CH 308

“……”

“Well, you’re good at cooking, huh. Meat into ground meat …… Hoh …… with those skills, you’ll be able to fight your way through our kitchen at the front line. Where did you get your training?”

“Well, a little in a restaurant.”

“What? Lars-kun, you’ve worked in a restaurant before? It’s the first time I’ve of that.”

“Oh!? No, no. I helped out at my parents’ house.”

“Oh, at home. I’m impressed that you helped your parents.”

I hurriedly corrected myself when Basleigh-sensei told me. I worked in a restaurant in my previous life. I worked in the kitchen and on the floor too, so I can do this much.

As the people in the castle ordered more and more food, I started to prepare the food. Now the cook saw the chopped onions and called out to me. Now, making hamburgers isn’t too hard, but now that I’ve had the ingredients prepared, I think I’ll cook something else.

“Can I use these chicken thighs and flour? I also need a lot of oil.”

“Yeah, you can use that pan over there …… H-Hey, what are you doing putting so much oil in the pan!?”

While the cook panics, I prepare the hamburger in a large frying pan and start the next dish. Speaking of chicken and flour, I knew I had to make fried chicken.

In this world, fried food doesn’t exist, and there are no such things as fried pork cutlets or fried fish. But since I had all this oil and ingredients, and since I had been set up by Basleigh-sensei and stirred up by the cooks, I irritatedly made it.

“While the oil heats up, I’ll do some prep work. There are many ways to make Karaage, but I like to use large thighs because they fry up juicier.”

“Oh, is that a new dish?”

Basleigh-sensei asked, glancing at my work from behind in a high-pitched voice.

“Yes, I wanted to try something new. It’s hard to do at home because it uses a lot of oil …… Well, look forward to it.”

“Nfufu, of course. It’s uncommon for the son of a lord to be able to cook like this. A nobleman is only as good as the food he’s served.”

“I used to eat only Nina’s and the maid’s food at home. I miss my mother’s cooking when we were poor.”

Basleigh-sensei said to me as I prepared a salad that Helena wanted to eat. I remembered that Mom liked to cook too, but she was afraid to do so back at the mansion.

As I was talking about this, the cooks’ movements froze and they all looked at me and turned pale.

“Wait, Minister Basleigh-sensei, didn’t you say the boy was the son of a lord ……?”

“What? Yes, I did. He’s the second son of Lord of Gust Territory, and Lars-Irving is his name.”

“Why would Basleigh-sensei be the one to say that …… You didn’t ask me, so I didn’t say it, but yes, I am the second son of the lord.”

I laughed, and the cooks hurriedly lined up and bowed to me.

“We’re very sorry! I didn’t know you were a nobleman …… and the son of a lord …….”

“Ahh, It’s okay. It’s not like I’m taking over the family, and I’m an adventurer now, so don’t worry about it. In the first place, Basleigh-sensei is one who’s wrong, so I’m going to have to punish her.”

“Ehh!?”

Why does Basleigh-sensei look so surprised? I’ve been forced to cook because of a trap you set for yourself, you know.

“H-Hmmm …… Is that okay ……?”

“I’d appreciate it if you’d eat what I’ve cooked for now.”

I resumed cooking just like that, seasoning the chicken thighs I had cut into large pieces, dipping them in egg, and sprinkling them with wheat. The cooks, who were watching, became curious and took turns to watch me work.

“Okay, the oil looks good too. There.”

“Ohhhh ……!”

*Sizzle* …… I hear a nice sound of oil, and the fried chicken starts to float to the surface. It’s better to fry a small amount at a time because the oil will cool down if you put it in all at once.

“The hamburger steak should be on low heat before it burns, and the carrots for garnish should be …… yeah, they’re getting soft. The sauce is …… ah, deep frying takes a long time, so let’s make a braised hamburger …… wait, uwah!?”

I put the final touches on the dish and used one of the plates to put the hamburger steak on top, then put the fried chicken in a small plate and handed it to the cook.

“This is a hamburger?”

“It looks like scraps of meat kneaded together. ……”

“This is chicken meat, right? Hmm, that’s an unusual way of cooking, although I’ve heard that some countries across the ocean make this kind of food.”

“Well, eat it before it gets cold. I’ll prepare some for Makina and the others.”

“Well, I’m going to take my seat.”

“…… Take your time.”

The smiling Basleigh-sensei returned to Makina and the others, and I saw her off with a chuckle. The cooks each sigh in admiration and share their thoughts.

“I sliced it open with a knife and then an amazing meat juice came out ……!?”

“That’s surprising, but how about the tenderness? This way, even the elderly can easily eat it with their children. It completely deflated, but this will definitely satisfy them!”

“The sauce is not poured over the top like a steak, but cooked together like this to concentrate the flavor …… It mixes with the meat juice so the flavor doesn’t escape ……”

The hamburger is great, now how about the fried chicken, which I made for the first time?

“It’s crispy but fluffy inside …… The meat juice is juicy too …… You’re kidding, the herb-roasted chicken and grilled chicken look blurry.”

“This is bad, I’m sure it’s beer! Kuh …… This is the only one I can find …… Oh, hey, you said we should split it in half!?”

“So you cook it in oil like this, with this, I’m sure it will kill the bacteria in the eggs too. You’ve thought of everything.”

Okay, the fried chicken looks fine. I was relieved because I had tasted one earlier and wasn’t sure if it would be to my taste. Then, the cooks who had tasted the food lined up in front of me and bowed their heads.

“My hat is off to you, I’m sorry for the trouble we caused, Lars-sama.”

I was delighted when they all took off their hats and literally smiled at me.

“You can call me without honorifics. I’m glad you liked it. It’s not that hard, so you can make it when Basleigh-sensei comes for lunch.”

When I said this, the cooks rolled their eyes and froze, and then immediately said to me in a panic.

“You can’t do that!? You’ll definitely need a recipe, and a dish like this will cost you 100,000 beryls to use ……”

“What? It’s not a problem, I’ll give you the recipe too.”

“We’ll be the one who’s troubled! Ahhhh, you’re too apathetic! …… I understand, I, Beau, the head cook, will take care of this matter. It’s not good for the food to get cold. Please take it to your companions.”

“Oh, that’s right. Well then. Call me again. Even if it’s not today, I can just tell it Basleigh-sensei.”

I left the kitchen as I pushed the cart carrying the food. I don’t think they need to worry about hamburgers and fried chicken, though?　

Anyway, I bring the food to Makina and the others. The salad was taken away by Basleigh-sensei earlier, so there was only the hamburger and fried chicken set here.

“Ah, it’s here …… I’m sure you had such a hard time, Lars.”

“I guess so. There’s no pudding, but I made a new dish for you to try. I’m sorry to Helena and Milfy.”

“Really? Is that round thing the new one? Well, I’ve only heard about the hamburger, so I’m looking forward to it♪.”

“Wow …… It smells so good ……”

I put the plates in front of everyone, Milfy squealed with delight, and Ash, who could probably smell it, rolled backwards in delight.

And then–

“…… H-Huh? Lars-kun, my hamburger …….”

“What? It’s right there, isn’t it?”

“No, it’s just a little …… No, it’s crazy small, isn’t it!? And there’s only one fried chicken! Even though Makina-chan has three!”

“Who was it that talked about hamburgers and made me cook them? You even brought us all the way here just because you wanted to eat it.”

“No, that’s not it! I just wanted to show it off!”

“Even worse! That’s all for Basleigh-sensei!”

“Uooooooooh, Impossible!? According to my plan, there should have been a mountain of hamburgers in front of me by now!?”

Basleigh-sensei cries out in tears. I felt a little bit relieved that it worked so well.

…… But needless to say, I couldn’t eat calmly, because of all the attention that was drawn to Basleigh-sensei, wondering what this dish was ……

I’m free ……!

Thank you for reading!

[Afterword Theater]

“It’s over ……”

Yeah ……

“Now, here’s a new one with me as the main character.”

Can you write it!?