Work Text:
It was an average day at the Kingdom of Science, meaning that whoever wasn't working on their usual jobs was forced to do all kinds of heavy labour for one of Senku's new projects of reinventing something from the modern time.
"Ugh! I can't feel my arms anymore! I can't do this anymore!" Ginro whined as he collapsed to the ground, fat tears rolling down his cheeks after sneaking out of training with the other fighters, only to get caught and forced chop down trees and bring in the wood.
"Geez, you've barely even done anything." Chrome told him with a frown from where he, Senku and the other 'generals' were going over blueprints.
"Ginro, you shouldn't have snuck out of training anyway." Kinro scolded as he walked over with the other warriors.
"Still, I can't help but agree things are getting tiring. How about a eak-bray?" Gen suggested.
"Honestly, me too. I could also really use a snack." Ukyo agreed, resulting in several voices calling out about wanting a break too.
All eyes that turned to look at an unimpressed Senku.
"Alright, fine." he sighed, knowing they were waiting for his permission.
"Can we get some cotton candy?" Suika then asked excitedly and Senku's previous exasperation melted away instantly.
"Sure we can. Someone go grab the cotton candy machine!" he told the little girl, petting her melon-helmet and calling out the order to whoever was listening.
Kohaku ended up being the one to dash off and return with the machine, face flushed not just from the run and previous work-out but also excitement
Just like Suika and everyone else from Ishigami Village she was looking forward to getting to eat one of their favorite sweet treats Senku had introduced them to.
"Oh cotton candy?!" Ginro was promptly revived too.
"Alright, alright, take it easy people. Just let me grab some sugar and- What the-? Damn it, this thing seems broken!" Senku cursed as he tried to make some cotton candy, only for the sugar to right away burn.
"Ohoho... I guess I could repair it but that'll take a while." Kaseki stated, earning disappointed groans.
"Senku!" Taiju's loud excited voice boomed through the air as he, Yuzuriha and all others usually working on the crops finally made their appearance.
"What's going on here? Something smells really sweet!" he said upon reaching them, taking a deep sniff from the air with his eyes closed.
"It kinda smells like caramel." Yuzuriha agreed.
"Tch," Senku clicked his tongue, "Close enough. It's burned sugar after the cotton candy machine broke."
"What's caramel?" Chrome asked curiously.
"Oh, it's another sweet treat made from sugar back in out time. Only instead of cloudy threads, it's a type of sticky paste. Aaaand now I'm actually craving caramel..." Gen explained and groaned.
"Ha ha! Too bad we don't have a master chef who could easily make us the best caramel there is! Or wait! We do have them! Francois!" Ryusui gave a booming laugh and snapped his fingers.
"Right away, Ryusui-sama." the ever faithful butler seemed to appear out of thin air with a bow.
"If I may, I would be more than happy to provide everyone here with the finest batch of caramel." they said, earning cheers from several people excited to either have one of their known foods back, or to try something new.
"Even if I were to protest about this, I've already lost, haven't I?" Senku drawled as everyone, including himself, started following Francois to a spot better suited for cooking, intent on watching the process along.
"Look at it this way, Senku-chan. Yummy food makes everyone happy and happy people are happy workers for later." Gen smiled brightly at him.
"Yeah, yeah..."
Soon the group stopped and several pots and pans were pulled out.
"Making caramel a process that doesn't require many ingrdients. For this we will only need sugar, sea salt and butter and cream that I have already made previously from the dairy we've acuired from captured animals." Francois explained to the crowd, gesturing to a table where a mountain of each ingredient was pilled.
"First, we place a pan over the fire, making sure it's not too hot. We first put in the sugar and let it melt. Make sure to stir the pan every twenty seconds." Francois explained every step they performed as if they were teaching a cooking class.
"Once the sugar is properly melted we remove the pan from the heat and stir in the butter." they went on.
"Hey now, is it supposed to bubble like that?" Yo asked when the mix started violently bubbling.
"Indeed it is." Francois nodded and took the cream and salt, adding those and stirring them in too with an explanation.
"And now we let it cool down." the said, putting the finished caramel in a jar and putting it aside before turning to the group again.
"I only made a small batch for two reasons. Not only is it easier to explain and show with smaller amounts but I also assume many of you would like to try it for yourselfves, yes?" they asked with a polite smile, it widening a little in amusement at the cheers that rose.
Soon more pots and pans were pulled out and fireplaces were quickly build as the crowd split into groups of Senku, Gen and Chrome, Kohaku, Ruri and Suika and so on.
It was all taking far longer than originally planned but even Senku couldn't complain as everyone inclusing him was having fun, the sound of laughter and occasional bickering sounding everywhere as everyone tried to do what Francois had done, with the butler swiftly moving back and forth between groups to help those who were struggling.
At some point they were finally done and went to work on cleaning up.
"There we go! Luckily since caramel is mostly sugar it cleans off pretty easily with some water." Ukyo chuckled, wiping sweat from his forehead.
"Still, it was worth it! Trust me, Francois' caramel is the best!" Ryusei beamed proudly.
"Now that I think of it, how are we doing this? We're not all just taking a spoonful of pure caramel, are we?"
"You will not." Francois appeared again.
"While you were all working on your own batches of caramel I have gathered enough apples to make caramel apples. I have also already gathered and chopped up several nuts to act as sprinkles." the said, pulling out a cart of a piramid of apples and a large bowl of chopped nuts.
'Leave it to Francois think ahead like this again...' was the collective thought that ran through th crowd's minds, but no one dared say it out loud.
Instead they all gathered in a neat line like and waited to be served a caramel and nut coated apple.
While those from modern times were all happy, the Ishigami villagers were a but unsure as they stared at the (for them) new treats.
"So, this is caramel?" Suika asked innocently before being grave and having the first taste and giving her apple a small lick.
And promptly squealed in delight.
Seeing her reaction several others followed her lead.
"This is so yummy!" Kohaku swooned.
"It's really sweet but also soft and smooth!" Ruri added, swooning in the same way.
Then Chrome decided to go and take a full-on bite of apple, caramel and nuts and his eyes went wide.
"THIS IS SOOOOO BAAAAAD!" he screamed at the top of his lungs and started devouring the rest of his apple, other others following his lead, also screaming praises to the heavens.
While not as over the top, those from modern times were also enjoying their apples, both the taste and nostalgia they brought, to the point some were even brought to tears.
Senku himself was also nibbling his own apple when Gen sauntered up to him and bumped his hip awith his own.
"Well, what do you think, Senku-chan? Was this worth taking a break over?" he asked knowingly.
"Eh," Senku shrugged, "I guess it was and I wouldn't mind taking a break more often if we can get more of these caramel apples." he admitted.
"Greed equals justice." Francois stated, a pleased and maybe even a little smug smile on their lips.
"However, that doesn't mean we've got a new reason to start slacking! Come on people, finish those apples and get back to work!"
Groans were heard but in the end they all obeyed and returned to their tasks, though the complaining only stopped after promises of more caramel treates in the future were promised.