CH 125

Please give me vegetables! Howled the gardener Todd upon entering the vegetable garden.

There are many servants in the Duke’s mansion, but only a few help with「Cristea’s vegetable garden」and the vegetables grown there aren’t used to cook Cristea’s and other family members’ meals. In addition, they must purchase their vegetables from outside because of their social standing. Therefore, they are an excess. Todd, who can’t overlook the vegetables going bad like this, requested the vegetables from the person in charge(?) of the vegetable garden, Cristea.

As for Cristea, she also didn’t like to waste ingredients, so she has been picking veggies from the morning and checking the mountain of vegetables in the kitchen. Each and every one of them looked bright and brilliantly delicious.

Because of Cristea’s inventory, they can be preserved for long periods of time while keeping their freshness. Todd’s request was relying on this power of the inventory, but Cristea’s boring way of thinking to cook every single piece was standing in his way. She decided to use part of the vegetables for salads, while preparing the rest for an immediate use. That way, the time she cooks the next time will be reduced by a little.

Even in her previous life, when she obtained the seasonal vegetables in large quantities cheaply, she generally started preparing them at once.

「Now then… let’s pickle part of the eggplants and cucumbers and make various preserved foods from the rest…」

After lightly freezing the tomatoes with ice magic, I’m going to wash them in hot water. Cut them into chunks and made a tomato sauce out of them. I will be able to use it at any time after I store it in my inventory.

Let’s dry the cherry tomatoes on the sun. Roast a half with salt and olive-like oil to make semi-dried tomatoes.

We grow a variety of tomatoes, so they all couldn’t be consumed. Which reminds me, I will be in the academy the next year, so let’s decrease the numbers a little bit or bring them with me. Tomatoes have many uses, so I would like to secure a number.

Let’s dry a part of the other vegetables and pickle the rest. Pickling can’t be done in the inventory which has no passage of time, so let’s find a cool and dark place for them.

「… Yeah. Most should be cleaned up with this. Everyone, please use the vegetables from the vegetable garden as you please, alright?」

Cristea who felt a sense of accomplishment from finished her work rewarded herself with an iced green tea she prepared in the morning and cheerfully left the kitchen.

The people in the kitchen were disappointed after Cristea’s departure as there was nothing left to sample, but they decided to wait and look forward how the vegetables will taste when they are done.

And, the enthusiastic chefs who were stealing glances at Cristea’s handiwork were experimenting with the same ingredients she used, while the gardener Todd returned to his post to prepare for the next harvest.

It has been rumored among chefs that the recipes put on the market by Cristea were all of superb quality. If I could catch a glimpse of her talent and technique… an endless wave of chefs applied as the Ellisfeed House’s chefs, but not a single chef of the house resigned from his post, so they dream wouldn’t come true. Cristea was completely ignorant of such happenings.

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「… Haaa… iced green tea, it’s both bitter and sweet…」

Hou… I sipped the tea while stuffing my mouth with youkan.

「… I still don’t understand the good points of this tea even a little. Isn’t this almost like an herbal tea?」

「… Bitter」

Mashiro and Kurogane who changed into their human forms were grimacing while drinking the green tea.

The three of us held a tea party after clearing out the people.

「Oh my, the tea leaves has sweetness in them, you know? Moreover, doesn’t this flavor go well with youkan? I’m sure you will understand its good points after getting used to it」

Cristea who didn’t concern herself with the two’s complaints at all extended her hand towards the youkan again.