CH 114

「Jean!

「Hello. 」

「Come in. Thanks for your help, it cuts really well~ 」

The children jumped at me and I caught them in turns, and then hugged Madam for last. If we were back at the farm house, I could have whirled the kids around and stuff, but I can’t do that inside the house, nor can I do that on the road outside.

「Wait. What’s that about cutting really well? 」

「You heard it wrong, you heard it wrong. 」

「Fufu. 」

Dinosso appeared last with distrust written on his face, and we hugged each other casually as if patting each other’s back. I wonder, just whose influence is it that this family loves hugs, Dinosso or Shiva?

I gave the knives I made to Madam and Butler. Ah, no it’s not me, you know? Butler was the one who started the deal, so the first one to spill the beans from my house is Butler, it’s his fault!

Well, I gave Madam hers when I paid her a visit like normal.

「Do you want to have dinner with us? Well, it’s just deer that Dinosso hunted, though. 」

「Yes, please. 」

It’s been a while since I ate Madam’s cooking.

「It’s a deer! 」

「We can eat it finally~ 」

The twins charged at Dinosso for some reason.

The deer was soaked for half a day in a mixture of juniper berries and a distilled liquor called naps made from herbs before it was grilled, apparently. She showed me some juniper berries that had been dried and preserved. Was its original color similar to that of blueberries?

【Appraisal】 showed me that it is an ingredient used for adding fragrance to gin. Shiva also uses these to make tea.

Juniper berries have a very peculiar taste. They have ‘berry’ in their name, but they have a different taste from strawberries and blueberries, they don’t have the slightest sweetness in them. Strong scent, moderately bitter and somewhat spicy — never drank gin before, but maybe it tastes like this?

「My dear wife’s cooking is brilliant, after all~ 」

Dinosso is in charge of grilling the meat.

The fireplace here is bigger than the one in my house since they have a bigger family. DInosso uses the fire poker to spread the red-hot charcoal that falls from the firewood grate, and he sets the meat on that thing that turns in circles— I’m not sure what it’s called here.

When making steak, the usual set-up is putting a mesh grill on top of a tripod or a kettle stand, but if it’s a bigger piece of meat, then they use a huge skewer and turn it round and round!

Dinosso sits in front of the fireplace, talking to the kids while grilling the meat. Shiva is preparing other stuff while I carry the plates.

Shiva then takes out the iron tray that catches the roast’s drippings. She mixed those drippings with cream to make the sauce. I think she’s done with the preps? The meat looks nicely grilled, too.

「Here. 」

She handed the knife to Dinosso — seems like in this world, distributing the meat is the family head’s job.

「Hey. Wait a sec, this… 」

「Dear, the kids can’t wait ~ 」

Shiva cut him off with a smile.

Never mind emergency situations, the madam has the authority when it comes to running a household, so just give up.

Dinosso hands me my portion, so let’s dig in. The faint taste of naps and juniper berries lingered, and it’s so delish.

「Yum. 」

The meat fibers seem to be coming apart, and the venison pairs well with the cream sauce. Is this side dish fava beans with cheese? She boiled fava beans then sauteed the bunch in garlic and olive oil, seasoned with salt and topped with goat cheese.

「 It’s not yet the season for fava beans, but these are the first produce. 」

Shiva explains. The fava beans do look a bit small, probably because it is too cold for their growth. Still, what a beautiful jade green color.

Cheese is basically made from winter milk, apparently. Summertime milk has less fat and more bacteria so it’s not suitable for making cheese. This season’s cheeses are still fresh, so they are still the soft variety.

I don’t really like goat cheese, but this is delicious. Perhaps it’ll taste great with a bit of spicy flavor, maybe with red pepper or balck pepper… Alright, let’s send different condiments to Shiva.

The food made by other people is delicious.

「Being here makes me itch for a family of my own. 」

「Tina will be your bride~! 」

「Me, too, I’ll be the bride~! 」

「Then I’ll be the groom~! 」

「No! No! NooOO! Daddy doesn’t say no!! 」

Dinosso immediately opposed.

「Eh —! 」

「Eh ——! 」

「Eh ———! 」

「Why~? 」

「Why, why~? 」

「Why, why, why~? 」

Dinosso and the kids’ bargaining squabble started again like usual. I guess I’m enjoying this convo with Daddy Dinosso more than I do. The twins don’t seem like they know what they’re talking about, either.

「Oh dear, oh dear. 」

The three children have finished eating and are now happily babbling on while clinging to Dinosso, who is still in the middle of eating meat and drinking the wine I brought.

「Oh, come to think of it, so, Ash is a girl, hm~ Are her clothes Jean’s? 」

「Yup. 」

For Ash’s clothes, I adjusted the size of her pants, and made the hem of her open-neck shirt a bit longer at the hem and narrower at the waist. Well, Ash likes tucking her shirt in her pants, so I also made her a vest.

She doesn’t look like a woman cross-dressing like a man from behind. From the front, she somehow looks like a guy with a thin waist, so what should I do about that? I feel like I need to do something about either her scary face or her chest.

Will she become more feminine as the days go by? On top of that personality of hers, she is also gallant… It’s making me uneasy.

______

T/N: Jean prolly talking about spits, round and round thingy.

Tina and the twins are so cute ~ so, En and Vak, who is the bride, and who is the groom?XD And Jean, low-key considering

Ash, even though her face and chest are none of his business XD