"At last...I have reached this place. At last...I shall learn...his secrets."
A shadowy figure approached the main courtyard of Memoria Auspice, the various lingering princesses and knights turning to look at them with bewildered curiosity. The figure shrugged off their enormous backpack, the ridiculously large burden hitting the earth with a loud thud. But even louder was the ear piercing scream that the man released at the entire school.
"SHOW YOURSELF! I CHALLENGE YOU! ROKO!"
Roko was presently in the cafeteria, eating a small meal as he continued reading a book on the history of the world. His continuing studies on this missing Hero was about to get rudely interrupted when Helena poked a drone out from under the table.
"Hey Roko?"
"What's up, Helena?"
"Someone's at the door demanding your presence."
"My presence?" Roko frowned, "Wait, 'at the door'?"
"Yeah."
"Of like the school?"
"Yeah."
"But we're spatially isolated."
"I mean, he's got a legal visitor's pass."
"You can get a visitor's pass?"
"If you know where to go, yeah."
"...And they're demanding my presence?"
"That's what he's been screaming about."
"Why me?"
"From the sounds of it, he wants to challenge you?"
' "Challenge me? At what, a battle?"
"I mean he doesn't SEEM armed but he does have a giant backpack and who knows what's in there?"
"...But why me?"
"I dunno, he seems pretty irate right now."
"Guess I should bring along a sword just in case." Roko sighed.
"Probably."
"Alright. Be there in a second."
With a sword strapped to his waist, Roko walked out to the front of Memoria Auspice where he found the man challenging him sitting on the ground, surrounded by curious onlookers including everyone else Roko's friend group.
"Alright." Roko sighed as he walked into view, "What's going on?"
"There you are." The sitting man sighed deeply as he glared up at Roko, "The creator himself."
"Creator?" Roko frowned.
"You some sort of creator god now, Roko?" Helena smirked.
"If I was, I wouldn't have had to fight half as hard as I do." Roko crossed his arms.
"No. You are unmistakably the creator I've been looking for."
"So the man says, Roko." Kaguya shrugged, "Can you remember anything you created recently?"
"That's a weird question." Roko frowned, "I can't recall ever creating any-OH MY GOD."
"The Creator of Milk Tea!" The man declared.
"I DID NOT CREATE MILK TEA!" Roko shouted back.
"Lies! The history of milk tea is short and can easily be traced back to you!"
"I mean...yes, I introduced it." Roko sighed, "But I did not CREATE it. Just...carried it over to this world."
"The how and whys don't matter." The man shook his head, "What matters is that I have come to challenge you."
"Challenge him...to a milk tea making contest?" Momo surmised.
"Precisely." The man glared up at Roko with fierce determination, "I will will the favor of the creator of milk tea and in doing so, perfected my craft."
"...Of making milk tea." Roland said.
"I mean, how hard can it be really?" Helena shrugged, "Just some tea, some sugar and some milk. I'm sure even I can-"
"DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE MILK TEA!" The man shouted, "I have traveled around the world, experienced the many ways of creating and perfecting this drink. I've left my family for this. My friends. My business."
"You have a business?" Roland remarked, "Selling...milk tea I presume?"
"Precisely. It is the most popular milk tea parlor in all of Momokami."
"Oh shit, you're from my country?" Momo blinked, "Damn, I should check this shop out."
"Take us with you." Helena smirked as she leaned on Momo's shoulder.
"This sort of discipline would make sense coming from your country." Kaguya nodded.
"Roko...I shall have you taste my greatest creation." The man glared at him, "And I shall have your approval."
"Do you really need my approval?" Roko sighed.
"Of course! This is a matter of utmost importance!"
"Yeah Roko, give him a chance!" Momo added.
"I just wanna see where this goes." Helena smirked.
"Can't say I'm not uninterested." Kaguya admitted.
"...Whatever." Roko sighed, "Let's just get this over with."
"I have arrived!"
"Hya!" Corissa jolted as the milk tea man burst into her kitchen, "W-W-Who are you?!"
"Back away from your dish, wench!" The man said, slamming his backpack down on the ground before moving around the preparation area, studying the tools and equipment with a sharp eye, "Hmmm...these all seem to be of good quality. Good. I won't have to rely solely on my own tools then."
"R-Roko?" Corissa whimpered as she walked up to him while carrying her incomplete dish, "What's going on?"
"Some crazy man wants my approval for his milk tea recipe or something." Roko shrugged, "Don't mind him."
"Oh!" Corissa smiled, "Is this like one of those things I've read about? You know...what did they call it? A Food Wa-"
"Stop right there." Roko frowned, "Also, what have you been cooking?"
"Oh this?" Corissa placed down her bowl of minced meat, "I was thinking I could prepare some dumplings in advance for our next adventure. We can prep them then cook them for an easy and tasty meal whenever we want!"
"Oh. Good idea." Roko nodded.
"Thanks! I've been putting a lot of the lessons I've learned from Treesa to good use!" Corissa smiled.
…
"So..." Helena spoke up, "Did he call you a 'wench'?"
"Huh?" Corissa blinked, "I think he might've."
"That's worth a hanging." Roland nodded.
"Eh?"
"Can't let him disrespect the most beautiful woman in the world." Kaguya smirked slyly.
"I-It's fine." Corissa laughed nervously, "Honestly, it's better than him freaking out over me."
"I guess being called a 'wench' is at least something different for the most beautiful woman in the world." Momo chuckled.
"Right." Corissa nodded, "Also, can you stop calling me that?"
"That's no good, Corissa." Helena said wrapping an arm around her friend's neck, "If you let people badmouth you because it's 'something different' then you'll just become a masochist."
"What's a masochist?" Corissa blinked.
"...Roko?"
"I'm not touching that."
"Man. I don't think I have it in me to tell her too." Helena mused.
"What's a masochist?" Corissa repeated.
"Don't you worry your pretty little head about it." Helena said patting Corissa on the head.
"O-Okay?"
The milk tea man cooked for several hours. And by several, it was maybe a little over one hour. But from the sound of it from the rest of the girls, it was practically half the day. Despite everyone just spending the time helping Corissa wrap up dozens of dumplings, it was getting pretty close to lunch time. Not that the milk tea being prepared was going to be a full meal but it would go great with some of the dumplings they were making. The problem was that the man was not letting any of them into the kitchen while he prepped.
"Does he even need to take this long?" Helena moaned, bored.
"I mean, he's seeping a lot of tea from the looks of it." Roko shrugged as he watched the man work, "Which means he knows to use tea extract instead of just a teabag so at least it looks like he knows what he's doing."
"Oho!" Momo grinned, "Insight from the creator and master!"
"I am neither of those things." Roko scowled.
"Wait, have you been using tea extract the entire time?" Kaguya asked.
"Nah. Takes too long. You can prep it beforehand but you don't need it for a decent milk tea. Makes a good base for flavor though."
"Tell us more, oh wise master of the milk and the tea." Helena nodded.
"I'm going to kick your ass, Helena."
"Only if you kick Roland's ass first."
"Sweet. Two for one deal."
"Uh huh. Let's see you try and kick my ass after I figure out my iaido sword style." Roland scoffed.
"Iaido...with two swords?"
"Yeah."
"...Good luck with that."
"It is done!" The man cried with manic glee, ending their conversation quite suddenly.
With thick tension in the air, everyone watched as the man walked over to their table, carrying quite delicately a tall glass of milk tea with a collection of small objects floating around at the bottom.
"Oh? Standard flavor then I guess?" Roko raised an eyebrow as the man placed the glass on the table.
"Indeed." The man said stiffly, "I've studied many different flavors of milk tea. Rose, Matcha, Taro, Jasmine, even Brown Sugar. But for a trial like this, I must prove my craft from the ground up. That means the basics."
"So what changed?"
"I've mixed a bit of a sweet treat into the drink. Crushed cooca biscuits with fondant fillings. A subtle addition to give texture and taste to the meal. I've been experimenting with this original recipe for years. This is the first time I've revealed it. I call it...Oreo Milk Tea."
"Aw sweet, my favorite." Roko said, picking the drink up and taking a sip.
"WHAT?!" The man cried.
"WHAT?!" The girls cried.
"What?" Roko blinked.
"What do you mean it's your favorite?!" The man shouted, "I just invented it!"
"Oh, I mean..." Roko looked around guiltily, "My world had this for a while now."
"Roko how advanced is your world?!" Helena gasped.
"I mean quite a bit but this one thing isn't quite as indicative as you might think." Roko muttered.
"Is it good tho?" Momo asked.
"Mm. Yeah, this is good." Roko nodded as he finished taking another sip, Some parlors make the oreo more slush like but I like mine just a bit more chunky. Strong, solid black tea base complimented by a creamy milk taste. Good ratios. I approve."
"You hear that?!" Momo cried, "You got his approval!"
"Then why...why do I feel like I've lost." The man said, having fallen to his knees in shock, "My secret weapon...my ace in the hole...my pride..."
"I thought this was to get my approval, not a match." Roko scoffed.
"Then please!" The man cried, shifting to one knee to bow down and beg, "Teach me! Teach me more about the craft of making milk tea!"
"I mean you seem to already know a lot already, do you really need-"
"Please! If there is more to this craft I must know! I must master making milk tea!"
"It's not that serious..." Roko frowned.
"Aw come on, Roko." Momo pressed, "He came all this way and everything."
"I want to know more too!" Corissa added, "I haven't even tried these other flavors yet!"
"Not you too." Roko scowled as the girl all looked pleadingly at him, "...Fine. I guess I can see what I can mix up."
"I am in your debt!"
"But only if you stop that!"
In a few more minutes, Roko returned with a brand new drink, placing it on the table with barely any aplomb.
"Order up." Roko sighed.
"This drink...is orange?" The man studied the drink curiously.
"That's not a usual color for a drink is it?" Kaguya noted.
"Is it good?" Corissa asked.
"Roko made it, of course it's good!"
"Why don't you actually try it?" Roko suggested with a scowl.
Starting with the milk tea man, they each dipped their own straw into the drink and took a sip.
"OH!" The man cried, "This taste! I've never had anything like it before!"
"It's sweet...yet also...herbal." Helena said, doing her best impression of a high class judge.
"Roko what IS this?" Momo cried.
"Thai Milk Tea." Roko sighed.
"Oho. So this is Milk Tea from the land of Thai." Kaguya nodded.
"Actually, it's just Thailand." Roko corrected them, "Regardless, this is just a novel tasting milk tea I figured you'd like."
"Mmm. Hey Roko." Helena spoke up again, "What are these balls at the bottom of the drink? They're so chewy."
"Tapioca. Colloquially known as Boba. Very popular, fun to chew but virtually just empty calories so I don't usually add them to my personal drinks at least. Still a staple in the casual community at least."
"I..." The man slumped back on his chair, his straw dropping to the table in defeat, "I have lost."
"This wasn't a match but whatever."
"Roko teach us more about milk tea!" Corissa cried.
"I don't actually know that much about milk tea." Roko scowled, "I don't know what to teach you. It's not that complex."
"Sounds complex." Momo remarked.
"Well you can make anything complex if you minmax it hard enough." Roko sighed.
"I shall return to my home country." The milk tea man said solemnly, "I shall return and restart my business from the ground up."
"Cool. See you there." Momo nodded.
"I shall start a school to teach others what I have learned from my journey."
"I just...you do that, man." Roko sighed.
"I realize now that I don't deserve your approval."
"Bro, chill, you got it already remember?"
"Once I have learned the true meaning of milk tea, I shall return to challenge you once again."
"I feel like we've been just talking past each other for a while now. Are you even listening?"
"Farewell."
The man pick up his giant backpack and began to walk off.
"You're not even going to stay for lunch?" Corissa called, "We're having dumplings."
"Hey, can we put dumplings in milk tea?" Helena asked.
"I've never heard of that before so I wouldn't suggest it." Roko frowned.
"Hey, we still got a vat of black tea extract." Momo reported, "Can you...you know..."
"Yeah sure, I'll make milk tea for everyone."
"Yay!"
"On the condition that none of you call me the creator of milk tea anymore."
"But it's true."
"It is and it isn't!"