#1300 Junior’s Adventure – The Expanded Flour’s True Value 

As I brandish the kitchen knife, the ingredients dwindle away, transforming into one elegant dish after another, refined enough to be proudly served at a formal banquet. 
They are then whisked away by the waitstaff and sent straight to the party hall. 

“Okay, that’s plate number one hundred! The venue should be looking good by now!” 

A satisfied grin spreads across my face. 
Even though I’ve cooked so much, there doesn’t seem to be as much food as there should be. And that’s because... 

“Whoaaaa! The stuff Junior makes tastes just as good as Master’s! I don’t even know what I’m eating, but it’s so gooooooooood!!!” 

Veil’s been snacking on a steady portion of everything I make. 
She’s using invisibility magic, so the others haven’t noticed a thing. 

I mean, I am the Saint’s son. I can at least resist, dispel, or see through that level of magic. 

Now that a decent amount of food’s been prepared, the chefs around me are starting to relax a little... 

“Not bad, kid. I was worried about letting some random helper into my kitchen, but it looks like we got lucky this time.” 
“I’m the one who brought him here, you know! You’d better thank me properly!” 

The grumpy head chef finally cracks a smile. 
Nearby, the apprentice girl, Perina, is dancing with joy. It looks like she’s finally done peeling all those potatoes. 

“Seriously though, where’d you learn to cook like that? You could hold your own even in the royal castle kitchen. I could put in a word with HR for you right now, if you’d like. A good chef’s always welcome.” 
“Chef! Me too! Please make me an official cook!” 

The tension that had gripped the kitchen just a while ago melts away, replaced by cheerful chatter. 

My instincts tell me that now’s my chance to slip out. 

“Looks like things are under control now, so I’ll take my leave...” 
“What are you talking about? We’ve cleared one hurdle, but it’s only gonna get busier from here.” 

The chef says this like it’s the most natural thing in the world. 

“The ceremony’s food is ready, but the bigwigs eat like there’s no tomorrow. If we don’t prep seconds, we’re the ones who get yelled at.” 

Yikes... 
Being a cook sounds rough. 

“We still gotta get started on the main dish.... You, keep cranking out hors d’oeuvres. More ingredients will be here soon, so keep going as long as you’ve got the strength.” 
“...Yes, sir.” 
“And we still need to make dessert, too.” 

Yeah. Cooks have it rough... 

“But you know what’s weird? Judging by the amount of ingredients we’ve used, we should’ve ended up with way more food than this. I can’t figure out why it’s less.” 

The chef tilts his head. 
Well... that’d be because there’s a certain food-snatching monster living in this kitchen. 
A sneaky, nurarihyon-type. 

“Oooh, more food?! What a feast! Man, it was the right call to tag along today!” 

As expected of a dragon’s stomach. 
A human would’ve burst by now, but Veil’s still going strong. 

And so, it seems I’m not escaping this endless cooking arc anytime soon. 
New ingredients arrive, and as I’m wondering what to make next... 

“Huh, flour?” 

Among the new supplies, there’s a sack of flour. 

What to do with it? 
The obvious choice would be bread, but there’s no time for kneading, proofing, and baking. 

I consider making some udon, but then again, even udon dough needs time to rest. 

It’s probably better to go with something sweet. 
The proportions might be tricky, but it shouldn’t take too long… 

Just as I’m making plans, a voice calls out from the sidelines. 

“Hold it right there! Don’t use that flour carelessly!!!” 

It’s the head chef. 
What’s that supposed to mean? 

“Lately, we’ve been getting batches of low-quality flour... Even our deliveries sometimes have some bad stuff mixed in.” 

Low-quality? 
What happens if you use it? 

“It puffs up like crazy. The bread we made with it once almost blew up the oven. And for some reason, it’s oddly sweet, too. So just… be careful with it, all right?” 

With that, the head chef goes back to his own cooking. 

Flour that puffs up too much? 
Wait a second... 

I take a closer look at the flour that was delivered. 
The Hand of Ultimacy dwelling in my hands tells me what this white powder really is. 

“I see.” 

In an instant, I know exactly what to make with it. 

I dump a generous scoop of the powder into a bowl, crack in some eggs, and pour in milk. 
Once it’s all mixed into a smooth batter, I heat up a frying pan, let it get nice and hot, and pour the batter in. 
Let it cook slowly, flip, and cook the other side… 

Done! 

“Pancakes!” 

That’s right, this so-called “bad flour” the head chef warned about is actually pancake mix! 

My dad had spent years perfecting this recipe so anyone could make delicious pancakes easily. 

He released it to the world so people everywhere could enjoy them. 

But the public apparently couldn’t tell the difference between regular flour and pancake mix. 
Fair enough, both are just white powder. 
So, they treated it like normal flour, got weird results, and wrote it off as “defective.” 

How tragic. 
All Dad wanted was for people to enjoy good pancakes. 

Then again, it’s so like him to distribute the mix and forget to include the recipe. 

But! 
As his son, I shall carry on his will! 

Behold: the perfect pancake, made exactly as intended! 

“Whoaaaa! Pancakes! Everyone’s favorite breakfast fooooood!” 

Veil goes wild, clearly familiar with the glory of pancakes. 

“Nothing beats freshly made pancakessssssss! You put a pat of butter on top, let it melt, and then drown it in maple syrup! Hurry up and let me eat itttttttt!!!” 

Sorry, no maple syrup here. 

“Whaaaaaaaaat?!” 

Well, this isn’t the farm, so it’s not like we have everything lying around. 
But we’ve got butter, so we’re good! 

“Yay... But it’s still not as good as the farm’s butter...” 

I can’t blame her for comparing it to the satyr butter from the farm. 
Still, this is the royal castle, so we should at least have decent-quality butter. 

Soon enough, the sweet aroma of pancakes fills the kitchen, and people start gathering around. 

“Hey, what’s that? It smells amazing!” 
“It looks like some kind of dessert. Mind if we have a taste?” 

Even before anyone’s eaten it, the hotcakes are already a hit. 
That’s the power of the pancake! 

“Wait, is this made from that bad flour? You actually pulled it off?! You’re seriously incredible! How about we hire you for real?!” 

The head chef, now fully fired up, calls out to me with even more enthusiasm. 

Wait... am I about to land a job offer mid-journey? 

“Anyway, this sweet bread thing is perfect for dessert! Keep ‘em coming! Ten or twenty won’t cut it! Make at least a hundred!” 

A hundred?! 

That’s an insane amount! 
And so, I cast off all emotion and become one with the griddle—a pancake-making machine dedicated solely to the art of flipping. 

No, wait, more precisely, a pancake-flipping machine! 

Either way, there’s no time to rest! 
Uryaryaryaryaryaryaryaryaryaryaryaryaryaryaryaryaryaryaryaryaryaryaryaryaryarya!!! 

========== 

Nurarihyon-a type of yokai known for sneaking into human homes and acting like they belong there