CH 93

Ch. 93: Jopin

Jopin.

Oh yeah. He was the tall and skinny butler.

He always looked like he had deep concerns weighing on his mind, and I swore he would end up fainting from the stress.

I’m sure working at the mansion was not good for him.

And when I saw him, he looked older to me. It’s only been a year since I last saw him.

Luke: “It’s been a while, Jopin. Now that I think about it, back in the spring, I didn’t see you when I returned to the mansion.”

Jopin: “Yes……the Lady…….no, Angelina fired me before you arrived.”

Luke: “IーI see….. There must have been many who were let go. When I arrived, I hardly recognized anyone who worked there.”

Hearing that, Jopin let out a long and wistful, grieving sigh.

Luke: “AーAnyways, come inside. We don’t have to keep standing here.”

Rotonoa: “Then I will return to the ship, sir. Oh, would we be able to rest in an inn tonight?” Luke: “Yeah, at the rocky landing where the pirates used as a base, there’s a hideout. It’s a rocky cave, but we cleaned and remodeled the inside, so all the sailors can freely use that.”

Rotonoa: “Oh, how gracious. To be able to rest on dry ground is a sailor’s greatest reward. Then I will excuse myself.”

I let him borrow one of the wagons, and Rotonoa left to go back to his ship.

I welcome Jopin and Roku into the house.

Well, I call it a house, but the first floor is a cafeteria. Jopin must be tired, so we could get something to eatーー

Luke: “Since Rosetta isn’t here, I can scrape something up.” Sia: “Sia will help too?” Eri: “Then Iーー”

Luke: “Princess, please have a seat and wait here.” She looked a little downtrodden as she sagged into her seat.

Something easy to make……oh, looks like they have some bread they baked from lunch leftover.

Good.

We can make sandwiches.

Luke: “Sia, can you cut the cuucumbrins into thin slices?” Sia: “Yea～”

I place a few eggs inside a pot with hot water and with the [Alchemy BOX], I turn it into boiled eggs.

Now, all I need to do is crush the eggs andーーoh no!!

I……I forgot…..

We don’t have mayonnaise!!

But if we don’t have it, we can always make it!

I think we have everything we need in the kitchen.

Eggs, lemon, salt, and…yes, olive oil.

Why is olive oil called olivier? Is that someone’s name?

Anyways, I place the ingredients into a bottle, and place it into the [BOX] and close the lid.

Alright! We should have mayoーーwait, it’s a little white. I thought it would have more color, but whatever.

I tasted a little of it, and….maybe I put too much lemon this time? The citrus is a bit strong.

Well, it passes the test regardless. There’s no issue here.

……..or should I add more egg? Sia: “Hey～”

Luke: “Whoa?! YーYou scared me, Sia!”

Sia: “Why only Uーk? I want to try too.”

Luke: “.....oh, it was just a taste test.”

Sia: “I want～”

…….well, if Sia, who loves eating in general, thinks there’s no problem with the taste, then we’ll go with this.

I take a bit of mayo that was stuck to the bottom of the bottle’s lid and offer it on my finger.

She hesitated for a moment, but then opened her mouth wide and tasted the mayo with my finger.

Sia: “mmmmfffff”

Luke: “Hey, what are you doing?! Let go of my finger!”

Eri: “Whー Whー Whー Whー Miss Sia! That’s not fair!!”

Luke: “Ack?! Another food connoisseur appeared!”

Eri: “Me too! Me too! Ahhー”

Eri pointed to her open mouth and waited like a baby bird.

She thrust herself forward over the counter and waited with her eyes closed.

Yeah, I feel like a mother hen feeding her chicklings.

Luke: “<sigh>....just one taste, okay?” Eri: “Ahーーmmmmfffffffff.”

Luke: “Hey! Let go of my finger!”

Why can’t they just lick the mayo off!

WーWell, at the very least, they didn’t object to the mayo’s taste.

Now, we add the mayo to the crushed boiled eggs andーー

I cut the butter rolls in half and place the mixed contents inside. Now, just add the cuucumbrins and……oh shoot, I stuffed the bread too much.

I should have placed the cuucumbrin slices inside the bread first!

Whatever. I’ll just stick them on!

Luke: “Alright! Here’s my special egg sandwich!”

Sia: “OHHHH!!”

Eri: “Oh! The cuucumbrins look like rabbits’ ears! How cute!”

Luke: “OーOh, does it?” I guess the girls saw it in a different way.

I took the freshly made sandwiches to where Jopin and Roku sat, and also serve them a glass of freshly squeezed juice.

Luke: “I hope you like it.” Jopin: “Whー Oh, SーSir Lou Quain, did you make this?!”

Luke: “It’s a really simple recipe. If it was the evening, Mrs. Rosetta, one of the Dwarve’s wife, will come and prepare dinner for everyone.”

Right now, it’s still too early. She should be helping Gredd with preparing his new black smith’s shop.

Luke: “You won’t get full from this, but it should carry you over until dinner. You’ll really like Mrs. Rosetta’s cooking.”

I take a sandwich and take a big bite.

Oh, it’s a little sour. But I guess it’s still okay.

Jopin: “ThーThank you….” Jopin took one bite….and tears began flowing down his face?!

WーWas too sour?!

Jopin: “Sir Lou Quain…..forgive me for not helping you. I knew of your suffering under the former Master’s household and….”

Luke: “Oh, is that what was bothering you? I thought the mayonnaise I made was too sour.” Jopin: “No, well…..it is a little sour but….” ……..thーthank you for your honest feedback. Next time, I’ll make sure to add more eggs.

From there, Jopin began talking about what happened after I left the mansion.

But…he was one of the first to be let go from the mansion. After he was fired, servants who were let go came to his family’s house to ask for help and updated him with the developments at the mansion.

Luke: “What happened to those servants?” Jopin: “They live in the same town as my family. Some found work, but others…..they are doing everything they can to get by.”

Luke: “I see…….hmmmmm, then why not invite those without jobs here? This mansion will be done soon, and we’ll need help. Oh, what about you? We could use your help too. Do you want to work here?” As I asked the question, Jopin rubbed his reddened eyes and bowed his head low.

Jopin: “Please allow me to serve you. This time, please allow me to serve my master to the very end.”

Luke: “Haha, you don’t have to be so formal. Then would we be able to get in touch with the other servants?” Jopin: “Yes, it is possible. My younger sister is looking after them, so she would be able to relay our message.”

In that case, there’s no point in delaying.

I wrote a letter and had Rotonoa deliver it, and I can ask him to prepare a ship to help the servants journey to this island.

Luke: “Jopin, the mansion isn’t done yet, so you’ll be staying in one of the rooms on the second floor.”

Jopin: “As you commanーー”

As he bowed his head once more, the door to the inn suddenly swung open.

“Gov’nor! We found the stairway going to the 12th floor of the Dungeon!”