French Toast
"What kind of arrangement are you planning?"
"I was thinking of making French toast."
"French toast? What’s that?"
"It’s a way to turn hard bread into fluffy bread. Let me make one for you."
With that, I sliced the hard bread and soaked it in an egg mixture—eggs, milk, and sugar whisked together. Once the bread absorbed the liquid, I heated a frying pan, added butter, and started cooking the bread.
*Sizzle.*
"Whoa~ It smells amazing~"
"Just let it cook on both sides… and there, it’s done."
*Chomp chomp.*
"”So tasty!”"
"You can drizzle honey on it if you like, but for breakfast, this should be good enough. What do you think?"
"”More than enough!”"
"Glad you like it. I’d prefer to make soft bread from scratch, but there isn’t enough time right now."
"”Soft bread?"”
Uh-oh, they’re hooked.
But making soft bread is a hassle. Without dry yeast, I’d have to use natural yeast, which takes about a week to prepare.
Still, judging by their eager looks… I suppose I’m making it, aren’t I?
"Fine, I’ll prepare the dough starter later. For now, let’s focus on breakfast."
"Right, we’re running out of time!"
"Let’s get to it!"
"”Yeah~!””
With Ben handling the salad and soup, Arthur on omelets, and me in charge of French toast, we got to work when—
"What the—?! No way—------!"
“””Mm?”””
The three of us exchanged puzzled looks. That voice… was it Mother?
"Was that the lady of the house?"
"Probably."
"…?"
"Joan! Jooaan! Where are you? Come here!"
"Looks like I’m being summoned. Sorry to leave halfway through."
"No worries, but you better hurry. That tone…"
"Got it. Be back soon!"
*Tap, tap, tap…*
I headed to Mother’s room.
What’s going on? Did I do something?
I can’t think of anything…
When I reached her room, I found Father, Gray, and Nancy standing outside the door.
"Good morning, Joan. We’ve been waiting for you."
"Good morning, Father. What’s going on with Mother?"
"Let’s go in first. We’ll explain after."
"Maggie, Joan’s here. May we come in?"
"Yes, of course."
As soon as I entered the room—
*Grab!*
Mother enveloped me in a tight hug.
Huh? What’s happening? This is… scary.
"Joan, you’re incredible! I’m never letting you go anywhere!"
*Squeeze.*
"M-Mother, I… can’t breathe…"
"Oh! Sorry, I was just so happy…"
"Cough, cough. What’s this about?"
"My waist has slimmed down! Not only that, but the wrinkles around my eyes I was worried about have faded!"
"Really? Well, that’s great! But why are you thanking me for it?"
"I think it’s because I ate the dried fruits you made yesterday."
"Huh?! That’s impossible! You ate them last night—there’s no way they’d work overnight!"
"But, Joan, both Gray and I noticed that our fatigue and the dark circles under our eyes disappeared as well. I thought it might be the dried fruits and used my search skill to check…"
"And? What did you find?"
"Well… my search only identified them as dried brapes."
What the heck?
Why is Father staring off into the distance?
And why is Gray hiding his face, shoulders trembling? Oh, he’s laughing.
"Urgh!"
Huh? Gray’s clutching his side. What just happened?
Ah, Nancy’s clenched her fist. Looks like she delivered a body blow.
It seems like strong wives dominate in every world.
Yep, adding Nancy to the "people not to anger" list.
What do you think about this chapter?
