319 Learning New Tricks

-----Fabian's POV

After our incredibly long hug, Ilfa ended up staying with me for most of the day. She acted quite differently than what I'm used to, but I'm not complaining. Seeing her smile so genuinely like this only makes me realize that this is what I wanted for so long. But suddenly, the growling of my stomach echoed through the room, causing Ilfa to take notice.

Ilfa: "Right! It's that time of the day. Rina might not be here, but I'll do my best!"

Fabian: "Haha, thank you... Wait. What do you mean by that?"

Ilfa: "Fufufu. Just wait right there! I'll be back shortly~"

Instead of elaborating, she left the room, closing the door behind her. I'm aware that Rina has been the one that's been cooking for me ever since I came here, but at the time, I thought Ilfa was the one cooking for me. But would Ilfa even know how to cook? Her diet is- well... "That," so I have my doubts whether she can even cook a simple meal. Of course I'm not one to judge since I've been having Rina cook for me, I know next to nothing when it comes to food.

...

30 minutes pass, an hour passes, yet Ilfa still hasn't come back. I end up sitting up from the bed as I look over towards the door. Is she okay? I really just want to leave the room and try and look for her, but she did tell me to wait here. But just then, my stomach grumbled once more, only this time causing a bit more pain.

Fabian: "Ah~ Screw it."

I walk over to the door before opening it. And right as I opened the door, I could hear some chatter across the hall, coming from the kitchen, but a lot more than what I'm used to. All the times I've been in there when talking with Rina's mother and heling out with the dishes, the kitchen was never boisterous like what I'm hearing. My feet begin moving on their own as I walk down and up the stairs with ease. I'm thankful my ankles have gotten stronger.

Coming up to the door, I gingerly open it as I get immediately hit with a strong burning smell, followed by visible smoke lingering in the air. The room doesn't look like it's on fire, so what on earth is this foul smell?

Ilfa: "Ughh! Why the hell is cooking this much of a pain?"

Turning around the corner, I see Ilfa manning the kitchen, with some dark elves standing back, watching the entire thing unfold. Ilfa doesn't seem to have noticed me, and is instead trying to cook- whatever it is she's trying to cook. I realize now that the smoke is coming from where Ilfa is.

Alenia: "Ah, Fabian."

In a hushed voice, Alenia calls out to me from the other side of the room. I make my way over there as I don't think I want to bother Ilfa as she is right now... Although I am starving, I'd honestly eat whatever that burnt meat is at this point.

Fabian: "What's going on?"

Alenia: "That's what we want to know. She just came in here and demanded to use the kitchen."

Dark Elf 1: "I tried to help... But she insisted in doing everything herself."

So she refused help? But why? This is probably her first time cooking, so why is she trying to do everything on her first attempt?

Alenia: "Do you have any idea?"

Well... This all started because Ilfa heard I was hungry. But as to why she'd go this far? Earlier, when Rina left, I felt as though Ilfa started to view me as something more, but nothing was confirmed. I would like to think that she's trying to do all of this herself so that she can say that "she" did it, and not with anyone else's help. Thinking that Ilfa's trying to impress me leaves me with a wide grin on my face as now I'm looking at her in the kitchen in a whole new light.

Fabian: "Yeah. Kinda."

Dark Elf 2: "山卄卂ㄒ 几ㄖ山?"

Hearing that question, I end up walking over to Ilfa as she's still facing the kitchen, prepping another chunk of raw meat, slicing it up into thin slices with the blood and juices spewing all over the place. I might not have cooked anything before, but I think cooking it first would make things easier before slicing it up like that, haha. Also she didn't seem to have cleaned the cutting board from earlier as the raw meat is now mixed in with the burnt meat from earlier. Honestly, seeing her make mistakes like this is kinda cute despite the site I'm witnessing.

And with an even bigger smile on my face, I come up behind Ilfa before wrapping my arms around to her front, pulling her into a surprise hug.

Ilfa: "W-wha?! Fabian? Ah! Don't look! I told you to stay in the room."

Fabian: "Cute."

Ilfa: "!"

With my face over her shoulder, I can see Ilfa trying to desperately hide the mess she made, causing me to chuckle as I end up holding her a bit tighter.

Fabian: "I was going to stay back, but you were taking so long. I had to check to see if you were okay."

Ilfa: "I don't care. I don't want you to see this until it's ready..."

Fabian: "You'll be here all day and night at this rate."

Ilfa: "You don't need to say that!"

Fabian: "Pfft."

All the elves watched on in silence at our little show. I can only imagine the look on their faces. They probably think I'm about to be executed on the spot having hugged Ilfa like this.

Fabian: "Then why don't you ask for help?"

Ilfa: "That's... I-"

Her voice finally calms down as the volume of her voice lowers to soft tone, almost like a whisper.

Ilfa: "I wanted to show you that I'm capable."

Fabian: "Capable? In what way?"

Ilfa: "...Capable in taking care of you and your needs."

I already had a hunch that she was doing this for me, but to hear it coming from her like this just makes me all the more happy. I then let go of Ilfa as she immediately turned around to face me. In contrast to me, her face was quite bleak, filled with sadness, probably due to me seeing her failure just now.

Fabian: "Hey. You know. My father taught me how to use magic and to wield a sword. The first couple weeks, I hated it. I wanted nothing to do with holding a sword, but I quickly saw my improvements and my body growing stronger. I felt like I could do more, and being praised was the cherry on top of it all."

Ilfa: "What's your point?"

Fabian: "My point is. It's okay to rely on others. You might not be able to cook, much like how I couldn't fight back then. But with some teaching, you'll be able to accomplish that."

Ilfa: "But I wanted your first meal from me to be made from me alone."

God, seeing her like this is such a nice change of pace. She's acting stubborn, but I don't mind it one bit. It definitely suits her, and is one of the many things I'm finding to be quite enjoyable about her.

Fabian: "You won't get anywhere saying that. But don't get me wrong, I'm happy that you want to do this for me, and I also really want to have your first meal as well. But getting a little help won't take anything away from that."

Ilfa: "...But it will."

Fabian: "Then what if you watch the others cook and follow them? They don't need to directly help you, but can give guidance."

Ilfa: "I... I guess."

Fabian: "Sweet!"

I turn around to face Alenia as I see that her and the other's faces were filled with worry, but I wave them over anyways. Alenia was the first to move before the other two followed her.

Alenia: "Y-yes?"

Fabian: "Ilfa wants help. But could you just show her what to do? She wants to make sure that she's the one doing the cooking."

Ilfa: "Please."

Dark Elf 1: "Yes! We can do that for you, matriarch!"

Alenia: "Hehe. So that's what it was. Mm! Yeah, we'll help."

Ilfa: "Thank you! Ah- But Fabian! You aren't allowed to look, so could you return back to the room?"

Seems as though she's still embarrassed about making any mistakes. Well as long as she's now accepting help, I suppose my job here is done. I'd love to watch, but I should respect her decision.

Fabian: "Alright. I'll see you soon then."

Ilfa: "Mhmm!"

I take my leave with a smile as I close the door to the kitchen behind me. I take care to not injure myself once more when going down and up the stairs before I finally enter my room, closing the door behind me. I take a deep breath, before exhaling. I can still smell the burnt atmosphere, but this place is a lot cleaner, but that's probably de to the massive hole in the wall. I guess we can talk about that after Ilfa comes back.

Fabian: "Heh."

I find myself smiling non-stop at getting the chance to taste Ilfa's cooking. If she's getting Alenia's help, the person who had taught Rina, then I'm sure she'll be able to make something delicious in no time. That being said, my stomach is still grumbling, so I hope I don't have to wait too much longer.

Fabian: "Good luck."