A Taste of Independence *

I hope the nutrient solution won't cause food poisoning. It tasted like an expired product to be honest.

Lines of text scrolled across the holographic display, listing the ingredients in clinical detail. One thing caught her attention, and her brow furrowed deeply.

Is this a neutralizer?

Wait... let me search it up.

Huh?

"Limestone?" Athena exclaimed, incredulous. "Who in their right mind puts limestone in something meant to be consumed by humans? Is this even legal?"

Do interstellar people possess such strong stomachs that they can drink stones unharmed?

She glared at the vial in her hand, as though it had personally offended her.

"Forget stardom," she muttered, tossing it into the trash with dramatic flair. "My first mission in this world is finding real food. Noble or not, no one deserves to live on... this."

No wonder the original Athena died of exhaustion, she must have been nutrient-deficient.

I think there are markets and shops near the area.

Determined, Athena grabbed her coat and headed for the door. If the past owner of this body had resigned herself to this bland existence, that didn't mean she would.

This was her life now, and she intended to live it on her own terms, starting with a proper meal.

-

Athena hailed a hover car, marveling at its sophisticated exterior as it approached her.

Silently, the car hovered a few inches above the ground, its metal chassis shining amid the city's artificial lights.

Compared to the noisy, crowded trains she had relied on back on Earth, this was an incredible luxury.

I can't believe I will experience something I only saw in movies.

She specifically chose a compact hovercar that accommodated only one passenger. The solitude suited her. She needed time to think.

Where should I go?

The car glided smoothly through the bustling streets as Athena set her destination to the city's public market.

Despite the advancements of the interstellar era, the existence of public markets persisted, a comforting reminder of simpler times.

People in any era won't live without public markets.

Athena looked out the window as the hovercar slowed to a stop. There was an explosion of voices, laughter, and the bustle of machinery in the crowded market.

Vendors called out their wares, and holographic signs floated above stalls advertising exotic goods.

"It's been so long since this body has been here," Athena thought, stepping out of the car.

She wandered through the crowded aisles, her eyes scanning the goods on display.

I should try my luck and find some decent ingredients to cook with. I don't believe that plants rarely exist in this era like those novels in the 21st century. 

Fruits and vegetables filled the stalls, many resembling those from Earth, but with noticeable differences.

I am right! They exist.

Some were larger than small children, others vibrantly colored in ways nature on Earth never intended. However, the faint glow emanating from some of the produce was a stark warning.

Radiation.

Only radiation can cause extreme evolution.

It seemed these interstellar crops were infused with mild radiation, rendering them less popular among shoppers.

Radiation present in the environment is a big problem for every living organism.

Athena hesitated briefly but decided to take the risk. She carefully selected fruits and vegetables that seemed the least affected, inspecting them with a critical eye.

The space button on her wrist hummed as it stored her purchases in its seemingly endless capacity.

Athena couldn't help but admire the ingenuity of the tiny device. The previous owner of this body had always kept it hidden, terrified someone might accuse her of theft.

"At least she had good instincts about protecting valuable things," Athena mused with a smirk.

When she returned home, the meager supplies and lack of proper tools in the kitchen made her frown.

She quickly turned to her optical brain, connecting to Starnet to browse stores for essentials. Her list grew rapidly, pots, pans, knives, and, most importantly, a food radiation detector.

Starnet has everything, be it a search engine, online banking and shops, news outlets, and even a virtual world!

"I'll need to test these fruits and vegetables carefully," she thought, looking at the glowing produce she had spread across the counter.

And figure out how to remove the most contaminated parts.

Athena sighed, leaning against the counter as she finalized her order. She was used to challenges, but this new life seemed determined to throw unique ones her way.

"Cooking shouldn't feel like a chemistry experiment," she muttered.

Waiting for her supplies to come was her only option at this point. She decided to make this temporary house livable until then, beginning with a decent, home-cooked meal.

When the radiation tester arrived, Athena wasted no time.

She scanned each fruit, and vegetable, and cut the meat she had purchased, while meticulously noting the severity of radiation in each item.

The results weren't encouraging, nearly everything showed traces of radiation, some more than others.

Determined, she decided to clean the goods the same way she used to prepare food back on Earth. It was a straightforward process, rinsing, scrubbing, and peeling where necessary.

Her eyes lingered on the slab of meat she had bought, which closely resembled pork, except for the horns that the animal it came from seemed to have sported.

Did the apocalypse occur in this galaxy before? Then animals evolved peculiarly? She wondered with a bemused smile.

Inspired by the familiarity of the meat, Athena decided to make Pork Kaldereta, a hearty and flavorful stew she used to enjoy in her past life.

She began by cleaning the meat thoroughly, scrubbing away any debris, and peeling off the outer layer to ensure no trace of radiation lingered.

Afterward, she tested it again with the scanner, and to her surprise, the radiation had disappeared entirely.

"Huh," she muttered, inspecting the results. "So the radiation is only on the surface. That makes things easier."

With the meat prepared, Athena turned her attention to the other ingredients.

She chopped the vegetables she had bought, potatoes, carrots, and a few alien-looking peppers that closely resembled bell peppers from Earth.

She also diced onions and garlic, their familiar aroma filling the small kitchen.

Heating a pan, she added a splash of oil and sautéed the onions and garlic until they turned golden brown.

The sizzling sound brought a sense of nostalgia, grounding her in the moment. Next, she added the chunks of pork, searing them until they were browned on all sides.

Athena then deglazed the pan with a splash of water, scraping up the flavorful bits stuck to the bottom.

She added an alternative tomato paste and stirred until it coated the meat, giving it a vibrant red color.

I hope it's not too sour.

To build the stew's flavor, she poured in broth she had made earlier from boiling some of the vegetable scraps.

She added a few bay leaves and a sprinkle of crushed peppercorns, stirring the pot as the rich aroma began to waft through the kitchen.