You good sir over there, I've got just the riight ideas to perk it up."
Arisa, why are you saying it like an underling.
"Say it normally."
"It's okay isn't it, just for a bit."
Summarizing Arisa's suggestions, they're ideas she's got from dishes in manga. I decide to pick something that can actually be made from among those ideas and practice it.
I'm led to a kitchen by a maid, it's become a battlefield for the people who are preparing for tonight.
"Oh, yer', no, err~, you are the noble they exaggeratedly call miracle chef huh, is it?"
This is the first time I've heard that nickname.
Still, he's trying too hard to use polite speechs.
"I'm sorry, our boss is certainly skilled, but he's not good with words, he can't speak polite speech well."
I see.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Satou Pendragon. It's fine for you to speak like usual if you're bad with polite speech."
When I say so, the head-chef and the chef who's followed him plainly look relieved.
"Oh, sorry bout that. I'm an old friend of the head chef at Gururian viceroy's place y'see. He's sent me a letter praising you."
Ah, that person is it. When I got some free times the day after the banquet, I made him teach me how to make the sauce and various techniques.
"Use this place here, it's a bit cramped, but there are all kinds of cooking utensils available. These two here are in charge of miscellaneous chores, call them if you need ingredients."
"Yes, thank you for everything."
I ask an errand boy in the mansion to call Lulu here. Recently, Lulu's cooking skill has become equal to an expert, so if Lulu who knows my way of cooking comes, It'll really help.
◇
I've prepared three kind of dishes.
The first is the tempuras as requested by the duke. The deep-fried food in this world are mostly fried with oils made from animals, but since it looks like it's bad for the body, I use oil from oily-salad-like vegetable. I'm able to make tempura sauce that's more delicious than usual since there are katsuoboshi in the duke castle's ingredient storeroom, maybe because it can be transported here via the river.
Half of the tempuras are fried and put on the table, and the other half are fried on the spot when someone is going to eat them with the help of Lulu and servers who are standing by near the table, that's the plan.
The second is aspic jellies. It seems to be a normal dish among the commoners, but it's not something that matches the dining table of nobles. Arisa's suggested to make it from colorful ingredients so it looks vivid, and I've unintentionally made its appearance by hand.
Being colorful is one, but there's also another meaning to it--
"Hou, you've splendidly created the crest of our duke's house on the dish."
I'm glad that it seems to be well-received.
However, since it's a family crest, everyone only admires at it, and no one puts their hands on it.
If the gentleman at the prime of his life who was together with lady Ringrande didn't say "Looks delicious", no one would probably have eaten it until the end. I should have thought about the design better.
"Fumu, this is the first time I've tasted this flavor, but it looks like the dish called jelly that has been lost since the era of ancestor king Yamato. It's truly delicious."
"It's true desuwane. This fish thing is delicious, but this red thing is also delicious. ...Kuh, no matter how delicious it is, Sera is off-limit."
This person is really obstinate.
"Hou, he's the man that Rin's mentioned, is he."
"Pleased to meet you for the first time. I'm Satou Pendragon."
"Ooh, the hero-dono of the defensive battle of Muno city is it. Toruma boasted greatly about you. You've also done great in Gururian city I've heard."
This gentleman is the father of lady Ringrande, the next duke.
At any rate, Toruma is the cause huh. Who's a hero. Arisa who's crouching below the table says in low voice, "Toruma is pretty good at lobbying." Looks like she's shrewdly taking the small dishes and enjoying them.
"Sera is a gentle good child, but she's not suited with the lifestyle of nobles. Moreover, right now she's left the duke house for the temple. If you want to take that child back to the secular life, you have to persuade the Tenion temple's Saintess-sama first."
"The thing about me wooing Sera-sama is a misunderstanding on Ringrande-sama's part--"
I explain myself normally to the next duke, and the misunderstanding is cleared. I wish lady Ringrande follows his example.
"Hou, have you changed your job from a remote hero to a servant?"
The third prince appears wearing young noble-like attires while speaking unpleasantly. Today, he's only bringing the holy knight at the prime of his life along, the battle maniac boy doesn't seem to be here.
There's no need for him to come here deliberately, what a troubling thing to do.