Chapter 33

Before my eyes, the gardener cat quickly finished the jam.

After skillfully scooping up the jam that clung to the edge of the plate with a spoon and licking it clean,

"Thank you for the meal,"

it meowed, and approached me.

Could this be the pattern where it lets me pet it as a sign of gratitude? I thought, but the gardener cat, showing no interest, curled up and began to breathe peacefully.

When tired from growing strawberries, it would sleep.

After waking up and eating the strawberry jam to its heart's content, it would sleep again.

It seemed to be a gourmet with paws, loyal to its desires.

Gently picking up the gardener cat with its satisfied sleeping face, I enjoyed stroking its fur and carried it to the long chair in my room.

After lightly brushing the gardener cat's fur, I returned to the kitchen.

It was to let the cooks taste the jam I had made.

"It's delicious."

"Hmm, it's a bit lacking in sweetness, isn't it?"

"I like this sweet and sour taste."

"But this is originally a fruit that looks like a different color of a 'monster's gem'... …"

"Shh, be quiet."

"That's the unspoken rule. We want to enjoy delicious things as they are."

"If we didn't know its shape before cooking, we could enjoy it more honestly."

"I'm starting to like the shape of strawberries too?"

"Delicious is justice."

"Agreed!!"

The voices of the cooks overlapped.

The strawberry jam seemed to be generally well-received in terms of taste.

Even those who thought it lacked sweetness might be satisfied if it was served with sugar-added jam or other creams and sweets.

However, the biggest obstacle seemed to be the shape of the strawberries.

To prove that they were not poisonous, I had eaten the strawberry jam in front of them.

Even after eating it, their faces didn't seem very enthusiastic.

After they actually tasted it, the cooks' expressions brightened, so the taste should not have been bad.

Their rejection of the shape of the strawberries seemed to have lessened somewhat thanks to the taste.

In the future, I want to continue making strawberry dishes and gradually work on changing people's perceptions.

"I also need to make an offering for the gardener cat."

I resolved to challenge myself, both for the gardener cat and to enjoy delicious strawberry dishes myself.

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"………Heavy………"

Lately, my mornings have been greeted by the weight and warmth on my chest.

Lifting my eyelids, I directed my gaze to my chest.

"…………………"

I met the light green eyes.

The gardener cat, boldly sitting on top of me, was staring at me as if to say, "Wake up quickly."

"Good morning, Ichigo."

Because it likes strawberries, I named it Ichigo.

It's a simple naming sense, but it's also part of my effort to spread the sound of "Ichigo" among the people of the palace.

It has been about ten days since I met Ichigo.

My homemade strawberry jam must have been very much to its liking, as Ichigo decided to live in the palace.

Ichigo, which looks like an ordinary cat, is actually a rare mythical creature.

Thinking that it might get tired of pretending to be a cat all the time, I invited it to my room at night.

It seemed to like the bed I prepared, and decided to sleep in my room from then on.

Ringing the bell by my pillow to signal the maid,

a tray with tea and a small bowl of strawberry jam was soon brought in.

"Here, Ichigo. Breakfast time~"

After the maid left, I offered the bowl to Ichigo.

Ichigo, as if waiting for this moment, trotted over.

In its right hand, it held a small spoon it had hidden in a corner of the room.

The spoon, just the right size for a small cat, was one I had crafted.

Ichigo, gripping its spoon, seemed to be in a good mood as it ate the strawberry jam.

While cats are primarily carnivorous, the gardener cat seemed to be more herbivorous.

The differences from ordinary cats didn't end there; the gardener cat seemed to have several plant-like characteristics.

The biggest difference was that the gardener cat didn't need to excrete.

All its food seemed to be converted into magic or something, so it never produced waste.

Another feature was the need to bask in sunlight.

While it could survive for a few days without sunlight, it would weaken and die if it didn't get any for several weeks.

Despite looking like a complete cat, it might be performing something like photosynthesis.

Ichigo often dozed in sunny spots by the window.

Its appearance, that of a cat greedily basking in the sunlight, wouldn't reveal its true nature.

After finishing my tea, Ichigo seemed to have finished the strawberry jam as well.

Instead of water after the meal, it was drinking strawberry milk made from the whey produced during the jam-making process.

Ichigo, holding the glass with both hands, approached the window.

Basking in the morning sun, the leaves of the strawberry plants—these were actual strawberry plants, not the gardener cat—shone vividly.

In the ceramic pots lined up by the window, strawberry plants were growing.

These were the plants Ichigo had grown using its own magic.

Using the gardener cat's ability, it was possible to grow plants to the point of bearing fruit.

However, it seemed to be quite draining for Ichigo to do so.

Therefore, it stopped growing the plants just before they bore fruit to increase the efficiency of growing more strawberry plants.

Fortunately, it was now the season when strawberries naturally grow and bear fruit.

There were five plants in the room and about ten in a corner of the forest, all bearing small green fruits.

Ichigo was still increasing the number of strawberry plants, so the harvest should increase even more.

"I'm looking forward to the fruits."

In about ten days, they should grow into plump red strawberries.

Anticipating the upcoming strawberry festival, I got ready.

After reviewing and stamping the documents related to the palace's operations, I headed to the kitchen.

"Mr. Gilbert, I would like to ask you to help me make a chiffon cake today."

"Thank you. I believe we will create something satisfactory today."

Mr. Gilbert nodded more strongly than usual.

After a brief discussion, we started making the chiffon cake.

Based on our discussion, we made minor adjustments to the amount of sugar and the timing of its addition.

We also made small changes to the cooking process.

Each change was small, but together they made a significant difference.

The chiffon cake, once removed from the mold, was flawlessly beautiful.

"Delicious………"

When I took a bite, it was as smooth as silk, light yet moist, with a soft and delicate sweetness.

This was a recipe I had brought, adjusted to better suit the cooking environment and ingredients of this world.

The taste and appearance were both of high quality, and it could have been sold as a high-end product in Japan.

"Miss Letitia, you did it………!!"

"Yes, thank you. This success is all thanks to the cooperation of Mr. Gilbert and the others."

Expressing my gratitude, Mr. Gilbert blushed.

The other cooks watched us, as if blessing him.

Truly, Mr. Gilbert is invaluable.

For him, it had only been about twenty days since he first saw a chiffon cake.

Despite this, he quickly grasped its characteristics and the points for improvement in the cooking method.

In this short period, the quality of the chiffon cake had improved significantly.

If I had worked on it alone, I doubt I would have achieved this level.

Mr. Gilbert seemed to have a great sense and passion for cooking.

"Would this chiffon cake be suitable for the ceremony in five days?"

"There's no doubt. The taste, the innovative texture and shape, I believe it would be a fitting offering to His Majesty."

It seemed Mr. Gilbert had given it his seal of approval.

In five days, it would be the king's birthday.

In this country, it is customary for influential people to gather at the castle on the king's birthday.

The quality of the birthday gift presented there also reflects the status of the person giving it.

Especially for me, a newcomer in this country, I wanted to leave a lasting impression without being underestimated.

However, spending too much money was also a problem, so I decided to give a dish as a gift.

In this country, cakes exist, but most are heavy in texture, like pound cakes.

The shapes are mostly round or rectangular, and a doughnut-shaped cake with a hole in the middle would be rare.

In this regard, the chiffon cake is both visually and texturally fresh.

While the taste might vary in individual evaluations, the visual and textural impact should be significant.

………My efforts in cooking in this country were also aimed at preparing a gift for the king's birthday.

Enjoying my hobby while pursuing practical benefits.

Even if the hobby aspect exceeds 80%, I think the results are satisfactory.

I intend to submit this chiffon cake as a joint work with Mr. Gilbert and the others.

I hope this will also raise their names a bit.

While nodding deeply, I was eating the chiffon cake when,

"Miss Letitia, something terrible has happened!!"

A cook, with a changed expression, rushed into the kitchen.