Chapter 30

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Regarding the parts that have been published in book form, I have intentionally left the typos, omissions, and additions as they are, thinking that they might serve as reference material later on.

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It seems that the young man without eyebrows is called Fiore.

After that, when I taught him how to make ginger pork, chicken cutlet, and infinite cucumber (cucumber mixed with salted plum and sesame oil), he immediately made them himself, showing that he is very serious.

"I just thought that pork cutlet would be good for good luck, but I guess it's better to try various things."

"Good luck, huh?"

"Yes. Like 'Eat pork cutlet and win the game!'"

"Oh, you're playing on the word 'katsu' and 'win.'"

"Something like that."

When I took off the apron and returned it to Fiore, my work was done.

I said that I would share the recipes if asked, so I will have them shared in the shopping district. I want to eat them at the Kikunoi mansion too.

"Ponzu is made by boiling mirin, mixing it with soy sauce and citrus juice, and adding kelp. If you let it sit for two or three days, it will taste even better."

"Understood!"

"There is a sauce that goes well with pork cutlet, but we need to get the spices first."

We can make Worcestershire sauce and ketchup if we have the spices. But the question is whether we have those essential spices.

We might find out if we go to the capital.

Praying that this dish will bring some good effect to the shopping district, I went to the adventurer's guild to receive the two gold coins as a reward from Roland.

However, before Mr. Romanov took them, he said this:

"Instead of two gold coins, I would like one gold coin, ninety-nine silver coins, ninety-nine copper coins, and a hundred iron coins."

"We're not a money changer here."

"You can't use gold coins to buy souvenirs in the capital, right?"

"Ah? Miss Phoenix, are you going to the capital?"

"Yes, I came to earn some pocket money to buy souvenirs in the capital today."

When I explained my reason for going to the capital, Roland rubbed his chin and then took a small leather pouch from his desk.

"It's a parting gift."

"Huh? No, that's too much!"

"It's also a thank you for providing the recipes. It's not much, so please take it. If you want, you can use it to buy the spices."

The leather pouch drew a parabola and landed in my hand. It was quite heavy.

After finishing this little field trip and returning to the mansion, I was greeted by a very tired-looking Utsunomiya-san. Not only Utsunomiya-san, but also Rottemeyer-san looked a bit worn out.

"Welcome back..."

"What happened? You look so exhausted."

"Well..."

Utsunomiya-san's knees gave out with a thud.

Just as Rottemeyer-san was about to scold him, something flew over and was caught by Mr. Romanov.

"Brother, it hurts!"

"Wha!? The bullet was Regulus!?"

Regulus, holding his forehead and crying, wobbled over.

When I caught him and he buried his face in my stomach, his crying became even more intense.

"It was really tough. After Young Master went out, he tried to run away from the front door multiple times."

"Whenever we tried to catch him, he cried even harder. When we stopped him from running away, he ran around the whole mansion."

"Wow, he's energetic..."

Actually, it was more than just energetic.

Though it wasn't noticeable on his brown skin, his forehead was slightly red. When I rubbed it, his tears stopped a little.

"I'm back."

"Welcome back."

I wiped away the snot hanging from his nose.

Even though I was only out from morning to early afternoon, he must have been lonely without me, with whom he usually spends most of his time.

When I combed his fluffy blonde hair, he calmed down completely.

"Really, it was so difficult! He kept whining, 'Brother, where are you?' He only stopped crying during Gensan's sword training."

"Oh, you started training already?"

"It was a spur of the moment thing. Gensan told him, 'If you keep crying, you might be left behind by your brother,' and he tried really hard."

"Oh my."

Regulus, puffing out his chest, made me smile even more. I was already smiling, but it got even wider.

When I patted his head, his rubbing against me was even cuter, and I couldn't help but laugh. It's fine, I'm a big brother fool.

By the way, there was someone who secretly worked for Regulus. I don't want to take sides with that person, but if the goal is the same, I'm not stingy about helping.

"Rottemeyer-san, can you tell the head chef to come to my room when he's free?"

"Understood. Is there something you need?"

"Well, you see..."

When I told Rottemeyer-san and Utsunomiya-san what I learned in town, they both had indescribable expressions.

"Don't just dump it on them."

"Speaking of which, if you exposed corruption in the capital mansion, you could have also attracted some industries."

You're right.

I nodded at Utsunomiya-san and Rottemeyer-san's words. Then Mr. Romanov shook his head with a sigh.

"Though I don't want to say anything bad about Phoenix's father, I think he was planning to demand something like, 'I exposed the corruption and improved the economic situation of the territory a bit, so raise Regulus quietly.' But he was outmaneuvered by Phoenix."

"Hmm, I don't want to think he's that bad..."

Since I don't know what kind of person his father is, I can't really say anything.

But he is Regulus' father, so I don't want to say anything bad.

"Regardless of the reason, it's good for Kikunoi to flourish. Let's prioritize that. A cat that catches mice is a good cat, whether it's black or white."

"Then I'll arrange for the head chef to deliver the recipe to the master of the adventurer's guild."

"I'll explain the reason. For a chef, a recipe is their life, so we need to show proper respect to get it."

"Understood."

Rottemeyer-san bowed and disappeared in the direction of the kitchen.

During this time, Regulus, perhaps bored with the complicated adult talk, was rubbing his face against my stomach. Is this kid a fat fetishist?

"Still, if this much of a fuss is made just because Phoenix went out for a little while, what would happen if he was gone for a whole day?"

"Huh? Young Master is going out again?"

"Brother, are you going out again?"

At Mr. Romanov's casual words, Regulus, who had stopped crying, quickly formed a tear film in his eyes.

Oh, no.

By the time I realized it, it was too late.

"No-o-o-o-o! I'm going too-o-o-o-o!"

The ear-piercing wails at close range made me think I was going to die.

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