This wasn't the first time Adam had prepared a gift for Silvana, but he had never had to order custom-made desserts before.

Fortunately, the owner of Rose & Sugar would help him personally.

"So, you were on a long mission, several months, huh?" The woman tapped the table, assessing what she had heard.

Adam briefly told her where he had been and what had happened to him in the Tarnished Lands. At first, he didn't want to do it because he knew that even a short version would take a long time, but she insisted, and he couldn't forget about her help.

"Well, oddly enough, I would advise you to give her something small, something you can share and not spend a lot of time on," she suggested.

"Ah?" Adam raised an eyebrow, puzzled, as he glanced at the counter. "I was thinking of buying one of the cakes, you have many different kinds. Maybe a cake with twelve different pieces? So we can try many flavors at once?"

The woman frowned.

"Are you even listening to me? Do you want to meet up and spend time with her, or spend two hours eating cake?"

"Pffft!" Adam snorted as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Two hours? I'll eat the cake in ten minutes if I have to. You underestimate me!"

In response, she shook her head.

'Oh gods, he doesn't even understand why what he's saying is stupid. Young people these days don't understand the meaning of gifts at all.'

After a few moments, she took a deep breath and looked intently into his eyes.

"Look, Adam, the most important thing is not the price of the gift or even what the gift is, but your attention and effort."

Adam agreed with her. That's why he came here, to the bakery, and not to a luxury clothing store for some expensive purse. But he didn't understand what she meant by that.

The woman smiled, the sparkle in her eyes showing that she had an idea.

"Let's see, I'll figure out the shape, as well as the ingredients and the whole recipe, but... You'll be the one to make the cream!"

"What...?" Adam pointed at himself as if she had mixed something up. "Are you serious?"

She nodded with a satisfied expression.

"Look, maybe I can handle dangerous monsters, but I know that making desserts is the difficult part of cooking. Besides, I'm a customer, not a chef! I came here to buy a cake, not to bake it!"

The woman rolled her eyes.

"Well, if you're so lazy, I can just take your order, and you'll get your cake soon, but if I were Silvana, I'd be disappointed."

Adam frowned.

"Don't even try to play these games with me! You're not going to make me make cream! I won't agree to it!"

...

Half an hour later:

"Shit!" Adam threw the spoon aside. "It's crunching on my teeth, is that how it's supposed to be?!"

"Of course not!" The woman shook her head, touching her temple. "You didn't mix it well! How can you successfully fight monsters but can't handle cream?"

She waved her hand, pointing to the nine bowls on the table.

"This is your tenth attempt! Just do exactly as I say."

"Tsk, it's easy for you to say, you've done it hundreds of times. As I said, it's not as easy as it looks. Even if I know the recipe and you're helping me, any mistake means the cream is no longer perfect!"

The woman was about to reply, but she faltered when Adam appeared in front of her. Now, his aura enveloped him like an invisible flame that distorted space as his eyes became large and deep.

"Let's try one more time. This will be the last one. I'll do everything in my power to make the best cream, but you'll include what I come up with now in the final recipe."

She nodded deeply, seeing Adam's determination in his glare.

"Alright, then listen to me carefully and don't do what you did last time when you forgot to add the eggs!"

"Sure."

...

The Phantoms didn't often cook or do any household chores. Well, at least not the ones who had reached the same level as Adam.

Even at the K2 level, a Phantom had enough money to eat at restaurants and order housekeeping. For them, it wasn't a large sum, not to mention the K3 and K4 level Phantoms.

Sure, nothing prevented a Phantom from picking up a knife and frying a steak with vegetables, but if a Phantom did so, it was only because they loved the process itself.

However, baking was much more complicated than frying a piece of meat, even if it was just making a simple cake frosting.

So, for the next few minutes, the woman watched as Adam followed all her instructions, moving around the kitchen like a shadow. He put as much energy into this task as if he were fighting a dangerous monster.

As a result, the snow-white cream, like a cloud floating in a peaceful blue sky, was ready.

Thump.

Adam fell into a chair as he sighed heavily.

'Damn it... I'd rather fight Menax again, at least then I'd know what to do. This cream, it sucked the life out of me!'

The woman raised an appreciative eyebrow before tasting the cream.

Her eyes sparkled as she smiled contentedly.

"Good, you've done that part."

"Hah..." Adam sighed, as if he couldn't believe it himself. "It's finally over. Now, what?"

She headed to the cupboard to put on a long white apron.

"Now, I'll do the rest. Don't worry, the whole dessert will be excellent. I'm sure Silvana will like what we do with you."

At that moment, Adam realized something as his eyes widened.

"Wait! If the cream is perfect, doesn't that mean it's no different from the usual? What's the point then?"

In response, she smiled mockingly.

"I didn't say your cream was perfect. I just said that you finally got it right, nothing more."

Adam's eyebrow twitched.

"You... You have no fear at all, huh?"

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