Pedrarruna Manor, Elffire City.
Snow was falling, so much like stars filling the dark trees that one could easily imagine its reason for being nothing more than prettiness.
Snow clouds, silver and black, in a multitude of precious-metal hues, adorn the sky as if they long to kiss the land.
Beneath the approaching night howl, amid the branches that groan, in the ever whitening night, is the stoic mother earth who will never flinch at even twice the fright.
A snowstorm comes to echo the icy soul yet instead finds that it is the beautiful individualism of the snowflake that mirrors back. That instead of despair comes joy, a resilience to any weather.
As the guests of Theo's dinner party arrived, the snowfall outside the house thickened as if to proclaim that no one could walk beneath its raging cold winds and dark clouds.
But it was not necessary anymore to walk in the cold weather as all the guests had already arrived and were enjoying the warm temperature of Theo and Aurora's house.
Everyone felt the cozy atmosphere that only Theo's house could give.
The fireplace brought a dancing glow into the heart of the Gray siblings' home.
The fire.
Fire cares not about the time it vanishes, only that it gives heat and light.
The fire dreams in its iron bed, cozy in the metal that glows. Its flames transform the wood into the most transient of beauties, hot ribbons of light.
There are times it sparks as if it wanted more than one crazy way to dance, as if it needs to leap, to fly, willing to land where it may.
The light of the fireplace illuminated the room and gave a warm feeling to everyone present.
Through the floor-to-ceiling windows, everyone could see the raging snowstorm falling upon the city.
Everyone was happy to have arrived before the snowfall intensified.
"Thank god you guys came before the storm got stronger." Theo commented as he observed the storm through the windows.
The warm light of the house passed through the crystalline windows and illuminated a few patches of the dark night.
"Man, the weather forecast did not predict this storm!" Max exclaimed suddenly.
"How are we going back?" Lauren asked in worry.
That was a valid concern, with the way that the snowstorm was progressing, the streets of Elffire City would be filled with snow and no car would be able to pass through it.
"Hmm, I believe that storm will weaken and the prefecture will release the snow removal trucks to sweep the streets. But even if that doesn't happen, we have here plenty of spare rooms for you guys to sleep if you can't back tonight." Theo replied with a calm smile.
He wanted to make them less nervous.
And his calming words and magnetic voice seemed to be able to calm their nervous hearts.
"Theo is right. We shouldn't worry about this thing anymore." Sayuri declared with a smile on her face.
"Yeah, this way we enjoy Theo's mansion thoroughly!"
"You are so shameless! This is not your house for you to get so familiar with!"
"Look who's talking! When we were coming you said you wanted to jump on the heated pool!"
"I want to watch something at the cinema!"
Theo looked at his friends who started talking loudly and excitedly as he laughed at their antics.
"Sylph, bring us some wine and drinks." Theo asked as he continued cooking with Ayia.
"Theo, do you want some help with that?" Kimiko asked as she watched Theo and Ayia cooking.
"Don't worry about it. We will finish in 5 minutes." Theo replied with a smile.
"What are we having?" Max asked curiously.
"Tantanmen Ramen and Curry Udon!" Ayia replied with an excited smile.
Everyone was happy when they heard that.
These were the perfect dishes for a snowy night!
Hot and full of energy to warm their bellies.
"Wow! Boss, you did the extended recipe?" Max asked.
"Of course! Look who you are talking to." Theo replied with a smug look.
Aurora and Ayia started giggling when they saw Theo's face.
While everyone else felt even more excited about the meal.
Because these dishes could be made in a short time and in a long time.
And the extended recipe was considerably tastier when compared with the short recipe.
Tantanmen Ramen.
In Theo's last life he never tasted this dish, but he remembered reading that it was a mix of Chinese and Japanese cuisines.
And on the Azure Star, the story of how this dish was born had some similarities with Theo's last life.
Some people might remember that the Sakura Abode Country was born after the Pendragon Clana and the Yamata Clan signed the peace treaty.
The Pendragon Clan had similarities with the Anglo-Saxon folks who founded Britain on Earth. As they spoke English as their main language.
And the Yamata Clan had similarities with Japanese folks who founded Japan on Earth. But in Azure Star, they named the language Yamatese even though the language was the same as Japanese.
The Sakura Abode Country was the most developed in the world, and no other country could compete with it.
But the title for the second-place fought fiercely between two countries.
The first country was the Bald Eagle Country, as they had roots coming from the big island country, they still claimed to be the best country in the world.
But no one believed in them.
And the second country that fought for the position of the second most developed country in the world was the Pangu Country.
As some people might be already guessing.
Yes, Pangu had similarities with China from Earth.
It was amazing how the two countries were similar.
Even their mythologies were the same!
That's why the country was named 'Pangu' after the primordial being and creation figure in Chinese and Pangunese mythology who separated heaven and earth and became geographic features such as mountains and rivers.
The Pangu country was the third-largest landmass country on Azure Star.
Having an area of more than 18 million square kilometers.
For some people to realize how big this country is; Pangu was bigger than Russia on Earth!
So, Pangu was bigger than the biggest landmass country on Earth!
But that was to be expected, after all, Earth Star is twice bigger when compared to Earth.
Pangu was located in the Tori Continent.
And it was relatively close to the island where the Sakura Abode Country was located.
So, throughout the years, the two countries maintained friendly relations.
Even when the Sakura Empire dominated the waters throughout the world, the empire did not engage in war against the huge Pangu Country.
The Pangu Country instead suffered numerous civil wars and invasions from countries in the Tori Continent.
And it was only after the last world war ended that Pangu started to develop frenetically.
And in the span of less than a century, the Pangu Country became a country capable of fighting for hegemony with the Bald Eagle Country.
The country had a huge population of more than 2 billion people, and with so many people it could develop steadily.
And with the addition of friendly relations with the Sakura Abode Country, Pangu became the second or third more powerful economy in the world.
That's why the citizens of the two countries were friendly with each other.
Throughout the years some cultures and food got mixed as the two countries encouraged tourism between the two nations.
And that's how the Tantanmen Ramen was born in the Azure Star.
The dish became a traditional food to eat when the snowed in the two countries.
So, it was not a surprise for everyone to be excited when they heard they were having Tantanmen Ramen.
This hot dish is capable of uniting two countries and warming the bellies of the citizens.
They could not wait to taste Theo's version of the dish!
Would Theo be able to satisfy them?
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