Excuse me, how many steps does it take to bake a sweet, fluffy, delicious cake? The answer is six.
First, grind some bones into bone meal.
Second, using a hoe, till some soil near water or grassy land, plant wheat seeds, and sprinkle bone meal to accelerate growth. After three consecutive applications, the wheat will fully mature. This way, we efficiently obtain three portions of ripe wheat.
Third, find sugar cane by the riverside, use bone meal again to boost the yield, and then craft the harvested sugar cane into white sugar—this recipe needs two units of sugar.
Fourth, bring three iron buckets and patiently collect three full buckets of fresh, creamy milk from a cow.
Fifth, pick up a fresh egg from a chicken coop.
Sixth, stand before the crafting table, place three wheat at the bottom, one egg and two sugars in the middle, and three buckets of milk on top. In the blink of an eye, a steaming, freshly baked cake appears!
"All done!"
Nursery Rhyme joyfully picked up the square cream cake, her cute little nose twitching gently as the rich, sweet aroma made her mouth water uncontrollably.
"In the game, I always ended up eating rotten flesh, since I could never finish all the zombie-dropped flesh anyway. Even when I wanted a better meal, I could only manage bread."
"But in reality, dry bread and zombie flesh are impossible to stomach no matter how I think about it… Cake is still the best. It may have complicated steps, but the flavor is absolutely wonderful..."
Unable to wait any longer, Nursery Rhyme grabbed a piece of cake and stuffed it into her mouth. White cream instantly smeared across the corners of her lips and playfully dotted her nose, yet she didn't care at all. She closed her eyes happily, smiling blissfully as though the entire world had melted into sweetness.
She chewed contentedly, making soft, animal-like nibbling noises, occasionally licking the cream from her lips. The sweetness of the cake not only satisfied her taste buds but made her soul feel lighter, her twin braids swaying gently with the rhythm of her delight.
Crafting a cake at the crafting table reminded Nursery Rhyme of when she used to play Minecraft long ago... She remembered first joining during version 8.0, when the game still had world borders. It was only after the 1.0.0 update that the world became infinite.
When she first played, the very first thing she did was enter creative mode and build a castle out of obsidian. Initially, she'd wanted to replicate Kaer Morhen, but halfway through construction, she started following her own ideas. Since the obsidian castle was too dark inside, she'd even placed a row of glowstone lamps on the ceiling.
After the obsidian castle, she built a bedrock castle, then a diamond one… but none of these castles ended up being her home. Instead, she built her actual home underground, complete with seventeen secret passages.
As Nursery Rhyme became lost in memories, a tall figure covered entirely in armor quietly appeared behind her, holding a towel and gently wiping away the cream from her face.
"Ah… Thank you, Mr. Knight."
To clarify in advance, although Nursery Rhyme called him "Mr. Knight," this knight had no direct relation to the blue-armored knight who accompanied Gawain. The only similarity was the way they came into existence—this "Mr. Knight" was also drawn into being by Nursery Rhyme herself.
After all, is there any child who doesn't love drawing? If Nursery Rhyme's ability could bring a child's realm into reality, then, at least on a single blank sheet of paper, all children become "Nursery Rhyme," their imagination endlessly extending through small strokes of a pencil.
Nursery Rhyme loved drawing too. Back in kindergarten, she'd even won a gold medal in a drawing competition. Her living room walls had been completely covered with her artworks from that time.
After entering elementary school, she started drawing cool swords and suits of armor.
After merging with Nursery Rhyme's Saint Graph, her mindset had become closer to her childhood self, reigniting her love for drawing.
In high school, she still loved drawing, but by that time she'd grown obsessed with perfection, always copying pictures she thought were beautiful, gradually losing her passion. Although her childhood drawing skills weren't great, her enthusiasm had soared endlessly, often spending entire days curled up on the sofa with her sketchpad.
"Mr. Knight" was precisely one of Nursery Rhyme's creations.
Yet perhaps because his character setting wasn't sufficiently detailed or well-known, creations like Mr. Knight all had various flaws—for instance, being unable to speak, or lacking true self-awareness.
Some of her creations were even dangerous, indiscriminately attacking people, so Nursery Rhyme wisely refrained from bringing those drawings to life.
Repeating the previous steps, using sugar, wheat, milk, and eggs, Nursery Rhyme quickly crafted several more fluffy, sweet-smelling cakes. Turning to Mr. Knight, she smiled warmly.
"Mr. Knight! Let's bring these cakes over to everyone! Then we can invite them to try this crafting table too. Wonderful things should always be shared—I hope we all have a delightful time, hehe!"
Facing Nursery Rhyme's cheerful request, the loyal Mr. Knight naturally didn't refuse. He nodded, gently picking her up and placing her comfortably on his shoulder.
Just like that, Mr. Knight carried Nursery Rhyme towards where everyone else was waiting.
Nursery Rhyme sat obediently on Mr. Knight's shoulder, her tiny hands lightly grasping his helmet as she hummed an unknown melody. Her little feet, wearing fluffy black-grey boots, gently swayed to the rhythm of her humming. Each note of her song was like leaping sunlight, casting a gentle golden halo upon her innocent face.
"Ah! Speaking of which..."
Nursery Rhyme paused thoughtfully, her rosy lips nibbling gently on her finger before continuing, "Aside from playing, I think the crafting table could also serve other purposes..."
This paradise she'd prepared for the children had places to live, play, and study, but it lacked farmland and livestock—essentially places to provide food materials.
Although they had the magical gourmet tablecloth, meaning no one in the paradise would starve or go hungry, Nursery Rhyme had overlooked a critical issue:
Most inhabitants were "Cursed Children," living difficult lives, nearly swallowed by humanity's cruelty. Mizutani Natsuki, for instance, would have died had Nursery Rhyme arrived even a moment later.
The gourmet tablecloth could create unlimited food simply by naming it… but how many types of food would these perpetually ostracized, barely surviving Cursed Children even know about?
In their daily lives, they only ever encountered rotten fruits, moldy bread, discarded bean sprouts, or leftover bones nearly stripped of meat. Thanks to the Gastrea Virus's ability to consume other pathogens, these children had survived on such scraps without illness. Even if given the gourmet tablecloth, they wouldn't know how to use it properly.
Besides, excessive reliance on the gourmet tablecloth wouldn't be good for their future growth.
Nursery Rhyme also had many skilled chefs among her friends, like Wolffy and SpongeBob, but as the saying goes, "Even the cleverest housewife can't cook without rice." No matter how skilled the chef, raw ingredients were essential.
In the cartoon, when drought struck, Slow Sheep had to cut down every sheep's food portion repeatedly, nearly starving Lazy Sheep. When Wolffy couldn't catch sheep, he resorted to cooking various grass cakes, grass soups, and vegetarian lamb dishes, almost getting beaten to death by his wife.
Clearly, without ingredients, even genius inventors like Slow Sheep and Wolffy were helpless.
As for SpongeBob…he could only make Krabby Patties.
However, playing Minecraft had given Nursery Rhyme inspiration.
The wheat, meat, and other items brought forth by her powers weren't exactly identical to the game's.
For example, wheat she grew could be directly crafted into bread on the crafting table, but could also be made into noodles, steamed buns, pancakes, and more through regular methods.
That white creature—uncertain if it was a chicken or duck—would drop chicken meat upon defeat. Even without a furnace to turn it into cooked chicken, the meat could be prepared using ordinary cooking methods.
Pork, beef, rabbit, and mutton were similarly versatile, cookable either with the simplified, beginner-friendly game methods or real-life culinary techniques, offering richer diversity and creativity.
"This is fantastic news! I must tell everyone right away!"
Nursery Rhyme straightened herself atop Mr. Knight's shoulder, her big eyes sparkling brightly as if they held entire galaxies. She excitedly clapped her small hands, her smile brimming with anticipation, her voice dancing joyfully as if she could barely contain the wonderful news she was eager to share.
Then, Nursery Rhyme turned her head towards Mr. Knight.
"Mr. Knight, do you think everyone will be happy about this news? Is this something worth celebrating?"
Mr. Knight couldn't reply with words, but gently nodded his head in affirmation.
"Really? Mr. Knight thinks the same way as Nursery Rhyme? Hehe! I'm so happy, happy, happy! Making everyone in the world join hands and laugh together joyfully—that's precisely why we (stories) exist, right?"
"Even if a story must eventually come to an end, even if it becomes forgotten in a dusty corner, we (stories) will always bless people, wishing them shining happiness and wonderful encounters… because I truly love everyone."
"Is it strange for a book to fall in love with a person? No, not at all! Because people fall in love with stories, too! Yes, just as Master loves me deeply, I also love Master dearly. Therefore, Master's wish is my wish. Therefore… Master and I are the very best lovers! Hehe!"
...
Ding-dong!
The sudden ringing of the doorbell made Satomi Rentaro, who had just finished cooking the sukiyaki, frown slightly.
He never had guests in this rundown place, especially not this late at night.
"I'm coming, I'm coming…"
Puzzled, Rentaro headed towards the entrance.
The moment he opened the door, what appeared before his eyes wasn't a person, but… a large cake.
"I thought I smelled something delicious. Are you eating hotpot?"
Nursery Rhyme was holding the cake aloft with both hands, her clear, melodic voice like a joyful songbird's call from the woods, full of pure curiosity and eager anticipation.
"Nur… Nursery Rhyme?!"
Rentaro jumped in surprise, instinctively leaning back slightly.
He'd imagined all sorts of possibilities—his own Civil Security boss showing up, or maybe one of Aihara Enju's classmates, or the escaped Hiruko Kagetane, or perhaps even an assassin who held a grudge against him… but never did he imagine that the visitor would be Nursery Rhyme.
"Good evening, Onii-chan! Enju-chan's home too, right? I've come to visit and brought a gift."
Unlike Rentaro's nervousness, Nursery Rhyme seemed as relaxed and cheerful as if she were merely dropping by a neighbor's house. She playfully tilted the large cake above her head, clearly indicating it was her gift.
"Ah! It's Nursery Rhyme!"
From inside the room came Enju's excited shout.
Aihara Enju quickly dashed to Rentaro's side, staring delightedly at Nursery Rhyme as she spoke, "Nursery Rhyme! Didst thou come to our house to play?"
"That's right! I made lots and lots of cakes and wanted to share them with my friends, so I came."
"Friends…"
Enju's eyes widened slightly, her long eyelashes trembling gently. Nursery Rhyme's words seemed to touch the softest spot deep within her heart, causing an indescribable warmth to quietly spread across her expression, even her breathing subconsciously becoming lighter.
"Yes, indeed! We're friends… the very best of friends! Come inside, come inside—Rentaro, move aside already, don't block Nursery Rhyme's way!"
Thus, without consulting Rentaro at all, Enju excitedly ushered Nursery Rhyme into their home, completely ignoring him. Left standing at the entrance, Rentaro's mouth twitched slightly.
"Ah… whatever. Maybe this isn't so bad."
With a resigned sigh, Rentaro eventually broke into a smile.
Earlier today, when he and Enju had been shopping for groceries, they'd witnessed a police officer being attacked.
The officer had fallen unconscious from his injuries, his patrol car deeply embedded in the concrete. The scene had been horrific, attracting many onlookers.
Those bystanders had immediately blamed a "Cursed Child" for the incident, their voices full of malice and hostility towards them.
Ever since then, Enju's mood had been downcast. Even though she'd tried to hide it, Rentaro had clearly noticed.
Enju didn't understand why humans and Cursed Children couldn't live peacefully together.
It was precisely to comfort Enju that Rentaro had made sukiyaki tonight, despite their household being so poor they could barely afford food.
Nursery Rhyme's arrival had been entirely unexpected. Although Nursery Rhyme herself had done nothing during their last meeting in the Unexplored Area, her two "friends" had given them quite a fright, which was why Rentaro had grown nervous upon seeing her again.
Yet, setting all that aside… if Nursery Rhyme's presence could brighten Enju's mood, Rentaro could only feel relieved and glad.
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T/N: bake a pretty cake