Chapter 48

Sorry!

I forgot to schedule the post again...

The destination that we headed for in the Lavrance family's flashy open car was about a 15-minute drive away.

When they said we were going for ice cream, I imagined a place like a gelato or crepe shop, where high school girls from my previous life would line up, a take-out focused store. I thought, "How cute, eating on the go like that, so youthful!"

However, the place we arrived at exuded an Arabian atmosphere and looked like a top-notch restaurant.

I didn't ask for this, but there was nothing I could do.

After being politely led to a private room, I looked at the menu, which had no prices, and ordered the simplest "ice cream."

"To be honest, I was surprised that you would come along, Allen.

I can't imagine you eating something sweet."

Jue said this with her usual warm smile.

"Is that so?

I'm known as a sweets connoisseur in my previous life."

In my previous life, and I claimed it myself.

"Ha ha.

You don't have to try so hard, Allen.

Everyone knows your taste isn't great, right?

No one expects you to make clever comments, okay?"

Faye said this with a smile, as if she was looking at something endearing.

'So, a country boy who doesn't know anything about flavors is trying to act sophisticated, huh?'

...I can't let this stand.

Why is there such a rumor about my taste, which was honed in Tokyo, Japan?

It's true that after enrolling in the academy, I ate Sol's breakfast without complaint in the morning, consumed emergency rations for lunch, and visited a soba shop every night.

...It's a terrible diet, even I admit that...

But I am definitely not a tasteless person.

In my previous life, I even worked in the product development department of a top-tier food and beverage company.

Today, I came here to thank Stella for accompanying me.

So, even if the food wasn't great, I planned to refrain from showing off my knowledge and focus on making everyone have a good time...

But there was nothing I could do.

I asked the waiter to change my order.

"Sorry, but I'd like to change my order to the 'roll berry flavor.' Please bring it without the sauce, on a separate plate."

When I said this, the waiter, who looked like a top sommelier, seemed confused.

"Sauce...?"

"Allen?

If you don't know what ice cream is, it's okay to say so?"

Faye said this with a gentle smile.

...From the look of the place, I thought they would have a homemade berry sauce, but it seems all the flavors are already mixed into the ice cream.

"Even in the Lovain region, we have ice cream.

I see, I'll just stick with the regular 'ice cream.'

I'll also order some tea."

"...In the Lovain region, do you put sauce on ice cream?"

Coco, who rarely speaks in front of everyone, asked this question.

She has opened up a lot recently, but she doesn't often speak in group settings.

She must be genuinely curious.

Coco's choice is a classic: chocolate ice cream with hot coffee.

She has slimmed down recently, but she was a bit chubby when we first met, so she might like sweets.

"No, I just did a bit of research with our family chef.

The human tongue gets used to a single flavor very quickly.

For any dish, having variations in flavor is important.

In that sense, it's better to add flavors to ice cream after it's made.

Adding variations with a drink, like Coco does, is also a good approach."

This is similar to why you shouldn't mix the rice and curry sauce in a curry rice dish.

Without variations in flavor, the tongue gets numb quickly.

Even in a dish where everything is well-blended, it's important to have changes in taste and aroma in your mouth.

For example, in a hot udon dish, the green onions.

Without such variations, the dish becomes bland.

"Ha ha.

It's not very convincing coming from Allen, who only eats emergency rations for lunch every day.

Is the next legendary tutor, Zold Vainforces, going to be the ultimate chef, Salt Pinefork?

Introduce me?"

This bastard...

He's making fun of my solid friend, the emergency rations.

Admitting that I did research with a chef might have been a stretch...

Of course, the research was a complete lie. In my previous life, I used my knowledge to manipulate the chef into making dishes to my liking, claiming it was necessary for passing exams.

"Our chef's name is Sugar."

Even in this difficult situation, I emphasized that it was a real person.

I wanted to drop some impressive knowledge, but there was no scientific explanation for ice cream that I could easily explain.

In my previous company, we didn't have an ice cream product, but we had a collaboration with an ice cream manufacturer to create a product with our brandy.

I studied ice cream production methods seriously for that project.

However, the ice cream I developed was a commercial product, so the key points were using large-scale machinery to blend fat globules at the particle level and adjusting continuous freezers to rapidly cool the mixture at -40°C.

It would be impossible to explain such research as something I did with a family chef.

Should I bring in a wandering magic engineer?

No, if I did, Faye would immediately start investigating...

While I was agonizing over this, and my classmates were watching me with a warm gaze, the ice cream arrived.

Seeing the large, mounded ice cream on a fancy ceramic plate, I was disheartened.

With such a large volume, even if I tried to mask the flavor with tea, I would definitely get bored by the end.

I thought of a foreigner holding a huge ice cream cup, about eight times the size of a regular mini cup, and eating it with a spoon like they were eating curry.

In this world, people start eating more from the age when their magic organs develop.

So, while the quantity isn't impossible to finish, that's why I was always nagging our family chef about not letting people get bored halfway through.

"Is it the same with milk in coffee?"

Coco stopped stirring her coffee with milk and asked me.

Coco, as always, is sharp.

I've always respected her keen observations and unbiased perspective.

"Of course.

Please try it."

"...It's better not to mix it."

That's right.

"Wow, Coco.

Getting a tip on improving meal quality from Allen, other than 'don't breathe through your nose,' is impressive."

Stella was impressed by Coco.

Rude...

It's very frustrating that my taste is so poorly evaluated, but I'll let it go.

Thanks to Coco, the atmosphere has changed a bit.

I took a bite of the ice cream.

Hmm... so close!

The ingredients are clearly of very high quality.

That's why I can't help but point out the incomplete finish.

If a Japanese person ate this ice cream, they would all say, "It's very delicious, but it feels a bit watery and grainy."

However, explaining why I have such an impression is impossible, and it's unclear whether the improvements I suggest can be implemented in this world.

I held back my comments and ate in silence. When I looked up, everyone was glancing at me.

"Ah, sorry, it's delicious."

I gave a safe answer.

The sommelier-like man standing nearby visibly relaxed.

I feel bad for making him worry just because I'm a royal academy student...

"Is there something you want to say? Is there something that bothers you?"

Jue asked, so I tried to reassure the poor, tense waiter again.

"No, it's really delicious.

To achieve smoothness and richness, adding cream to the base anglaise sauce is a basic technique, but with this level of fat content... about 20% in the entire anglaise?

The complex and rich flavor is surprising.

What kind of milk is this?"

The waiter seemed more at ease and pleased with my words and explained.

"Yes.

We mainly use milk from Holsteins, a breed of dairy cows raised in cold highlands."

Hmm?

"Mainly" suggests the blend is the key.

But it would be impolite to ask for the recipe.

"Ha ha.

You're saying such incomprehensible things again.

I've never heard anyone describe food by its fat content.

Have you measured it?

For what, and how?"

Oops...

I forgot that the concept of nutrient content in food doesn't exist here.

In Japan, you can see it on the label, so I have no idea how to measure fat content, but this world has hydrometers, so it's not impossible.

But this is bad...

If I keep this up, I'll be seen as a foodie, or worse, like Sol.

"Probably milk from a goat-like monster, the Lamigoat.

The faint, grassy scent is characteristic.

Allen's analysis of the fat content is interesting.

Lamigoats live on rocky cliffs and are very muscular, with milk that is light yet has a deep, onion-like richness."

We were all surprised by Coco's observation.

"Indeed, royal academy students are impressive.

Your taste and knowledge are top-notch.

Lamigoat milk is rare, but you've impressed me."

The waiter took off his hat to the two of us.

...He's looking at Coco with admiration, but I'm the same, right?

I said it, the richness!

"Allen, how do you think it can be improved?

Do you have any ideas?"

Coco, reading from my expression that there was more to my thoughts, asked me to continue.

Sharp...

And once she gets like this, she won't stop asking questions until she's satisfied.

I disclosed a bit of my previous life's knowledge, staying within the limits of what I could explain.

"As I mentioned, flavors that can be separated should be added just before eating.

If added too early, even without mixing, the flavors will blend.

Leaving the texture of finely chopped peels or seeds is also useful.

Also... I have no complaints about the chef's work, but I think there's room for improvement in the magic tools."

The mention of magic tools made Faye's eyes sparkle.

"What do you mean?"

"To make ice cream, you cool and mix the anglaise sauce.

In physics class, you learned that adding sugar or salt to water lowers the freezing point.

By cooling the sauce to just above its freezing point and stirring it well, then rapidly freezing it with high output, the grainy texture can be made smoother and more melt-in-your-mouth."

"...Interesting.

Let's try an experiment next time."

Coco seemed to let it go for today, but she'll come to my dorm room in a few days to continue the conversation.

"Ha ha ha!

How does Allen know all this?

Maybe you were doing experiments with your sister and Zold instead of studying for exams, which is why you're suspected of cheating?"

Faye's interest shifted from the ice cream to my background.

That's a hassle.

"That's because I'm a sweets connoisseur."

I neither confirmed nor denied Faye's speculation and shut down the conversation.

"Only Allen would talk about nutrient content and freezing point depression when asked for an opinion on ice cream.

I don't know much about taste, and I don't think you have to say complicated things!"

"Ice cream is just about whether it's delicious or not."

Al and Stella encouraged me with a mysterious sense of camaraderie.

No, I'm definitely not on that team!

But it's dangerous to disclose more of my previous life's knowledge to these smart classmates.

Thus, I gained a new, dishonorable reputation as a person with poor taste who tries to impress with complicated theories about food.

At least Coco understood...

This ice cream shop would become famous for serving the best ice cream in the capital about half a year later.