SR Oz (An Innocent Suggestion) “World’s Greatest Pancakes” (September Seasonal 2020)

[odorekijin]

“World’s Greatest Pancakes”

★ chapter one
★ chapter two
★ episode
★ home line

chapter one

[Wizards’ Manor—Kitchen]

Oz: …? What are you doing here?

Shino: Oh, it’s you. I’m practising my tea-brewing skills.

Oz: And did your tea-making involve spilling water on the floor?

Shino: I just knocked over the teapot, but don’t worry I didn’t break it. I’ll be more careful next time.

Oz: Why didn’t you ask somebody for help if it was too difficult to do alone?

Shino: Because I have to learn the skill on my own. You know, I saw Cain making and serving tea for Arthur earlier, and it got me thinking…

As my lord’s retainer, I cannot be outdone by my lack of skills.

Oz: …That’s a noble purpose.

Shino: Ah, water ‘s boiling.

Oz: Wipe the table and floor first. You would cause more trouble if you were to slip or knock over something else.

Shino: Do you know how to make tea? Something tells me you do.

Oz: …I wouldn’t say I’m particularly good at it, but yes, I can brew a pot.

Shino: Didn’t expect any less. After all, the world’s strongest wizard can do anything he sets his mind to!

Oz: …

Shino: Speaking of cooking, Arthur told me you make incredible pancakes too. Is that true?

Oz: …Do you not fear–

Shino: What’s that? Speak up, I can’t hear you.

Oz: ...Nothing. But to answer your question: yes, I also know how to bake pancakes.

Shino: I knew it! Could you make some for me to try too?

Oz: No. You would find more success in asking Nero.

Shino: I don’t want Nero, I want your cooking. You’re the strongest wizard alive, your cooking has to live up to your name, I just know it!

Oz: …

Shino: …

Oz: (Those eyes… How they remind me of Riquet or Arthur when he was but a small boy…)

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chapter two

[Wizards’ Manor—Dining room]

Shino: Woah…! Your pancakes actually look really good… Not that I was doubting you. Can I eat now?

Oz: Not yet, it’s missing a touch of whipped cream and honey. …There, it’s all yours.

Shino: Thanks, time to dig in! …Yep, no doubts about it: it’s out of this world.

I knew the world’s strongest wizard could do anything. Nom, nom, nom…

Oz: If you have no other request, I’ll return to my room.

Shino: Sure, thanks again for the pancakes. I’ll bring you some tea in return once I’m done over here.

Oz: Boy, do… Do you not fear me?

Shino: Me, fear you? Because you’re the strongest Northern wizard there is?

Oz: Precisely.

Shino: Heath, Chloe and some others may be a bit tense around you, yes, but I’m not afraid of you.

What I am though is jealous—jealous of your strength, and of who you picked up and raised. So in a way, I’m a bit jealous of Arthur too.

If I had been raised by you, who knows, maybe I would have become far stronger than I am now.

Oz: …Your recklessness, resolution and unadulterated desire for power may indeed align with natural Northern traits. That, I cannot deny.

However, had I raised you, you would have never met Heathcliff—at least not in this lifetime. Do you understand?

Shino: I would hate to spend a life without having Master and Madam Blanchett or Heath in it.

…Huh, I feel like I had that talk with the Sage before.

Oz: Is that so…?

Faust: Shino? What are you doing here?

Shino: Faust, look! I asked Oz to make me some pancakes.

Faust: …You, what? Just what on earth are you making him do…

Oz: (What an… Ordinary reaction. It seems the younger generation of wizards, like Cain or Shino, is indeed vastly different from their elders…)

Times are changing after all…

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episode story

“An Adolescent of Shared Nature”

[Wizards’ Manor—Dining room]

Akira: By the way, Shino mentioned that you baked some pancakes for him! I still find it hard to believe but… Was that true?

Oz: …He strongly requested that I cook for him, and I found myself unable to decline.

Akira: Was he really that insistent? Sounds like he was begging more than asking you…

Oz: That he did, but he had that sparkle in his eye… Arthur was like that too as a child, asking many times over for me to bake him pancakes.

Akira: I understand, I wouldn’t have resisted long either. Shino and Arthur get along really well, but I guess I didn’t realise how similar they were.

Oz: …Their unpredictable nature seems to be cut from the same cloth.

One can never know for sure what these young wizards may rope themselves into next.

Akira: Shino does tend to leap into action before thinking, and Arthur's mischievousness sometimes makes it hard to believe he's royalty.

Oz: …Neither of them find reason to fear me as well.

I never thought I would be begged like so again, neither to bring destruction, and much less to bake pancakes… It seems I was mistaken.

… …Why are you smiling? Do I have something on my face?

Akira: No, it’s just… You had such a tender smile on your face, I couldn’t help myself.

Oz: I was… Smiling?

Akira: You were!

Oz: I did not realise…

Akira: Would you be willing to bake some pancakes for me too sometime? I'll brew a nice cup of tea for us to enjoy along with it!

Oz: If you so wish.

home line

“Our youth have been looking for you. Worry not about me, you can go. See what their endeavours need you for.”

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