Chapter 62 – Culinary Magic Class

Chapter 62 – Culinary Magic Class

The Dormitory was much closer to the Planting District, and the path was easy to walk, so the young witches set out half an hour early.

Continuing the tradition from their descent down the mountain at noon, every young witch carried her Grimoire in her left hand and a sheet of parchment in her right.

This was their first Magic class, and the young witches were all buzzing with excitement.

“We’re finally going to learn Magic! My Wand can barely contain itself!”

“Whoosh~ whoosh whoosh~ Ingredients, start moving!”

“Hahaha! Once we’ve learned Culinary Magic, we’ll be feasting every single day!”

……

“Even though our next class is Magic, we should still review the textbook!” Cheryl said. “Just in case Lady Amisha asks questions again—at least we’ll be prepared!”

The events of the theory class still lingered fresh in the young witches’ minds.

At Cheryl’s reminder, they began cramming on the way, reading through the textbook 《Learning Culinary Magic from Scratch》.

Mo Lan shook her head with an amused smile.

The Culinary Magic textbook was aimed at young witches who knew absolutely nothing about cooking or Culinary Magic. Its whole approach was accessibility and simplicity—far easier to understand than the theory textbook.

Lady Amisha probably wouldn’t quiz them the way she had during the theory class.

Still… a little pre-class review never hurt, so Mo Lan didn’t stop them.

Sure enough, once class began, Lady Amisha didn’t ask them to read the textbook first at all.

“Those with cooking experience who can make bread, thick soup, and pan-fried cutlets—sit at the front. Everyone else, sit wherever you like.”

The Cooking Classroom was right next to the Ingredient Collection Station, equipped with fifty kitchen workstations similar to the ones in the dormitory kitchen.

However, after Lady Amisha arrived, only twenty-seven workstations remained, scattered throughout the classroom.

This time, Mo Lan and Iris sat at the very front workstation.

Sylph and Vasida were positioned just behind them.

Once everyone had settled into their places, Lady Amisha began assigning tasks:

“All young witches, put your Wands down first.

Don’t go fantasizing that a wave of your Wand will have your meal ready. The foundation of Culinary Magic is cooking—there are no shortcuts!

Follow the instructions in the textbook and try making black bread on your own, without any Magic.

The recipe is clearly written in the textbook, complete with illustrations.

If you run into problems, check the textbook first. If you can’t find the answer there, raise your hand and ask me!

I’ll be walking around the classroom to observe and guide you. Go ahead and give it your best.”

It was a good thing the young witches had done a bit of preview reading—the first chapter of the textbook covered exactly how to make black bread, so they had all seen it beforehand.

Following the textbook step by step, they began their attempts.

After getting everyone else settled, Lady Amisha came over to Mo Lan and Iris and said, “You two have cooking experience. Go ahead and make one of everything listed in the textbook so I can see.”

Mo Lan, who had been educated by Senior Lilith and understood that Culinary Magic was not the same as cooking, nodded and began figuring out the most efficient approach.

But Iris didn’t know this. She said, “Headmistress, everything in this book is far too simple for Moira and me. How about we use 《The Culinary Atlas of the Continent of Valen》 to study Culinary Magic instead?”

“Absolutely not. You’re both still far from fully mastering the content of this textbook!” Amisha said.

“How is that possible! I just looked through the Culinary Magic textbook—there’s nothing remotely difficult about it,” Iris protested, still unconvinced.

“Moira, what do you think?” Amisha turned to look at a certain little witch who was already sorting through ingredients.

“I have no objections,” Mo Lan said.

“Moira…”

“Iris, there’s a huge difference between cooking and Culinary Magic. I’ve already tried it—it’s very difficult to control. It’s best to start practicing with the simplest dishes,” Mo Lan said.

“Fine!” Though she still didn’t quite understand, Iris felt that Mo Lan’s cooking skills were superior to her own.

If even Mo Lan thought so, then perhaps it really wasn’t without reason.

Amisha gave a nod of approval and went to check on the other young witches.

Mo Lan seized the opportunity to tell Iris about the disastrous results of her unauthorized weekend experiments. “Your mother is a Culinary Witch, isn’t she? When she’s learning a new dish, doesn’t she also avoid using Culinary Magic at first?”

Iris shook her head. “I always thought she just enjoyed the feeling of cooking by hand.”

After all, by the time Iris was born, her mother was already a renowned Culinary Witch.

She had no idea that this was what learning Culinary Magic looked like in the beginning.

Her mother had really kept it well hidden!

Then again, it was also her own fault for never asking.

While the Headmistress wasn’t looking, Iris sneakily tried using her Wand to pick up two tomatoes at once.

Unsurprisingly, she failed.

After that, she was thoroughly humbled and obediently followed the Headmistress’s instructions.

An hour and a half passed.

The other young witches, fumbling and flustered, managed to produce black bread under Lady Amisha’s guidance—though the colors ranged from light to dark, and the shapes were anything but uniform.

Mo Lan and Iris, meanwhile, had worked through every single recipe in the textbook.

“Alright! The last half hour is tasting time—try what you’ve made!”

After the announcement, Amisha picked up a knife and fork and began tasting as well.

Every young witch served her a small portion of their work.

The young witches were actually quite pleased with their creations—until they actually took a bite.

“Ow! It’s so hard—I can’t bite through it, I absolutely cannot bite through it!”

“Is this a rock or bread?!”

“Ugh! The inside still seems raw!”

……

Then they looked at Lady Amisha, who maintained a perfectly composed expression throughout while tasting student work, and the young witches’ teeth ached just watching.

Being the Headmistress of Culinary Magic class was real suffering!

After sampling everything the young witches had made, Amisha gave her assessment: “Mo Lan and Iris—your foundational cooking skills pass muster. Tomorrow you may begin working with Culinary Magic.”

Mo Lan and Iris were delighted.

So the Headmistress had been testing their cooking proficiency all along!

The other young witches couldn’t help feeling nervous as well. Having tasted their own black bread, they really didn’t have much confidence.

“The rest of you will continue making black bread next class—until you can do it well and do it consistently!” Amisha said.

“Headmistress, when will we get to learn Culinary Magic?” the young witches asked.

“Once you can competently prepare every dish in the textbook, just like Moira and Iris, you’ll be ready.”

Amisha left behind this cruel answer and departed.

The young witches flipped through the book, counting as they went:

“Black bread, white bread, vegetable thick soup, mushroom thick soup, potato thick soup, pan-fried beef steak, pan-fried lamb chops… oh no! There are so many more!”

“Our black bread today really was unsatisfactory. The book says black bread is food eaten by the poor out in the Wilds—it does get quite hard once it cools, but ours was clearly way beyond acceptable hardness.”

“Culinary Magic class: all culinary, no magic.”

“No—it’s only *us* who get all culinary. Moira and Iris still get magic!”

……

The first-year young witches’ first practical Magic class—arrived with great excitement, departed in utter dejection.