Chapter 334: The Chat Gathering
I hummed to myself as I prepared for lunch.
Today’s participants were Ash, the Butler, Haulon, and Shiva, all maidens except for the Butler, so I decided to make a colorful spread with a little bit of everything.
The best part about [Storage] is that I can bring out everything freshly made.
I closed the iron grille at the end of the alley leading to my house. I replaced the one that was between Ash’s house and the rental house where Dean and the others lived. It now had a pattern on the grille and a half-privacy screen. With this, no one could enter the alley leading to my house.
Near the entrance of the alley, I hung several pristine white sheets unnecessarily; this way, no one could peek inside from the street. There’s hardly any foot traffic outside of designated hours anyway, since it’s away from the main shopping street.
In Kanum, it occasionally gets unexpectedly warm even in winter. They say it’s because the Light Spirit has come, or that the Wind Spirit brought the Fire Spirit along.
I thought it might be the Föhn effect from the mountain range to the south, but on such days, the Light Spirits are often seen playing around. The Dry Spirit too. It’s a mystery whether natural phenomena come first or if the spirits do.
And today was one of those days. I swung open the large door meant for the horse-drawn carriage, merging the outside with the inside. Just yesterday, I had been glued to the fireplace, but today, the weather was pleasant enough to roll up my sleeves after taking off my jacket. The room was warm from the fire I had stoked in the fireplace while boiling water.
I set up a larger table in front of the house and draped a pure white tablecloth over it. I wondered what color would be best for the table runner. I arranged the dishes, five chairs, and placed some larger potted plants around, completing the preparations.
“Jean, thank you for the invitation. It’s wonderful out here, though it might not compare to the tea you serve,” Ash was the first to arrive. He showed me the tea in a ceramic vessel that the Butler had brought.
Here, cheap tea is sold by weight with the container brought by the customer, and the dried large leaves are the least expensive. Next are paper bags, cans, and the highest quality is the sealed ceramic container the Butler brought.
“Thanks, I’ll serve it after the meal,” I said, and Ash took a seat while the Butler went inside to place the tea set on the shelf.
“Jean, I’ve arrived. Thank you for today,” Shiva greeted me.
“Shiva, welcome.” I thought that normally, the exchange of gifts would be handled by the servants, and the master would just watch, but I welcomed Shiva, who handed me some jam.
“Look, there are five chairs. Give it up,” I said.
“I’m standing!” she retorted.
As I turned around, I saw Retze and Haulon emerging from the back door of the rental house.
It looked like Haulon was pushing Retze out by gripping her shoulder… What’s going on? Haulon, towering a head taller than Retze, had a desperate expression on his face.
“If you’re not here, I’ll definitely be in trouble! I’ll pay you for your services, so please stick with me until I get used to it!”
“You’re being a nuisance showing up uninvited during lunch…” Haulon sounded like a middle school girl, despite being an old man with a beard and a big build.
“Oh, so Retze is also sought after by the Great Mage,” I remarked.
“Yeah, as expected,” I agreed with Ash. I didn’t know what caused such trust, but things seemed stable when Retze was around. She had a solid sense of her position and good balance. I wanted to learn from her.
“Indeed…” The Butler averted his gaze while agreeing.
“We’re fine with chairs and food,” he added, bringing out an extra chair and more dishes to the table, arranging everything with a good balance.
“Ah, sorry, I’ll have this Great Mage bring you a souvenir later,” Retze said as she sat down.
“I’ll give you anything I have on me,” Haulon added, finally taking a seat, looking relieved.
The aperitif had a floral aroma. It was a dish made with half-crushed shrimp mixed with bamboo shoots, placed on opened tiger shrimp, wrapped in thin rice flour skin, and fried. There were two types of carpaccio: beef tenderloin and sea bream, along with a salad of prosciutto. The salad was topped with melted Camembert and berry sauce.
“Mmm, shrimp. The orange is translucent—Jean, you make it look beautiful,” Ash said.
“Thanks, here’s some mayonnaise,” I handed him a small dish of mayonnaise and arranged it near the other plates.
“It’s crispy and plump, delicious!” Shiva exclaimed after taking a bite.
“Wait. Are we already waiting?”
“—Using [Storage] during cooking has become a recent thing for me,” I replied.
“It’s easier to give up on using [Storage] for meals inside the house. Things like furniture and cooking tools… Yeah, it’s delicious,” Retze said, crunching down on a shrimp.
“Well, it’s outside, so it’s not allowed. If you think you can hide it, you’ll end up using it easily even when you go outside,” Retze warned.
I’m sorry. I’ve been using it for shopping in Naruadeid. I’ve stopped using it in Kanum, so please overlook that.
“What’s it like to use [Storage] for regular meals? Is it that trivial? Back when I was out in public, it was at a level where people were being hunted,” Haulon said, looking at the Butler, then at me, and finally at Ash and Shiva, who were enjoying their meals.
“To serve hot things hot and cold things cold is essential. If I’m cooking by the fireplace, I can manage with this many people, but it gets hot,” I insisted on comfort.
Next came savory galettes made from buckwheat flour. These were thin, crispy crepe-like skins filled with ham and cheese. I wanted to add a runny fried egg, but I held back this time.
“Why? Am I the only one who can’t adapt!? Even Shiva is accepting it normally? Am I just stubborn?”
“I understand the urge to question it. I really do, but Jean is trying to hide it with this, and he’s actually hiding it,” Retze spoke to the restless Haulon.
“Where’s the hiding!?”
“Using your abilities openly in front of others is a sign of trust,” the Butler chimed in.
“It’s because I put it in the Oath Document, right!?”
“Haulon, please eat quietly,” Shiva’s icy smile! After a moment of being frozen, Haulon began to eat quietly.
“Shiva was aloof, but when she visited two or three times, she was very polite…” Haulon murmured, wondering if getting married and having kids made her stronger.
We had apple compote with cinnamon caramel sauce and ice cream, along with tea that Ash had brought as a gift.
Lunch ended here, but today, I would listen to Haulon’s stories. So, I prepared some snacks like macarons and marshmallows, along with fried potatoes, onion rings, calamari rings as a trap, and a cheese platter for the drinkers.
“Come on, let’s hear about Ash’s grandmother, or how you met the Butler, if it’s not too sensitive,” I said. I wanted to hear even if it was sensitive.