All that effort up until now... What was it for? (Self-inflicted)
I can’t just pull an apron out of my inventory as usual, so I asked the Head Chef to fetch a spare one from the room we usually use for meetings.
After all, it’s best to keep my rare inventory ability a secret from people of other nations.
Quickly donning the apron, I turn to face Idika.
“Well then, shall we give it a try?”
“Alright, what should I do?”
… Wait, Prince Kaldor, why are you rolling up your sleeves and standing beside me?
“Prince Kaldor, could I ask you to take a seat over there?”
When I gesture to the table and chair I had prepared, Prince Kaldor shakes his head.
“No, if I’m going to be present, I should at least help out somehow.”
Prince Kaldor’s initial impression wasn’t great, but now that I’m speaking to him normally, he seems surprisingly reasonable.
Still, I can’t very well treat a guest, let alone a royal guest, like a servant...
“But...”
“I told you not to worry about that, didn’t I? I won’t be offended, so really, feel free to put me to work.”
“I wouldn’t dream of making you work...”
“Oh, I’ll just enjoy the breakfast I missed, then?”
While I was being caught off guard, Tika-san casually took a seat and started eating the breakfast laid out on the table.
Hey, attendant! Aren’t you being a little too relaxed!?
“Tika, really... Well, I did send you out early this morning. In exchange, I’ll work you hard later.”
“No way, I already get worked hard all the time! Oh, this is delicious!”
Prince Kaldor watches Tika-san, satisfied with the omelet, with a mix of exasperation and amusement.
Their interaction feels like something I shouldn’t interrupt—it must be their usual dynamic.
As I smiled at their banter, Prince Kaldor seemed to notice my gaze and cleared his throat before turning back to me.
“Let’s set aside the useless attendant and get started.”
“... Understood.”
Seeing that he wasn’t going to back down, I relented.
I had the Head Chef prepare a spare chef’s coat for Prince Kaldor and began by thoroughly explaining hygiene practices.
While researching the Samonar Kingdom, I came across information about its population.
Though births were relatively high, the mortality rate among young people was also high, with many succumbing to epidemics.
Even though they cultivate spices with medicinal properties, I suspected hygiene was still an issue.
When I pointed this out, Prince Kaldor seemed delighted and said, “I’ll propose this to His Majesty when I return!”
Tika-san, while helping himself to seconds of the omelet, was dutifully taking notes, proving he was at least somewhat competent as an attendant.
“Now that we’ve covered the basics before cooking, let’s begin preparing the Idika.”
“Oh! Finally!”
Since the burlap sack was too large to carry, I poured enough for today’s use plus a little extra into a tub and positioned myself at the prep table.
“First, what I’ve prepared here is rice consumed in my country.”
I showed him small plates containing unhusked rice, brown rice, and polished white rice.
“The shape is clearly different, but other than that, they seem similar?”
“Yes, but if prepared the same way, the results will be quite different.”
“That’s true... Also, it doesn’t end up looking this white. How does it become so white?”
Prince Kaldor inspected the polished rice intently.
“This is what it looks like after removing the husk, and this is after further polishing.”
I explained step by step, from husked to brown to polished rice.
“You can cook with the brown rice, which contains more nutrients beneficial to the body, but for flavor, the polished rice is the best.”
“To begin, we remove the small stones and sand mixed with the husked rice.”
The unpleasant crunch of biting into a stone is unforgettable...
Spreading the husked rice over a sieve, I shook it to remove sand and carefully picked out visible stones.
Once that was done, it was time to polish the rice.
“Using a mortar and pestle, we grind the rice.”
When I first regained memories of my past life, I tried using bottles to polish the rice, which took ages since I started with husked rice.
Then I experimented with a mortar, which worked surprisingly well.
Grinding away, husks separated from the brown rice, and using wind magic, I blew away the husks.
“Wow, that’s amazing!” came Tika-san’s voice from behind, while the Head Chef added nervously, “Please note that not all citizens of our country can use this method…”
Oh, right. Most people don’t use magic so casually, let alone for cooking. Whoops, my bad!
“Hearing that is reassuring. I was worried it couldn’t be done without magic. Could I give it a try?”
Prince Kaldor’s eager expression said it all.
He might talk about national duties, but it seems he genuinely enjoys hands-on work.
After getting him his own mortar and pestle, he enthusiastically started grinding the husked rice.
Switching off with Idika, the rice polishing continued. After finishing, we decided to take a break.
Sitting at the now spotless table where Tika-san had eaten breakfast, we enjoyed tea and freshly baked apple pie.
“This is good. The cinnamon gives it a nice kick.”
Prince Kaldor smiled.
“Agreed! And when you pair it with this cold dessert, the hot and cold contrast is awesome!”
We had also prepared vanilla ice cream, made using vanilla beans purchased from a stall. It was well-received, which was great to see.
“Still, the process to make it edible is quite labor-intensive.”
Prince Kaldor stretched and let out a sigh, clearly worn out. I couldn’t agree more.
It reminded me of my efforts back then, motivated by the desire for delicious rice… though those days are behind me now, thanks to our skilled cooks. How wonderful life is.
As I reflected on the blessings of being a duke’s daughter, the head chef brought in a large magical device with the help of his apprentices.
“Prince Kaldor, while today we followed the traditional methods to experience the effort involved, we typically use this magic tool.”
“What?”
What’s that?
“Ah, Cristea-sama, you weren’t informed yet. Apologies for the delay. This is a magic tool capable of adjusting the degree of polishing from brown to white rice.”
“Huh?”
A rice polishing machine? You made one!?
“When I requested more staff for rice polishing, the master entrusted the task to a smith in the territory, who collaborated with a magic craftsman to create this device.”
“I... see.”
I have a very strong suspicion about who that smith and magic craftsman might be.
Sorry, Head Chef! This is something I should have handled before leaving the task to you...
I guess I’ll have to make it up with new recipes since asking Otousama for bonuses or raises is unlikely to succeed.
What do you think about this chapter?
