Washing my clothes in a river when I only had one set of clothes was not ideal, especially when there could be monsters anywhere.  Or other adventurers.  There was no way to dry them quickly either, so after I was done bathing, I''d raced back to the cafe and hid inside with the slimes.


    Not the most comfortable situation, but at least the cafe shack didn''t have any windows and I''d managed to get some sleep while Boss guarded the door.  Thankfully they were dry now though, so I hurried to put them back on, slipping into my chef''s coat like a warm blanket.


    Ah, that was so much better.


    I really had to visit the safe zone soon and get some amenities.  Like extra clothes and soap.  If I baked enough things ahead of time, maybe I could trade food for goods too and spruce up this shack a bit.


    The boss slime squeezed himself through the small shack door and started bouncing with Jellybean, who looked like he was excitedly telling Boss all about his day.  The little baby chick followed them, wobbling a bit like it was sleepy.


    "Thanks for guarding the door while I slept," I told the big slime as I patted his head.  "You deserve a treat for that.  Let me see what I''ve got."


    I still had a few cookie ingredients leftover from when Fiona and I had made them, but I kind of wanted to try something new.  Plus, I was hoping Fiona would visit soon, so I wanted to save those cookies for her since she''d liked them so much.  I assumed she''d find me after we got separated, but maybe when I was in the safe zone I''d search for her instead.


    My item box was full of fresh ingredients from the garden from vegetables to herbs to some fruit.


    "Are you in the mood for something savory?" I asked the slimes, pausing to see if they''d respond in any way.  They just blinked at me, standing very still.  "Or something sweet?"


    Boss bounced quickly as his eyes widened.


    "Okay, sweets it is!" I laughed as I pulled out my cookbook, letting it float in the air in front of me.  "Why don''t we try one of the new recipes I got earlier.  Do you want chocolate lava cake or slime pudding?"


    That''s where communication broke down a bit.  I still wasn''t very good at understanding the slimes beyond a simple yes or no.  I gazed at the beautiful blue slime bracelet I''d gotten for befriending Boss.  He''d also given me the slime pudding recipe, so that probably meant he liked pudding.


    I flipped to that page in my cookbook, frowning at the ingredients.  It needed milk, sugar, butter, and flavoring of my choice, but that wasn''t the weird part.  The weird part was the slime jelly...


    Was that part of a slime?  Like I''d be eating slimes?  Ugh, that went against my entire slimes are friends, not food vibe.


    There were five slime jellies in my item box that I''d gotten as rewards for "defeating" the boss slime, so I took one out to investigate.  It was a clear gelatinous substance that was kind of damp and a bit slippery to hold onto.  Cooking with it didn''t feel right at all, but maybe it was like gelatin and just thickened things up?


    "Is this...okay to eat?" I asked the slimes, holding it out to them.  They bobbed up and down, nodding, but it still didn''t feel right.  "Are you sure?  I don''t want to hurt you or use you for ingredients. Ever."


    Boss wiggled before producing a beautiful shimmering blob of slime jelly in the air in front of him.  He nudged it forward, as if offering it to me like a gift, his eyes shining with pride.


    I couldn''t just ignore it, not without hurting his feelings, so I reached out and cupped the slime jelly in my hands.  A blue message box appeared the moment I touched it.


    [New Skill Acquired through the Slime Bond: Essence of Friendship]


    [Slimes love to eat, but they just keep growing larger and larger if they do.  Eventually, they either break down into smaller slimes or siphon off their essence by giving harvestable gifts.  The slimes trust you with these now, so expect lots of fun new ingredients]


    My eyes widened at the words.  "So this is a normal thing?"


    [Yes, you''re helping the slimes just as much as they''re helping you]


    "That''s reassuring, thank you," I said softly, still wondering if this was actually okay.  Boss seemed fine though, more than fine actually, he seemed happy.  And a happy slime was what really mattered.  "Let''s get started on the slime pudding then!"


    Both slimes hopped closer, peering into the big empty pot I pulled out of my item box.  They were so adorable.


    "You''ll have to wait a bit, pudding takes time."


    They deflated, but stayed close by as I gathered my ingredients.  Looks like milk was the only thing I didn''t have.


    "Ingredient Efficiency, summon milk!" I called out, feeling like a true mage as beautiful white milk filled the pot.  I grinned as the portable stove turned orange, heating the milk slowly.  "These skills are so cool."


    [See, isn''t it more fun when you shout your skills?]


    I rolled my eyes at that message.  "I think you''re just trying to make yourself feel better for playing that trick on me."


    But yes, it actually did feel more fun now that I was getting into this whole Culinary Mage thing.  It would feel even more impressive with a magic wand.  Oh!  I could use a cool spoon like a wand...


    This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    No, that was a bit too silly.  At least in front of other people it would be.


    Milk bubbles started forming at the edge of the pot, letting me know it was ready for the next step: adding the sugar and slime jelly.  Should I cut the jelly up or put it in whole?  Jellybean bounced at me, urging me to just throw it in.


    "Well, here goes nothing." I dropped the slime jelly in followed by a quarter of the sugar, mixing it slowly to meld everything together.


    The slime jelly started dissolving into the milk, thickening it just like I''d hoped it would, so I added more sugar until it formed a beautiful pudding consistency.  Once the pudding coated the back of my spoon, I took it off the heat.


    I glanced around, suddenly realizing I still didn''t have anything to set a hot pot on.  I really needed to expand this cafe so I didn''t have to cook on the ground!  I sighed, taking one of the rocks I''d gathered for the cafe expansion quest out of my item box to set the pot on, then mixed in the butter and vanilla to flavor the pudding.


    The slimes leaned closer, mouths wide open.


    "Not so fast," I said, swiping the pot away from them.  "It''s gotta cool still.  That''s when it really thickens up and becomes delicious."


    I''d prefer to refrigerate it for a bit too, but there wasn''t anything like that here.  Unless...


    I carried the pot over to the river running alongside the cafe.  The water had been nice and cool when I was bathing, so it should help thicken the pudding once it was cool enough too.  If I had covered containers, I could set it on the riverbed, but for now I''d have to hold onto the pot.  Or set it on a pile of rocks or something.


    Wait, this river was teeming with rocks and clay, which was exactly what I needed for the cafe upgrade quest!  I''d been so worried about getting seen when I was bathing that I hadn''t even noticed.


    Jellybean leapt into the river, swirling with the current as he squealed with excitement.  All too soon he was floating away though.


    "Be careful!"


    Boss bounced high into the air, crashing into the water with such force that it created a giant wave, pushing Jellybean right out of the river!  The little slime rolled back toward me, a happy smile on his face as water droplets glistened off their blue slime bodies.  Before I could stop him, he went right back in for a second ride.


    I shook my head, setting the pudding far enough up stream that they wouldn''t get any water in it.  Then I rolled up my pants and stepped into the cool water, collecting rocks and scooping up clay while they played.  All in all, it was a perfect way to spend an afternoon.


    [Cafe Upgrade Quest Status:  5/50 wood, 10/10 clay, and 10/10 stone]


    That was good progress!  I washed the clay off my hands and stretched, enjoying the feel of my muscles being put to good use.  Now if only there were trees around this cafe, I''d be set.  Well, if I had an axe or any other kind of weapon besides a sandwich and a frying pan, but hey, progress was progress.


    A soft clucking drew my attention to the pudding pot, which was being pecked at by the baby chick!


    "Not you too!" I hurried out of the river, rescuing the pudding once again.  "Should chickens even be eating pudding?"


    Probably not, but it was a fire-breathing monster chicken, so maybe normal rules didn''t apply here.  The pudding jiggled nicely, a perfect consistency.


    [Slime Pudding Level 3 Acquired]


    [+15 XP]


    "Okay, it actually looks like it''s ready."  My mouth watered, anticipating the delicious pudding already.  "Boss!  Jellybean!"


    The slimes bounced out of the river, shaking water all over me like a dog drying off as they hopped.  I sighed, but set down the pot in the middle of our little monster family.  There was one thing I hadn''t considered though.


    "We don''t have any dishes or flatware..."


    More things to add to my shopping list.  How could I run a cafe without basics like bowls or plates or spoons?  For now, we''d have to eat off mixing spoons and spatulas.  It would be fine.  Boss was big, so normal sized spoons wouldn''t work for him anyway.  It would be fine, totally normal.


    I scooped out a big spoonful of the glistening pudding, holding it out for Boss to try first.  He was the one who''d given me the recipe after all, so it was only fair he tried it first.


    The big slime slurped it up, eyes closed like he was savoring it.  A contented sigh escaped him and I grinned.  Boss liked the pudding!


    Jellybean nudged me, staring at me with big puppy-dog eyes until I scooped him out some pudding too.  He gobbled it up, trilling with joy as he swayed back and forth.  I set a spatula of pudding out for the chicken too, still a bit unsure about that plan, but it seemed happy enough to peck away at it.


    Then all that was left was for me to try it.  The pudding was silky and smooth, more luxurious than anything I''d had before.  The hint of vanilla danced on my tongue as the slime jelly brought it all together.  This was the perfect pudding, absolutely amazing.


    But it was gone all too soon, which meant I had to make more.  A lot more.


    For the next few hours, I cooked pudding after pudding, until all of us were so full we couldn''t eat anymore.  I even made some grilled cheese and veggie stir-fry to add to my item box for my next adventure.  I was determined to upgrade this cafe as soon as possible, which meant I''d need to explore this dungeon floor more and find wood.


    With my last grilled cheese, confetti burst around us as happy music filled the air.


    [Level Up: Culinary Mage Level 4]


    [New Skills Available]


    Yes!  That was exactly what I''d been hoping for.  I added another stat point to my endurance and mana, then looked at the wonderful skill options.  I needed something that would help me gather wood or maybe open a map of the dungeon so I didn''t get lost.


    "Hey, sweet potato?" I asked, still grinning at the nickname.  "What''s the Ingredient Tracker skill do?  Would wood count as an ingredient?"


    [Ingredient Tracker will mark your chosen ingredient on a map, helping you find the general area you''d find the most of it.  Some bark is used for cooking, like cinnamon, so yes, you could track wood with this skill]


    "A map and a tracker all in one?  Sign me up!"


    [New Skill: Ingredient Tracker]


    I quickly cleaned up the dishes from our massive amount of cooking then stood up and looked out at the dungeon floor.  The jungle felt intimidating, like something separate from this safe little pocket of land I''d been staying on.  If I wanted to improve it, I had to leave though.


    I took a deep breath, straightening my back and steeling my determination.  "Ingredient tracker, find wood!"


    A small map appeared in my hands, just like how the cookbook would float out of my menu.  It showed a large circular area, which I assumed was the dungeon floor, but it was all grayed out.  The only part that had detail was the cafe area.  Maybe I needed to explore areas to unlock the map?  There was a small circle off to one side and I could sense that that was where the ingredient tracker wanted me to go.


    I glanced at Boss and Jellybean, then back at the map.  The journey looked long and I didn''t want to drag them with, but I also really didn''t want to go alone.


    "You can stay here and guard the cafe if you want," I said, "or you can come with me.  I''m good either way."


    Boss pushed against my back as Jellybean took off ahead of us.  I guess that meant they were ready to go!


    "Okay, it''s time for another adventure!" I turned back to the little chicken pecking at something in the ground.  "Guard the cafe for us, we''ll be back soon."