Chapter 45

Well, the morning passed as usual, with inventory checks, deciding on the number of goods to purchase, and negotiations with unexpected merchants, but for some reason, Chelina seemed to be in a bad mood the whole time. At first, I thought it was just my imagination, but even at noon, she was still sulking.

"I'm sorry, but I only have lunch prepared for Akira-sama."

Chelina turned her head away and declared to Yararai.

"Got it. Akira, I'll be gone for a while, be careful."

I thought Yararai would insist on staying, but he backed off easily. Just as he was leaving, he whispered to me.

"This building is safe, there are many skilled people here. Don't leave until I return."

"Got it."

Indeed, if the building is safe, there's no need to oppose Chelina. When Yararai left and the food was brought in, Chelina glared at me with a cold stare.

"Um... what's wrong, Chelina? If you have something to say, I'd like to hear it..."

She didn't move a muscle, resting her chin on her hand and giving me a look that clearly said, "I have a complaint." I couldn't take it anymore and decided to bluff. I hadn't done anything wrong, after all...

"Hey, this fish looks delicious! This is... fried, right? Yeah, it's good!"

"...Didn't Akira-sama mention the cooking method for fried fish to another merchant the other day?"

"Eh? Did I?"

When we were dealing with fish, I might have mentioned it when I saw a sample of white fish.

"Yes, it took a few days, but I finally made something satisfactory and brought it here."

"It's not like it's a rare way to cook fish. Flour, eggs, and breadcrumbs are available everywhere."

"Flour is available, though the price has gone up in recent years... and eggs are manageable."

"Then anyone could have thought of it."

"No one would think of drying bread and grinding it into crumbs. The merchant's face when Akira-sama mentioned it... he's probably in another town now, working on a prototype. Of course, we need to consider the relationship with the food guild."

"If the food is good, isn't that a good thing?"

"Hmm... Akira-sama really doesn't understand his own value..."

"Is it my fault?"

"At least, if you only talk about such things when our guild members are around, it would be better."

"Ah, well, it's fine! This fried fish is well done! ...But salt alone isn't enough, let me do something."

I wanted to enjoy the fried fish, so I decided to make it even better. It seemed to be a large white fish, maybe a sea bream. I wanted to eat it as sashimi, but for now, I decided to go with tartar sauce or sauce. I had plenty of tonkatsu sauce left, so I decided to add tartar sauce. I could make it myself if I had mayonnaise, but it's a lot of work, so I decided to get stick-type tartar sauce from the shop.

[Tartar Sauce (12g x 10 sticks) = 252 yen]

I divided the remaining fried fish into two and tried it with tartar and tonkatsu sauce.

"Wow! It's delicious! The fish is thick and tasty!"

As I ate noisily, Chelina stared at me with a blank expression. Miss, you're drooling.

"Sorry, sorry, do you want to try it?"

"Of course."

I put tartar and sauce on Chelina's plate.

"Black and white sauce...?"

"Come to think of it, it is a black and white sauce."

She seemed to be put off by the black sauce and reached for the white tartar first.

"Wow! This is amazing! It's light yet rich, bringing out the flavor of the white fish! The oil from the fried fish combines with it, creating a rich flavor in the mouth! Yet the aftertaste of the fried fish is completely gone, making it the perfect seasoning for fried food! This is a culinary revolution!"

"Are you a celebrity or something?"

"Excuse me?"

"...Never mind. Maybe I can make tartar sauce?"

"Really?!"

I had helped my boss, who is a cooking enthusiast, make it a few times.

"Um, I think it's eggs, onions, pickles, mayonnaise, and lemon juice. I don't remember the exact amounts, but I think I can get close if I have the ingredients."

"What are pickles and mayonnaise?"

"Pickles are pickled cucumbers, made with cucumbers, vinegar, white wine, sugar, and salt, I think."

"Vinegar?"

"Yeah, do you not have vinegar...? Then mayonnaise is also impossible."

"Such..."

Hey, don't make a face like the world is ending...

"Hey, has the wine ever gone sour?"

"Sour? Sometimes."

"Basically, that's vinegar. I don't know what kind of wine you have, but it needs to be aged, I think. The base should be that."

"Is it safe to eat?"

"It's a type of vinegar. In my hometown, black vinegar was popular during a health craze."

"So it's not bad for you?"

"Can't be sure, but you should check gradually... If you have vinegar, you can make pickles and mayonnaise."

"What are the ingredients for mayonnaise?"

"Um, I think..."

I made it at my boss's house...

"I think it's egg yolks, salt, oil, pepper, and vinegar. The eggs should be as fresh as possible and safe to eat raw."

"If we can get vinegar, we can gather the ingredients."

"Then I'll teach you how to make it when you have everything. I don't remember the exact amounts, but..."

"If I know the general method, I can experiment. A merchant who knows how to make fried fish might despair if they see this seasoning paired with it, hehehe."

That's not the part to laugh at.

Women are scary!

---

The mood had improved and we were having a pleasant meal, but when Yararai returned, Chelina's mood visibly worsened again.

"Hey, Chelina, do you maybe dislike elves?"

"Why do you think that?"

"Well, you've been in a bad mood since earlier."

"You should ask yourself, don't you think?"

Huh?

So it is my fault?

"Akira"

"Yeah?"

"Being a bodyguard, being disliked is normal."

Is that so? I don't think that's the case...

I looked at Chelina, but she just turned her head away. I don't get it.

I ended up spending the whole day troubled by the unreasonable attitude of this young lady.

I look forward to your reviews, bookmarks, and comments (please submit them in the activity report).