Book 4 - Schemer of the Scalding Sands: Chapter 5; Cooking with Spice

The screen turns on as the book title card plays "Book 4 - Schemer of the Scalding Sands" before the next chapter title card plays "Chapter - 5; Cooking with Spice''.

It's the next day and basically everyone in the school has left as Grim looks outside the window as he calls out to Yuu in child-like wonder "Ooh, check it out, Yuu! We got a whole blanket of snow out there!"

Yuu also walks over to the window and looks outside as she thinks 'No wonder it seemed chilly.' But just rubs the top of Grim's head as she reminds him "We'd better check on the fireplace."

Grim seems to be in a calmer state due to the weather as he just lets Yuu rub his head and agrees with her saying "Yeah, maybe the fire fairies are feelin' the chill, too. Better bring 'em some firewood."

Grim then goes off as he cheers "Ooh, and I can check out the kitchen an' see if they got any leftovers while I'm there!" Before singing "La-la-laaa!" cheerfully.

The two, or rather Yuu, puts on an extra layer to help beat out the cold. Before they walk to the cafeteria.

Yuu looks around the cafeteria as she silently rejoices in all the new good memories she's managed to make around here as they walk to the fireplace.

Grim rubs his paws together as he complains "Geez, it was cold out there! My paws feel like icicles!" Yuu rolls her eyes, as she had told him to at least drape something around him or bundle up more before they left. Although she was also surprised at just how cold it was, as she could see her own breath as a light fog of sorts.

Grim then urges her "Yuu, hurry up and get that firewood in the fireplace!" As Yuu had been the sole one carrying all of the firewood as Grim wasn't capable of doing so himself.

Yuu threw a good chunk of wood in the little bit of fire that was left. This allowed her to see a rather amazing sight, an actual fire-fairy.

It was kinda small and had fire for their hair and dress. The wings were see-through and had an orange hue to them with glittery fire designs on them. They had pointed ears and a yellow-orange skin tone with red-orange eyes.

The fairy smiled politely at them, in thanks of the firewood, before seeming to rest.

Yuu's eyes widened in shock as she definitely didn't expect to see that when she threw the firewood in.

But Grim is more distracted as he relishes in the warmth saying "Ahhh… Yuu this must be the fairy fire. I'm feelin' warm and fuzzy just being near it."

But as they enjoy the crackling of the fire, sizzling and chopping noises are heard.

This makes both of them look around curiously as Grim shouts "What's that I hear over the cracking fire? Chopping? And…sizzling meat?! And now my nose is tinglin' with the spicy aroma of foreign cuisine!"

Grim sniffs the air before telling Yuu "It's coming from the kitchen. Let's see what's up, Yuu!"

The duo then walk into the kitchen only to see it's full of students, although all of them are from Scarabia.

Jamil seems to be the one instructing them all as he walks around telling random students things like "Once you're done cooking the vegetables, boil the thawed meat." "Don't forget to add the nuts once the oil is heated." The students answer "Yes, sir!" As another asks him "Vice Housewarden, will one tablespoon of spices be enough?" Jamil seems to think for a second as he answers the student "The housewarden's palate veers spicy. Add another teaspoon."

Jamil is also in his dorm uniform now. Jamil's dorm uniform is similar to the rest of the Scarabia students. Jamil also wears dark-red eyeliner along with his regular makeup. He has a sleeveless jacket that is cropped, and reaches the mid-torso. His jacket has a red underlining, wavy gold stripes on the sides, gold trim, and a red sailor-like collar with a black wavy stripe along the sides. Connecting both sides of the jacket is one gold chain. Under the jacket is a black sleeveless hoodie with red underlining, gold hoodie strings with tassels at the ends, and a gold, wavy stripe along the top of the hood. Jamil chooses to wear the hood over his head at all times. Because of this, Jamil's ponytail falls over his left shoulder. Jamil wears his yellow belt around his waist and over his hoodie, with the long end hanging down to his knees. The belt has a silver buckle, and along with black stripes, has the word "Scarabia" repeatedly printed on it. On both ends of the belt are small designs resembling a snake's head and tail. His black parachute pants have a red fire design near the bottom. Hanging over the pants on both hips are maroon pieces of fabric with an intricate gold design. The black sneaker-sandals have gold plating near the toe, and a large golden scarab in the center. The uniform includes a few golden accessories, including a collar necklace, a bracelet, and a shoulder cuff worn on the right shoulder, shaped like a snake.

Meanwhile Grim asks confused "What's goin' on in here? It's winter break, but the kitchen's full of students!"

Jamil then spots them and says "Hm? You're…" while walking up to them.

Yuu smiles and was originally just going to greet him until she remembered that he was one of the injured students they had talked to and instead tells him "I remember you from the tournament."

Jamil smiles back, pleasantly surprised that she remembered, as he said "Yes, we had a brief chat back when I got injured before the Spelldrive tournament. Your names were…"

He then thinks back for a second before asking "Yuu and Grim, yes?" for confirmation.

Grim tells him "Dang, you got a good memory…uhhh…" as he tries to remember his name for a minute. Before ultimately giving up and asking "What was your name again?"

Jamil answers "It's Jamil. Jamil Viper, vice housewarden of Scarabia Dorm. I make it a point to memorize people's names and faces. Not to mention, you two have made quite the names for yourselves since you first enrolled. You'd be hard-pressed to find anyone at this school who doesn't know who you are"

Yuu thinks 'Yeah, although not exactly voluntarily.' But Grim, with his dreams of becoming a famous sorcerer instead cheers "Whoa… Really?!" Before happily as he excitedly tells Yuu "Y'hear that, Yuu?! We're famous!"

Jamil then asks them "At any rate… Why are you here on campus when it's winter break?"

Grim shrugs as he tells Jamil "We ain't got anywhere to go home to for the holidays. Not to mention, the headmage personally gave us a super-special job. We're tendon' the fireplace."

Before it's shown that he's learned that same bragging skill as the headmage "I'm as diligent and competent as they come! Only makes sense that the headmage would turn to me when he needs help!"

Jamil asks "Oh, is that a fact? The headmage personally asked you, you say…" He then whispers under his breath "This could be my chance…"

Yuu heard mumbles but couldn't make out exactly what he had said, but had a gut feeling it wasn't anything good nor led to anything good.

Grim is the much more obvious one as he tells Jamil "Hm? Didn't catch that."

Jamil then lies about what he really said as he tells Grim "I said if the headmage is relying on you, you must be a tremendous talent indeed."

Just then a rosy haired student walked up and told Jamil "Sorry to interrupt, Vice Housewarden, but I'm done prepping the vegetables." Jamil nods as he tells the student "Okay, I'll be right over."

Grim then comments "That soup you're makin' looks pretty good. I ain't ever smelled anything like it before."

Jamil starts to explain to them "It's a traditional Scalding Sands recipe, you see– "

Before he stops and tells them "Wait. An idea just occurred to me. I'm sure something brought us together. Would you care to join us for our meal?"

Grim being the foodie he is, shouts excitedly "Really?! You mean it?!" Jamil nods telling him "Absolutely. It won't take much longer to finish."

Before asking with a hidden smirk "Why don't you two lend a hand?"

Grim then rather eagerly goes to help, dragging Yuu along with him.

The screen then fades to black as "To be continued" plays before the screen turns entirely off.