Chapter 20.2

“…I’m watching,” Gilbert-sama replies in a small voice, unfaithfully.

I sigh. Sensible as I am, I am aware that Camisile-sama is likely to appear again around tonight.

He will probably say something like ‘what the hell are you thinking, getting covered in blood and processing an animal in front of a man?’

I am sorry to the hunters, ranchers and butchers about that, but I agree with him.

In a pot of simmering water, add cockle nuts, which becomes sweet and flaky when cooked, and mung bean mushrooms, which make a good broth, and wild herbs, and then add meat cut into bite-sized pieces that has been coated with herbs and grilled. The herbs are stewed together with a bunch of fragrant herbs tied in a bundle, and the lye is carefully removed and discarded. This is done for about two hours, and a rabbit stew with clear golden soup is ready.

It would have been even better with some good bread, but I can’t afford the luxury.

I also made grilled narwhal hare skewers and sautéed mushrooms

The fire in the kitchen used to be managed by fire spirits, and I didn’t know how to use it, but Gilbert-sama was with me today and lit it for me with his magical power.

I’ll have to prepare firewood in the future. After a few days, I realized that it would be an inconvenient place to live if I couldn’t use magical powers.

The only saving grace is that the plates and cooking utensils are all good. Even the utensils are very time-consuming to start preparing.

The stew, the meat off the skewers and the mushrooms were placed on a plate.

There was a good aroma mixed with the savoury and freshness of the herbs.

Gilbert-sama watches quietly as I move around, not particularly interrupting, but when I finish arranging the food, he looks at me admiringly.

“Lydith, are you finished?”

“Yes, it’s finished. By the way, where are you going to eat it? Shall I take it to your room?”

“What about you?”

“I’m the head chef, so I’ll just stay here and eat what’s left. That’s what a head chef does.”

I did a perfect job today. That’s great.

The dishes lined up on the plate are sparkling and steaming deliciously.

If there was a dining table, I would have arranged them beautifully and decorated them with flowers and candelabras, but I wonder if such a place exists in this castle.

I wonder if there are any roses blooming at the back in that abandoned rose garden.

If I could plant even a single rose, it would make the gloomy atmosphere of the castle a little more cheerful.

“There’s a dining room for the King of the Castle, but if you’re here, I’m fine here too.”

“I can’t do that. I’m the head chef. Gilbert-sama is a prince, so he has a higher position.”

“You only call yourself the head chef, I don’t recognise you as one.”

Yes… you mean that my work is still lacking. I’ll call you tomorrow, when everything is ready. It’s true that I made you wait a long time for the food to be ready… and this doesn’t make me a perfect head chef yet.”

It is the chef who calls the master when the table is set.

There is no such thing as the master waiting by the side.

In that sense, I am not yet recognised.

“I don’t mean that… But if you’re here, I’ll eat here, too. There’s no one else here, so it’s fine. You don’t have to call the fucking snake.”

“I promised Astaroth that I would cook for him too”.

“Then I’ll bring his portion to his room.”

When Gilbert-sama says this, several things suddenly appear around him, about the size of human children, with flame-clad bodies, limbs and pointy ears, looking somewhere between cat and human.

They drifted softly through the air, put Astaroth’s plate on a large tray and disappeared through the door of the galley with the four of them holding both ends of it.

“The people now…”

“Those are the fire spirits. They used to work here originally, but they didn’t get on well with the water spirit, Cronaea, so they hid in the fireplace in the castle, and I called them back. She saw you cooking and wanted to help.”

“She’s quite lovely, isn’t she? Can I pet her?”

“You can, but I don’t want to offend you or burn your hands.”

“Then, next time I see her, I’ll ask her nicely and then I’ll stroke her.”

I cleaned up quickly and looked down at my clothes.

I had been careful during the search in the forest and during the cooking, but they were quite dirty.

I’m not sure I’m going to be able to eat a meal with them like this.

“…Um, Gilbert-sama.”

“Yes?”

“May I just change my clothes? If we’re going to have dinner together, I’d like to change into something a little nicer… I’ll hurry, but the food might get a bit cold.”

“I’ll wait. No need to rush.”

The soup can be reheated, but the skewers can’t be cooked again, because if they are overcooked they will become hard.

I thought I had to hurry anyway, so I quickly went back to my room.

TL: Hello wonderful readers, you all would have noticed the novel is mixed with Past tense and present tense. I also noticed that when I was translating too, and I have decided to change it to paste tense from the next chapter.

Thanks, love you all.

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