Aim High
When I peeked into the office, I saw Father, Brother Noel, Grey—and one other man.
“Is now a good time?”
“Ah, come in, Joan. We were just about to hear the situation from Jacob.”
“It’s been a while, Young lady. Do you remember me?”
“Yes, Mr. Jacob. Since the New Year’s party, right?”
“Young lady, I’m a commoner. No need for honorifics.”
“No, someone worthy of respect deserves to be treated with it. Besides, you're part of the Monster Subjugation Unit I look up to.”
At that, everyone could only smile wryly.
“So, Jacob. What’s the situation?”
“Yes, we discovered a pack of four Dire Wolves and just finished subjugating them. Right now, we’re splitting up to check if there are any stragglers.”
“I see... So it’s done. Thank you, that helps a lot.”
“Um, were there any injuries?”
“Just minor scrapes, bruises, and sprains. Everyone’s fine.”
“That’s a relief.”
“If there are no more Dire Wolves, we should be able to return by evening.”
“Thank you for the report.”
“Father, will the monster subjugation team be returning to the royal capital right away?”
“No, not until at least tomorrow. …Are you talking about that curry you mentioned earlier?”
“Yes. I’d like to cook a meal for everyone. They worked so hard.”
“Jacob, Joan’s cooking is delicious. Could you tell the adventurers not to head home but to come here instead?”
“Understood. I’ll go take care of it.”
“Ah, Mr. Jacob, please take this... a sports drink and some cheese shortbread. It should help fill you up a bit.”
From my storage, I handed over a sports drink and cheese shortbread—Joan’s special portable rations. A kind of shortbread modeled after calorie supplements from my previous life.
“Thank you. This looks like something I can eat while riding. Well then.”
With that, Mr. Jacob left the office.
“Haah~ So cool…”
““Huh!?””
Father and Brother Noel both looked surprised for some reason.
“Joan, do you like men like Mr. Jacob?”
“Eh!? No, it’s not that. I meant his monster subjugation knight uniform.”
“Ah, I see. I thought you meant his looks.”
“Well, I do think Mr. Jacob is a good-looking guy… but he’s not really my type. Besides, looks alone don’t really cut it, don’t you think?”
“Then what’s the deciding factor for you, Joan?”
“Hmm... Looks are fine as long as they’re decent, but I want someone competent, well-liked, respectable… Oh, and I don’t like people weaker than me.”
“Hahaha, that’s quite the list.”
“Well, yeah. So what about you, Brother Noel?”
“Me? Hmm… someone kind, who I can talk to, who values family and friends, and who can cook well—”
“See! You have high standards too! And anyone who can keep up with you in conversation would have to be a huge magic nerd—”
“Excuse me?”
“Nothing! Okay, I better start making curry.”
Whoosh…
“Ah, she ran away… Well then, Father, I’ll take my leave too.”
“Haah~ Looks like it’ll be a while before either of them gets married…”
“Or it might happen surprisingly fast…”
“That would be… a little sad.”
“Make up your mind…”
No one heard the conversation between Stanley and Grey.
＊＊＊＊＊
“All right, let’s make curry!”
““““““““““Ohh!””””””””””
“Cut the jagato and carrojin into bite-sized pieces, wedge the tamaon, and cut the chicken into chunks too. After chopping the vegetables, sauté them, and when the tamaon turns translucent, add the chicken. Then pour in water, cook through, add the curry roux, and let it simmer on low heat—done.”
I explained the process simply.
“It’s easier than using pre-made roux.”
“Right? But what should we do? We also need to cook rice, and we’re short on stoves.”
“Should we use the large pot for mass cooking?”
“How big is that ‘mass cooking’ pot?”
“Uh… it’s for making soup for about 300 people.”
“Th-three hundred servings?! What’s it for?”
“What do you mean, Missy? It’s for mass cooking, of course. For feeding the villagers in case of disasters or emergencies. Hasn’t happened in years, so I guess you didn’t know.”
““““““““Ahh~””””””””
Anny, the junior personal guard corps, and I all nodded in understanding.
“Okay, let’s use that. Where’s the big pot kept?”
“Hmm… Old Tom should’ve put it away.”
“Then we’ll need to build a hearth outside?”
“We’ll handle building the hearth.”
Ryujis, Omi, and Orki raised their hands.
“Thanks. The rest of you, let’s prep the ingredients. About 300 jagatoes, 200 carrojins, 300 tamaons, and 3 kilos of chicken?”
“““““““““Whaaat!?”””””””””
“Miss, are you serious?”
“Well, everyone’s going to eat, right? And they’ll come back hungry… But maybe it’s too much for just us to handle?”
Just then, the kitchen door opened. Peeking in were Brother Noel and Brother Gene.
“Jo, need a hand?”
“Kyaa~ Brother Noel, Brother Jean, I love you!!”
I threw myself into their arms.
“Eh, wh-what? What’s going on?”
“I was about to make curry, but we’re short on help.”
“Ah, got it. We’ll help.”
“Now then… Sarah—!”
I opened the door and called out for Sarah.
Whoosh… “Did you call?”
“Wah!!”
Eh?! Where did she come from? Is Sarah a ninja?
“Ah… um, could you ask the maids who aren’t busy to help out?”
“Understood. I’ll bring them at once.”
“Thanks… Wait, she’s already gone. What exactly is Sarah aiming for?”
Sarah even reached out to the maids at the royal capital mansion and brought a few over. Along with them came Koa, who helps Old Tom, and Tani, who’s apprenticing under Mito for sewing.
And as luck would have it? Lou and Dennis showed up at the mansion hoping to get training from Arthur and Ben.
With the team gathered—let’s make curry!
What do you think about this chapter?
