Surviving The Beast World With My 'Sassy' System-Chapter 35: Teaching A New Cooking Method
Garrick’s ears perked. "Just from these small roots?"
"Yeah, I only like them because they are sweet and soft." Miren chirped in.
"They might be small," Lavayla said, smiling wider. "But they’re stronger than they look. And there are many kinds — some that warm you, some that cool you, some that give you sudden bursts of energy."
The group exchanged looks, impressed and curious, their interest deepening.
Ressha cradled the rest of the potatoes closer, her expression shifting into something thoughtful and excited. "Miss Lavayla... would you be willing to teach us how you prepare them?"
Lavayla looked around at their eager faces — the warriors leaning subtly forward, the foragers smiling, even Dark pretending not to listen while very obviously listening.
"Of course," she said softly. "I’d love to."
The baby stirred in her lap, nuzzling her stomach, and Lavayla adjusted him with a gentle hand, the potato still warm against her palm.
She took all of the potatoes from Ressha’s arms, settling them gently beside her as she shifted the baby slightly on her lap. "There are different ways to eat them," she began, her voice calm and steady. "It can not only be roasted but also boiled, fried, mashed, any way you can think of. But because there are no tools that can be used to cook it in that way, the only simpler way is to roast it as we said earlier, and to boil it. To boil it, you don’t need to peel the skin—this is the skin here. It simply needs to be rinsed, then you pour water into a pot, put it on fire, and let it boil for a while. Then you can peel it and eat it."
Vira rose eagerly and came to sit near her, the flames casting warm highlights across her skin as she leaned forward with earnest interest. "Can you boil it so that we can see, Miss Lavayla? We have a small stone pot."
"Sure, but... do you have water?"
"Yes!" Sela shot up, tugging her brother beside her, "Eiran and I can go and get water."
"Water? From where?" Lavayla asked, baffled.
Sela’s entire face brightened, her excitement almost childlike.
"From the running water! It flows right out of the woods down to the sea. We just follow this path for a few minutes until we hear the rush. It’s fresh enough for boiling, Miss Lavayla."
Eiran nodded, already securing his grip on the small stone pot. "We know the spot. We’ll be right back."
Lavayla watched them go, surprise tightening low in her chest. She hadn’t expected there to be a water source this close. Yesterday, she had wandered for what felt like hours searching for one and had only found trouble instead. If she hadn’t run into the Beastmen, she might have actually discovered it on her own.
And the running water must be a tributary stream from the larger river that fed into the coastline, the kind of natural pathway animals and Beastmen relied on, hidden beneath dense foliage and uneven terrain. It made sense that she had missed it while alone, exhausted, and unfamiliar with the land. These people had grown up navigating this place, while she had stumbled through it blind and half-starved.
She adjusted the baby in her lap, her hand resting over his small back as she glanced toward the path Sela and Eiran had taken.
Dark, Tharn, and Vors were already tending to the roasting meat. They rotated the spits in coordination, removed the finished slab, set it on a wide leaf, and replaced it with the next portion. When everything was properly done, Vors took up the role of distributor, handing portions around to the group.
Beside Lavayla, Vira watched her intently, eyes gleaming with hunger not for meat, but for knowledge. "Miss Lavayla," she said softly, "you said something earlier... frying, and mashing. What does that mean?"
The question pulled the attention of the three warriors pulling meat from the fire. Even Dark, who pretended to only focus on his task, angled his ear in blatant eavesdropping.
Lavayla took her time, describing frying as cooking food in hot oil fat until it crisps and browns, and mashing as softening the food until it becomes smooth and creamy, usually with a little water or fat to help it blend. She explained everything in patient detail, tracing imaginary motions with her fingers while the baby slept against her.
By the time she finished, Vira’s eyes were wide, Tharn murmured a low impressed sound, Vors whistled under his breath, and Garrick whispered reverently, "Wow, you know a lot of things!" 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺
Lavayla shook her head immediately, adjusting the baby lightly. "It’s not that much. I’ve just... been alone for a long time. I tried different things to survive. It’s not really something to be proud of."
But the awe on their faces didn’t fade, and she didn’t push it away.
Soon, Sela and Eiran arrived, breathless but triumphant, carrying the pot now filled with fresh, cold water. Nima hurried over as soon as she saw them, eagerly gathering the peeled potatoes and rinsing them with almost ceremonial care, as if washing small treasures.
Just as Dark and Vors were about to remove the still-roasting meat from the fire to make space, Lavayla raised a hand. "Wait—don’t move that yet. It’s better to build a new fire. The pot needs a stable heat source, and it will boil faster if it’s not sharing the flames."
They understood immediately. Within seconds, they were gathering materials—dry twigs, thicker branches, smooth stones to ring the fire, and shredded bark to help it catch. Once everything was placed before her, Lavayla built the new fire efficiently, setting the pot over the rising flames as the water began to warm, then bubble, then roll. She dropped the rinsed potatoes into the pot, all of them fitting comfortably thanks to the pot’s rounded depth.
While waiting for the tubers to soften, someone asked from behind her, "Miss Lavayla... do you know a lot about plants?"
