Magical User Aozaki Aoko Case Files

Youzhu looked at it and shook his head, indicating that it could not be opened. Qingzi frowned and thought for a while, then took out his spell book from the imaginary crack and turned to the page where the first-ring spell scroll was stored.

"Instant Locksmith." Qingzi whispered, and in an instant the scroll burned itself, turning into ashes and disappearing without a trace. Then, the box made a series of fine mechanical sounds, and finally made a click, unlocking the box.

Qingzi happily opened the lid of the box and found that there was only an exquisitely crafted crystal bottle with a narrow mouth in the box, which was filled with some unknown liquid that emitted a faint blue light.

Chapter 19 Aoko's Cooking

"Hmm...what on earth is this?" Qingzi tried hard to search for knowledge related to the bottle of blue liquid in her mind, but generally found nothing. "Youzhu, do you have any clues?"

"I don't know everything." Youzhu said after taking a look, "But I can feel that the magic content of the liquid inside the bottle is very high."

"Is this some kind of drink that the old man has?" Qingzi picked up the bottle and shook it before observing it carefully. "But I always feel like I have some impression of this thing, but not much."

"Forget it, let's find a place first. Maybe I'll figure it out when I wake up from a sleep one day." Qingzi put the bottle back into the box, then closed the box again. The sound of mechanical operation rang out again, and the box was locked again.

Youzhu didn't say anything, just enjoyed her tea. She suddenly felt that watching Qingzi working was quite interesting.

"Okay!" Qingzi stood up and rubbed his waist, "Finally everything has been counted. Next, just put these things away."

"Can you lend me the storage room in the basement?" Qingzi asked Youzhu, "There are some things in here that I can't use for the time being, and they are too big."

"Whatever you want," Youzhu said, "but don't touch the things inside, or I might not be able to find them later."

"Understood!" Qingzi took the key and said, "I'll go make dinner when I'm done with these. Youzhu, you can think about what you like to eat now, okay?"

"...Can't we just order takeout?" Youzhu muttered softly, she seemed worried that Qingzi was too tired today.

"Ah, I'm not a takeaway person," Qingzi said as she sorted out the food. "The takeaways in the store may have some hygiene issues, or there may be foam plastic residue in the takeaway packaging. Also, we can't just think about the convenience or taste of takeaways and save trouble, okay?"

"...Your cooking tastes better."

"Oh, sorry, Youzhu, what are you talking about?" Qingzi was sorting things out a little loudly and didn't hear Youzhu's voice.

"...I said, I want to eat Italian food for dinner." Youzhu raised her voice a little and said, "You have made it before."

"No problem," Qingzi agreed with a smile, "How about Lasagna? I recently read a book and learned how to make it. I guarantee it's delicious~"

"Yeah." Youzhu nodded in affirmation, then quietly touched her abdomen and suddenly felt a little hungry.

---Dividing line---

The word Lasagna itself refers to square pasta dough, or refers to dishes made with this pasta dough and stuffing. Among Western cuisines, Aoko's favorite is Italian and French cuisine.

She and Orange had been to the Italian restaurant in the commercial street many times. She had a special liking for the spicy sausage Spaghetti (long noodles) there. Paired with two slices of garlic bread and apple soda, she could have a happy and satisfying dinner time.

After sorting all the items into categories in the bedroom and basement storage room, Aoko put on her backpack and rode her scooter to a large food store at the foot of the mountain.

She took advantage of the last hour before the store closed to buy the most expensive pork belly and rib eye, as well as fresh tomatoes, carrots and parsley.

Of course, pre-made tomato paste is also necessary. After all, she is not a fundamentalist who believes in natural ingredients. Qingzi is not averse to appropriate industrial products, but she deliberately chose an old brand that she had tasted in her "previous life" when she was studying in the United States. The taste is guaranteed to be good enough.

In addition to these, Qingzi also bought flour specifically for making pasta. Because if you buy ready-made dough directly, you may not be able to control the size of the dough, and the taste may not be right. These problems can be avoided by making it yourself, and Qingzi herself enjoys the fun of making the cooking process.

Although the store's Lasagna usually uses Parmesan cheese as an ingredient, Qingzi collected feedback from Youzhu that she preferred Cheddar, so she ended up buying a large piece of the cheese that Youzhu liked.

When they returned to the Kuonji Residence, it was already dark. Aoko first took out a piece of cake she had made from the refrigerator for Azuma as a pre-dinner dessert. After all, she knew that Azuma must be a little hungry when she left home, and it would take some time for her to finish cooking.

Qingzi changed her clothes and washed her hands carefully. Then she tied up her long, thick red hair, put on an apron and a chef's hat, and started to prepare the ingredients.

Washing the vegetables and removing the fishy smell from the meat are naturally the first things to do.

After Qingzi washed the vegetables, she soaked the large pieces of meat she bought in ice water for a while, then blanched them on the stove to remove excess blood from the meat.

She was busy in the kitchen for a while when she heard footsteps approaching. She turned her head slightly and saw Youzhu walking towards her with a book and a half-eaten cake.

"Are you anxious?" Qingzi said as she processed the ingredients. "But there's nothing we can do. Once it's ready, we'll have to wait a while."

"...No, I'm just a little curious about Aoko's cooking process." Youzhu sat down at the small table in the kitchen and said while staring at Aoko's movements.

"Ah, I understand," Aoko said, "Then please enjoy my cooking skills, Miss Kuonji~"

Aoko took out a washbasin-sized glass container from the cupboard, poured the prepared tipo 00 (coarse and fine level) flour into the container, and then added a small amount of semolina durum wheat flour (to make the taste more chewy).

Take out a few more eggs, mix the egg yolks and egg whites evenly, pour them into a glass container, put on plastic gloves, mix the flour and egg liquid thoroughly, and finally make a beautiful golden dough. (You don't need to add water to the pasta dough because it will affect the taste and flavor)

Of course, during the kneading process, Qingzi used a little bit of magic to strengthen her own power and penetrate into the dough, making the taste of the dough more distinctive than that made by ordinary chefs. It has to be said that this may be unique among the magicians in this world. There are very few magicians who can do this.

Put the dough aside for a while, and Aoko starts to make white sauce (Besciamella) and red sauce (Bolognese). White sauce is a basic sauce made by frying white flour paste with butter and then adding milk. The red sauce is a traditional meat sauce from the Bologna area. This meat sauce is added with onions, carrots, parsley, fresh basil leaves, garlic, celery, tomatoes, laurel, sea salt and black pepper, which is a seasoning dish soffritto. It is mixed with pork and beef minced meat made by a meat grinder. It has always been the soul side dish in the minds of Italian food lovers.

Youzhu watched Aoko cooking with curiosity. She used very skilled and precise movements to quickly process various ingredients to the best state like magic. Youzhu couldn't help but wonder whether her roommate's main occupation was a magician or a professional chef.

After the preparation is completed, Qingzi puts the meat sauce into the pot, adds olive oil and sea salt and stir-frys it for a while. When the minced meat is slightly cooked, take it out immediately and pour it into a container for storage.

When the food was cooked to this point, the delicious aroma could already be smelled. Youzhu smelled the aroma and couldn't help but swallow her saliva, looking forward to today's dinner even more.

Chapter 20 Dinner time at the Kuonji Residence

On the other hand, for the white sauce, the most important thing is to ensure that there is no taste of raw flour in the sauce, and the texture should be as smooth as possible without any graininess and with appropriate consistency.

To do this, Qingzi stirs the flour and butter mixture (fry for 5 minutes) and adds full-fat fresh milk and nutmeg powder in small amounts and multiple times. When fully mixed, prevent the flour paste and milk from clumping at the bottom of the container.

After preparing the white sauce, Qingzi took out a spoon, scooped up a spoonful of the sauce, observed it carefully, and nodded with satisfaction, indicating that it was made perfectly!

Next, Aoko flattened the dough into a thin and thick dough, and then used a pasta cutter with a gear-like front end to cut the dough into about 5 pieces of dough, about 3*30cm in size. Then she used a grater to shave the Cheddar cheese into fluffy cheese powder, which is very important because it affects the melting of the cheese in the oven and the taste of the final product.

Next, Qingzi took out a rectangular ceramic container and stacked all the ingredients repeatedly in the order of meat sauce -> white sauce -> cheese powder -> dough to ensure that the cheese and dough were thoroughly blended so that the final baked product would taste better.

After everything was ready, Aoko covered the container containing Lasagna with tin foil, put it in the oven, then adjusted the timer knob to the 15-minute mark and started the oven.

While the oven was running, Qingzi skillfully selected some vegetables and fruits that Youzhu and herself liked, washed them and chopped them, divided them into two portions and put them on a plate, sprinkled them with sea salt and black pepper, and finally drizzled them with Caesar salad dressing and olive oil, and then topped them with some bread crumbs. The two salad side dishes were ready.

"Salad, do you want lemon juice for your portion?" Qingzi asked Youzhu who was standing beside her.

"Yeah." Youzhu nodded gently. She could already smell the aroma coming from the oven. The taste of the salad was no big problem!

After hearing Youzhu's answer, Qingzi poured about a quarter cup of iced lemon water on her and Youzhu's salads, then thought about it and sprinkled some of the remaining cheese powder on them. After all, wasting food is not a good thing!

After waiting for a while, with a "ding!" prompt sound, Qingzi put on thick scald-proof gloves, took out the ceramic container from the oven and put it on the dining cart.

The lasagna dough in the container has been baked to a golden brown, with the edges of the dough slightly wrinkled and burnt. This is the perfect temperature for Lasagna to taste its best. Qingzi is very satisfied with her cooking skills.

"Okay, okay, Miss Youzhu, please go to the restaurant and wait for me. I'll be there soon~" Qingzi said to Youzhu.

Youzhu nodded, picked up her book and walked towards the restaurant on the first floor.

After Aoko put the tableware, salad and toast basket on the dining cart, she planned to push the cart to find Youzhu. However, before leaving the kitchen, she remembered something. Her eyes rolled and she walked to one of the lockers to get out a bottle of red wine. She put it into the dining cart along with two glass glasses and pushed the cart towards the restaurant with a smile on her face.

The dining room of Kuonji Residence is located in a room opposite the living room. There is a small but antique wooden round table. Next to it is a balcony-style glass window that occupies an entire wall and is roughly curved, providing excellent lighting in the restaurant.

The restaurant is dotted with some emerald green plants, which are usually taken care of by the PLOYs with beads. Recently, Qingzi's magical pet Dazhuang also occasionally uses some of the magic tricks shared with it by Qingzi to take care of the plants.

Speaking of Da Zhuang, where is it now? Qingzi thought as she pushed the food cart into the restaurant. Of course, she could use the pet contract to confirm Da Zhuang's location, but she didn't think it was necessary.

Youzhu Youzhu had already tidied the items on the table. She sat elegantly looking at Qingzi who was wearing an apron and a chef's hat. She was already looking forward to this delicious meal.

"Sorry to have kept you waiting, Miss Arizuma?" Aoko smiled and began to put the food on the table. She used a small spatula to put a few pieces of Lasagna with a little cheese on it onto the plate, and then placed cherry tomatoes and basil leaves on the side to complete the dish.

After placing all the food, he placed the high-heeled glass he had specially taken out earlier in front of Youzhu, and took out the bottle of sparkling wine he had long planned and shook it in front of her.

"Would you like some?" Qingzi asked in a bewitching tone, "Blanc de Blancs from Weston Estate (actually it was released in 2010, the time was changed a bit), it's my dad's personal stuff, I secretly brought a few bottles over."

Of course, Aoko and Yuzu were not of legal drinking age, but what was the saying? It was not a crime if they were not caught. Moreover, as the two of them were top-notch magicians and sorcerers, alcohol was something that they could excrete from their bodies once their magic power was circulated.

"...Yeah." Youzhu's face turned slightly red, to an extent that you wouldn't notice unless you looked closely.

Qingzi readily used the magic net trick to open the bottle cork, and then poured a glass of red wine for Youzhu and herself.

"The British are really pretentious. It's obviously a winery in England, but they gave it a French name." Qingzi complained while pouring wine.

At this time, a knocking sound came from the window beside him. Qingzi turned around and saw that it was his pet Dazhuang who had flown off to play somewhere before. This guy was very punctual about the meal time every day and would definitely come back before the meal.

Qingzi walked to the window, opened it and let Dazhuang fly in. Qingzi's pet first looked at the food on the table, then looked at Qingzi expectantly, with two bright black eyes. (Dazhuang loves cleanliness, and he would use the magic net trick shared by Qingzi to clean himself before coming back every day)

"Pi! Is there a share for me? Master Qingzi?"

Da Zhuang is a female New Caledonian crow. For some reason, her voice sounds like that of a little girl with a shrill voice, and it sounds a little crisp.

"Hey, of course there is, don't worry." Qingzi said as she moved the small round table that Dazhuang usually used to the side of their dining table, then filled a few pieces of lasagna for Dazhuang and poured clean water into the bowl that he usually drank from.

After finishing everything, Aoko took off her chef's hat and apron and sat down across from Youzhu at the dining table.

"Cheers to celebrate my official becoming the fourth magician?" Aoko raised the wine glass and said to Youzhu opposite her.

"Ha... you still have a long way to go... but congratulations, Qingzi." Youzhu also picked up the wine glass, clinked it with Qingzi and said.

A light rain was falling outside the window of the Kuonji Residence. Inside the house, the only sounds were the sound of knives and forks hitting ceramic utensils and the crackling of the fireplace.

The two people and the crow were enjoying the tranquility and delicious dinner very much.

Chapter 21 Ring 5

"Wow! It's so cold!"

The next morning, Aoko woke up in her room and shivered, hugging her shoulders. She struggled to get up from the bed, rubbing her hands together to keep warm, and then she remembered that she was a magician!

Then Aoko let the magic power flow happily through the ninety-nine circuits throughout her body, and the coldness immediately disappeared.

Everything about the Kuonji Residence is good and tasteful, except that some of the facilities are too old-fashioned, especially the heating facilities, which are too few. There are only large and small fireplaces to choose from, and she can't light a fire when she sleeps, right?

In general, Aozaki Aoko is a person who advocates modern life. She and Chengzi's house uses all kinds of the most fashionable and trendy technologies of the current era. For example, the geothermal system buried in the ceiling and under the floor, or the central air conditioner and the automatic constant temperature water heater, all of which are specially installed for the comfort of life. Aoko spent a lot of money on this (because the locals are not very receptive to new things).

After arriving at Youzhu's house, she realized what a real "old-school witch" was like.

There is no TV, no electric heater, and not even 24-hour hot water.

If it weren't for the PLOYs who could take care of her life, she could be said to be a person from the last century living in modern society.

Of course, the actual life of people in the last century might not have been as comfortable as it used to be, because they did not have PLOOs, and many things could only be achieved through the hard work of servants to enjoy a good life.

Aoko went to the sink to wash up, tidied her appearance, and looked at the girl in the mirror.

She was bare-faced, without any makeup, but her delicate and youthful skin and face were more beautiful than those who took good care of themselves. Perhaps this was the result of natural beauty, Qingzi thought proudly.

After washing up, Qingzi sat at her desk, took out her spell book and started her meditation for the day.

After fighting with the primate killer and successfully overcoming its obstruction (meaning escaping successfully), Aoko entered the Root Vortex and gained a huge amount of "experience points". This thing is somewhat similar to the experience points in the game, but not quite the same.