Chapter 17: Is This Task Really Worthless? Ha Ha Ha!

Students in the land of cherry blossoms often have the habit of bringing bento boxes. Ye Hui, naturally, followed the local customs. He took out the food he had prepared the previous night from his system inventory.

"Eh? Ye Hui, are you only eating cake?" Sakura looked at the several lunch boxes that Ye Hui had produced using his "Sleeve Universe" spell. Though it looked like a lot, the boxes were filled entirely with small cakes. She hadn't expected Ye Hui to have such a side to him. Could it be that he, like her, was fond of flour-based foods?

Hearing Sakura's words, Ye Hui chuckled. "I don't particularly love them, but I made these myself!"

Even Tomoyo widened her eyes. "Ye Hui, do you enjoy baking cakes?" It was indeed rare for a boy to like making desserts.

Ye Hui spread his hands. "It can't be helped. As a disciple of an immortal sect, one must be versatile. I’m currently practicing my culinary skills, so I started with the simplest form: baking."

Kero-chan stared at the cakes, muttering, "Tch! Never heard of a cultivator who has to cook. Just this morning, you were talking about 'drinking the wind and sipping the dew'..."

Ye Hui waved his hand, and several more boxes appeared on the picnic cloth. "Kero, want a taste?"

"Uh—I really can?" Kero-chan immediately performed a 180-degree turn in attitude. After snatching a box and opening it, he exclaimed, "Wow! This looks delicious!" He took a bite and said, "Mmm, it really is tasty. It seems cultivation isn't entirely useless; at least Ye Hui's cooking is quite good..."

[Cerberus Emotion Value +8]

Small, small Kero, handled!

Ye Hui looked at the two girls. "You should try some too. I couldn't help it; I made too much while practicing, and to avoid wasting it, I had to bring it for lunch..."

"Oh? Thank you!" The two girls thanked him politely. Tomoyo took a small bite, and her eyes lit up.

[Tomoyo Daidouji Emotion Value +6]
[Sakura Kinomoto Emotion Value +7]

Sakura remarked, "It’s really delicious! I never imagined Ye Hui’s skills would be so good—it’s even tastier than the pastries I eat at home..."

Of course it was! This was the result of him grinding his "Spirit Chef" sub-profession all night! Could food meant for a cultivator be anything less? He had infused a bit of spiritual energy into them! No matter how good an ordinary person's cooking was, they couldn't compare to this texture.

[You are using every means necessary to turn Tomoyo into your protector, pretending to inadvertently display your strengths.]
[You seem to have discovered the wonders of culinary arts and decided to make more, having heard that to conquer someone, one must first conquer their stomach...]

"Eh? Did I think that?"

Ye Hui paused as he looked at the messages refreshing in the system log. He was clearly just grinding for sub-profession experience points! He wasn't thinking about turning Tomoyo! Well... perhaps not.

However, towards the end of his grind yesterday, Ye Hui discovered something. Making Chinese-style cuisine was simply too time-consuming. Washing, prepping, chopping, seasoning, and then managing the heat and stir-frying—he couldn't even finish two dishes in an hour. He felt the efficiency was too low.

As a result, Ye Hui changed his strategy. Stir-frying a full dish was one thing, but stir-frying a tiny portion was also stir-frying. After testing it, he found it actually worked! Since he had found a bug, continuing to cook full meals didn't make much sense. If the standard weight for food in the sub-profession grind wasn't strictly enforced, he might as well change his approach!

Thus, Ye Hui began making desserts! The initial stages of dessert preparation could be done by machines. This was a convention that even the system couldn't stop. When it came to the baking stage, Ye Hui poured the batter into molds to make many small egg tarts. A single mold could yield multiple portions. With multiple ovens running, he could rack up hundreds of cooking experience points! Even without spiritual ingredients, the sheer volume made up for the lack of individual experience!

"Eh? How come I feel like the cakes you made, Ye Hui, are not only delicious but seem to restore my stamina?" Sakura opened her eyes, her emerald gaze flashing with brilliance. "I feel so much more energetic!"

Ye Hui nodded confidently. "Exactly. This is what cultivators call 'Spirit Cuisine'—though there are other names for it, like Spirit Food, Spirit Dishes, or Spirit Delicacies..."

Kero-chan was still unsatisfied. "So, are these like food made with magic that can restore magical power?"

"Oh, magic cooking?" Sakura tilted her head. "Kero, you never told me about that..."

"I've only heard of it!"

Hearing this, Ye Hui’s brows twitched slightly. He vaguely remembered that among the Clow Cards, there was one related to food. However, that wasn't a card for making gourmet meals. After all, this wasn't a cooking-themed anime. But Clow Reed was only one among many magicians. This world once had a glorious magical culture, especially that ancient Chinese nation where food was held in the highest regard. Ye Hui would never believe that no food-related magic had ever been born there... This was the cultural confidence of a Chinese person!

Ye Hui explained, "Cultivator's food isn't meant to strengthen magical power for combat—though you could use it that way; there are some spirit foods that can briefly enhance fighting ability. However, generally speaking, spirit cuisine is mainly used to improve physical constitution, increase vitality, and boost spiritual energy..."

The two girls listened, feeling a bit lost, but they looked earnest, pretending they understood. After all, compared to a classmate who had already begun cultivating, one was an ordinary rich girl, and the other was a magic-user who had only started last night... They hadn't encountered this "spirit cuisine" stuff before.

After Ye Hui's rough explanation, the three of them and the mascot continued their meal in silence.

...

After lunch, not only Ye Hui, but even Tomoyo urged Sakura to show them how she used magic. Tomoyo clasped her hands, her eyes glowing. "Preventing the disasters caused by Clow Cards and protecting the world's safety—a Clow Card Captor is just so cool!"

Sakura waved her hands in embarrassment at these words. She hadn't actually planned on becoming a Clow Card Captor yet!

Kero-chan also encouraged Sakura to perform. "There’s no one else around anyway!"

Ye Hui glanced at the expectant Tomoyo and decisively joined the campaign. "Clow Cards will bring trouble to the people around you, and you, Sakura, are bound to embark on a miraculous journey. This is a fate you cannot escape..."

Sakura, nudged by the three of them, listened as they described, one after another, how disasters would descend. She seemed to truly see images of Clow Cards appearing in Tomoeda, bringing pain to those she held dear... Sakura frowned slightly, her heart wavering.

Suddenly, the system log popped up again.

[You gradually realize that Sakura Kinomoto is not despicable; on the contrary, she holds a ridiculous sense of justice and thinks of others in everything! You are stung by her radiance and decide to seek revenge!]
[A person of cultivation is untainted by the mundane. Since Sakura Kinomoto harbors justice, why not guide her to become a knight-errant?]
[You mutter to yourself: Even if she becomes a sword-wielder, what of it? Cultivating for immortality is the goal of our kind! By the time Sakura Kinomoto realizes she has sacrificed too much for her worthless justice and has lost the chance to become an Immortal Swordswoman, your cultivation will have long surpassed hers!]
[Ding! You have refreshed a character side quest—"Going Against the Grain"! Get close to Sakura Kinomoto, guide her in practicing justice, and resolve a disaster brought about by a secret treasure of the Immortal Talisman Sect.]

Ye Hui rolled his eyes silently. This system was as neurotic as ever. Using flawed logic to carry out a "correct" task and guiding others to do good? This didn't look like a task for a villain and a protagonist's nemesis at all! Did it think he was some sort of evil little mage?

However, having a task was always better than nothing; at least there were rewards to be had. And having watched the anime, he wasn't worried about failing the task at all. The system issuing this task was practically handing him rewards on a silver platter!

Ye Hui shook his head, ignoring the brain-dead system...

"Sakura, there’s no one else here, just show them!" Kero-chan urged again.

Sakura, seeing Tomoyo’s expectant gaze, felt her cheeks burn and had no choice but to agree. She looked left and right before walking onto the grass and taking out the Sealing Key. Confirming that no one was watching, she raised the key.

"Release!"