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Volume 2 Chapter 7-3: The Result of Effort

 

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「Alright we have plenty to do so let me explain the plan for today a little. The soup and the thin potato chips are merely appetizers.」

I said and a large number of elves turned to look at the Fire Foxes standing by the cooking area.

「We have something else for the main dish. It’s most delicious when freshly made but there is a limit to how many we can make at once so we’ll call each table to line up in order. Until it’s your turn enjoy the potato chips, alcohol, and dried cranberries. Of course these appetizers are plenty delicious. Okay then, let’s start with the table on the far right.」

As I spoke the elves at that table stood up and lined up.

As soon as they stood the Fire Foxes dropped the chopped potatoes into the oil and the marinated steak onto the pans.

The delicious smell of the boar meat and sweet cranberries spread through the area.

That alone whet their appetites.

In the blink of an eye the french fries were finished and the meat was grilled.

They were placed on a plate, covered in meat juices and cranberry sauce, and garnished with salt before being served.

The potatoes tasted great with the sauce or just with salt so we left them off to the side. The steak was a little lacking in salt so we just had to use the sauce to compensate.

The pots and pans were quite large so several servings could be cooked at once. At this pace it would take less than an hour to serve everyone.

「Ohhh this is amazing….」
「I can’t get enough of this scent.」

The sight of the meat cooking in front of them raised their expectations even higher. In reality all the elves young and old were looking at the food cooking with great anticipation.

Because the Fire Foxes could heat up the meat quickly and perfectly using their powers, the steaks they made were perfectly done in a fraction of the time you would usually need.

If you used wood or charcoal there was no way to cook this efficiently.

I turned my gaze to the tables and saw everyone else enjoying their potato chips and soup.

「This potato chip thing is really good. I can’t get enough of the crisp saltiness. It’s so good with alcohol.」
「The soup flavor is wonderful. I never thought that deer could taste this good.」
「What are these little veggies in here? They’re fun to chew.」
「I think the sausage is the best. When you bite into it and all the juices flow out it feels amazing. Awesome. I never knew about this Fire Fox cuisine! Have they always been eating delicious stuff like this?」
「I heard from one of the Fire Fox girls that this sausage is easily preserved and everyone will get a portion later.」
「Really!? The soup from today would go together really well with some bread. I’m really glad they introduced us to something so delicious.」

As expected it was a great hit.

The potato chips fat+salt+carbs combo was very compatible with alcohol and that was scientifically proven.

Furthermore the sausage had lard in it that would provide the delicious flavor of boar along with the great flavor of deer liver.

If you eat it continually your stomach would get upset but when paired with the soup that had been prepared correctly, the oils would get washed away and leave you with a refreshed feeling.

The prepped bean sprouts also had a big role in this. They sucked up the delicious flavors of the soup and the food texture was greatly improved.

「Finally we can get to the main dish.」
「For sure, even before I got a taste the smell has been getting to me.」

The first group had all received their food and returned to their tables.

The fragrance of the meat and potatoes floated about whetting everyone’s appetite and gathered their gazes.

「But we don’t have any knives. The boar meat is really tough so this will be hard.」

An elf woman said as she looked around. It was common sense that boar meat was tough and hard to eat.

「It’s fine. You’ll be able to bite through it easily. Just give it a shot.」

The Fire Fox girl Kemin came to the rescue.

The woman who had spoken up looked skeptical as did the others around her.

「It’s really soft magic steak so go on go on~」

Under her insistence the elf woman reluctantly tried to bite through the steak only to find it easily chewed through.

「What? This boar meat is really soft and juicy…I’ve never had something like this! Boar meat was this delicious!? And this sauce…it tastes like meat but it’s sweet and sour and refreshing…I could eat as much as I want.」

With the tendons tenderized and the cranberry sauce breaking down the proteins and amino acids, the steak was unbelievably tender and delicious when served with the sauce.

Even the leftover oily sensation would be whisked away by the soup’s flavor and leave you ready for more.

「Really? Then I’ll try a bit……..ah it’s true. It’s almost like it’s melting.」
「I almost can’t believe that this is boar meat. There was this method to cook it?」
「These french fries are amazing too. Their so hot, fluffy, and salty. I can’t believe their the same material as potato chips.」
「Oioi try dipping your french fires in the sauce. It soaks up the flavor and it’s so good….ah I ran out. Can I have more?」

Looking at the reaction of the first table, the rest of the guests’ attitudes changed. They got anxious waiting for their turn to come.

It was a good reaction. Their expectations and impatience would make the food taste even better.

「A great success. Kuu, it seems like their enjoying the food. Once the buzz about the food calms down a bit have some of the Fire Foxes mix in amongst the elves and share stories and such. I’m sure they’ll want to talk about the food as well so there won’t be a shortage of topics.」

This was the hidden reason behind the effort of making this food this time.

If we just threw them all together and told them “get along and start talking” they’d run out of things to speak about quickly.

The Elves would surely want to know the particulars of today’s dishes and would ask plenty of questions. Even the Fire Foxes would want to talk about the meal they put in effort to make.

「How far did you think things through Cyril-kun…..?」
「It’s all just a coincidence.」
「I don’t know about it being coincidence…but thank you very much. It seems like the party will go well. It’s all thanks to you Cyril-kun. You prepared us a place, convinced the elves, prepared the ingredients, and even helped us cook it….really no matter how much I say it I can’t express my thanks.」
「That’s not it Kuu. Today’s result is from the Fire Foxes’ hard work.」

I truly had to correct her thinking. If not I would feel sorry for everyone who did their best for this.

「Certainly I arranged things and taught you. However, if any of you had slacked off or not taken your tasks seriously it would have ended up in a disaster. This is thanks to the Fire Foxes doing their very best and truly making an effort to become one of Erucy’s citizens. That’s why it went well.」
「Certainly that is the case. It’s thanks to their hard work that things went well. But, I feel that Cyril-kun’s efforts made a big difference. I won’t yield on that.」
「I like that part of you Kuu. But you did your best too Kuu. Good work Kuu and thank you.」

Kuu was the kind of person who could honestly praise you. Doing that in return was surprisingly difficult.

But it was because of her attitude that I wanted to praise her as well.

I was able to convey my thanks to her with a smile.

At that moment Kuu blushed a bit and glanced away. Uh-oh…I hadn’t intended on laying my hands on her, but I said so many suggestive things.

「Then let’s go on and do our job so that everyone’s efforts aren’t wasted.」
「Yes, of course.」

We said and descended the stage.

Now let’s go on and have some great fun greeting everyone. Then we’ll move on to the main event.

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