The Wandering Chef
In a certain town, (Captain) and company visit a food stall run by a wandering chef named Elmelaura. Always on the hunt for rare ingredients to use, she decides to join the crew in hopes of finding something she has yet to encounter.
On a certain island, the crew arrives at a food stall that is currently the talk of the town.
Vyrn: Whoa... Look at this line...
Lyria: Wow... What kind of food could possibly be this popular?
Elmelaura: Welcome! Welcome to the food stall of the one and only Elmelaura, the wandering chef!
Vyrn: Yikes! Check out that huge knife!
Elmelaura: With this knife, passed down over the generations from my ancestors, I'll prepare a feast that's simply to die for!
Elmelaura: Now, tell me! What would you like?
Once she receives the crew's orders, the small Harvin starts waving her enormous knife around as though it weighs nothing.
In no time, she produces dishes that the crew find every bit as scrumptious as they had heard. However, it appears that not everyone is so impressed.
Man: Hmph! This food's no big deal!
Vyrn: You say that, but you licked your plate clean...
Man: Hah, a feast simply to die for? What a joke! All lies, I'm tellin' ya!
Elmelaura: Oh? Was my cooking not satisfactory for you, sir?
Man: Of course it wasn't! I wouldn't pay a single rupie for this slop.
Lyria: How can you say such a thing! That's terrible!
Vyrn: Hey now... You're not plannin' to dine and dash, are ya?
Elmelaura: Oh dear... I'm terribly sorry that I failed to meet your expectations!
Vyrn: Hey! Shouldn't you be at least a little upset at this guy?
Elmelaura: Hmm, well... it does injure my pride as a chef.
Elmelaura: But it wouldn't be very professional of me to say that a pig like you isn't even worthy of my most toxic slop!
Elmelaura: How about I prepare another dish for you? Perhaps you'll find it more to your liking.
Man: Really? Interesting. Let's see what you can do.
Elmelaura gives a deep bow and proceeds to whip up another entree as fast as lightning.
Elmelaura: I'm staking my good name as a chef on this! My treat!
Man: Hm, we'll see...
The man takes his first bite of the new dish. His eyes open wide and he starts shoveling the food into his mouth.
Man: This... This is amazing! I just can't stop!
Elmelaura: Hehe... How do you like it?
Vyrn: Haha! So, pops, are you gonna clear your plate again? Why don't you just admit that it's deli—
Vyrn: Whoa! The guy just collapsed!
Elmelaura: Ha-ha! Just
desertsSic; should be "desserts" for those who plan to dine and dash!
Vyrn: Wha? Did you serve him poison or something?
Elmelaura: Don't be absurd! All I did was add a hefty dose of my special spice, but not quite enough to be lethal... Probably.
Vyrn: Say what! You sure have some nasty ideas up your sleeve...
Elmelaura: For such miscreants, I serve exactly a feast to almost die for!
Soon, guards come running in and haul away the dine-and-dasher.
Vyrn: Why do you use such a gargantuan knife anyway?
Elmelaura: Oh! You clearly have quite the discerning eye! This knife was handed down to me by my grandmother!
Elmelaura: The bigger the better—that's what my grandmother taught me!
Elmelaura: The bigger the pot, the better the soup!
Elmelaura: Which means the more steel in your blade, the better!
Vyrn: I see... I guess I kinda get it... and kinda don't.
Vyrn: But you're pretty tiny for someone who uses such big tools!
Elmelaura: Hmph!
Elmelaura: Saying things like that is strictly forbidden!
Elmelaura: You leave me with no choice but to slice you up and serve you to my customers!
Vyrn: Hey! Wait a minute, knife girl! I was just joking!
Elmelaura: I've never used a talking lizard as an ingredient before... Get ready!
Vyrn: Do something, (Captain)!
Elmelaura: But wait... An ingredient I've never tried... Hmm.
Vyrn: What's with you all of a sudden, knife girl?
Elmelaura: Hey... You're the captain, right? Do you think you'll meet any other rare life-forms during your travels?
Elmelaura: Seems likely, since you're already accompanied by a talking lizard...
Vyrn: Th-that's right! We've seen a ton of things that are a lot stranger than me!
Elmelaura: If that's the case, then I want to go with you, too!
Vyrn: You can't be serious!
Elmelaura: The reason I wander across different places is because I'm always looking for new ingredients!
Elmelaura: During my time with you, I'll prepare feasts that are simply to die for! A fair bargain, I'd say!
Vyrn: You know, I'm not exactly thrilled about this... What do you think, (Captain)?
- Make soup for us every morning!
- Just don't eat Vyrn.
Choose: Make soup for us every morning!Elmelaura: Hmm, you mean you want something you can look forward to every morning?
Elmelaura: That must mean you think me capable of such a thing... Wonderful! I'll do my best!
Choose: Just don't eat Vyrn.Elmelaura: Understood! In that case...
Elmelaura: I hope you'll take me to find lots of ingredients that are rarer than a talking lizard!
Continue 1Elmelaura: It's decided then! Everyone, I look forward to journeying with you!
Elmelaura: Hehe... You know, all my traveling up until now involved transferring again and again between airships.
Elmelaura: This will save me so much on travel expenses, which means I can use the budget on even higher quality dishes!
Thus the wandering chef Elmelaura joins the crew on their journey.
Elmelaura: Hmm, rare ingredients... I look forward to them!
Vyrn: Hey! Don't look at me when you say that!
The Miracle Ingredient
The crew encounters a poverty-stricken family. As a chef, Elmelaura can't bear to see a child go hungry. She decides to treat the family to a delicious meal with monsters as her ingredient.
The crew pass through a small village where there doesn't seem to be much to see, until they notice a woman in distress.
Woman: Oh... What am I to do...
Vyrn: Are you okay, lady?
Looking at the woman's pale complexion, the situation dawns on Elmelaura.
Elmelaura: Miss, are you having some trouble with food?
Woman: What? How did you know?
Elmelaura: I might not look it, but I'm a wandering chef.
Elmelaura: I can tell right away if someone's having trouble with food just by looking at them!
The woman shows the crew to her home. There, they find her wounded husband and hungry daughter.
As it turns out, the husband usually supports the family by hunting, but was recently injured by the increasing monsters.
Woman: I'm doing the best I can, but our savings are dwindling away little by little...
Little Girl: Hngh... I'm hungry...
Elmelaura: Ugh.... As a cook, I can't just sit by and watch this!
Elmelaura: The bigger the better! This is the principle I live by!
Elmelaura: What kind of wandering chef would I be if I just ignored an empty stomach?
Vyrn: But there isn't much we can do...
Elmelaura: If there's not enough food because of too many monsters, then all you need to do is make the monsters your ingredients!
Vyrn: Say what? Can you even eat monsters?
Elmelaura: Huh? What did you think you were eating last night?
Vyrn: D-did I hear you right just now, knife girl?
Elmelaura: Oh, did I say something?
Elmelaura: Anyway... leave it to me! I can cook anything into something delicious! I'll make you a feast that's simply to die for!
Elmelaura: I'll put my pride as a chef on the line and won't stop until you're all full and satisfied!
The Miracle Ingredient: Scene 2
Vyrn is skeptical about using monsters as ingredients. Elmelaura explains why the monsters' position at the top of the food chain makes them such an important ingredient.
Vyrn: I still can't believe you're gonna make a meal outta monsters...
Elmelaura: Really? Monsters aren't bad ingredients, you know?
Elmelaura: Speaking as a chef, they're incredibly interesting ingredients that really bring out the characteristics of an island!
Elmelaura: Eat the monsters and you'll understand the island! That may or may not be a famous saying by a chef!
Vyrn: Hmm... I kinda get it... and kinda don't.
Elmelaura: And there's more! Guess what you'll find inside the body of a monster, which reigns supreme at the top of the food chain?
Elmelaura: That's right! All sorts of nutrients needed by those who live on the island!
Elmelaura: So if you wanted to heal an islander's wounds, you could do worse than feeding them monsters!
Vyrn: Oh boy... Knife girl sure is pushing the idea of eating monsters...
Vyrn: She hasn't really been feeding us monsters, has she?
Elmelaura: Oh? Could it be?
Elmelaura: Over there, everyone! That's what I was looking for!
Vyrn: Whoa, it's huge!
Elmelaura: Yep! And my big knife is just the thing to carve it!
The Miracle Ingredient: Scene 3
The family thanks (Captain) and company for the nutritious meal and sees them off. When asked why she didn't charge money for it, Elmelaura replies that the satisfaction of spreading joy with her cooking is payment enough.
(Captain) and company take the defeated monsters back as ingredients and have a feast with the family.
Elmelaura: How do you like my monster meal?
Vyrn: Whew... I guess eating monsters isn't so bad after all...
Man: Oh... How can this be... I can move again...
Woman: Careful! Don't strain yourself, dear!
Man: Really, I feel fine. The pain is going away...
Elmelaura: Ha-ha! Not only did I use nutritious monster meat...
Elmelaura: I also included quite a lot of herbs and nuts with medicinal effects!
Elmelaura: There's plenty left too, so it should last you a while!
After they finish eating, the family sees the crew off.
Vyrn: I was wondering... Are you sure you shouldn't have charged them for your work, knife girl?
Elmelaura: Hmm... Before, I ran my food stall in order to fund my journey...
Elmelaura: But now that I'm traveling with all of you on the Grandcypher, I don't really need money anymore.
Vyrn: Well, as long as it's okay with you! That was a great meal!
Elmelaura: Hehe! It's all worth it when people enjoy my cooking!
Elmelaura: I can't wait to see what kinds of ingredients we'll run into on the next island!
Elmelaura: But even if we don't find anything, we still have you... Right, Vyrn?
Vyrn: Hey! You still haven't given up on me?
Elmelaura: Keep eating plenty of my cooking! Then once we've gotten you all nice and plump...
Vyrn: No way!
With her wealth of knowledge on food, the miracle chef Elmelaura proves herself able to cure even wounds.
It seems her passion for food knows no end.