Chapter 329: Grilled
「So, how much did you tell him? 」
Khan asked as the spit continued rotating behind him.
「We discussed Jean-sama’s matter up to the fact that he possesses X-Stick-sama. Afterward, Hauron-dono expressed his desire to liberate Khan-sama, so we immediately directed him to the rental house. 」
Butler explained briefly.
「I see… 」
「He already swore an oath, so anything goes at this point, if you’re concerned about Jean’s safety. 」
Khan bowed his head, so Dinosso added that.
「I’m sure Grand Mage-dono overwhelmed by now, so let’s stop it here for today. 」
Retze said.
「…That means there’s more to come, huh. 」
Hauron sighed.
「Just why did you summon me here, huh? And what did I even work hard on obtaining knowledge in the first place — 」
He turned to the ceiling, closed his half-lidded eyes and continued rotating the chicken.
「Shocks, this is bad, he’s having an existential crisis. 」
Retze seemed flustered.
「Get a grip, you’re the Grand Mage, the Great Sage! 」
Dinosso tried cheering on Hauron.
「It is an experience that everyone must go through. 」
Butler philosophically chimed in.
Can I speak now?
「Seems like you need more time, I’m gonna help you too so make something good, okay. 」
Retze stood up.
Dinosso grinned at Retze and did a thumbs up. What? Are you trying to separate him from me?
「Aren’t you too cruel? 」
「It’s not cruel, it’s not cruel, I tell you. Come on now, what are you gonna pair with the meat? I’m sure Hauron will calm down once he gets a taste of delicious food. 」
Hmph.
「Shrimp bread and grilled veggies, and castella pudding for dessert, is that okay? 」
「I don’t know what castella is, but I can help you. 」
I also serve raw veggie salads from time to time, but grilled veggies are the best during winter since they’re warm and easy to make.
「Can you grill these for me? Please do it in the kiln since I’m also going to cook the dessert there. 」
「Please leave it to me. 」
I gave the veggies for grilling to Butler.
「Ah, Hauron, lemme borrow your spirits for a bit. 」
「Huh!? 」
「It’s for making something delicious, so just give up. 『Can one or two of you help out here? There’s water and fire, so to those who can’t deal with that, please stay there, you don’t have to force yourself. 』
「Eh!? 」
Fandoll and the spirit clad in pale blue robe floated towards me. Zabuton was also stuck to my back, but it might get dirty if it helped me cook — ah, no, maybe it won’t, but it still won’t look good.
『I’m in your care. 』
Fandoll seemed really interested while Pale Blue Robe-kun timidly followed her to the kitchen.
「Did you hear someone shriek? It’s just been a short while. 」
「You’re imagining things. 」
Retze suspiciously stared at me, so I smiled back at him.
I placed Fandoll beside the kiln and tasked Pale Robe Spirit to watch while we cut, minced and mixed the ingredients.
「Yes, yes, just like that, continue beating it, we need to incorporate air into the butter, make it nice and fluffy, that’s it, mix mix mix until it turns white. 」
And finally, Retze was in charge of the foamy batter for the castella.
I made the caramel beside him and prepared the pudding mixture — I added a bit of rum. Plus a bit of honey as well.
「Didn’t expect cooking to be as labor intensive as dismantling, huh.」
Retze was dextrous, and after a while, an absolutely smooth batter with not a single air bubble was done.
If I didn’t have an electric beater, I got a feeling that making bread and snacks would become a feat of strength… Ever since I came to this world, my hobby had been making snacks (gasp!) — realizing that made me wanna check my chest if there are two female buds growing there.
Oh, come to think of it, Ash had been taking the kids to the forest in the morning and in turn Shiva’s been teaching her how to cook in the afternoon. Wait a sec, if she turns into a great cook on top of that handsome visage of hers… what would happen to my position…?
「 『Can you bring this to Butler? 』 」
I poured water into the baking sheet; preps complete. Zabuton peeked from my shoulder as if to ask what to do, so I requested this task from him.
「Really, you… 」
Retze followed the floating baking tray with his gaze while Zabuton carefully carried it out.
We finally finished after a lot of things. The wine was ready too, so preps complete! Three grilled whole chicken, shrimp bread, made by spreading plenty of shrimp paste with onion then toasted, and grilled veggies lined the table.
「Here, help yourselves. Put this on the shrimp bread and eat it. 」
I pointed at the small dish with sweet chili sauce infused with garlic.
「No, nothing surprises me anymore, I won’t be shocked by this! So, what’s this red thing here? 」
「Grilled tomatoes. 」
That shut Hauron up.
「Don’t worry, it’s not poisonous. 」
Retze ate one as an example.
「Indeed, it’s known in the streets as the devil fruit, if I recall correctly. It has already become a totally different food here. 」
Butler also ate one.
Right, I forgot that they treat tomatoes as ornamental plants in this world, and that they’re toxic! I’m also having issues with veggies familiar to me, such as eggplants and potatoes, since they also have poison. I have to work really hard to solve the incongruencies in what I know and what’s available in this world as soon as possible.
「Ahh, is this shrimp bread? It pairs nicely with wine. 」
In the end, I let Dinosso drink around midday. I also have enough crab gratin for everyone, I only have to bake it, so let’s use that to humor Shiva.
「…Delicious. 」
Khan muttered.
Seems like the experiment was a success. I found a cure to the spirits’ ‘illness’ where they can only taste the food they’re fixated on — in Khan’s case, it was his food preferences before he turned into a spirit.
The deities could only eat food connected to them, but the Changeling method worked on Khan. Maybe it’s because he still has some human left in him? It’s quite adorable how he turns up his nose when it comes to sour stuff, and how he’s sensitive to the cold.
Borrowing spirits from Hauron served its purpose well.
The fox-hued castella rose, and the castella pudding was ready. Hauron was jovial again by the time I served it. He seemed to drink a bit too fast, but I guess it’s just me imagining things.
NEXT CHAPTER
RELEASE RATE
I Got Transferred in the Middle of a Mountain
Speed up schedule by 10 hours
Current schedule: Every 80 hours
Thanks for the treat.