Chapter 22

A serious problem has been discovered. It seems there is no detergent here. What a disaster!

Without even soap, I feel utterly hopeless.

As I was holding my head in my hands, I remembered something my grandmother had told me before.

--- In the old days, we used flour to wash dishes.

That's right. Flour soap.

I think I remember her saying that the gluten in flour absorbs oil and makes dirt easier to remove.

It feels a bit wasteful, but there's no other choice. I rolled up my sleeves and got to work on the cleaning.

If I say that hot water is needed for cleaning, the lookout bandit says he will go and boil some water outside and disappears. I wonder if that's okay for a lookout.

I feel like I could escape from here, but I don't know where I am, and if I get lost and end up in trouble, it would be the worst, so I'll stay put.

They said they sent a message, so someone will probably come to help me. Hopefully.

While waiting for the hot water, I start to bleed the snowbird.

I tied its legs with a rope and tried to cut off its head with a knife that was lying around, but it was too rusty to use.

This! This! I repeatedly slammed the knife to cut off the head. ... It's like an ancient beheading.

Just as I took a deep breath, the door behind me opened. I turned around and complained.

"Excuse me, this knife doesn't cut at all."

"Ah!"

The bandit saw my face and let out a light scream. When I asked what was wrong, he said my face was covered in blood.

"I just got splattered with blood. The blade was rusty, so I had to hit the neck with the knife over and over to cut it off."

"Is, is that what happened? You scared me!"

"I'm very sorry."

It seems they have a whetstone, and they will sharpen the knife for me. The bandit leaves through the back door.

So, is it okay to be a lookout? It was a shockingly poor management.

I hang the snowbird upside down to bleed it.

While waiting, I decide to tidy up the kitchen.

I bring a large bucket and start putting the dirty dishes in it.

The dishes pile up in the bucket. Finally, the countertop is visible.

Everything is greasy. I really didn't want to touch it, but I had to.

Fortunately, I found a scrub brush. This will make the work a bit easier.

The lookout bandit comes back, saying the water has boiled.

"Sorry, it will take a while to sharpen the knife."

"That's fine. Cleaning this place will take quite some time too."

When I asked for more water, I was given permission to use the well outside.

"It's just to the left of the door."

"Thank you very much."

So, is it okay to be a lookout?

The bandit went out to sharpen the knife.

I slapped my cheeks and started cleaning with determination.

First, I dissolved flour in the hot water. Since it was too hot, I brought snow from outside to cool it down.

I poured the thickened flour onto the greasy countertop and scrubbed it with the brush.

It's not as good as soap, but it gets pretty clean. I'm grateful for the power of gluten. I silently thanked my grandmother for her wisdom.

Once the countertop was clean, I started washing the dishes. Of course, I didn't plan to clean all of them. I only cleaned the ones I would use, using flour to remove the grease.

Finally, I started cleaning the stove.

I was sure it would be full of ashes. I covered my mouth and nose with a handkerchief from my pocket and opened the stove.

"Ugh, it's so dirty, cough, cough!!"

As soon as I opened the stove, black ashes flew up.

I opened the windows and the door wide.

I brought a bucket to put the ashes in and looked for a poker, but couldn't find one.

"Hey, what's this, cough, cough!!"

This is the result of your negligence in cleaning! I wanted to shout.

When I asked if they had a poker, they said they had never seen one. What a disaster.

"Then, can you lend me something to use instead?"

"There's nothing like that."

"I can't cook without cleaning out the ashes."

"Well, that's... "

I asked if there was anything long and flat, and the bandit had a good one on his belt.

"Ah, that sword could be used as a poker. Can you lend it to me?"

I asked, not expecting much. I thought they would refuse, but---

"Sure, use it if you want."

"Ah, thank you."

They lent me a weapon.

I was a bit worried about how they were doing as bandits, as they seemed quite laid-back and had a good-natured air about them.

Anyway, I resumed cleaning.

I quickly used the sword to scoop out the ashes from the stove.

Once the stove was clean, I could finally start cooking.

Before that, I had to dismember the snowbird. The bandit had sharpened the knife, making the dismembering easier.

"Can noble ladies do dismembering too?"

"Well, we learn it in our debut year."

"Wow, that's surprising..."

I was startled by the question and lied on the spot, but they didn't catch it at all.

I was relieved.

The meat of the snowbird looked plump and delicious.

I plucked the feathers, removed the organs, and separated the parts.

Neck, breast, wing tips, wing middle, thigh, skin, and so on.

First, I made a soup with the wing middle, wing tips, and potatoes. The seasoning was only spices and salt. I wanted to enjoy the natural flavor without any extra seasoning.

I grilled the neck meat. A light sprinkle of salt would make it delicious. The neck meat is a rare part, with a chewy texture and strong flavor. It has a rich taste.

"Excuse me, do you have any distilled alcohol?"

"Sure."

"I need it for cooking, so can you give me some?"

"Alright."

The bandit responded to my request.

"Here you go."

"Thank you."

"But what do you need the alcohol for?"

"To tenderize the meat by marinating it in alcohol."

The breast meat is lean and can be a bit dry, but it becomes tender when marinated in alcohol.

The bandit said, "Wow," in amazement. This was also my grandmother's wisdom.

I rubbed the breast meat with salt and marinated it in alcohol for a while.

While waiting, I mixed flour with water and added eggs and salt and pepper.

I lit the stove and spread olive oil in a pan. Once the pan was hot, I put in the dough and spread it thin to cook.

I probably made about twenty sheets. I stacked them on a plate.

With the dough ready, I resumed preparing the snowbird.

I took the breast meat out of the alcohol and rinsed it with water.

I cut it into thin strips and blanched it.

I also cut the potatoes into thin slices and fried them with the bird skin until crispy. The seasoning was only salt and pepper.

I seasoned the thigh meat, coated it with flour mixed with spices, and deep-fried it. This was the most delicious part.

Finally, I made a sauce.

It wasn't anything fancy. I just added spices to the oyster sauce I found and adjusted the taste.

I arranged the food on a plate: the deep-fried thigh meat, grilled neck meat, blanched breast meat, crispy potato and skin, and thinly sliced cheese.

"Are you going to wrap the meat in the flour sheets?"

"Yes!"

"Wow, it looks delicious."

Since there was only one snowbird, I tried to make a dish that would give a sense of satisfaction even with a small amount of meat.

I brought the food to the living room with the lookout bandit.

It seems there is no dining table. They eat on the floor.

I brought the thinly baked dough, a platter of meat, a pot of soup, and some dishes.

There were no spoons either. The main dish is meat, which they cut with knives and eat.

"What is this?"

The leader of the bandits asked when he saw the food.

"It's bird crackers."

"I've never seen this dish before."

"It's popular in the capital."

"Hmm?"

This dish was inspired by the white scallion crackers I had eaten before.

You wrap your favorite ingredients in the dough.

The bandits stared at the food without moving, so I wrapped some ingredients for them.

I started with the leader's portion. The ingredients were neck meat and cheese, with oyster sauce drizzled on top.

"Here you go."

"Oh, wow."

If there were leafy vegetables, it would have been crunchy and delicious, but unfortunately, there were only potatoes. Still, I think it turned out pretty well considering the makeshift ingredients.

The leader of the bandits furrowed his brow and started munching on the bird cracker.

"How is it?"

"... Delicious."

I'm glad. It seems his taste was good.

The dough was chewy, and the snowbird meat was firm and should be delicious.

I haven't tasted it, but I imagine it is.

I made some for the other two as well.

"Delicious!"

"It's been a long time since I had a proper meal!"

The leader ate five in a row and acknowledged me as a real noble lady.

That's good... No, it's not good at all in this situation.

Proving I'm a noble lady by cooking is absurd. What the heck is this?

After the meal, I expected to be restrained again, but they left me alone and started drinking.

There was a noisy party in front of me, but suddenly the bandits became serious.

The moment they grabbed the swords on the floor, the door was kicked open.

"A, ah...!"

I was trembling in front of the late-night visitor.

Because a man with a more terrifying face than the bandits had broken into the house.

He was scary. Too scary.

"We won't hold back, you hear!"

"Aaaaaah!!"

"Why are you screaming?!"

I came to my senses at his remark.

When I looked closely, the man with the scary face was someone I knew well.

"Captain...!"

"Just stay put and be quiet."

With those words, the bandits (one of whom was the captain) started to glare at each other.