Lotus shook her head, "It's not that it's not done, but there are some dishes that would lose their notable texture if I mix the liquid together or the taste would be lost if I mix two parts of a dish together."
Lilia looked to her in confusion as she responded with a small smile, "I'll just show you instead..."
With that, she took the dishes out of the basket and the thermos of sauce from the bag hanging around over her shoulder.
Seeing the plain foods on the table, Sebek muttered in disappointment, "Isn't is just a few pieces of meat and pasta? What's so special about that?"
"Well, I guess." Lotus muttered as she poured the sauce over the dishes from the thermos.
Suddenly, the plain dishes was coated in some savory smelling sauce that seemed to make the simple dishes paired well with the other food on the table. It took about ten minutes before she was done with everything and gone to push the thermos away.
Seeing the food on the table, Malleus looked at them curiously, "I've never seen dishes like these before..."
Lilia looked to her with a look of surprise, "There are dishes from the far east."
"The far east?" Silver looked to Lotus curiously.
Lotus nodded, "My biological mother taught me how to cook these dishes before I left home. After that, I started practicing on my own to survive before my foster parents took me in."
"So you say." Lilia chuckled, "But these dishes aren't that easy to make, right? I remember having heard that it requires precision and skills with a kitchen knife. Not only that, but others requires a couple days of prior preparation to prepare before serving. You must've put your all into the meals for the feast."
Lotus sighed as she returned, "That's how it is over the New Years. It was the one week where my mother refuses to rest and you would usually find her work tirelessly away on New Years dishes and treats in the kitchen. Naturally, New Years is very important to my birth family. When my family heard that, I ended up cooking with them each New Years and have to find ways to turn everything vegan. They're not fond of meat dishes. Hadn't it been for Grim, I would still have trouble making these meat dishes."
"Don't they look a little too artistic to be eaten?" Silver muttered in confusion as he glanced over at the squirrel fish dish.
"Actually," Lilia began with an amused smile, "this is usually how dishes in the far easts are prepared."
Lotus nodded, "There's a saying often said in the far east. You eat with your eyes first before your stomach. To make it appealing, it also has to be pleasing to the eyes as well as the taste. Otherwise, nobody would even point their utensils at the dish, no matter how good it tastes. When you have the money, would you accept a meal that doesn't look appetizing. I've witnessed people who once tossed the dishes to the stray dogs on the street when that happened."
"They really don't hold back, huh?" Silver shook his head in dismay.
"That's certainly true..." Malleus noted in surprise, "I'm surprised that they don't keep their actual opinions to themselves and emphasize their dislike over a dish."
"They are very blunt, but it's because they are overly blunt that only those with great skills and actual talent do shine." Lotus responded with a nod, "Only those with strength and creativity can climb up in that society... Then, again, my birthplace still follows the old custom. That's why if you go to the far east now, you probably won't see that happening as often."
"Well, enough of that," Lilia said with a wide smile, "Now that a guest is here. Let's eat!"
Lotus found her seat to be next to Lilia and Sebek and took a seat much to her curiosity. They ended up talking a bit more as they ate away at the meal before them. It had been a while since she last had such a lively feast outside of the dorm. The last seemed to have been during her birthday, or gotcha day as they had said. During that day, her mother and, reluctantly, her father prepared a surprised birthday party for her and shocked her with such a lively birthday party. She was so happy that day she had more fun chatting with her family and the fairies over food than the games they prepared.
By the end of the day, they had finished the meal and Lotus helped Lilia clear off the table. Malleus had gone to the sofa and began eating away on the shaved ice she had left in the ice box with a spoon. Seeing him munch away on the shaved ice, Lotus found it rather surprising as he then secretly scooped the sweet ice into the already sweet Chrysanthemum tea that had been warmed for the season. Seeing her watch him, Lilia wore a small smile as he called out to him, "I don't think it's appropriate to ruin your dessert before the chef, Malleus."
"Oh!" Malleus looked up in surprise to have seen that he was caught in the act before he responded, "I didn't ruin the dessert."
Hearing his words, Lotus was stunned, but, before Lilia could say anything else, she laughed, "Yes. You found the tea was too hot for your liking, then?"
Malleus glanced over to her sheepishly and didn't say a thing as Lilia looked to her in surprise, "Is that how it is?"
He sighed and responded, "It's all right if you chose not to drink it, but you shouldn't dump your dessert into it."
"If that's it, then I can cool it for you, Malleus-sama!" Sebek called out.
"No. It's all right, Sebek." Malleus stopped him in his tracks with those words.
Lotus smiled, "Well, I'm not upset or anything. If the dorm leader prefers, I have a container of the same tea, but it's cold. I'm afraid it won't compatible with a cold dessert, so I didn't mention it."
"The same tea?" Lilia looked to her.
"I did mention that Chrysanthemum tea could be enjoyed hot or cold. Grim eats a lot and don't pay too much attention to details, so he often burns his tongue in the process of eating. So, I made some of the cold version ready." She explained carefully, "I thought I'd be able to bring it back with me for Grim, but he should be fine with the supervisor around."
"Is that so?" Lilia smiled and stretched out a hand to her, "May I have some of it?"
She nodded and handed the cold thermos to him. Within a couple minutes, the tea was served to Malleus and Lotus had finished tidying almost everything away.
"So, it's tea, after all." Malleus responded with a look of surprise, "It isn't bitter at all. I'm surprised that Chrysanthemums have a fragrance..."
Hearing this, Lotus was caught off guard and paused in surprise before she chuckled, "I see... Haha... That's good to hear. The drink is good for the summer usually. Reduces the temperature in the body and good for the health. Chrysanthumum is used for medicinal properties too making it good for both children and elderlies. For people with a sweet tooth such as my parents, it gives them a good excuse to drink it in front of others during meetings. Not many know the drink is sweet making it a good disguise in a crowd of adults. Thinking about it now, I think it's because it makes them slightly embarrassed to be unable to intake bitter things without complete silence. I prepared the drink today for the purpose of a holiday gathering with those in my dorm, but it is truly a surprise that I would be here sharing it with others. Though, I'm not displeased with this outcome in the least or rather I'm very pleased with your reactions... Especially the dorm leader."
"Me?" Malleus looked to him in surprise.
Lotus nodded with a laugh, "Hah, yes. What you done today and said reminds me of an old friend of mine. She also disliked hot tea and enjoyed sweets over savory. Said it was meaningless for there to be bitterness in something meant to be sweet, but this drink reminded her of the nectar of flowers formed into a drink. She later said that she wanted to go and see the world outside of her forest to find more sweet delicacies such as this. Haha... But, she was a picky eater and wasn't familiar with the cultures of humans. Aside from my cooking, she barely taken more than a bite out of food made from other. My sisters later told her that her actions would be considered improper amongst human. However, she wasn't fazed by this at all and said that as long as we, siblings, knew her well, than that's all that mattered to her. However, one day, this behavior affected us instead."
Lotus heaved a tiny sigh of regret and said, "As long as it only concerns herself, she is not worried for her own well being, but when those she holds dear is affected, that is when she is pushed to understand her surroundings and pushes herself to the limit for others. However, when you tell her that she didn't have to push herself for others because they are already satisfied who she is and the efforts she put into her goals have already inspired others. She'd rebuke and tell us that she wasn't doing it for us, but for herself. She would even add in an irrefutable sentence in, such as others won't let her off all the time if we continues acting the way she is. Hah! Once she says that, no one can stop her."