Chapter 50

(Quite long)

I was speechless when I saw the kitchen.

The kitchen was very spacious, with many ovens and a wide variety of pots, pans, and other utensils. There was even a small sink.

But that was all there was.

Well, come to think of it, it made sense. There was no microwave, oven, or toaster. Moreover, while there were multiple ovens, none of them could adjust the heat.

This might be more difficult than I thought.

"Hey, Yararai. Could you call Hagg? It's safe here."

"Alright."

"Don't fight."

"...I'll try."

Please show the results.

"Let's get started, then."

First, I checked the tools. There was a large and impressive cutting board, so that was fine. As for the knives... they were there. They were incredibly sharp, excellent blades. There was also clear water in a bottle, but I wanted to use my own water.

I focused on the ceramic water container on the sink. It was placed at eye level, with a wooden plug near the bottom. When removed, it functioned as a simple faucet, allowing water to flow out.

I moved all the water to another bottle, put the ceramic container in a container, and decided to buy water to fill it. The ceramic container held about 15 liters, so I bought 20 liters, putting the extra 5 liters in a kettle and a bottle.

"Oh, there's a colander, and a large, impressive iron pot that looks good for frying."

This should be fine without preparing too many small items.

I decided to make miso soup and fried chicken first, leaving the sashimi for later.

Just as I was about to start the preparation, Cherina called out to me.

"What is it?"

"Please wait a moment, the head chef will be here soon."

"Ah, if there are people, it'll be hard to use the container."

"Anyway, I think Sir Hagg and Sir Yararai will want to watch."

That's true.

"Alright. How long do I have to wait...?"

"I'm sorry to keep you waiting."

Without needing to ask, a man in a white chef's outfit appeared from the back.

"Akira, this is Hugo, the head chef of the Veriello family. He is currently also in charge of the guild's culinary research."

"Hello, Akira. Thank you for teaching us the frying method. I'm still studying it every day."

Hugo extended his hand, and I shook it.

"I hear you'll be teaching us a new cooking method today."

"I'm not sure if it's new. I just want to try the cooking methods from my hometown."

"Even so, it's not a problem. If I can learn even one thing, it will be enough."

He seems humble.

"I hope it will be helpful."

"Yes. Oh, and you don't need to use formal language with me. I've heard about your character from the young lady. Please speak to me as you normally would."

"But..."

I was confused about how to respond, but Cherina interjected.

"Akira, Hugo is fine."

Cherina smiled, and Hugo bowed with a smile.

"Alright. I'll do my best."

"Yes, me too."

Hugo's friendly smile. At this point, I couldn't tell if this was his true nature or a way to deceive others. But since Cherina approved, I decided not to worry about it.

Well, let's start by preparing the fish.

I'll start with the horse mackerel.

"Ah, right. I forgot to pay for the ingredients. Cherina, how much is it?"

"The ingredients are provided. We'll also cover any additional items you need to buy."

"But, these are mostly for Hagg and me, right?"

"It's part of Hugo's training."

Hmm. Is it okay to take advantage of this?

Honestly, it would be a help to have the expenses covered since I'll be buying more items. I leaned in to whisper to Cherina.

"Is it okay? It might be expensive."

"It's fine."

Her face seemed a bit red, but it was probably just a reflection of the surroundings.

"Alright, I'll send you the bill later."

"Okay."

"Then let's start."

I took the horse mackerel from the bucket and filleted it into three pieces.

"Hmm, that's impressive."

Hugo marveled at my knife skills.

"Yes, you're as good as a head chef, aren't you?"

"...No, I've never filleted a fish like that."

Even though he probably eats a lot of fish, he doesn't fillet them into three pieces.

I seasoned the filleted horse mackerel with salt and pepper and coated it with potato starch. I heated oil in the prepared pot, but the stove in this kitchen made the oil too hot.

"The temperature is hard to control... Hugo, can you make it a bit lower...?"

"Lower...? ...How about this?"

Hugo reduced the wood to lower the heat, but it was still too strong.

"It's not working... Ah, I know, I should use a hibachi."

I need to test the charcoal as well. I asked for a hibachi and charcoal and hurriedly lit the fire. However, it took a while for the charcoal to get properly lit.

"It's a bit troublesome... Maybe wood is better?"

Cherina tilted her head after watching the process.

"Maybe... but as you can see, there's no smoke, so it won't affect the food."

"Ah, I see. That's good."

Cherina's response was lackluster, but the head chef leaned in to inspect the hibachi.

"Be careful, the fire isn't visible, but it's very hot."

Hugo moved his hand closer and farther, nodding.

"The heat reaches far despite the appearance."

"Yes, so a small amount of charcoal is enough for a low heat."

"Miss, I think you only know about large kitchens like this one. The advantage of less smoke might not be clear to you."

Hugo turned to Cherina.

"Yes, I've only focused on the high heat and the rarity so far."

"Miss, this kitchen has a good ventilation system, but in general households or small restaurants, the smoke is intense."

Cherina placed her hands on her hips and thought for a moment.

"Now that you mention it, I often see smoke coming from the kitchen in small restaurants."

It seems she understood one of the selling points of charcoal.

I left her to her thoughts and continued to prepare the charcoal. I put in more charcoal to get the fire going and then moved the excess to another hibachi. I would be using multiple fires at once.

Finally, the oil reached the right temperature, so I started frying the horse mackerel. At the same time, I chopped onions, carrots, and bell peppers.

"Let me help with that."

Seeing me chopping vegetables, Hugo offered to help.

"Sure, just chop them the same way."

I handed him the ingredients and started making the seasoning. Hugo chopped the vegetables, but his eyes were fixed on me. He's a professional, after all. I would have lost a finger.

So, soy sauce, mirin, cooking sake, grain vinegar, sugar, water, and dried red pepper. I mixed them quickly and heated them. I put the vegetables and horse mackerel in a ceramic container and poured the seasoning over them.

"Sorry, can you store this in a cool place?"

After saying that, I wondered if there was such a place in this scorching land.

"I'll put it in the underground room."

Hugo took the ceramic container and left the room.

"Cherina, is it cool there?"

"Yes, it has a system to bring in the cool morning air. The basement is deep and made of stone, so it doesn't get hot during the day."

"Is there such a convenient place...?"

"It's not common. Only a few guilds, nobles, and the royal family have it."

"An exclusive item."

"Yes."

With Hugo back, we resumed our work.

"That's a fine sea bream. To be honest, I thought farmed sea bream would be fattier and tastier, but this one looks very plump and fatty."

"The currents around here are rich, so all the fish are large."

"Is that so?"

"The sea is rough for humans, but it seems to be a comfortable habitat for fish."

Hugo explained.

"Well, if the fish are tasty, it's good for humans too."

"Yes, but..."

"Is there something wrong?"

"No, not many people get to eat fresh fish. Most only eat salted fish."

"...That's a tough world."

"Yes."

As the head chef of the Veriello family, handling fresh food should be easy, but it seems even people living near the port can't afford it. It's a sad story.

"Fresh fish will spoil quickly if not salted."

"That's true."

The distribution system for fish in Japan is almost insane. Foreigners are reportedly amazed and even bewildered by it.

By the way, in terms of freezing systems, advanced countries have developed them normally, so don't get confused. This is specifically about the distribution of fresh fish.

"Hey, Hugo, how would you cook this sea bream?"

"Well... probably salt-grilled. I'd mix in herbs to make it light and bring out the flavor of the fish."

"That sounds delicious... Would you mind making it?"

"That's fine, but..."

"I'll make a different dish."

"Do you have a reason?"

"I might have someone who doesn't want to eat what I'm about to make."

I glanced at Cherina.

She quickly looked away.

"Alright, I'll leave it to you."

I quickly filleted the black sea bream and cut it into sashimi. However, I didn't intend to serve it as sashimi.

I cut cabbage, white leeks, chrysanthemum greens, watercress, shiitake mushrooms, enoki mushrooms, and tofu into appropriate sizes. I made a dashi with kelp in a pot-like container. Once it boiled, I added the vegetables.

This is ready for a hot pot.

We can eat it as soon as everyone is ready.

I'll leave the sashimi to the scorpionfish.

I filleted the scorpionfish and arranged it on a plate. I tried to arrange it neatly in a circle, but it didn't look very good. The head chef saw this and offered to help, arranging the sashimi beautifully like a blooming flower. He's a professional, after all.

I'll leave the plating to him and make the fried chicken. I changed the oil and adjusted the temperature.

I decided to deep-fry the whole scorpionfish. It smelled great. I won't let the spines poison me. I won't!

I also decided to make fried octopus. ...Oops. I forgot that it needs to marinate to absorb the flavor.

I marinated the octopus and had it stored in the basement.

I also cut some of the octopus into pieces for takoyaki and stored it in the basement.

I prepared the gurnard and made it into miso soup. The meat is more for flavor than for eating.

Now, the eel.

"...Um, Akira... Are you really going to eat... the octopus and... the eel?"

"Of course. What else would I eat?"

"..."

Cherina suddenly wondered if I would eat the fish with legs she saw at the fishing port. I... can eat it. I almost starved to death in elementary school, so don't underestimate me.

Frowning, Cherina was gently advised by Hugo.

"Miss, from the way Akira handled the octopus, I think he has eaten it before. His technique is too good."

I didn't become skilled because I liked it.

"I was forced to cook for a fishing enthusiast boss. I was practically his personal chef."

But he made me split the boat rental costs, so he was a real jerk. I often ate fish out of spite.

"Alright, let's do the eel."

"..."

Cherina's face turned pale. It seems the eel is the most off-putting to her. It's delicious, though...

I quickly washed the eel in salt water and was about to blanch it in boiling water when I realized something.

"Damn, I need ice..."

What should I do? Getting ice might be too much.

As I was thinking, Yararai returned with Hagg and Narnia. The young lady came along as well.

"Hey, what about helping at the inn?"

"Break time! It's break time! Big brother is making delicious food!"

"..."

Her response was completely incoherent.

"Alright, alright. Today is on Cherina, so say thank you."

"Hee! Miss Cherina, I'm Narnia from the Whale Inn. Thank you for inviting us today."

Narnia bowed, and Cherina's eyes softened. No one invited her, but she didn't seem to mind.

"Yes, please make yourself comfortable."

After the greeting, Narnia returned to my feet.

"Hee, it's my first time talking to Miss Cherina. I can brag to my friends!"

She seemed to be floating, so I left her be.

"This dwarf is Hagg."

"Old man is unnecessary! Nice to meet you, miss."

He's as usual. Impressive.

"Yes, I am Cherina Veriello. Nice to meet you."

"Indeed."

The introductions went smoothly. Then I had an idea.

I quickly grabbed Yararai's hand and pulled him into the hallway.

"What's wrong? Is there an enemy?"

What kind of thought is that?

"That's dangerous. No, can Yararai use spirit magic to make ice?"

"Ritual magic... difficult... lowering the temperature is the limit."

It's ritual magic, not magic. I need to get used to it.

"Oh, that's fine. Can you make the water as cold as possible?"

"Alright."

I returned to the kitchen and filled a bucket with water.

"Can you do this?"

"Sure."

Yararai hummed a strange song, and the water temperature dropped rapidly.

"Great, this will work."

"Success, good."

"Can you fail?"

"Yes. Spirits are whimsical."

I remember him saying that. As long as I get cold water, I'm fine. I plunged the eel, which I had blanched in boiling water, into the nearly frozen water. I carefully removed the slime and then put the eel in a pot with broth and cooked it. When the broth reduced, I took out the eel and further reduced the remaining broth to make a sauce.

"Wow, that smells amazing."

"Hagg doesn't mind eel, does he?"

"It's similar to eel, right?"

"Is there eel too?!"

What...?

"What's wrong, suddenly?"

"Well, eel is my favorite."

"I see, I thought it could be caught in the River Liber."

"No, eel is only found further upstream. And there's no tradition of eating it around here..."

"What a waste..."

Maybe I'll set up some eel traps in the River Liber next time. But I probably won't have the time.

While simmering the eel, I also prepared the takoyaki batter. Of course, the takoyaki pan has been approved.

I'll make the takoyaki last.

Alright, everything is ready.

Let's have everyone taste it, and I hope they'll be impressed! Especially Cherina! It's payback for her usual unreasonable requests.

Hehehehehe!

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