this is really good!” Elle’s spirits lifted after a bite. “If you can make things like this, everyone’s bound to love it!”

“It’s not bad,” Zhao Tianhe agreed, taking a bite himself. “But I can’t teach you this one today. If you want to learn to cook, it’s better to start with the basics.”

“That’s fine, it seems fun! Let’s do it!” Elle said enthusiastically, and her affection meter ticked up by two points.

Apparently, she didn’t dislike learning to cook.

‘But I can’t just have her slicing vegetables, or she’ll get bored! Hmm, I’ll do the chopping, and teach her step by step when it’s time to stir-fry... hehehe...’ Zhao Tianhe’s face almost twisted with glee; he had to struggle to keep from showing the classic creepy uncle grin.

“So, what do you want me to do?” Elle asked, watching Zhao Tianhe chop vegetables with intense focus.

“Hold on, I’ll show you once I’m done chopping,” Zhao Tianhe replied politely with a smile.

“I don’t want to wait! Time is limited; I’ll try chopping too!” Elle grabbed a spare kitchen knife from the rack and, full of energy, snatched up a few cucumbers and started slicing.

Surprisingly, Elle’s knife skills were quite good. Even though her physical abilities were now only those of an ordinary person, she was, after all, a “demoted” goddess with all attributes still at ten. Chopping vegetables was easy to imitate after seeing it done once.

The problem was...

“The cucumbers need to be diced, not sliced like carrots,” Zhao Tianhe reminded her, a little helpless.

Unfortunately, the cucumbers were already all sliced.

“Huh?! Did I do it wrong?!” Elle looked at Zhao Tianhe, embarrassed. “Um...”

“No worries, we’ll just make cucumber and egg drop soup instead. That’s good, too,” Zhao Tianhe said, smiling.

“Is that okay? Great... I’ll follow your instructions!” Elle said, brandishing the knife with a smile.

Half an hour later, Elle returned to her own space, and the daily task was complete. The moment Zhao Tianhe had imagined—guiding Elle’s hands as they cooked together—never happened, because she was simply too clever. One look or a brief pointer from him, and she’d already mastered it.

Still, her affection rose a few more points, reaching Level 1, 107/200.

‘Compared to Artoria, Elle is so much easier to please,’ Zhao Tianhe sighed. Facing the table full of dishes, he pressed Artoria’s daily task button.

Once again, Zhao Tianhe found himself in that peculiar living room, now noticeably larger than before—more than double the previous size.

The dining table was twice as big, with four chairs now, and a new upholstered sofa set. Opposite the sofa stood a television.

Artoria was lying on her side on the couch, snacking and watching what looked like a foreign challenge-and-puzzle game show.

Elle was curled up in a single rocking chair nearby, propping her chin in her hand, swaying back and forth while playing on her phone.

Next to Artoria’s pale blue door, there was now a new black door with a golden skull-shaped handle.

The aroma of food drifted through the air. Artoria’s eyes went wide; she jumped up and stared at the dining table!

“Mmm, today’s looking good,” Artoria said, vaulting over the sofa and instantly seating herself at the table.

“Ah! You’re here?!” Elle exclaimed, surprised to see Zhao Tianhe. She was dressed exactly as she had been while cooking, clearly not having changed after returning. “Oh, right, you still have to feed this one...”

“Feed?!” The handle of Artoria’s spoon twisted, her rice bowl cracked slightly, and a terrifying aura—like being stared down by a primordial beast—erupted from her.

“I’m sorry!” Zhao Tianhe dropped to his knees with a thud.

“Um, well... it’s just that you eat so much... Ah Tian works really hard,” Elle said, unfazed by the combined kingly and draconic pressure, thanks to her divine nature. Though she hesitated for a moment, she spoke with ease.

“Ugh...” Artoria reined in her aura, turned her head away shyly, and asked Zhao Tianhe out of the corner of her eye, “Am I... really eating too much?”

At the same time, Elle looked at Zhao Tianhe as well.

‘Crap! Why is there a choice already?!’ Zhao Tianhe’s eye twitched as he silently cursed his luck.