Casual Heroing

Chapter 10: Baking

Chapter 10: Baking

Nipples? Flaminia asks.

Nipples! I say.

Nipples?

NIPPLES! I laugh out loud.

I dont believe it, she laughs too.

Oh, you better.

Shes impressed by how fast we finished together and now were having a sweet recess, while some other people come and clean our table.

You are telling me that some people in your country make cakes that look like nipples?

Its not from my country, its more like where my parents come from. They do these small white cakes that look like boobs with a candied cherry on top. They are delicious!

I swear Flaminia cant stop laughing. She is basically bent over the table holding for her dear life.

The laughter is so loud that Clodia swiftly comes toward us, worried that Im hampering the productivity of the all-female workplace with my manly ways.

Flaminia, you flat-eared dumbell, whats so funny, huh?

Boobs! Flaminia keeps laughing, apparently finding the idea of a boob-cake the most hilarious thing in the world.

Boobs? Clodia slowly spells out the word while turning her head toward me like an owl. In a creepy Im going to peck your eyes out way, if its not clear enough.

Judging from the murderous stare, she thinks that I made an inappropriate joke, doesnt she?

I was describing a cake that looks like a boob. And they call it St. Agathas Nipple, I raise my hands defensively. And we had already finished the kneading and all!This chapter is updated by

At some point, my jokes should have stopped working. Im honestly still tired even after having slept for so long. I cant help it, the dimensional-lag has thrown me for a loop.

We start baking the bread as soon as the skills have run out.

Which shapes? I ask curiously.

Mh? Flaminia and I have started speaking a bit less. She, too, is getting a bit tired.

Which shapes do we need for the bread? I take some oil to lubricate my hands and avoid the dough sticking to them.

The usual shapes? Long ones for the bigger ones meant for families, smaller round circles for the bread we are sending to the Watch, and so on.

I look around for a second, confused. It is true that in an establishment this big it makes sense to streamline things as much as possible, but I do feel like they could have done something better.

However, as soon as I see a flash of tiredness in Flaminias eyes, I immediately smile and copy the shapes shes putting on the massive steel tray.

There are moments to be a smartass and there are moments when you dont want to rock the boat. Read the room, rookie.

The ovens are massive constructions that are fed wood by the shovel and with three people manning them at all times.

They have variants of the [Cook] class specialized in managing ovens and temperatures. The guy there is a [Apprentice Blacksmith] who comes here to help manage the ovens for the bread batches and makes a pretty penny out of it.

These people are trained very well and they switch back and forth with grace you would never find in any bakery on Earth. Only huge fast-food chains are probably more efficient, but thats to the detriment of quality.

I wouldnt say that me and Flaminia became thick as thieves in our first shift together, but I certainly found a friend for the future.

Hey, Flaminia. You dont happen to know Officer Lucinda, do you? I try to keep it as casual as possible, but the Elf woman has already pinned down my behavior.

I would advise against whatever you are thinking, Joey, she says with a smirk, shes a very talented mage, gunning for the Nine Towers Academy. Shes working for the Watch mostly because she wants to make some money on her own.

Woah, do you have a file on her or something? If so, can I have it?