Chapter 54 – Baking a Cake 1
I waited for Amy to finish her training.
Unlike before, I didn’t doze off while waiting.
Instead, I activated Dimensional Awareness and quietly observed her.
I watched every movement she made.
Every swing of her sword.
Every spell she cast.
More importantly...
I watched how she controlled her mana.
The difference between us was immediately obvious.
Unlike me, Amy had complete control over her mana.
Every movement was smooth and deliberate.
Her mana flowed exactly where she wanted it to.
Meanwhile...
I still relied on letting my mana flow naturally before guiding it in the direction I wanted.
It was effective, but nowhere near as refined as Amy’s control.
"No wonder creating spells takes me so long..."
She could shape mana almost instinctively.
I, on the other hand, had to constantly adjust and experiment before reaching the desired result.
Even so...
The more I observed her with Dimensional Awareness, the more I learned.
Tiny details that I would have completely overlooked before now became obvious.
The way she compressed her mana.
The way she reduced unnecessary waste.
The way every movement remained perfectly balanced.
None of these were world-changing revelations.
But they were countless small improvements I could apply to my own mana control.
"This is much more productive than sitting around doing nothing..."
Unfortunately, maintaining Dimensional Awareness continuously consumed a surprising amount of mana.
After only five minutes, nearly all of my mana had been drained.
I quickly deactivated the skill.
"...That was close."
Thankfully, it was only a semi-active skill.
Even without fully activating it, my senses were still noticeably sharper than before.
That alone was already an incredible benefit.
I sat quietly and rested while my mana slowly recovered.
About fifteen minutes later, Amy finally finished her training.
She walked toward me while wiping the sweat from her forehead.
The moment she arrived, I smiled.
"Amy."
"I have a job for you."
"After lunch, be ready to work."
A mischievous grin spread across my face.
Amy blinked in confusion.
"...Excuse me?"
For a moment, she simply stared at me.
Then she puffed out her chest proudly.
"Hey, little brat."
"Who do you think you are, ordering your amazing big sister around?"
"I’m the one who orders you around."
"Not the other way around."
"Hmph."
She crossed her arms as if she had already won the argument.
I simply rolled my eyes.
"Hey, glutton."
"I’m planning to make a birthday cake for Mom."
"Tomorrow is her birthday."
"I need your help."
"That way, we can both say we made it together."
"Isn’t that an amazing birthday present?"
Amy stared at me.
Then...
She looked at me as though I had suddenly grown a second head.
"...You want my help?"
She pointed at herself.
"Me?"
"The person who’s never baked anything in her life?"
She shook her head dramatically.
"Brother..."
"I thought you were a genius."
"But it seems we were wrong."
"I take it all back."
I puffed out my cheeks.
"Hey!"
"I’m not asking you to bake the whole cake."
"I’ll tell you exactly what to do."
Then I smirked.
"Or don’t tell me..."
"The so-called amazing big sister can’t even handle something that simple?"
Amy immediately took the bait.
"What?!"
"Who said I can’t?"
"Your amazing big sister can do anything!"
"Hmph!"
I looked at her with a completely deadpan expression.
"Oh?"
"Then tell me."
"How do you make a cake?"
Amy froze.
"..."
"..."
"...Flour?"
She answered uncertainly.
I couldn’t help smiling.
"Well..."
"You’re not completely wrong."
"Flour is one of the ingredients."
"But we’ll also need butter, eggs, sugar..."
"And quite a few other things."
Amy scratched her cheek awkwardly.
"...Right."
I smiled warmly.
"So..."
"Will you help me after lunch?"
"I don’t think we’ll succeed on the first attempt."
"So we’ll probably have to make several before we get one good enough."
"I want to make the best birthday cake possible for Mom."
Amy remained silent for a moment.
Then a gentle smile slowly appeared on her face.
Finally...
She nodded.
"Alright."
"I’ll help."
"Let’s make Mom the best birthday cake she’s ever had."
Astrid walked over just as Amy and I finished bickering.
She looked at both of us with an amused smile.
"It sounds like you two have finally reached an agreement."
I nodded before looking at her.
"Astrid, can I ask you something?"
"Of course."
I scratched my cheek.
"Do you know what kind of cake Mom likes?"
"Chocolate?"
"Vanilla?"
"Strawberry?"
"I’ve seen her eat all of them before, so I have no idea which one to make."
Astrid immediately understood why I was asking.
She placed a hand on her chin and thought for a moment.
"Honestly..."
"I don’t think the Matriarch has a favorite flavor."
She smiled gently.
"If the cake is made by you and Amy, I’m sure she’ll love it regardless of the flavor."
"It’s the thought that counts."
I smiled before shaking my head.
"I know..."
"But I still want to make something special."
"This will be the first time Mom eats something I’ve made."
"I’ve already tested my cooking before."
"It’s edible."
I grinned proudly.
"Even the café praised it."
"So I want to make the best cake I possibly can."
Astrid looked at me for a moment before smiling helplessly.
"I’m afraid I can’t help you this time."
"If you want it to be special..."
"You’ll have to decide for yourself."
I nodded thoughtfully.
Then I turned toward Amy.
"What about you?"
"Do you know what Mom likes?"
Amy immediately raised her hand.
"Oh!"
"I know!"
"Chocolate."
She answered with an unusually bright smile.
I narrowed my eyes suspiciously.
"...Chocolate?"
Amy nodded repeatedly.
"Definitely chocolate."
I looked at her for a few seconds.
Then I asked,
"You aren’t saying that just because you want chocolate, are you?"
Amy immediately looked away.
"What?"
"No."
"How could you even think that?"
"I would never do something like that."
Her voice sounded far less convincing than usual.
I stared at her with a completely deadpan expression.
"...Your face says otherwise."
Amy whistled innocently.
"I have no idea what you’re talking about."
I couldn’t help laughing.
"Well..."
"It doesn’t really matter."
"Chocolate is delicious anyway."
Amy immediately brightened.
"I knew you’d make the right decision!"
I shook my head helplessly.
"Definitely because you wanted chocolate..."
She simply smiled as if she hadn’t heard me.
The three of us then headed toward the mansion’s kitchen.
Since lunch wasn’t ready yet, Amy and I grabbed two cold drinks and sat down together while waiting.
As we sipped our drinks, Amy leaned toward me curiously.
"So..."
"What kind of cake are we making?"
"What design are you planning?"
I blinked.
"...I actually haven’t thought that far."
Amy giggled.
"I figured."
For the next several minutes, we discussed different ideas together.
Fancy decorations.
Multiple layers.
Fruit toppings.
Chocolate decorations.
The more we talked...
The more we realized we were overcomplicating things.
Finally, we reached the same conclusion.
"Let’s keep it simple."
I nodded.
"A soft vanilla sponge cake..."
"Covered with rich chocolate frosting."
"No fancy decorations."
"No unnecessary designs."
"Just a beautiful round cake..."
"One that everyone can enjoy together."
Amy smiled warmly.
"I think Mom would like that the most."
I smiled back.
"Then it’s decided."
"We’ll make the best birthday cake we possibly can."