Chapter 395
To Brother Chris’s Territory (8)
We spread plenty of tomato sauce over the mochi sheet, then topped it with sliced onions, sausages, sliced green peppers, and a generous amount of cheese before baking it in the oven.
We immediately sampled the mochi pizza, cut into eight pieces.
“The chewy mochi texture is still there, and this is tasty in its own way.”
“Hardt, what do you mean by ‘tasty in its own way’?”
Looks like Brother Chris heard my muttering.
“You switch the mochi part to bread dough. That’s the original, mainstream version of this dish.”
“Then why haven’t we made it before now?”
Brother Gerald joined in.
“I didn’t know how to make the sauce, so it wasn’t possible.”
My answer seemed to satisfy my brothers.
“Then we should be thanking Floria. As for this mochi pizza? I’d like to spread it among the people in this territory.”
“Brother Chris, bread-dough pizza might be even better than mochi pizza. Any toppings work, so it should spread quickly.”
“You’re right. Mochi needs an mortar and mallet, and the extra labor and rising ingredient costs aren’t ideal.”
They decided to consider selling mochi pizza in the capital.
But even while saying he’d get busy, Brother Chris looked genuinely happy.
“Hey, Hardt, aren’t you going to sell the tomato sauce recipe?”
“Brother Gerald, the rights to the tomato sauce recipe belong to Floria. But why do you ask?”
“I want to eat it in Southcourt too. It’s rough knowing that once we leave, I won’t be able to have it again.”
Brother Gerald… did he like it that much?
“I don’t think it’ll be a problem.”
“No, even if Floria agrees, we’ll still need permission from the Clondale ducal house.”
Brother Chris’s words jogged my memory.
Floria lives with us like family, but she’s slated to become an adopted daughter of the Clondale Ducal House.
The adoption procedures still aren’t complete.
“Floria.”
I called out to her, she was with Mignon and the others, and she came over to where we three brothers were.
“What is it? Did something happen?”
I asked if she had gotten any updates from the Clondale Ducal House about her adoption.
“Not yet. I do think it’s about time they sent at least a progress update. But why bring it up suddenly?”
So I explained that the three of us had been discussing applying for a patent on the tomato sauce recipe.
“If I’m not officially adopted into the Clondale Ducal House, applying for a patent will be difficult.”
If she applied now, it would fall under her birth family, the Grande Ducal House of the Soleil Empire.
After discussing it with Floria, we decided that on our way back to Westland, we’d spend a few days at our Westland estate in the capital and visit the Clondale Ducal House then.
If we sent a letter from here, their reply should arrive by the time we reached the estate.
“Edamame, ohagi, mochi, okaki, mochi pizza… there were so many new dishes. And teaming up with Ripka for the Treant subjugation went great too.”
Brother Gerald was giving his impressions of our time in Brother Chris’s territory.
“All thanks to Floria.”
“Grandmother, thank you very much.”
Floria looked delighted at Grandmother’s praise.
I asked Grandmother about the parts of the mansion interior she was in charge of.
“Grandmother, does it look like the interior renovations will be decided soon?”
“Yes. Since Chris had catalogues sent over, I’ve already chosen the wallpaper, curtains, and carpets for all rooms except the ones Chris and Princess Rinaluna will use. I also chose the guest room furniture.”
She must have been very busy, choosing everything in just a few days.
And Floria, who was supposed to help her, had been tied up in the kitchen working with the cooks. They both worked hard.
Our assistance here wrapped up, and we prepared to head for the capital.
However, the next day we were roped into making new souvenirs, and the day after that we parted ways with Brother Chris and returned to the Westland estate in the capital.
When we arrived, as expected, there were letters waiting: one from Duke Clondale for Floria, and one from Raphael for me.
“Haah… tomorrow? And in the morning? And Brigitte and Dianne are coming after noon?”
What kind of communication network is this supposed to be?
Brigitte and Dianne shouldn’t even be in the capital.
When I asked Floria about her letter, it apparently said almost the same thing.
At this rate, we’ll run out of souvenirs for Westland.
What do we do…?