Chapter 329: The Baking is Complete
“By the way, how far did we get in the story?” Karn asked, glancing at the rotating meat in the background.
“We were discussing how Lord Jean possesses the Ex-Staff. After that, Sir Haulon expressed his desire for your liberation and guided us to the Rental House,” the Butler explained succinctly.
“I see…”
“Since we exchanged Oath Documents, it’s fine to spill the beans. It’s for Jean’s safety, after all,” Dinoss added, nodding in agreement with Karn.
“It seems the Great Mage is already overwhelmed, so let’s call it a day,” Retze suggested.
“…So there’s still more to come, isn’t there?” Haulon sighed.
“Why was I even called here? What was the purpose of acquiring this knowledge—” she muttered, half-closing her eyes and looking slightly upwards while rotating the meat.
“This is bad; I’m losing myself,” Retze said, making a face of dismay.
“Stay strong, Great Mage and Great Sage!” Dinoss cheered.
“It’s a path everyone goes through,” the Butler remarked with a sense of detachment.
Can I speak now?
“It seems we still need some time, so I’ll help out. Please make something delicious,” Retze said as she stood up.
Dinoss gave a thumbs up to Retze with a bright smile. What’s going on? Am I being isolated here?
“Isn’t that a bit harsh?”
“It’s not harsh at all. Look, with meat as the main dish, what else can we have? If we eat something delicious, Haulon will calm down.”
Hmm.
“How about shrimp bread and grilled vegetables? For dessert, we can have Castella Pudding?”
“I don’t know what Castella is, but I’ll leave it to you.”
We sometimes serve fresh vegetable salad, but grilled vegetables are warm and nice in winter. Plus, they’re easy to prepare.
“Can you grill this? I’ll need it for dessert, so please use the oven,” I asked.
“Understood,” the Butler replied, taking charge of the vegetables for grilling.
“Oh, Haulon. I’m borrowing a Spirit for a bit.”
“Huh!?”
“It’s for something delicious, so just accept it. ‘Can one or two of you help out? It’s a place with fire and water, so those who are not good with it shouldn’t push themselves.'”
“Wait, what!?”
Fandor and the Pale Blue Robed Spirit floated over. The zabuton was also stuck to my back, but it might get dirty helping with the cooking—no, it probably wouldn’t, but it wouldn’t look good visually.
“Nice to meet you,” Fandor said, looking intrigued, while the Pale Blue Robed Spirit seemed a bit timid as they followed me into the kitchen.
“Okay, okay. Mix it until it’s white and airy,” I instructed, while Retze whipped the batter for the Castella.
Next to her, I prepared caramel and the pudding mixture with a hint of rum, adding a bit of honey.
“Cooking is quite a physical job, not just disassembling,” Retze noted, skillfully creating a fine and uniform batter for the Castella.
Without an electric mixer, making bread and sweets feels like a labor-intensive task… Since coming here, I’ve felt the urge to check out the arms of girls who say baking is their hobby (heart).
Speaking of which, Ash has been taking the kids to the Forest in the mornings, and in the afternoons, he’s been learning to cook from Shiva. If he becomes a handsome cook too, my position will be…
I lined up the caramel-filled containers on the oven tray and poured in the pudding mixture, gently placing the Castella batter on top.
“Could you deliver this to the Butler?” I asked the zabuton, which was peeking over my shoulder, eager to help.
“Seriously, you…,” Retze said, watching the zabuton carefully fly off with the tray, her expression one of disbelief.
And just like that, everything was ready. The drinks were set, and the table was adorned with three whole roasted birds, shrimp bread generously spread with onion-infused shrimp paste, and grilled vegetables.
“Here you go. Eat the shrimp bread with this,” I said, presenting a small bowl of sweet chili sauce infused with garlic.
“I’m not surprised anymore! But what’s this red one?”
“Grilled tomatoes.”
Haulon fell silent.
“Don’t worry, this isn’t poison,” Retze said, demonstrating by taking a bite.
“By the way, in the streets, they fear it as the Devil’s Fruit. But this is already a different thing,” the Butler added, taking a bite as well.
Come to think of it, in this world, tomatoes are still ornamental and considered poisonous! The poisonous issues with eggplants and potatoes, which are so familiar to me, need to be tackled.
“Oh, this shrimp bread? It goes well with the drink.”
In the end, I was the one letting Dinoss drink during the day. I had prepared enough crab gratin for everyone, hoping to win over Shiva’s favor.
“…Delicious,” Karn murmured.
It seems he has successfully overcome the peculiar condition of only tasting things he was particular about—specifically, those he liked and disliked before becoming a Spirit.
While the Gods could only enjoy the food they were involved with, Karn managed to enjoy it through the Changeling method. Perhaps it’s because part of him remains human? His dislike for sour things is quite endearing, like a cat. He’s also sensitive to the cold.
Borrowing a Spirit from Haulon turned out to be worthwhile.
As the golden-brown Castella pudding rose and baked, by the time it was served at the table, Haulon had become quite cheerful. I felt like he was drinking a bit faster than usual, but that must just be my imagination.