Inside a silent room, Noel was restless. Daniel, his roommate, had gone out to hang out with the 'others'. Although presumably, and primarily to see Viona if anything.
Viona might seem distant and serious, but she could be somewhat odd or even awkward from his perspective. And his friend Daniel wasn't so dense as not to notice her looking at him from time to time.
"—Hey, Noel. Is there something on my face, or is she… Y'know, maybe interested in me?" He once asked.
At that time, Noel had been reading. His eyes stopped as he placed the open book down onto his defined collarbones. With a grin, he said, "Why don't you find out?"
Just like that, a few days passed, and he'd see them talk from time to time.
—Ah, youth, he'd think to himself.
But right now, he had free time. The training was rough; his body ached all over, asking for a break. The others rested for sure, but there were those whose vigor got extended by a drive called romance.
—Hmm, I can't sleep. Should I head out for some fresh air? I wonder what Chely's doing. Aw, man, I wonder when Al's going to return.
Miu's with her other friends, and invading the girls' hangout session, nah.
Should I maybe see what Oliver and his group are up to? Nuh, they're probably resting.
My girlfriend is also pretty busy, so disturbing her doesn't feel right. Man… I can't even banter with Luna—where the hell did she even go?
With those thoughts running through his mind, he realized the scenery had changed. He was currently in front of a convenience store. When he entered, the other soldiers briefly glanced his way before browsing through whatever they had come looking for.
Just like any other person, he wandered around the store, and when he saw eggs, he suddenly got a craving.
—Oh, I know…
And just like that, a small satisfied smile surfaced on his face.
About 15 minutes later, he walked with a bag in his hand. 3 simple ingredients were all he needed for a simple sweet treat. The recipe was easy, and he liked them.
—The question is, do I want the caramel to be golden or amber… Al would probably like the golden sauce since it's sweeter. Though personally, I like it bittersweet. It pairs well with the slightly sweet custard, neither overpowering the other.
He entered the entertainment building and rented a kitchen space for two hours. He tied up his hair and put on an apron, laying the ingredients bare. Four eggs, sugar, and milk.
A slightly more mature woman nearby waved at him, then walked over. She leaned over, hands behind her back. Her long green hair was tied in a ponytail, and her diamond-shaped pupils locked onto his workbench.
"My~, what are you making?"
"Oh, hello, Miss. I'm going to make something called Purin, it's like a flan."
"Hmm, I see~ then, tell me if there's anything you need! I come here pretty often, so I know where most of the stuff is."
"Gotcha, thanks," Noel flashed her a handsome smile.
"Woah… bright," the lady playfully covered her eyes. "Oh, by the way, are you making them for someone?"
"…" Noel's hand naturally rested on his neck as he awkwardly chuckled. "Actually, it's for myself. It's a childhood treat—I kinda miss the taste, y'know?"
The lady seemed surprised for a moment as she relaxed and closed her eyes. "I see… I totally get it! I hope they turn out well," she said with a gentle smile.
"Haha, sure hope! Oh, by the way, I'm Noel."
"Oh my, pardon me. My name is Isha."
With a firm handshake, Noel smiled. "Nice to meet you, Ms. Isah. I suppose we might see each other from time to time."
"Likewise, Mr. Noel. And again, don't hesitate to ask me if there's anything you need."
Just like that, Isah went back to her station, and just when Noel was about to begin preparing the caramel, he stiffened at the sight of a reflection on the saucepan.
"Good evening, Noel Karlsson. You seem to be getting along with that pretty lady from earlier."
"…"
Behind him stood a girl with ash-brown hair and pretty, light colored emerald eyes. She was in her green dress-like robe. The dark belt with eclipses strapped around her waist, holding the robe in blade accentuated her feminine form. Underneath was a plain white blouse, long brown pants, and boots with slightly darker accents.
"Y-Yo… Chely—could you not sneak up on me like that? I almost had a heart attack!"
Chely averted her eyes, then she lightly clenched her fist and rested it on her cheek; her head was tilted slightly as she turned those pretty eyes up towards him again, looking all innocent and cute.
"It makes me happy that you adore me so much…" she spoke softly. "But… It's a little embarrassing if you're so straightforward.
Flabbergasted, Noel blinked as if to check if his eyes were deceiving him. And indeed, his silver-blue eyes did not deceive.
"Oi! Now you're just messing with me, you know fully well that wasn't what I meant!" he retorted, lightly tapping her forehead with his index finger.
Chely's cheeks flushed a faint red before she crossed her arms, her stoic expressionless(ish) face returned.
"Yes, I was," his cool girlfriend affirmed.
Noel stared at her with a mock-frowned expression, but his cheeks loosened up after 0.2 seconds.
"That's a cute act, but it really wasn't like you. Though the recoil was absolutely adorable."
Chely's eyes widen before averting them. "I see…" she said calmly.
"Also, that lady from before is a regular, so we had a small chat, and she told me that if I was looking for anything around here, I could ask. It was just a simple greeting," Noel explained as he smugly looked at her cute face.
"I see. Then… what are you doing here? Or rather, what are you making?"
At that question, Noel grinned.
"…?" Chely tilted her head slightly.
Before Chely realized what was going on, Noel put an apron on her, tying the back and her hair.
"It looks nice on you," he said, though the remark sounded more like him talking to himself.
"I've never baked or cooked, you know?"
Noel shrugged. "You don't have to, I just wanted to see you in an apron," he teased.
"If that makes you happy…" Chely blushed a little. "Then, can I help with anything?"
"Oho? Wanna make it together then?"
"Yeah, if that's okay."
"If that's okay, huh?" Noel teasingly repeated her words. He shrugged. "Well, you do realize I like spending my time with you. Of course it's okay. Rather, it's more than okay!"
"Pfft…" Chely chuckled as she lightly jabbed his shoulder. "Silly," she added, her stoic demeanor melted.
Noel chuckled as well before explaining the steps.
"So, we want to caramelize the sugar. We want to burn it slightly, so an amber color."
"I… see?" Chely, with a serious expression, nodded.
Noel added 0.5 dl of an equal amount of sugar and water to the saucepan, then turned on the stove to around medium heat.
"And… now?"
Noel stretched a little before leaning on the counter. "We wait."
"…That's it? What about the other steps?"
"Then, can you crack two eggs into a bowl? And an additional two, this time, only the yolk."
"What about the leftover egg whites?" Chely asked after finishing the task. "I've separated them into a different bowl."
"Ah, well… it's not a lot, but we could make meringue out of them, although I rarely do. Buuut we might as well and eat it just for fun."
He poured some sugar into the bowl and began whisking.
"What about this bowl?" Chely asked.
"You can mix it a little, just don't start whisking it, so… gently stir until it's mixed well. We want to avoid air bubbles."
Doing as he said, Chely gently stirred the mixture until it was combined. When that was done, she was assigned to look after the saucepan. Some time passed, and she noticed that the sugar had turned golden.
"Almost done," Noel remarked as he put down the bowl. The meringue had thickened and was basically done.
After the sugar turned amber, he carefully poured 0.3 dl of water into the pan to adjust the consistency and prevent the sugar from cooking any further. He then waited for it to thicken up some more before pouring it into four different cups, tapping them on the counter a few times before moving them to the side to cool down.
"There's some residue in the pan," Chely mentioned.
Noel grinned. "Yeah, the caramelized sugar is slightly bitter and is going to add some subtle flavor to the custard itself." He then shrugged. "Though you can barely tell since the custard will be drenched in caramel sauce either way. But hey, fewer things to clean."
"Got it… Then, what about the next step?"
"We'll heat the milk with sugar. Let the sugar dissolve and wait until it's golden. Because then we know the caramel has melted."
Turning on the heat, again, Noel poured 2.4 dl of milk and 0.4 dl of sugar into the pan. Chely watched carefully from the side, but she couldn't help but stare at his profile—it soothed her heart as her cheeks got a little warm.
He was focused, and after that was done, he poured the warm milk into the egg bath, combining them slowly. He turned to Chely, noticing that she didn't really have anything to do, he said, "Oh? Why don't you taste the meringue?"
Flustered and caught a little off guard, Chely nodded and tasted the meringue. It was fluffy and sweet, though it didn't taste any different than plain sugar.
And seeing her reaction, Noel chuckled. "Ah, I should've bought some berries or fruit to mix it with—I'll do that next time, kay?"
"Huh? Y-Yeah…" Chely nodded. She scooped some of it and pointed the spoon at Noel.
He seemed surprised by her action, but there was no way he was going to say no to being hand-fed by her.
"Nom… Ahaha, as expected, kinda boring huh?"
"It's sweet though," Chely replied, smiling.
Looking satisfied, Noel closed his eyes. "Well, it was extra sweet, I'd say?"
"Really?"
Chely didn't seem to understand what he was implying, but he found that side of her endearing.
"Yup!"
After mixing it a little until combined, Noel strained the mixture a few times to get it super smooth. He then poured the mixture into the cups and sealed the top. He started the oven and placed the cups onto a baking sheet, then poured water, which covered 1/3 of the cups.
"I think this should be around 150℃," he murmured. Everything before this point had been a guess, but it turned out fine…
And so the 40-minute wait began. And once they were done, his time was up.
"Hm~ too bad we can't eat them now…" Chely sighed with slightly furrowed brows, pouting.
"Haha, you can have them later. When you return to your place, make sure to put them inside the refrigerator—I guess it's getting kinda late today, so you can have them for breakfast. Doesn't that sound nice?"
"…Let's keep them at your place."
"Huh? Why?"
Chely didn't reply; instead, she walked ahead and turned around, leaning forward with her hands behind her back, "Because…" she paused shyly. "I'll have an excuse to come see you in the early morning," she said, sticking out her tongue.
"…"
Noel covered his mouth with the back of his hand; his ears were hot, and so were his cheeks.
—Dammit, I lost… Wait, lost to what? Isn't this a win?!
A/N
If you want to make this, be careful when making the caramel; don't pour in cold water, pour it away from you(caramel burn hurts, trust me bro). You can also add vanilla extract to the custard if you want; the amount is up to you, lol.
As for why all the measurements are in dl, well, not everyone has a scale, but I also like consistency, so… cuz if you see a recipe online, it's like, 10 grams of this, 1 spoon of that, 40dl of this and 1 cup of that, and I'd be like, oh for fuck sake, why?
Also, the oven is 302℉ in freedom units.